National Association of Professional Organizers
Washington, DC

Now is your chance to show your clients, your business associates, and other NAPO-WDC organizers that you are a leader in the organizing industry.  Throw your hat in the ring and run for a position on the NAPO-WDC Board of Directors.  Your business will benefit greatly, you will develop long lasting relationships with other organizers, and you will have FUN.

Nominations will be accepted from January 1, 2012 to February 20, 2012.  Nomination applications are available in the Members-Only section of the NAPO-WDC website.  You may also request an application from Cris Sgrott-Wheedleton, Cris@OrganizingManiacs.com, 703-969-8407.

Take a few minutes to read through the general board responsibilities, the responsibilities of each position, and at the end of this article, eligibility for nominations.

BOD Responsibilities

• Be familiar with operations and requirements of a non-profit BOD
• Understand NAPO-WDC Bylaws, Operations Manual, Policies and Procedures, and Anti-Trust laws
• Maintain the fiscal well being of the organization
• Ensure that you always act in the best interest of the association only. BOD members do not use the position to benefit themselves or their business. Avoid self-dealing and conflict-of-interest situations

General Duties

• Adopt programs to carry out NAPO-WDC’s mission
• Establish personal goals and objectives for your length of service
• Prepare for each BOD meeting by participating in Google Group discussions and reviewing the agenda and supporting materials
• Attend all retreat, BOD and general membership meetings
• Participate effectively in the BOD meetings by voicing opinions
• Support BOD actions publicly
• Support NAPO-WDC activities by participating
• Fulfill any assignments as a committee member, BOD liaison, or representative of NAPO-WDC
• Contribute informational and insightful articles to the NAPO-WDC Blog
• Conduct yourself professionally in manner and appearance when representing NAPO-WDC
• All Outgoing board members are required to participate in transition activities for a newly elected board position by attending the April and May BOD meetings
• All current incoming board members are required to attend the April and May BOD meetings; refer to the transition checklist for guidelines
• Assist the incoming board on a smooth transition
• Perform such other duties as requested, delegated, and/or deemed necessary by the President

Responsibilities

• Member of the Executive Board
• Preside over NAPO-WDC board and executive board meetings, the annual board retreat, MARCPO, and monthly membership meetings
• Prepare board and executive board meeting agendas
• Monitor overall workings and activities of NAPO-WDC
• Motivate and support members in their respective positions
• Oversee activities of special task forces
• Serve as liaison to NAPO National and chapter presidents
• Serve as NAPO-WDC representative to other organizations and to the general public
• Serve as ex-officio member of all committees
• Participate in NAPO-WDC events
• Attend NAPO National conference and serve as the primary representative of NAPO-WDC
• Resolve member complaints
• Participate in monthly NAPO President’s conference calls
• In the event the Immediate Past President is unable or unwilling to serve, the President shall make every effort to recommend a former Past President or chapter board member for the duration of the unexpired term as a Director At Large.

Duties of the Vice President

Responsibilities

• Member of the Executive Board
• Act in place of the President in his/her absence
• Attend Executive Board Meetings
• Oversee special projects
• Maintain the “Client Referral” voice mailbox and oversee client referrals
• Submit articles related to this position, such as the client referral process, to the Blog

Duties of the Secretary

Responsibilities

• Member of the Executive Board
• Record, prepare, disseminate and maintain minutes at general BOD meetings, executive board meetings, membership meetings and the board retreat
• Distribute board meeting minutes to board members at least one week before board meeting
• Distribute updated board rosters to NAPO National
• Submit NAPO-WDC meeting reviews to Blog
• Oversee maintenance of Chapter Bylaws
• Oversee record keeping procedures, NAPO-WDC operational documents and files for current year
• Maintain inventory of NAPO-WDC official supplies and materials
• Send NAPO-WDC monthly, BOD and board retreat minutes to NAPO on a quarterly basis.  Reporting dates are within thirty (30) days after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters (quarters ending December 31, March 31 and June 30) and forty-five (45) days after the September 30 fiscal year end.

Duties of the Treasurer

Responsibilities

• Member of the Executive Board
• Responsible for the funds and finances of NAPO-WDC
• Prepare and forward to NAPO all financial reports as required by NAPO
• Perform duties as may be prescribed in the NAPO-WDC Policies and Procedures Manual
• Perform other duties as requested and/or delegated by the NAPO-WDC President
• Perform monthly reconciliation of the bank accounts to NAPO-WDC’s books which will be submitted to and reviewed with the NAPO-WDC BOD on a monthly basis
• Handle accounts payable and receivable
• Review and process reimbursement requests, maintaining a system to document approved disbursements
• Maintain NAPO-WDC bank account and serve as NAPO-WDC liaison to the bank
• Prepare monthly financial reports which will be presented to NAPO-WDC BOD at monthly meetings
• Prepare a budget with assistance of NAPO-WDC officers and submit a proposed budget to the NAPO-WDC BOD for approval and implementation before October 1^st
• Collect and account for NAPO-WDC dues and meeting fees
• Review contracts and/or agreements
• Monitor expenditures to maintain a financial balance, which maintains an appropriate reserve for the NAPO-WDC to sustain its activities
• Retain and maintain financial records in accordance with retention schedules and forward to the incoming Treasurer

Duties of the Director of Professional Development / Programs

Responsibilities

• Find and reserve Chapter Meeting locations
• Maintain program calendar in the appropriate venues
• Procure and communicate with speakers
• Schedule and facilitate program portion of NAPO-WDC meetings
• Create, distribute and review program evaluation forms
• Develop ongoing educational programs in addition to chapter meetings

