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Appended below are detailed descriptions of officer duties from the AUVSI Member Group Manual:
Basic Duties:
- President - Oversee all aspects of the Chapter and its activities
- Vice President - Assist the President as needed, handle special projects as assigned, lead meetings in the President's absence
- Secretary - Send out meeting announcements, compile RSVP lists, prepare and distribute meeting minutes
- Treasurer - Handle all finances, including collection of refreshment donations at meetings and reimbursing expenses
- Programs Chair - Coordinate speakers, panels, audio visual, etc. for monthly meetings
- Education Outreach Chair - Coordinate interface with local educational institutions, including universities
- International Outreach Chair - Work with embassies and other foreign entities to interface with Chapter, either as speakers or participants
- Membership Chair - Encourage increased Chapter membership, prepare name tags and sign-in sheets for meetings
- Public Relations Chair - Work on Chapter web site to ensure wide dissemination of Chapter activity information
From AUVSI Member Group Manual:
Description of Officer Responsibilities
Duties of the Member Group President: The President is the principal officer and responsible for leadership and management of the Member Group and its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of AUVSI and the Member Group bylaws. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Member Group and of its Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Member Group Officers and Chairs of the standing committees.
The President is the principal point of contact between the Member Group and its members, AUVSI Headquarters, AUVSI’s Board of Directors, and the public at large. He/she should demonstrate sound leadership and organizational skills.
The President should establish a personal checklist of responsibilities, including among others:
President at all meetings of the membership and of the Member Group’s Board of Directors.
Hold regular meetings of the Member Group Board of Directors, usually monthly.
Hold regular meetings: in addition to opening and closing the meeting.
Maintain a firm schedule throughout the meeting. Remember, the members and guests are attending the meeting to gain information and to hear the guest speaker. Thus, member group business, miscellaneous reports and other extraneous activities should not be allowed to turn the meeting into a boring, long-winded session. The most critical issue is to end on time.
Check on arrangements and other details of the meeting well in advance to avoid problems. This should include such details as special seating and biographical data used to introduce the guest speaker.
Recognize new members, corporate sponsors and guests attending each meeting.
Ensure that an accurate written account of the meeting highlights, along with photographs are forwarded promptly to AUVSI’s Headquarters for publication in the Chapter News section of AUVSI’s Member News publication and Unmanned Systems Magazine. For details or to submit information, contact AUVSI’s Manager of Chapter Relations & Membership at membership@auvsi.org or at +1 703 845 9671 x207.
Delegate committee responsibilities and select committee representatives. Include new personnel as a source of new ideas and as potential new officers.
Match committee responsibilities with available personnel. Avoid one-person committees.
Ask for periodic and comprehensive reports of committee activities, and see that the information for the Member Group Annual Report is provided to AUVSI’s Headquarters by the due date.
Ask for committee reports, including statements of accomplishments, problems and recommendations.
Provide supporting assistance in pursuing overall AUVSI objectives.
Duties of the Member Group Vice President: The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President, assist in managing the Member Group, and perform other duties that may be assigned by the President.
The Vice President will effectively lead Member Group committees in their respective areas. Examples are: Membership Committee, Programs Committee, Publicity Committee, etc. The Vice President should serve as an ex-officio member of these important committees and make a determined effort to attend as many of their meetings as possible. In this way, he or she becomes thoroughly familiar with all phases of the Member Group’s operations and, thus, is better prepared for higher office. Member Groups can assign the Vice President the additional job of chairperson of the program committee. In this role, the Vice President appears before the Member Group at each of its meetings to introduce the speaker.
The Vice President will act on behalf of the President in his/her absence and will normally be in a training mode as the designated President Elect.
In Member Groups where a succession of officers has been established, the term of the office of the Vice President should be used as a learning period for the succeeding year.
There are several methods of utilizing the talents of the Vice President, including the following:
- Direct the major Member Group activity of the year, such as a regional or
local seminar, special membership efforts or educational activities
such as a student competition.
- Be available for special assignment by the Member Group President
to areas requiring detailed personal attention.
Duties of the Member Group Secretary: The Member Group Secretary has many duties that are important to the success of the organization. To attain maximum efficiency, the Secretary may need to delegate some assigned duties.
