Duties of Club Officers

  1. President
  2. Secretary
  3. Treasurer
  4. Sergeant
  1. Duties of President

The President provides leadership for the club. Style of leadership will vary according to the individual elected as President. The following duties are more about the usual procedures of office rather than the style.

Selection of Club officers:

The President, as President elect, will work closely with the nominating committee to ensure suitable people are appointed to the roles. The president will examine the club structure, I.e. committees, areas of responsibility etc and if necessary modify to suit your plans for the year. Note Any major changes need to be approved at a club forum and incorporated into the bylaws.

After Changeover.

Several matters need updating with the advent of the new administration. The item “New Year Procedures” in the procedures section of the manual describes wht has to be done. These are the responsibility of the President. Tasks may be delegated.

The Monday Meeting

Before any meetings, probably as President-elect discussions need to be held with the sergeant to ensure the respective roles at the meeting are clear. Carefully read the “Duties of the Segeant” and in collaboration with the sergeant make any changes to suit your requirements

The President needs to have a clear plan for the conduct of the Monday meeting. A ‘Run Sheet’ should be prepared for each meeting. The format can vary but the meeting plan should be clear before the meeting and a copy provided to the sergeant before the meeting..preferably some days before the meeting.

A sample meeting run is shown at the end of these notes.

For most members, the Monday meeting is what Rotary is about. It needs to be well run, thought provoking, inclusive, and entertaining.

Monthly Board meeting.

The President chairs the meeting and normal meeting procedures apply. An agenda should be prepared with copies for each person attending. A sample agenda is shown at the end of these notes. There needs to be good working relationship with the secretary. The format of the minutes needs to reflect the agenda, perhaps with similar numbering of items. It is worth asking the secretary to keep a separate “Action List”. If a meeting member agrees to carry out some action it should be noted on the list for easy reference and reporting at the next meeting. The action list can be circulated to remind members of their commitments.

Aim for meeting closure by 9.30 pm.

It will save time and misunderstandings if the secretary sends the President a copy of the minutes before distribution to allow possible clarifications.

Membership matters.

President takes responsibility for: (some delegation could occur)

  • Sorting attendance problems. Contacting regular absentees and discussing the reasons.
  • Making the final request for unpaid subscriptions when the treasurer is unsuccessful
  • Resolving disputes between members/ sub committees etc

Note: It is the sergeant’s responsibility to chide members for inappropriate behaviour

Events Club and Public

The President is the public face of the club. Press Statements will be made with the authority of the President. Members need to be aware that such statements will need approval. At events such as social or public functions the President will lead or make specific delegation of leadership.

Supervision and Direction of Committees

The President needs to be aware in general of all committee business. It is good practice to attend some of the committee meetings, particularly early in the year to set the tone and outline expectations..

Sunshine Fund

Spending from this fund (from sergeant’s fines) is at the sole discretion of the President although pre notification to the Board would normally occur. See separate notes regarding Sunshine Fund procedures.

Awards

It is the President’s prerogative to decide on awards for members eg Paul Harris, 5 Avenues of Service etc. Individuals may make quiet recommendations to the President. The President should discuss the award privately with one or two senior members of the club before initiating the process. The secretary would normally process the application. Be aware of lead times. Most Rotary awards take a month or more to process, particularly in May and June before Changeover.

Budget

The President and Treasurer need to consult to prepare a budget which should be presented for approval at the first Board meeting.

Planning.

The President should be clear on club directions. The club will have a strategic plan which may need review..particularly if a change of direction is being considered. This review will need to be discussed and approved at a club forum. The incoming District Governor will require a club plan well before the July Changeover..Probably about March. This should prompt the consideration of more planning:

  • Membership recruitment and retention
  • Foundation/Polio/Erks etc contributions
  • Calendar of events for year
  • Fundraisers

Ideas for these plans should be gained at the various PETS training course

Board meeting

President chairs the meeting. The following agenda is recommended

Agenda

ROTARY CLUB OF WANGANUI Inc. BOARD MEETING

7.15 pm on ………… at …………………………………………………

1.0Present:

2.0Apologies

3.0 Confirmation of previous minutes:

Matters Arising :Action List

4.0Conflicts of Interest:

(If any member has any conflict of interest that needs to be stated now.. or at the time of the business and recorded in the minutes) `

5.0 President report:

6.0 President elect Report…. Including Senior Cttee

7.0 Past president Report

8.0Secretary:

Correspondence :

9.0Finance & Administration:

Cheques for Payment

Financial Report:

10.0Administration and Membership including new member approvals, leave of absence etc

11.0 Directors Reports

11.1 Joe Bloggs.

11.2Mary Jones

11.3John Green

12.0General Business :

13.0Next Meeting:

The secretary should endeavour to circulate the minutes within one week of the meeting. An “action list” listing the actions agreed to that members will carry out arising from the meeting, should also be circulated.

