Constitution

The name of the Society shall be Edinburgh and Lothians Souters Society

Full Members

A. All Full members shall live or work in Edinburgh or the Lothians and must have lived in Selkirk at some time in their lives, or be related to, or have a strong connection with someone who has lived in Selkirk at some point in their lives.

B. A person can also be a member if they have been a member prior to 1995 but do not live or work in Edinburgh or the Lothians. That person must also fulfil the criteria in 2A (Above), having lived in Selkirk at some time in their lives or be related to, or have a strong connection with somebody who has lived in Selkirk at some time in their lives.

C. Full Members can volunteer to sit on the Society Committee, have full voting rights and can take part in the presentation of the Medallion to the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer.

Associate Members

A. The society shall also have members who live or have lived in Selkirk at some time in their lives, or be related to, or have a strong connection with someone who has lived in Selkirk at some point in their lives.

B. These persons do not live in Edinburgh or the Lothians and were not members prior to 1995.

C. Associate Members cannot sit on the Committee, have no voting rights, nor can they take part in the presentation of the Medallion to the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer

The Prime purposes of the society are as follows:

A. To have regular meetings during the year to help the members keep alive the strong links with the town of Selkirk and its traditions.

B. To present annually, just before the Selkirk Common Riding, a gold Medallion on behalf of the Society to the person elected, The Royal Burgh of Selkirk Standard Bearer for that year. The Gold Medallion will have the Coat of Arms of the Town of Selkirk on the front side and an inscription with the Society name and the Royal Burgh Standard Bearers name and the date of that years Common Riding on the reverse side. The Medallion will be purchased from the funds of the Society however failing there being sufficient funds available, by collection from Full and Associate Members. The Medallion will be presented by Full Members, and no Associate Members can take part in the presentation of the Medallion, to ensure we maintain the tradition of it being presented by Full Members of the Edinburgh and Lothians Souters’ Society.

C. To present to the town of Selkirk, a Sash to be worn by the Royal Burgh Standard Bearer on the Common Riding Day. The Sash in scarlet, will bear the Coat of Arms of the town of Selkirk and be inscribed with the Edinburgh and Lothian Souters’ Society name and the year in which the Sash is presented.

D. The Sash will be presented, for the townspeople of Selkirk, to the Common Riding Trust at a suitable location in Selkirk. This Sash will last several years depending on the space available, for the names and dates of each Royal Burgh Standard Bearer to be embroidered thereon. When a Sash is filled with names and dates, the Society will offer to present a new Sash to the townspeople of Selkirk, via the Common Riding Trust. The Sash will be replaced by a new Sash to be made in the same style as previous Sashes with the Coat of Arms of the town of Selkirk and inscribed with the Edinburgh and Lothian Souters’ Society name and the year in which the new Sash is presented to the Common Riding Trust.

The society will be organised by a committee which will be elected each year at an Annual General Meeting, which will be held during the month of February at a suitable location for that purpose. The Committee will consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and General Committee. All Committee members will be volunteers who will have to be proposed by a member and seconded by another member. In the event of more than one person wishing to offer their services and being proposed and seconded as President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer there will be a secret ballot of the membership to be organised by the President or Chair of the Annual General Meeting or someone nominated by the President, or Chair, in the event that there are more than one volunteer for the role of President. The Committee elected each year will commence their duties immediately following the annual general meeting and continue until the end or the next annual general meeting. The Committee, elected each year, will have the powers to co-opt other Full Members onto the Committee if it is felt necessary during the Committee’s year. Only Full Members, will serve on the Committee and have the power to propose or second a Full Member to be on the Committee.

The Society will have an Honorary President who will be the person who is the Provost of the Selkirk Common Riding Trust at the time of the Society’s Annual General Meeting each year.

The Society will also have Honorary Vice Presidents who will be a people who are or have been Full Members (and are still alive) and who in the opinion of the Society have served the Society well as Full Member.

Neither the Honorary President nor Honorary Vice President are part of the Committee unless co-opted for a reason by the Committee.

The Committee will meet periodically to arrange the business of the Society at a venue to be decided by the Committee Members.

The amount of annual subscription to be paid is to be decided each year at the Annual General Meeting. There will be an amount decided for Full Members and an amount decided for Associate Members, the latter will always be less than the amount for Full Members. The lesser amount is due to the Associate Member not having the same rights as Full Members, regarding presentation of the Medallion, Membership of the Committee and the voting rights. Subscriptions are to be paid to the Treasurer as soon as possible after the years Annual General Meeting. The subscriptions are to be paid into the Society’s funds which are kept in a bank account in the Society’s name.

The Society’s funds which are held in a bank account are to be reviewed each year at the Annual General Meeting. The funds will be used to purchase the Gold Medallions to be presented to the Royal Burgh of Selkirk Standard Bearer. The funds will be used to purchase the Medallions singly or in multiples depending on the state of the funds and depending on the purchase price singly or in multiples as quoted by a medallist and/or silversmith, and as determined by the Committee and Full Members, as being the best policy with the available funds each year. The funds will also be used to purchase a new Sash when required and it is to be presented to the townspeople of Selkirk via the Common Riding Trust. The funds will also be used to defray the costs of running the Society such as postage stationary etc. or any shortfall in monies is required by the society to pay the cost of an evening for Full Members and Associate Members, when Members who book, do not turn up, and the Society is still charged for that person or the cost of an evening becomes excessive through some unforeseen circumstances and it is decided by the Committee that it is more than the Members present on that evening should be expected to pay individually. The funds will also be used when required to purchase in advance prizes for any raffle which is organised or prizes to be purchased for Society meetings during each year.

The funds of the Society which will be held in a bank account, or accounts, will be administered by the Treasurer in conjunction with other members of the Committee. There may be more than one account for the purposes of having money specifically received for the purchase of a Sash or Medallions or any other purpose decided by the majority vote of the Full Members of the Society. Money required for the purposes related to the business of the Society such as buying Medallions or a Sash or paying expenses for meetings or postage, can only be taken from the Society bank account (s) on the joint signature of the Treasurer and the President.

Full Members and Associate Members will be able to bring friends to social events without those friends having to become a Full Member or Associate Member. Those friends will, however, be expected to pay the same amount as the Full Members and Associate Members pay for that event for food and the hire of the venue etc.

Decisions affecting the business of running the society can only be made by a quorum of no less than three Committee members and any other two (2) Full Members.

Any changes to the Constitution, such as, things being deleted or added or rephrased can only be done by the majority consent of Members at a meeting called for that purpose or at the AGM or EGM, and the changes will be recorded by entry in the minutes and the re-printing of the Constitution accordingly.

Version 3. March 2026