Board of Trustees
Composition
The Sailing Club Board of Trustees comprises four officers defined by the bylaws and several members-at-large. Members-at-large may number no less than three (3) and no more than twenty-five (25). The board has the authority to expand and reduce the number of members-at-large within this range to best serve the Club’s needs each year.
Members of the board of trustees are volunteers and are not compensated for their service in any way. Board members, and other club members, are reimbursed for approved expenses related to Club activities.
Election
The board is elected by the members at large each year, with the election being held during the thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting, which is usually at the end of March. Elections are handled via an on-line ballot, with any member having the option to print out and mail a ballot to the former commodore (the only un-elected position on the board).
The term for members-at-large is one year, the term for officers is two years with those terms staggered. This ensures some consistency even if all newly elected members are new.
All members of The Sailing Club may submit one ballot. Household memberships may submit only one ballot regardless of the number of household members.
Responsibility
The officers of The Sailing Club Board of Trustees have responsibility, among them for the supervision and affairs of the organization. The specialized officer positions have responsibility for their related areas (e.g., membership secretary has oversight of matters involving the membership). Please see the bylaws for specifics.
Operations
The Sailing Club’s fiscal year begins on April and 1 and ends on March 31.
The Sailing Club Board of Trustees follows a simplified Parliamentary Procedure loosely based on Roberts’ Rules of Order. Official actions are documented in the minutes via motion with second and a vote. Votes may be simple voice or, should the issue be contentious, by role call vote.
An agenda is prepared for each meeting by the commodore or vice commodore.
Past meeting minutes are reviewed (preferably in advance) by all members and any corrections noted. The board approves the minutes by motion and vote.
Reports from the officers, standing committees, and ad hoc committees are presented. This includes review of the status of each of the trips in the current sailing season.
Business tabled from previous meetings is taken up and either resolved or re-tabled.
New business is taken up.
If a general club member has put a matter before the board, they may speak to it when recognized by the commodore or vice commodore. Otherwise a time is reserved for general member comments after all new business is concluded.
Officers
The officers of the Board of Trustees serve two-year terms. Each role has specific duties in order to maintain smooth operations of the Club.
Commodore— Overall responsibility for the Club’s activities. May delegate specific responsibilities to the other officers.
Vice-Commodore— Responsibility for any duties delegated by the commodore.
Membership Secretary— Maintains records of membership and is responsible for issuance of notices of meetings of the general membership. Provides a report on membership at each board meeting.
Treasurer— Responsible for all financial matters of the Club. The treasurer is empowered to sign checks and incur credit charges on behalf of the Club. Manages the trip pricing process and maintains the record of each trip’s budgeted costs and income. Presents and maintains the annual budget. As chair of the finance committee, oversees review of the Club’s books at least every other year. Provides reports on the Club’s finances at each board meeting.
Charter Liaison— Handles all interaction with charter firms, marinas, boat yards, etc. The charter liaison secures all contracts for charters.
Standing Committees
Several standing committees serve the ongoing operations of the Club. Each committee is chaired by a member of the board and may comprise only the one member, or several depending on need. Committee chairpersons are appointed by the commodore. Each of these committees provides a report at each board meeting.
Social— organizes and operates non-sailing activities of the Club.
Training— the chair of this committee is commonly called the training coordinator. The training coordinator organizes and operates training events including On Land Training and On Water Training. This chairperson also tracks the qualification status of all current and potential first mates, skippers, and senior skippers. The training coordinator also presents candidates to these roles for promotion to the board for formal vote.
Publicity— this committee handles the planning, execution, and management of all promotional vehicles for the Club. These include the Website, social media, newsletter, and other ad hoc promotional activities.
Boatique— manages the Club’s relationship with our logo-gear vendor and maintains the Boatique page on the website.
Safety— the safety committee organizes and runs CPR and First Aid training and advises on safety-related policies and procedures presented for board consideration.
Insurance— the insurance committee makes sure that the Club’s liability is covered for every activity it organizes. This includes ascertaining whether event insurance is required and obtaining such insurance. The insurance committee also oversees renewal and payment of the Club’s directors and officers liability policy.
Finance— the treasurer is the chair of the finance committee and handles most of its function with the exception of the annual, or bi-annual, financial review. The committee meets to review the Club’s ledger and budget, and to review the financial reports for each trip run in the previous sailing season(s).
Long Range Planning— this committee looks beyond the immediate needs of the Club to guide policies toward sustaining and growing the Club.
Nominating— Each year the nominating committee prepares the proposed list of nominees for all board positions that are up for election. The nominating committee can propose increasing or reducing the size of the board as part of this process.