South Central District

GUIDELINES FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT

We are to follow the guidelines of the state association. Below are some decisions made at the district level.

NAME

Shall be known as the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Secretaries Association followed by District name (ex. NCCESA-South Central District or NCCESA-SCD) or Campus Chapter (NCCESA-Campus Chapter).

MEETINGS

Meet twice a year in alphabetical order.

OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The district officers shall be the same as the state officers: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The retiring President shall serve as Advisor. The District Secretaries are responsible for sending copies of district meeting minutes to the State President.

Officers shall serve a term of one year. Elections shall be held at the fall meeting and elected officers will be installed at this meeting. Their terms of duty will begin October 1 and continue to September 30. No two officers shall be elected from the same county.

The Board of Directors is composed of District Officers and has the same function as the state level.

The District Secretary will update the Committee Guidelines and District Guidelines on a continuous basis and will send the updates to the webmaster.

COMMITTEES

Districts will have all standing committees on the state level: Membership, Public Relations, Nominating, Rules and Bylaws, Finance, Reflections, and Professional Improvement. These committees shall have the same function as the state level (see attachment), plus whatever other responsibilities the district designates. Districts may appoint special committees at their own discretion. Ours are Secretary of the Year and Scholarship. Below are some decisions made on the district level.

Committee Notebooks -- Committee chairs will maintain an informational notebook for each committee - a description and duties for each committee. This will be passed on each year to the new chair.

Professional Improvement -- Prepare certificates for outgoing committee chairpersons and officers to be presented to them at the fall meeting.

Public Relations -- The committee will take the lead in maintaining our web page (a revision date should be included). It is linked from the State Association web page.

Newsletter/News Release -- A newsletter will be posted on our web site twice a year. One person per county will be responsible for providing the information to the Public Relations Committee. The deadlines are December 1 and June 1. Also, a news release will be prepared for each county to use in local newspapers, inserting their own names for those in attendance at district meetings. The committee will take pictures for news releases.

Secretary of the Year -- The committee will consist of three past recipients, rotating off members as new ones come on. The senior member should receive all votes and provide results to other committee members rather than each member receiving votes.

Scholarship -- The committee will pick the winner of the scholarship once the appropriate county compiles the applications. District Scholarship Guidelines and Forms

Reflections -- The committee will take pictures for the district scrapbooks and send copies to the State Reflections Committee Chair for the state scrapbooks.

Membership -- A membership brochure was developed to help inform new secretaries about the association. A welcome letter with details about the district along with the brochure will be sent to new secretaries encouraging them to join the association. The brochure will be added to the state web page. An E-mail should be sent to all secretaries announcing new secretaries. These guidelines should also be sent to new secretaries.

FINANCES

Dues -- $30 ($20 state, $10 district)

Dues for New Members -- The district will pay for the first year of dues for new members and the first year following retirement for newly retired secretaries.

Officer Reimbursements -- Mileage will be paid for district officers and committee chairmen to attend one Board of Directors meeting per year if their county will not reimburse them for mileage.

Host County -- The county hosting the district meeting will receive a maximum of $100.

Study Manuals -- We purchased study manuals for secretaries to use while preparing to take the Professional Secretaries International exam.

Transferring Monies -- The treasurer was given permission to transfer monies from the money market account as needed.

Auditing Funds -- The accounts shall be audited at the close of the calendar year by an Audit Committee to be appointed by the President.

RECOGNITION

Outgoing President's Plaque -- The first vice president will be responsible for recognizing outgoing district president with a plaque to be presented at the fall meeting.

Secretary of the Year Award -- A plaque and $50 will be awarded annually at the fall meeting. July 1 will be the deadline. The committee, consisting of past recipients, will coordinate the nominations.

Retirement -- An engraved gift in the $40 to $60 price range to include name, association name, and dates of service to be purchased by someone in the retiree's county and/or Executive Board and be presented to the retiree by the current District President or Executive Board member at the retirement reception or the next district meeting if no reception is given. Not all retirement gifts can be engraved; therefore, it was decided that retirement gifts will be engraved when appropriate.

Certificates -- The Professional Improvement Committee will prepare certificates for outgoing committee chairpersons and officers to be presented to them at the fall meeting.

SCHOLARSHIP

Will give a $200 scholarship. It will be rotated in the district from county to county, at least until it has made one rotation. The county receiving the scholarship will secure nominees by sending applications to the various schools for anyone planning to enter a career in office technology. The scholarship selection will be made by the named committee. District Scholarship Guidelines and Forms

MISCELLANEOUS

Horn of Plenty -- We support it.

Gnome -- Dr. Zaslow presented a gnome she had received from the association to our district. It was suggested that it remain within our district association, being passed on to future presidents while serving their term in office, thus becoming a tradition within the South Central District.

Benevolence -- In the event of death in the immediate family (father, mother, child, or spouse) that the secretaries in that county be responsible for a remembrance not to exceed $30. It is the responsibility of the secretaries in that county to notify other counties and the State Treasurer (for state benevolence) via E-mail. In the event of a member being hospitalized, let it be the decision of that county to send flowers or another appropriate item not to exceed $30. Let it be the responsibility of that county to notify other counties via E-mail.