At the AGM, club members should elect the President, Vice President(s), Club Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor and Committee. The number of committee members is at the discretion of the club although if it is a Limited Liability Company, the size of the committee may be dictated by the Articles of Association.

    Following the election of the committee, committee members should then elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and any specialist officers it deems necessary, the usual ones being a Competition Secretary, a Membership Secretary, a Social Secretary, a Chief Marshal and a Press & Public Relations Officer (exact titles may of course vary). Clubs may wish to also appoint other officials to look after particular activities such as Championship Secretary, Radio Coordinator, Awards Secretary, Equipment Officer, Magazine or News Letter Editor, Web Master and Delegates to Regional Associations.

   The duties of the various officials can generally be described as follows:

    It will be seen that this is a fairly big list of officials and not every club will need all of them, much depends on the activities of each club and it is up to the committee to decide which are needed. Then comes the problem of finding willing people to take on the positions needed. There is much truth in the old saying that 'one volunteer is worth ten pressed men' and it is probably better to leave a position vacant rather than fill it with someone who does not really want the job. With the difficulty of finding members who have enough time to spare to take on a position, it is always a possibility that some of the smaller positions could be duplicated.

   In the end, a club is as good, or as bad, as its officials.
 

Why do you do it?

   If you are reading this guide, it is likely that you answered yes to at least one (and probably all three) of the above questions. If not, then you may well be looking to see what you will be taking on, prior to accepting the nomination.

   The job of Club or Association Secretary is the one which most people in sport try hardest to avoid. They will never volunteer, and if nominated, protest with any number of excuses as to why they cannot possibly do it. Of course, several of those reasons also apply to you - sometimes more so than to the person putting them forward. So why have you agreed to do the job?

   You will have identified some good reasons for being the Secretary. Have you included the following:

• you want to make a worthwhile contribution to the work of the organisation.
• you want to have more influence over the way the organisation is run.
• you feel that it is your turn and you have an obligation to help.
• you are the best qualified person to do the job.
• you want access to more information about your sport.
• you want to become more closely involved with the running of the organisation.
• you like the friendship and social contacts.

What do you do?

   The Secretary is usually the first person an outsider contacts, and a good Secretary is vital to the successful management of any club or association. The Secretary is the principal administrative officer and provides the link between the members, the executive committee and outside agencies, eg, other clubs, leagues, the governing body, the local community, and the media.

   People interested in a sports club contact the Secretary for information or details about membership, meetings, events and activities.

   The Secretary does have to do some duties that are regular, repetitive and of low profile. However, if these tasks were not undertaken properly, many clubs would cease to operate. By doing them well, the Secretary can get enormous satisfaction.

   Other projects may be novel, unpredictable and exciting. By being at the forefront of the work of the organisation, the Secretary will usually be involved in these special projects, and be able to enjoy the pleasure and excitement that they bring.

What qualities do you need?

• have plenty of energy
• be enthusiastic about your sport
• be interested in people
• have tact and discretion
• have good organisational skills
• be methodical and reliable
• be able to communicate effectively
• be able to maintain confidentiality
• be able to lead and supervise others
• be able to delegate tasks
• be able to react to opportunities and make decisions.

What equipment is needed?

• notebook(s) for taking notes during meetings.
• a diary to record a schedule of all the organisation's activities, including events, competitions, closing dates, meetings, social functions, etc.
• a lever-arch file, ring-binder, or minute book in which typed copies of the minutes of meetings, reports and statements of accounts can be stored.
• headed stationery and envelopes.
• files for storing correspondence and records.
• ring-binders to store permanent records.
• a telephone, with access during the daytime and evenings (an answerphone is a valuable aid which is extremely helpful if you cannot otherwise receive calls during the daytime, or are often out in the evenings).
• a fax machine is a very valuable investment for a busy organisation, or one that frequently needs to send or receive urgent correspondence.

• membership lists
• results of competitions
• standard letters
• financial records.