Duties of the Director of Communications & Technology

Responsibilities

• Establish a plan of action, time line, and budget to initiate and operate the website
• Establish a format and regular features
• Coordinate design and content changes with the BOD
• Set and meet deadlines for website changes
• Serve as a liaison between NAPO-WDC and website management contractors
• Recruit members for the Website Committee
• Secure and expand links
• Monitor and keep a current list of all website administrative accounts (Verisign, Domain Names, Web Host, Web Master and Database)
• Submit website-related invoices to the Treasurer
• Prepare, edit and post to the NAPO-WDC Blog
• Oversee duties related to electronic communication

Duties of the Director of Membership

Responsibilities

• Serve as the liaison to NAPO-WDC membership
• Respond to inquiries via phone and email
• Oversee new member activities, including orientation and brunch
• Oversee registration table at NAPO-WDC membership meetings
• Submit membership information to the Blog
• Serve as the primary contact for prospective members
• Oversee the membership application process
• Oversee the membership renewal process
• Oversee production and distribution of the New Member Packet and Chapter Operations  Manual
• Prepare member name badges
• Submit a copy of the end-of-year Membership Directory to the BOD Google Group
• Update online  and paper membership application prior to annual renewals and as needed
• Update membership information on website including contact information on Join Our Chapter page
• Participate in monthly NAPO Membership Director teleconferences
• Process monthly add/drop lists received from NAPO

Duties of the Director of Corporate Partner

Responsibilities

• Develop and recruit prospects, leads and new Corporate Partner members
• Develop relationships and manage benefits of current Corporate Partners
• Oversee the CP membership application and renewal process
• Serve as liaison between Corporate Partners and BOD
• Maintain and update CP member benefits to ensure an enticing, high-quality program
• Work with Membership Director to align procedures and membership updates
• Work with Technology Director to maintain and update CP pages on Website
• Participate in monthly NAPO Corporate Partner Director teleconferences
• Coordinate with MARCPO Expo Chair

Duties of the Director of Marketing

Responsibilities

• Seek out opportunities, including social media, to increase public awareness of NAPO and the organizing professional
• Maintain (or assign a designee) the Chapter’s social media accounts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and ensure that the Social Media Guidelines are current and updated, and includes the best practices of engaging with the public
• Act as the liaison between media and NAPO-WDC membership connecting NAPO-WDC members with members of the media for the purposes of articles or TV spots, as opportunities arise
• Cultivate relationships with the media and public relations representative and maintain an updated media list
• Post the NAPO-WDC calendar of events to the NAPO national website (www.napo.net)
• Maintain a press packet and have it available electronically

Eligibility for Nomination

• Members nominated for the Chapter Board of Directors must have agreed to serve if elected and must be current on their dues obligations to the Chapter and NAPO
• Any regular Member is qualified, except in the case of the offices of the President and Vice President
• Nominees for the office of President shall have been members of the Chapter for at least one (1) year prior to the election meeting.  Previous NAPO WDC BOD is suggested.
• Nominees for the office of Vice President shall have been members of the Chapter for at least six (6) months prior to the election meeting
• Any Corporate Partner is qualified to be a Director, but shall not be entitled to be an officer (e.g., President, Vice President, Secretary, & Treasurer)

If you have any questions about the nomination process or any of the positions, feel free to contact Cris Sgrott-Wheedleton at 703-969-8407.

It is the most wonderful time of the year!  Well, in addition to the holidays, we are starting to plan our 2012-2013 NAPO-WDC Board of Directors!  It’s time to make your nominations of some of our awesome members to serve on the NAPO-WDC Board of Directors.

Here is the schedule for the nomination process:

• December 14 – The nomination application is already posted in the Members Only section of our website
• January 1 – All members will receive an email requesting nominations
• January 9 – January blog is posted with information about the board positions and duties
• February 1 – February blog is posted with second announcement for nominations
• February 6 – Leadership Forum will be held at the chapter meeting
• Feb 20 – Nomination deadline (11:59pm)
• Feb 21 – Candidates will be announced by email
• March 5 – You will have an opportunity to meet all the candidates at the chapter meeting
• March 6 – Ballots will be emailed to members
• March 12 – Last day to vote (11:59pm)
• March 14 – New Board of Directors will be announced by email
• May 16 – New Board of Directors take office

We have an extensive description of the duties for each of the board positions in the Chapter Operations Manual which can be found in the Members Only section of our website.  I thought it might be more entertaining to have a thumbnail about each of the positions to help you get your thought process going on whom to nominate.

Don’t forget, we LOVE volunteers, so if you want to run for a position, nominate yourself!

Step right up and show your leadership skills. You will gain personally, professionally, and you’ll have fun doing it.

• President: The president leads the board, runs the chapter meetings and takes care of problems (and we have very few thank goodness!)
• Vice President: The vice-president assists the president with any special projects.  The VP opens each meeting with an ice-breaker and has a prize at the end of the meeting.
• Secretary: The secretary writes everything down so we know what we’re doing.
• Treasurer: The treasurer makes sure we don’t spend more than we have!
• Program Director: The program director finds all the great speakers for our meetings and plans all the programs.
• Marketing Director: The marketing director tells the press and public about what we are doing through conventional and social media venues.
• Corporate Partner Director: The corporate partner director recruits new corporate partners and is the liaison to our corporate partner members.
• Membership Director: The membership director signs up new members, provides orientation, and is usually the first person they see at every meeting.
• Technology Director: The technology director is awesome, maintains our website, and helps all the other board members figure things out they don’t know.
• Immediate Past President: The immediate past president handles the nominations process. This is the easiest position on the board and it’s a reward for serving as president.

We have so much talent in this chapter; I can’t wait to see who will fill the 2012-2013 Board of Director seats.

For more information, contact Cris at pastpresident@dcorganizers.org.