Around the Puget Sound

Section Officer Duties

The Section Officers are elected each year and serve a one-year term. The section officers are:

• The Section Chair
• The Vice Chair
• The Treasurer
• The Secretary.

Duties of the Section Chair

• Chairs the meetings of the Section and other section activities.
• Schedules Executive Committee Meetings and ensures that all Committee members are notified of the time and place of these meetings.
• Approves the selection of Section meetings.
• Represents the Section at National, International or Regional meetings.
• Develops a charge or statement of responsibility for all committees, subject to Executive Committee approval.
• Reviews and signs all legal Section documents.
• Advises other Executive Committee members in the resolution of problems.
• Ensures that action is taken to implement Executive Committee decisions.
• Assumes responsibility for smooth operation of the Section, even though the Chair may temporarily delegate certain of its authority to the Vice Chair or other members of the Executive Committee.
• Works with other Section Officers to assign a Nomination Committee and sets up an election date for continuity of the Section.

The Section Chair has to act in several capacities. As principal executive officer of the Section, this person is a leader and takes the initiative in carrying out any necessary action. The chair also accepts complaints from the other members and acts on those that the Chair thinks are legitimate. Finally, the Section Chair leads the meetings of the Section and the Committee.

Duties of the Vice Chair

• Attends all Executive and Section Meetings.
• Stands in for the Section Chair at all regular Section activities whenever the Chair is unable to attend.
• Assumes special duties of the Chair upon request of the Chair and direct delegation of authority by the Chair.

The Vice Chair assists the Chair in bringing meetings and other Section activities to successful completion. The Vice Chair observes the activities of the Section and assists where needed. Typically the Vice Chair is nominated for the position of Section Chair for the following year.

Duties of the Section Secretary

• Attends all Executive and Section meetings.
• Prepares agenda and minutes of all meetings for Chairperson and Executive Committee approval.
• Handles correspondence, notices, and forms relating the Section.
• Prepares Section meeting notices and assures timely mailing of these notices to the Section members.
• Records the meetings and sends reports to the Journal.

The Secretary is the Section's link with AES HQ. The Secretary prepares the minutes, correspondence, agenda, and other paperwork required for running the Section, as well as communicates with headquarters for section mailing labels. The Secretary also prepares and mails the monthly meeting notices.

Duties of the Section Treasurer

• Attends all Executive and Section meetings.
• Prepares a budget for the fiscal year in conjunction with the Executive Committee.
• Maintains financial accounts of the Section.
• Scrutinizes proposed expenses and ensures that they meet the goals and guidelines of the Society.
• Maintains an up-to-date audit of accounts and reports on the State of the Budget for the the Section Officers and the Executive Committee.
• Approves and authorizes payment of checks for Section expenses in conjunction with the Executive Committee. Section checks over $100 must require two signatures.
• Is responsible for safekeeping of the Section checkbooks, passbooks, fiscal books, and cash box where necessary.
• Supervises the selling of function tickets as required at Section activities.
• Deposits all received funds to the Section's checking account in a timely manner.

The treasurer is responsible for the fiscal affairs of the Section. This includes monitoring the income from AES Headquarters and payments of checks. Budgeting is an important part of the job so some familiarity with financial statements and the like is useful.

Duties of the Committee

The members of the Committee serve two-year terms. There are ten seats and normally the terms overlap for continuity.

• Attends all Executive and Section meetings.
• Assists Section officers in the execution of their duties.
• Provides support in special functions which are not the assigned duties of Executive Section officers.
• Each person on the committee should be responsible for the planning and execution of a section meeting and be the Meeting Coordinator for those meetings.
• Assists the Meeting Coordinator in the production of meetings.

The Section Committee makes the Section go. The Section Officers and the Committee find meeting topics and plan meetings around them. The Committee handles the details of presenting these meetings as well as some of the administrivia needed afterwards. Our section delegates the Meeting Coordinator function to a member of the Committee or to a section officer on a per-meeting basis. This person has the responsibility of making the meeting happen as planned. They are free to delegate sub-responsibilities to other Officers or Committee members.

Duties of the Meeting Coordinator

Each person on the committee is expected to plan and produce at least one meeting. The topic for that meeting could be their own or it could be one that presents itself (falls into our lap). Producing a meeting entails:

• Finding and securing a venue for the meeting.
• Getting the sign-up list publicized for the meeting. That list may have items from this list.
• Writing the meeting notice for the meeting, or providing enough raw material for the webmaster to do so on their own.
• Arranging for refreshments for the meeting.
• Deciding on and securing the reservation for the officers/committee/speaker dinner before the meeting.
• Making contact with the speaker and ensuring that whatever production requirements they have are met. Be the point person for the speaker.
• Introducing the speaker at the meeting (which may be delegated to the Section Chair).
• Scaring up a door prize or two.
• Ensuring that the email list is sent to one week prior to and one day prior to the meeting date. This is a minimum requirement, and notifying the list several weeks in advance is not a bad idea.

At the Meeting

• Door Prize / Data collection forms printed in sufficient quantities.
• Dinner RSVP
• Refreshments
• Banner
• Meeting recording
• Meeting photos (video?)
• Agenda items, even if they're in your head
• Setup time at the venue
• People for setup/movein if needed
• Presenter's A/V requirements
• Live sound (PA) requirements

Any of the above list can be delegated. There's no reason why they can't be on the signup list.

Last modified 02/25/2023.