Correspondence

• record the date on all incoming mail when it is received and note on it to whom copies have been distributed. (This helps prevent cries from committee members that they never received a particular letter or details about a particular event).
• deal with each letter promptly. If you cannot answer the query, or need to wait until the next committee meeting for a policy decision, send a courtesy reply, which acknowledges the correspondence and explains the reason for the delay. If this sort of thing happens often, prepare copies of a standard letter that you can use.
• make sure that you are up-to-date with correspondence before committee meetings, so that information can be distributed and dealt with at the meeting, whenever possible.
• keep a copy or a note of the letters that you send, and the date that you sent them.
• file copies of correspondence under the appropriate heading, if you think that you might need to refer to them again. Do not file everything ju@t for the sake of it, and throw things away when the matter has been finalised, or they are no longer of any use.
• keep notes of important telephone conversations.
• make informal enquiries or replies by telephone or handwritten. A typed or computer generated letter looks impressive, but if it is not going to help your organisation, it is not worth the extra time and effort!
• Standard letters are a big help. Spaces can be left to enter information that may change leg, dates, names, fees, etc), but the overall form of many letters will follow standard themes, eg:

 

 

Thank you for your enquiry which will be dealt with at the meeting on

I am pleased to say that you have been accepted as a member. The fee for the year is .........payable to the Treasurer by..........

Thank you for your letter regarding ..........I enclose some information that may be of assistance to you.

Liaison with other members

    A close working relationship with the Chairperson and President is essential, and the Secretary should ensure that they are well informed on all matters related to the organisation.

Organising a meeting

• Make arrangements for the meeting venue, including admission to the building, seating arrangements, and use of services, eg, catering, photocopying, etc.
• Send adequate notice of the meeting to all concerned. Members need the papers well in advance, about ten days before the date of the meeting is ideal (this is enough time to read them, but not too long so that they mislay them!). Include the venue, time, day and date of the meeting, together with the agenda. The agenda may be prepared in consultation with the Chairperson. If possible, the minutes of the previous meeting also should be enclosed if they have not already been sent, together with any other correspondence or documents that members need to read before the discussion on the topic.
• If possible, prepare in advance a schedule of meetings for the year, and get it agreed by the committee. Otherwise, it may be necessary to consult all the members about their availability before fixing a date. In any case you should always consult the Chairperson before fixing the date of any meeting.
• Give plenty of notice of the proposed time and date of the meeting. A General Meeting or large committee or council needs at least a month's notice. In the case of a smaller committee, consult the members by memo or telephone, enquiring when they are available, prior to fixing the date.

A meeting agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Apologies for absence.
3. Minutes - to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.
4. Matters arising - to consider any matters arising not otherwise included on the agenda.
5. Financial report
1. to receive a report on the current financial position;
2. to make any decisions regarding budgets, fees, expenses, payments, etc.
6. Consideration of reports from officers and sub-committees.
7. General business.
8. Administrative business, including consideration of statutory matters (eg, date for AGM).
9. Date of next meeting.
10. Any other business.

Writing minutes

   The Secretary is in an influential position, but has the onerous task of contributing to the discussions whilst keeping a record of the meeting. Do not assume that you will be able to remember all the decisions as memory fades rapidly. Short notes and jottings taken during the meeting may seem perfectly clear at the time but a week later can cause puzzlement as to what was actually agreed.

   Follow these guidelines when you write the minutes:

• list those people present, and record the apologies for absence.
• follow the order of the agenda, and try to keep each section short. Give each subsection its own separate heading, and give each point a separate paragraph.
• state the main issues, and decisions made. It is not necessary to set down the various points of view that were expressed, or the proposers and seconders of resolutions, unless there has been a strong difference of opinion expressed, leading to a vote on the issue.
• do not take sides when recording a discussion. Try to be objective.
• record the full texts of motions, if a vote was taken.
• write up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while the discussions are still fresh in your mind.
• circulate the minutes to all members of the committee soon after the meeting (ideally within a few days, so as to inform those who were absent and to remind those who have some work to do arising from the meeting).
• log action points that need to be followed up by making a diary note for a fortnight's time to check that the jobs have been done.
• when minuting General Meetings, which are usually governed by strict constitutional rules regarding procedure, keep a formal record, stating the names of proposers and seconders, and quoting the exact text of resolutions, and the voting.
• Committee Meetings can be minuted more informally, by simply stating the decisions which have been taken, unless any special request has been made to indicate disagreement.
• minute decisions by following a standard style, choosing the appropriate word to suit the circumstances, thus:

The Meeting:

Recommended - indicates a proposal to another committee or organisation.

