As autumn is almost upon us and our paddling season is winding down, it is time to begin to think about the annual meeting scheduled for November 7th (Place to be determined). At our annual meeting, the club recounts the successes of the past year’s trips, hear our annual report from our Treasurer, hear any new business and most importantly, elect the officers and steering committee members for the next year. The positions that are elected each year are Coordinator, Treasurer, Secretary and six Steering Committee members.
Here are the responsibilities and duties of each of the officers and steering committee members that will be elected at the annual meeting:
- The Coordinator shall have overall responsibility for administration of the club and will be a primary point of contact for the club. S/he shall chair general club membership meetings and meetings of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee may direct the Coordinator to perform other duties consistent with the bylaws. The Coordinator is the only person authorized to speak for the club. This authority may be delegated by the Coordinator.
- The Treasurer shall perform all the duties generally incident to the office of Treasurer, subject to the control of the Steering Committee and the oversight of the Coordinator. The Treasurer shall have custody of all the funds and securities of the club, and s/he shall keep full and accurate account of receipts and disbursements. Such records shall be the property of the club. S/he shall deposit all such moneys and other valuables in the name and to the credit of the club. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the club consistent with Section seven of these bylaws. S/he shall provide financial information to the Coordinator or the Steering Committee in a timely fashion as requested.
- The Secretary shall perform all duties generally incident to the office of Secretary, subject to the control of the Steering Committee and the oversight of the Coordinator. S/he has primary responsibility for maintaining club membership records, but may delegate day-to-day administration of that task to another club member. S/he shall give notice of all meetings of the general membership or the Steering Committee and all other notices required by these bylaws. The Secretary shall record the proceedings of all meetings of the general membership and of the Steering Committee. All records of the Secretary shall be the property of the club.
- The Steering Committee will make all decisions about operational activities of the club, unless specified otherwise in these bylaws. As a rule, routine decisions about specific club activities will be the responsibility of the individuals managing those activities, but they may be overridden by the Steering Committee if needed. The Steering Committee will determine which events are to be considered official CPA activities. If appropriate, it may set standards for such determinations so that it need not consider each activity, and it may then delegate to individual club members the responsibility for applying those standards to determine whether specific activities are official CPA activities.
Nominations for Coordinator, Treasurer, Secretary and Steering Committee shall be open beginning September 1, 2010. This year pursuant to changes in the club’s By-Laws, we will be instituting an electronic voting in addition to the paper ballots for those who wish to vote at the meeting itself. With the electronic voting, the intention is to get more members interested in voting other than those who are able to make it to the annual meeting. We are still working out the details of the electronic balloting and those procedures will be posted on the website as soon as they are finalized, but you will need your CPA membership number to authenticate your vote, so look for it now. For those that do not have access to a computer, there will be a ballot published in the October Chesapeake Paddler, or you may request an absentee ballot from the club Secretary, Sue Stevens (formerly Bauer).
Remember, the Chesapeake Paddlers Association is as successful as it is because of the wonderful people who volunteer their time in volunteering and leading the club in its many activities.
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