  1. Duties of Secretary

Take minutes at Board meeting, AGM and any SGM's

Write up, send to President for checking

Email out to Board within one week

An action list is a good idea

Provide agenda for board meetings (The president may prefer to do this)

Correspondence

Clear PO Box (about weekly)

Record on correspondence list

Distribute to appropriate members for action

Present correspondence list at Board meeting (include emails)

Write letters as directed by the Board

Receive emails from all & sundry and decide what to do with them

(forward, print as correspondence, reply, ignore etc)

Receive minutes from committees and forward to Board members.

Membership data

Keep club membership database up to date

Record new members/resigned members on RI website and RDU website

Prepare induction kit for new member's induction*

Keep new member application forms

Allocate badge numbers, keep up to date list in “The box”

Paraphernalia

Keep stock of badges, certificates, booklets, pamphlets, banners etc and order more as required. Order from You will have to get a login & password

District 9940

Receive countless emails from the District, decide whether to ignore, forward or note contents for Board Meeting. Pass requests for money to Treasurer

Know everything: District directory is on

Select district 9940. Sometimes there is a printed directory which is very useful.

Answer questions and requests from the President.

* Induction Kit

Blue Folder

Rotary Basics

Club brochure

Club Directory

membership Certificate...... get members name printed in fancy script

(H& A will do it or can set it up on your computer. Experiment first to make sure the name comes out in exactly the right place)

A past copy of RDU

A membership pin

A name badge : H&A print will prepare these... give them a week! (There will probably be a club member given this reponsibility

Treasurer’s Duties

(Note: Items in Red apply if using the banklink recording system)

The Treasurer needs to work closely with the Wanganui Club Foundation

General

  • Contact Club Reviewer to discuss information required for the Annual Review of Accounts, and how this information should be presented.
  • Contact Club Accountants to establish arrangements for access to Banklink.
  • Obtain from the Accountants a current list of all transaction codes for Banklink.
  • Arrange for current computer software for the Club Membership Data Records.

Cashier at Monday Meetings

  • Receive basket money
  • Receive sergeant’s fines.
  • Put sergeant/basket/other money in separate bags
  • Collect other money as received and note on reconciliation sheet. (subscriptions.. write receipts for these, fundraiser income etc)
  • Accept treasurer’s mail from sec as received during week
  • Get secretary’s signature on cheques for payment.
  • After the meeting take the money to the bank. Count out the bags, enter on reconciliation sheet, balance, then deposit.
  • It is a good idea to note the names of those who paid subs on the reconciliation sheet. And on the stub of the deposit book

Keeping Records

  • Keep all paid invoices in a file with cheque nos & dates written on each. Where invoices not given get some sort of record such as copy of letter or email.
  • Keep a ledger. Every in/out with references in date order (Probably easiest to do once a month when the bank statement arrives). Cumulative total should match bank statement. Note that combined receipts or payments need to be split into components. For example the entries for a bank deposit must be split into lunch/basket/subs/sergeant etc)
  • Subscriptions: list of club members with details on amount paid, receipt no, letters sent, addresses, amount owing. Subs are paid per rata for member joining during the year eg 8 months pays 8/12 of sub
  • At regular intervals (recommend twice monthly), all bank transactions must be coded on the BankLink files supplied by the Accountant via email. This BankLink file can then be used to prepare the basic Ledger information for monthly reporting to the Board.

Budget & Subscriptions

  • Make up a trial budget then discuss with President
  • In discussion with Pres set subscriptions for year
  • Finalise Budget, print and present to Board for approval and a decision on annual subscriptions
  • Make up accounts to members for fees. A general notice is sufficient but they should be numbered with members number to ensure identification when they pay
  • Collect, cajole, send reminders etc all year until they have all paid.
  • Pay our fees for District, RDU and RI. Accounts will be received based on the numbers of members we have registered on the respective web sites

NOTE: RI will send an account in US dollars. RI sets the exchange rate, not the bank. It is fixed for each month.. Check the RI web site

Reporting

Other records must be kept to enable financial reporting at Board Meetings.

  • A summary of all income and expenditure to date. For example at the Board meeting in October a summary should be presented covering the period 1 July to 30 September. This summary should in three categories:

(i) Club accounts (Inc and exp to date)

(ii) Statement from Foundation: total funds, project activity

(iii) Memberships: Subs paid, subs to be paid

  • Project Accounts

All project income and expenditure is conducted through the Foundation (Trust) Account. If any is mistakenly put through the Club account, transfers must be arranged. (Sunshine fund from sergeants fines go through Club Accounts)

An income/expenditure account for various projects which have been allocated funds by the club. Each project has an accumulated fund which has to be tracked. At the moment there are:

1.Kowhai Park Trees

2.Westmere walkway

3.Book Fair

4.UCOL Parking

.

  • Income for the current month (from the reconciliation sheets)
  • Payments for the current month to be approved by the Board.

