The London Dental Fellowship

Furthering the knowledge of dentistry

London Dental Fellowship - Saville Club, London

Constitution

Article 1 – NAME

The name of the Fellowship shall be “The London Dental Fellowship”.

Article 2 – OBJECT

The Fellowship shall be a forum for registered members of the dental profession to meet on a Regular basis, for the interchange of ideas, and to
further their knowledge of Dentistry and related subjects.

Article 3 – MEMBERSHIP

  1. There shall be a minimum of twenty, and a maximum of fifty-five Members.

  2. In order to promote the aims of the Fellowship, Members are expected to attend
    as many meetings as possible in the absence of exceptional circumstances; failure to attend at least four meetings in any one season will lead to review of membership by the Committee.

  3. Applicants for Membership shall apply to the Secretary in writing, and shall be nominated and seconded by existing Members. To be eligible for Membership, a candidate must have been qualified for a minimum of ten years. A new Member
    shall only be accepted by unanimous agreement of all Committee Members. His or her name shall then be circulated to the Membership six weeks prior to
    ratification of his or her membership by the Committee. If there should be any objection by the Membership to his or her acceptance, that objection will be considered by the Committee and their decision will be final. All successful
    applicants must be prepared to serve as an officer of the club and/or present a paper to the Fellowship at some time during their membership.
  4. There shall be a Senior Membership category. Fellows to whom this category applies shall be exempted from the “four meetings” rule and shall be charged at a rate determined by the committee for each meeting that they attend. Such Fellows shall not retain voting rights. Applications to join this category may be received from any Member retiring from dental practice and allied activities, including, but not limited to, directorships of bodies corporate and dentolegal work, and shall require the unanimous approval of the Committee before being granted. This category shall not be compulsory for any Member. The number of Senior Members shall be unlimited. At the beginning of each season, Senior Members shall indicate their willingness to continue their senior membership. Senior Members who do not attend any meetings in a two-year cycle will be deemed to have allowed their membership to lapse unless they indicate otherwise to the secretary.
  5. Under exceptional circumstances the committee may consider the granting of a ‘Sabbatical year’ on payment of a nominal fee, decided periodically by Committee and ratified by the membership. The granting of the Sabbatical year to a member shall be reviewed by the committee annually.


Article 4 – COMMITTEE

  1. The Committee shall consist of President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President and three other Members
  2. The President shall hold office for one year and other Committee Members for three years.
  3. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected or re-elected annually.
  4. The term served by an Officer can be in addition to his or her maximum term as a Committee Member.


Article 5 – MEETINGS

  1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in April whenever possible.
  2. A quorum for the AGM shall be a minimum of one-half of the Membership.
  3. Six meetings per year shall be held, usually on the third Tuesday of the months of October, November, January, February, March and April.
  4. Normally, four meetings shall be addressed by external speakers and the two remaining meetings by Members of the Fellowship, one of which shall be the President.
  5. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee, giving a minimum of six weeks’ notice to the Membership.
  6. Individual guests shall not be admitted more than twice in any one season. The member introducing the guest shall be responsible for the guest fee. The said fee shall be set by the committee and is payable prior to the meeting attended by the guest.
  7. LDF meetings can only be attended Members who are dentists.
    Guests can be: Dentists and Dental Team Other Guests: are at the discretion of the President. Whilst a guest can attend twice in one season; if space is available and they are on the ‘approved membership waiting list’, then additional attendance would be allowed.


Article 6 – SUBSCRIPTION

  1. The annual subscription shall be determined by the Committee from time to time, and shall be approved each year at the AGM.
  2. Annual subscriptions are due two weeks after the last meeting of the previous season, to be paid as determined by the Committee. Any subscriptions received after this time will be subject to an additional payment of 10% of the annual subscription. If any subscription is two or more months in arrears, the Committee shall have the power to expel that Member.
  3. In the event of the termination of the Fellowship, any residual funds remaining after meeting all liabilities shall be distributed by the Committee to bodies which most nearly fulfil the aims of the Fellowship.

Article 7 – GENERAL

  1. Members are expected to respect the rules and custom of our host premises. Dress code is formal and for the opening meeting of the season is usually Black Tie.
  2. The Fellowship is an accredited CPD provider and members who attend
    the lecture after dinner, sign the register of attendance and fill in the
    feedback forms will be issued with their CPD certificates at the end of the
    season.