The ACBA has an advisory board that serves at the invitation of the president, and four voting officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Recording Secretary. The officers are elected for one year terms at the December meeting.
Being an officer means you get to help decide the direction of the club. Officers vote to determine whether what to spend money on, what programs the club should offer, and more.
We encourage any member to get involved and run for office. If you’re wondering what each position entails, you can find details below.
President
According to the club constitution,
The president shall preside at meetings, direct the meeting in an orderly manner, introduce speakers and guests, call for the reading of the minutes of previous meetings, present matters of business, read any resolution offered of motion, and submit them to the meeting for action.
In practice, here are things that Rob Mathews reports doing in 2023/2024:
- Host the “second Tuesday” in-person meetings (estimated 3 hours per month)
- Either host or make sure the “third Tuesday” Zoom meetings are hosted (2 hours per month)
- Host the “third Wednesday” board meetings (2 hours per month)
- Book and pay the rec center each month and confirm it is set up (1 hour per month; could be delegated)
- Book the county fair booth and organize the staffing of volunteers (perhaps 30 hours over several months; this should really be delegated to someone else)
- Book the Solano Stroll booth and make sure it’s staffed (once a year: 3 hours paperwork and organizing that could be delegated, plus 10 hours at the booth)
- Order supplies like stickers, brochures, etc. (2 hours a year; could be delegated)
- Store all the stuff that’s needed at club meetings, like the projector, club merch, and so on (could be delegated)
- Liaison with local bee club presidents, mostly by email (1 hour a month)
- Schedule and staff yearly potluck picnic (could be delegated)
- Supervise yearly election of officers (delegate the running of the election)
- Manage the club apiary schedule of events, demonstrations (should be delegated)
- Respond to email and questions, followup with people, and so on (4 hours per month)
Vice President
According to the constitution,
The Vice-President shall act on the absence of the president and perform duties assigned by the President.
In practice, this means at least attending the in-person meetings and board meetings. Traditionally, vice presidents have also taken on some other specific time-consuming task, like booking speakers, running the club apiary, and so on. The president can delegate some of the things described above according to the vice president’s interests.
Ideally, a candidate for vice president would be someone who is interested in becoming president in the future. This avoids stress when a president steps down without an “obvious” replacement.
Treasurer
According to the constitution,
The treasurer shall have charge of all funds, and shall deposit them in the name of the association in banks, have authority to sign checks for disbursement of the association funds when co-signed by the president or the vice-president … the treasurer shall also render monthly reports of finances and cooperate with the secretary to insure that all invoices and obligations of the association be paid.
In practice, the treasurer:
- Keeps the club books using QuickBooks online (estimated 3 hours per month)
- Files the annual 501(c)(3) tax forms with both the federal and state governments (3 hours per year)
- Renews the club insurance and other recurring items, keeping a calendar to make sure nothing is missed (3 hours per year)
- Generates monthly financial reports for the newsletter and board members (2 hours per month)
- Generates a projected budget at the beginning of the year based on the previous year’s finances and expected changes (3 hours per year)
- Reconciles bank and PayPal statements each month to ensure that any checks issued have been cashed, and so on (2 hours per month)
- Participates in an annual audit performed by a member who is not an officer (3 hours per year if you have good recordkeeping);
- Attends the monthly “third Wednesday” board meetings (2 hours per month)
- Answers questions from members (1-2 hours per month)
The treasurer must also be aware of, and cautious of, scams that often target nonprofit organizations, including CEO fraud where a “hacker” attempts to trick the treasurer into buying gift cards or sending money by impersonating another officer or member. Unexpected payment requests are always verified using a separate method than the original request: for example, if the president sends a message to the treasurer by email asking for money to be moved or sent, the treasurer verifies that by a phone call or text message to the existing contact for that person in their address book (not a phone number given in the email message), or by an in-person conversation.
Recording Secretary
According to the constitution,
The secretary shall perform duties normally associated with this position, such as recording the minutes of membership meetings, etc., or as otherwise directed by the president.
In practice, the responsibilities include:
- Attending the club meetings in person, and the board meetings by Zoom (or finding someone to cover for you if you can’t);
- Taking brief notes at both to create 1) a meeting summary, and 2) minutes of the board meetings;
- Sending those to the newsletter editor each month;
- Collecting the agenda for board meetings by email before the meetings, then sending board members that agenda the day before;
- Being in charge of parliamentary procedure at the board meetings: for example, the secretary is supposed to “call the meeting to order” and ask each officer whether they vote yes or no on a motion.
This is perhaps five hours a month. In addition, it would be ideal if the a candidate for secretary is interested in future leadership within the club, including vice president or president. It’s a good way for someone to gain familiarity with how the club is governed.