Noted - indicates that a matter was reported, but no decision was necessary.

Received - indicates that a report was presented and accepted.

Approved - indicates that a recommendation has been endorsed.

Recognised - indicates that information was accepted, but no decision was taken.

Resolved - indicates that a motion was formally proposed, voted upon and passed.

Annual General Meetings

• arranging venue, date and time.
• collecting reports from other officers.
• notifying members of the date, time and place of the meeting, which needs to be done well in advance. (the constitution usually stipulates the minimum period of notice required).
• inviting and receiving nominations for the election of officers (refer to the constitution to find the closing date for nominations).
• arranging for the printing of the annual report and statement of accounts.
• arranging for guest speakers, if this is usual practice.
• arranging catering and hospitality.

   The AGM is an opportunity for all members to attend, learn and question how their organisation is being run. They can comment on the annual report and statement of accounts, determine any amendments to the constitution and rules, and elect the officers and committee for the coming year. At an AGM, decisions should not be taken on any item that was not included on the printed agenda. This ensures that if any changes to the constitution or rules are being considered, all members have an opportunity to think about the proposals in detail, and to prepare counter arguments if appropriate.

Keeping records

• The filing and maintenance of club records is the responsibility of the Secretary. It is important to know where you can find the information about all the different club activities.
• Minutes of meetings, annual reports and statements of accounts are best kept in a ringbinder, in date order (the most recent copy at the front). This ensures that a good copy (the copy which has been signed to certify that it is a correct record) is always easily accessible, and stored safely. Do not remove these master copies from the ring-binder.
• If the Secretary is responsible for maintaining records of the current members, this information may be kept in a box file, in a ledger or on a computer. If the organisation has a lot of members or regularly sends information to members, access to a computer which can print sticky labels for the mailing list is very useful.
• Membership records may be necessary for returns to regional or national associations and in support of applications for grants or financial support. Make sure that the up-todate numbers are always at your fingertips.
• Historical records are useful for reunions, fund-raising activities, recruiting volunteers, etc. Be selective, however, and throw away anything which is not worth keeping or is out of date and of no historical interest. A lot of routine correspondence does not need to be kept at all, and should be destroyed immediately. Ask yourself 'if this information has been given over the telephone, would 1 have made a special point of writing it down and filing it?' If not, then throw it away, now!

Things to avoid

• Don't make the committee deal with lots of trivial topics. It frustrates them and may annoy them if items which they think are more important have been left off the agenda, or are not reached.
• Don't put the most important item at the end of the agenda in the hope that the committee will quickly deal with the other matters and then be able to concentrate on this item. If somebody feels strongly about an item early on the agenda, they are more likely to start a long discussion, and you may never get to the important topic. People are more attentive at the beginning of meetings, and it is better to have their energy directed to important items then, rather than starting off by dealing with trivia points, which may then get more discussion than they warrant.
• Avoid encouraging members to talk at length about their own pet project or hate. (A written agenda distributed in advance makes it much easier for the Chairperson to bring the discussion back to the important issues.)
• Don't let matters arising from the previous meeting take up most of the time at the next meeting. This is frustrating because nothing new is being accomplished, and it is nonproductive because the meeting is talking about things which have already been decided, or may have already happened, rather than talking about the future. Identify loose ends from the previous meeting and set them down as agenda topics of their own, putting them in priority order, near the end of the agenda.
• Don't let the Committee forget about the people they are serving. Too often, a committee becomes immersed in its own activities, and disregards the needs and interests of the members.

Things to remember

• you need to be well organised and conscientious. · correspondence must be dealt with promptly.
• follow the guidelines for meetings to ensure that they are productive.
• the important thing about keeping records is keeping the right records, and being able to find them quickly and easily.