Records for theReviewer

A file needs to be kept containing the following:

  • Board minutes
  • Monthly financial reports
  • Bank statements
  • Weekly reconciliation sheets

In addition the Reviewer will require:

  • cheque butts, and receipt books,
  • chart of accounts,
  • the invoices
  • the subscription payment record
  • the ledger
  • the ledger sorted into income/expenditure categories
  • The Annual Accounts
  • NOTE- The Reviewer will obtain the ledger and Annual Accounts directly from the Accountants

Annual Accounts

  • Expenditure/ Income account

This will be similar to the June summary of income and expenditure presented to the July Board Meeting. . The project income and expenditure is also to be included. However accruals must be included. That is, income/expenditure relating to the previous year must be removed and income/expenditure incurred in the new year but relating to the year of the annual accounts must be included. The project income and expenditure is also to be included

  • A statement of Position

This shows the club funds at the beginning of the year, the excess income/ expenditure for the year (from the income/expenditure account above) and the liabilities we have (how much we owe).

Then an explanation of where those funds are, in terms of the various bank accounts and money owed to us (accounts receivable)

  • A statement of the position of the various project accounts.
  • Present the Annual Accounts at the Club Annual Meeting (First meeting in December), and respond to any questions.

Other duties:

Arranging cheque signatories with Westpac. This requires a Board decision to nominate signatories, and a signed copy of this Board decision must be supplied to the Bank.

Advise Bank of the Treasurer’s home address.

Send a copy of our annual accounts to the registrar of Incorporated Societies

Keeping in touch with our Charitable Trust: At present we simply pass excess funds to them to look after for us To retrieve funds we simply request from our savngs with the Trust or make application from the Trusts own funds). The Trust retains all the Interest.

Keeping an eye on our tax position.

If we indulge in taxable fundraising activities then we may have to register with IRD and perhaps pay tax. Consequently all fundraising and hence project expendidture is carried out through the Trust

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Sergeant’s Duties

This key role ensures the efficient conduct of Rotary meetings and enhances the dignity and prestige of the club. While most Rotarians associate the Sergeant with the highly visible ‘Sergeant’s (fining) Session’, that activity is only an aid to assist the Sergeant perform their primary responsibilities:

  • The meeting runs efficiently to schedule without disruption
  • To work closely with the President on meeting planning.
  • Confirmation of meeting duties and ensuring performance
  • Room set up
  • Engendering a friendly and humorous tone to meetings
  • Ensuring the Sergeant’s Session supports the meeting – this is not a money grab and fines without meaning are discouraged
  • Protector of regalia (including maintenance)

Specific Duties

  • Ensure Senior committee has set up the attendance desk: Name Label cabinet, visitors book, guest tickets, foodbank basket etc
  • Ensure the venue is set up properly including any special requirements of the guest speaker
  • Ensure Host is in the foyer to welcome the speaker
  • Have a contingency plan in case the speaker does not turn up
  • Take requests from members or visitors who wish to speak to the Club. Allocate them time.
  • Have arranged with the President a run sheet for the meeting. (see sample below). Meeting structure may vary according to the business of the meeting and the President’s wishes
  • Conduct the “Sergeant’s Session”

The Sergeant’s (fining) Session

The Sergeant’s Session is a high point of the meeting and it must be appropriate for the meeting. It is an opportunity to motivate members and recognise success. It is also your opportunity to emphasise club discipline. Remember that discipline must be done with care as the Sergeant does not have the right to scold, humiliate or embarrass anyone.

Fines can be levied for:

  • Important dates for members such as birthdays and anniversary of joining Rotary. Get a list of these from the Club secretary. (The club database easily prints out such a list)
  • Matters of discipline such as “early leaver without apology”, informal chatter while guest is speaking, not clearing table and putting in chair, etc. NOTE Ensure this is done lightheartedly without embarrassment.
  • Success in some sphere, including other members of family
  • Photo in the newspaper in the past week
  • Indiscretions or mishaps involving members. You will need a network of ‘informers’ to keep abreast of the gossip.

Blanket fines should be the exception, not the rule. This is the Sergeant’s Session – your session – so be creative and make it a fun time with plenty of variety. Be aware of people who do not like being fined and of those who always seem to get fined.

There may be matters in the news on which comment can be made with appropriate fines levied.

Jokes: The sergeant is not expected to tell a joke every meeting. If a joke is told it must not offend any members. That rules out ‘Off colour’ jokes and many political or religious matters. Want a good joke? Google “rotary jokes”...... keep it clean no matter what other clubs might do!

Timing

The sergeant’s session is the most flexible part of the meeting. If time is short, shorten your session to suit.

Sample meeting Run Sheet

12.05 Sergeant calls meeting to order and introduces President

President welcomes guests by name and members returning after absence

Calls for Grace : Sung ro conducted by a member

Invites guests to the buffet first followed by members

12.35Sergeant calls for tables to be cleared, members to get their tea or coffee

12.38Sergeant calls on host to introduce speaker

12.40Speaker

1.05Speaker concludes and sergeant conducts questions

1.10Sergeant calls on thanker to thank guest

1.13Sergeant calls on President

President gives (and takes) apologies

President speaks on Club issues

1.18Sergeant’s session. If several guests are present the sergeant needs to explain where the ‘fine’ money goes.. BE SPECIFIC

1.24President returns and allows members to give notices

1.27President closes the meeting with reminders/ homilies etc

1.30Meeting closes.