The Secretary has the responsibility of maintaining all records, reports, latest membership list downloads and minutes of officers meetings. The Secretary also maintains close contact with AUVSI Headquarters and Regional Directors, when applicable, and furnishes such reports and records to those offices as are required.
Specific duties of a Member Group Secretary usually fall into these areas:
Member Group records—For continuity, it is necessary that complete records be maintained of all activities, including regular meetings, educational activities, social programs and all other business of the member group. In many instances, complete reports of special events are supplied by chairpersons of the responsible committees. Where possible, a special repository should be provided for the storage of permanent, continuing reports of all Member Group activities and committees.
Meeting minutes—The Secretary is responsible for keeping minutes of all Member Group board meetings. Minutes should include items discussed, decisions reached and all other business conducted. Copies of minutes should be distributed to all Member Group board members and to AUVSI’s Manager of Chapter Relations and Membership at membership@auvsi.org. Records of guest speakers, topics and meeting attendance figures should be maintained.
Correspondence—The Secretary is the official recorder for the Member Group. In addition to the normal correspondence with members and AUVSI’s Headquarters, the Secretary handles official communications as directed by the Member Group President.
Membership records—The Secretary should make sure that the Member Group’s contact information is up to date with AUVSI Headquarters and provide all updates to AUVSI’s Manager of Chapter Relations and Membership at membership@auvsi.org. Additionally, Member Group Secretaries can obtain updated rosters from AUVSI’s Membership Department.
Reports—Each Member Group shall submit an annual report of its activities including finances, obligations, meetings, scholarship, events and other matters consistent with the objectives of AUVSI. The Member Group Secretary normally consolidates inputs from the officers/committee chairpersons and prepares the annual report.
The Member Group Secretary provides the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the Member Group President and Secretary for publication in the Chapter News section of AUVSI’s Member News publication. Names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of the Member Group President and Secretary should be submitted directly to AUVSI’s Headquarters, Attention: Manager of Chapter Relations & Membership at membership@auvsi.org.
Duties of the Member Group Treasurer: The Member Group Treasurer is responsible for collecting, disbursing and managing the Member Group’s funds. The Treasurer should be prepared at all times to submit a complete and accurate statement showing the current financial status of the organization.
It is sound policy to disburse all member group funds by check. The Treasurer should normally sign all checks; however, at least one other officer should be an authorized signer. In addition, the Treasurer is normally custodian of Member Group reserves in the form of savings or checking accounts in banks, stocks, bonds or other securities.
Sound Member Group operations demand the formulation of, and adherence to, realistic budgets. Each committee should be informed of the funds budgeted for its activities. Payments chargeable to specific committees should not be made without formal approval of the chairperson of the committee involved.
Member Group officials who handle Member Group funds should be covered under a fidelity bond (or national equivalent) to protect the Member Group from possible legal action in the event money is mishandled or misappropriated. Each Member Group should purchase this coverage locally from a reputable insurance agency. Recommended coverage in the USA is an amount equal to total Member Group assets with a minimum of USD $10,000.
Member Groups will appoint auditing committees to review each year’s financial reports and attest to their accuracy. Where Member Groups have finance committees, such committees act in an advisory capacity to the Treasurer in establishing budgets and setting financial policies. The Treasurer should be a member of this committee.
Member Groups in the USA with annual receipts of USD $10,000 or more should have an annual external review or audit. Member Groups outside of the USA should comply with local regulations and best practice.
Among the specific duties of the Treasurer are the following:
Receiving and depositing all funds—Regardless of source, funds paid into the Member Group should be handled by the Treasurer.
Disbursing funds—The Treasurer should do this as authorized by the Member Group officers and in accordance with established, approved budgets.
Preparing financial reports— The Treasurer should:
Prepare financial reports required for regular meetings of Member Group officers and membership meetings.
Prepare annual financial reports for Member Group permanent records.
Prepare, file and maintain all tax records and reports including those required of Member Groups operating as non-profit, tax-exempt entities.
Member Group Committees: Member Group officers must pay careful attention to the selection of committee chairpersons who will have responsibility for implementing the plan. To maintain necessary control, the President should establish committee reporting procedures designed to keep officers fully informed.
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