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Board of Directors

Board Composition and Responsibilities

The Club should have officers and a Board of Directors with specific duties and terms.  The board is vested with the powers of general guidance.  It should be comprised of officers, directors, committee chairs, and other Cornell affiliates from Cornell Associations.

The board of directors represents a broad mix of people.  It meets regularly with a well-planned, and strictly followed agenda that is complete within a designated amount of time.  Avoid socializing during the meetings, but offer the opportunity for socializing after business is completed.

In addition to the duties outlined below, all positions:

1.      May chair committees.

2.      Support the Membership VP in increasing membership in reasonable ways when requested.

3.      Support the Programming Committees and Programming Coordinator in a reasonable manner when requested, such as, but not limited to, making phone calls for upcoming events or planning an event.

4.      Support the Recording Secretary by getting reports in on a timely basis and in other reasonably requested ways.

5.      Support the other Board members in their Club endeavors when reasonably requested.

6.      Unless otherwise noted, attends all board meetings (approx. 4 per year).   If unable to attend, submits report, if applicable.

7.      Must be members in good standing (dues up-to-date).

President (three-year term)

• Preferably has knowledge of Club operation from past experience.
• Responsible for overall programs, developing a Club sense of purpose, new initiatives, and represents the Club in the community.
• Establishes dates and times for board meetings; prepares agenda in consultation with other board members.
• Communicates regularly with Regional Office and Alumni Office staff contacts.
• Appoints committee chairs and keeps current on committee activities
• Delegates responsibility and holds officers accountable.
• Facilitates communication among all board members.
• Responsible for submitting the Annual Announcement, complete with schedule of events, president's message, and dues solicitation to the Alumni Office by July 1.
• Responsible for the return of all special forms sent from the Alumni Office (Annual Report, Faculty Speaker Program Request Form, list of new officers, Zinck's, etc.) by July 1.
• Actively grooms his/her successor during second year of two-year term.
• Writes letters of appreciation to University speakers.
• Encourages a good representation of board members to attend Cornell Alumni Federation Regional Workshops and/or special training workshops.
• Plans year-end thank you event for Club board members.
• Writes thank you letters to board members.
• Current Bylaws: The President shall preside at all meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors and shall constitute the chief executive officer of the Corporation.  The President shall appoint committees when authorized to do so by the Board, shall call special meetings of the Board whenever deemed necessary or whenever requested in writing to do so by one-third of the Board or of the membership and perform all such other duties as are imposed by these Bylaws.

Technology Chair – Second VP (two-year term)

• Attendance to Board Meetings recommended but not required.
• Maintains website with most up-to-date information, creating new pages when necessary.
• Sets up and maintains Paypal account or any other online payment service.

Membership Chair – First VP (two-year term)

• Compiles from dues forms the names of volunteers who wish to participate in various activities (shares with database administrator).
• Sends list of dues payers within the fiscal year (from June 30-July 1) to Alumni Office by July 1 (via President).
• Work with Program Vice President and other officers to increase the value of the Club to paid members.
• Responsible for planning an annual Member Appreciation event, should the Board agree that one should be held.
• Sends renewal reminders to former members, including reminding not to renew if they have a multiple year membership (works with Corresponding Secretary).
• Sends welcome to NH letters to those new to the state (works with Corresponding Secretary).
• Maintains membership records (in conjunction with the database administrator).
• Responsible for building membership.

Recording Secretary (two-year term)

• Takes minutes at board meetings and distributes them immediately following meeting.
• Provides Alumni House and Regional Office with copies of all meeting minutes and mailings.
• Serves as bridge between old and new administrations.
• Keeps information for future chairs.
• Sends list of board members with addresses and telephone numbers to all members of the Club board, Regional Office, and Alumni Office by July 1 (via President).
• Responsible for Club Database maintenance, including (but not limited to) recording members, updating and names/addresses.
• Current Bylaws: The Secretary of the Corporation shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings of the Corporation, for notification of members of the Board of their election and for the preparation and mailing of all notices required by these Bylaws.

Corresponding Secretary (two-year term)

• Keeps copies of Club mailings, evaluations of programs and information for future chairs.
• Responsible for the writing & mailing of Correspondence, such as monthly email news announcements, welcome letters to new NH residents, program announcements, etc. 
• Works with appropriate Board members to capture their news and to support them in their letters (e.g. works with Membership Chair for membership renewal reminder letters).

Treasurer (two-year term)

• Maintains accurate financial records.
• Receives and records dues and dues payers.
• Transmits membership information to Membership Chair (or vice versa).
• Monitors fiscal health of the Club.
• Pays all Club bills in timely manner.
• Works with event chairpersons to establish budgets.
• Presents to Club Board a written treasurer's report at least three times per year.
• Files reports required by the state of NH.
• Current Bylaws: The Treasurer shall, subject to the Board and under its supervision, have the care and custody of the funds, books and valuable papers of the Corporation, shall have the power to endorse for deposit or collection, all notes, drafts, checks and other obligations for the payment of money payable to the Corporation or its order and to sign notes, drafts and checks drawn upon any bank account of the Corporation.  The Treasurer shall keep accurate books of account which shall be the property of the Corporation; collect all monies from time to time due and owing the Corporation and keep and disburse the same pursuant to the contracts and obligations of the Corporation; have the power to accept for and in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation promissory notes, drafts and checks in the ordinary course of business; and shall execute and deliver on behalf of the Corporation all such instruments as may be ordered by the Board.

Scholarship Chair (two-year term)

• Board meeting attendance recommended (approx. 4 per year).
• Works with the Board to creatively increase our endowment (i.e. CCNH William Robertson Scholarship Fund and CCNH William Robertson Fellowship Fund) such as through Scholarship drives or Silent Auction.
• Works with Corresponding Secretary to write congratulations notes to current Scholarship and Fellowship recipients.

Book Award Chair (two-year term or longer)

• Board meeting attendance recommended but not required.
• Works with Corresponding Secretary and other Board members to increase the funds available for Book Awards.
• Works with the CCNH Board of Directors and the Admissions Office to identify the New Hampshire schools to award the books to.
• Contacts the schools in early spring to identify the recipients, identifies the book to be distributed, orders the books & distributes them to the school. 
• Works with volunteers to hand deliver the books.

Regional Programming Director(s) (two-year term)

• Board meeting attendance recommended but not required.
• Heads Regional Programming Committees, responsible for all programming aspects of at least 2 regional events, such as Zinck’s night and a regional picnic.
• Responsible for recruiting members to the regional programming committees (with the support of other Board members) as well as for setting up the committee meetings.
• Coordinates with the Programming Coordinator.
• Provides information to the appropriate channels in a timely manner to advertise such events.

Agenda Items for Board Consideration

• Expand your board and delegate responsibility.
• Plan programs one year in advance.  One vice president should be appointed this year to work on next year's programming.
• Invite 4 - 6 Cornellians each year to become Club patrons.  List their names in programs.  (Patronage allows the Club to subsidize the costs of events, making membership and participation affordable for all Cornell alumni.)
• Raise money to subsidize Club representative at Regional Workshop or Leadership Conference each year.

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Date this page was last updated: 3 August 2009