Being part of the Board of Directors is a fulfilling experience and you can put into it (and get out of it) as much as you would like. The commitment level is anything from 2-24 hours per month depending what your projects and passions are and what you want to get involved with. Anyone can be on any committee, so the limit is up to you!
If you fancy taking on a role that you don’t have experience in, then there are many classes which the FCC (Federation of Calgary Communities) hold which educate you and help you on your journey. These are excellent resources and free to Community Association Board members and volunteers. Classes include anything from Board basics, to Planning, Treasury and Communications. Take a look here.
There are certain responsibilities that we expect of each member of the Board.
As a Board Member (Officer or Director) of the ECA you will be required to:
- Attend the monthly general meetings (2nd Tuesday of the month)
- Attend ad-hoc Board meetings – usually once every 2 months at an agreed upon date.
Examples of such meetings:
- Strategic Planning purposes
- Going over Bylaws
- Discussing finance issues
- Voting on particular Board issues
- Be the primary contact for your Standing committee
- Bring any update on your Standing committee to the monthly general meetings
And then there are specific duties of each officers (some of which are taken from our Bylaws)
President
- Shall preside at all meetings of the Association.
- Shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
- Shall be the principal co-ordinator of all activities of the Association.
- Shall have charge of the Seal of the Association. Whenever the Seal is used it should be authenticated by the signature of the President and one of the other officers.
- Shall be the representative to the Federation of Calgary Communities.
- Shall be the representative to Councillor Ward Meetings.
- Create monthly meeting agenda and send out to Secretary with included documents
- Grow relationship with local partners such as Repsol Centre and Stampede
- Chair monthly community and Board meetings
Vice-President
- Shall act in the absence of the President.
- Shall act for the secretary in the absence of the secretary.
- Shall be the principal manager of all Association properties and keys, including maintenance and scheduling of uses and budgets of same.
- Shall be the alternative representative to the Federation of Calgary Communities.
- Shall be the alternative representative to Councillor Ward Meetings.
Secretary
- Shall attend all meetings of the officers, the Board of Directors and the Association and keep accurate records of same [where voting has taken place].
- Shall handle the [sending out of| Association correspondence both business and social.
- Takes minutes of the Monthly Association Meetings and the Annual General Meetings; distributes these minutes to the Board of Directors and memberships; and makes any approved changes to them as required.
- Sends email notifications of upcoming meetings, social events, and other matters of interest to the ECA membership.
Treasurer
- Shall record all deposits, pay all accounts as they mature, and keep a record of all such transactions in proper books of accounts
- Shall render a financial report at each Annual General Meeting or when called upon to do so by the Officers, the Board of Directors or the general membership.
- Shall prepare the books of accounts for audit
Director of Planning committee
- Within seven (7) calendar days of receiving Notice from the City of Calgary Planning Department, or other sources, of an application to develop a particular parcel of property, the Chair of the Planning and Development committee must inform residents immediately adjacent to the proposed development of said Notice.
- The immediate residents shall be invited to any meetings specifically called to discuss the development in question.
- If those residents so request, their views shall be included in the Erlton Community’s response to the City’s request for comment on a development application, even if their views conflict with the Community view.
Examples of duties of other committees:
Director of Membership committee
- Be the primary holder of membership information – updating when new members join
- Keep list of potential volunteers in the community
- Send any updated membership information to the Secretary for emails
- Organize annual membership drive
- Keep stock of membership cards and benefit cards for members
- Keep on top of membership discounts with local businesses
Director of Post-flood Action committee
- Be the primary contact for any information on flood mitigation
- Keep track of events happening with regards to flood mitigation in order to inform community
Director of Parks committee
- Be the primary contact for Parks related questions
- Be in contact with the City of Calgary Parks department for ideas and grants available
- Spearhead any Parks beautifying projects that the community could benefit from
Director of Traffic committee
- Be the primary contact with the City for Traffic related issues and events
- Spearhead any traffic projects that the community could benefit from
Director of Social Committee
- Lead the social committee to organize events for the year Examples of events we’ve organized:
- Wine n Cheese
- Neighbour Day (2nd Saturday in June)
- Book chat
- Hot Chocolate giveaway
- Little library opening ceremony
Director of Communications
- Create newsflashes or newsletter for the community
- Create posters to advertize monthly events
- Be creative in PR/marketing of events
- Organize articles or snippets for Great-News community newsletter