Job Descriptions

The President of the Garden Club of Mount Desert takes office near the conclusion of the Club’s Annual Meeting in the even years (2020, 2022, 2024, etc.). Her first act at that meeting is to thank the out-going president for her work over the previous two years, and then to announce to the Club the names of her in-coming committee chairs. (The names of Officers, selected by the Nominating Committee, will already have been announced and approved.) The President has the responsibility of appointing the chairs of the Club’s committees, with the exception of the Membership Committee Chair, who is selected by the Nominating Committee. The Bylaws specify that the number of Club Directors (consisting of Officers and Committee Chairs) of the Club shall be not less than 15 nor more than 23. The list of committees is included in the Bylaws and is shown in the Green Book.

Since her first action as in-coming President is to announce her slate, it is important that she start thinking about the slate early in her term as Vice President. She should talk with candidates for committee chair positions early on in the summer in which she will become President, and ideally have her team in place by mid-summer. Lining up her slate of committee chairs is one of the in-coming President’s most important jobs.

The President and her slate serve for a term of two years. She may not serve as President for more than four years. As President, she sets the agenda for and presides over all meetings of the Club, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee. She is an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee, but she is not required to attend the meetings of all committees. Her role on the Membership Committee is more formal: although she is an impartial, ex officio member of the Committee, she is expected to attend Membership Committee meetings and to vote in case of a tie.

The schedule of Board Meetings and Members Meetings is included each year in the Green Book. It is required that there be a minimum of three Board Meetings per year: one before the summer season, the second in early August, and the third after the Annual Meeting. The President may call additional meetings if needed. When votes are taken at the Board level, the President votes only if there is a tie; then she casts the deciding vote.

It is required that there be four Members Meetings during the summer. The schedule typically consists of three regular meetings with both a business agenda and a program, and also the Annual Meeting, which includes reports given by committee chairs and by the President. The agenda for the Annual Meeting is specified in the Bylaws.

The President sets the tone for her term, choosing committee chairs who will create opportunities for learning, inspiration, and fun. She works with committee chairs to share ideas and themes, and works with the Program Chair to set the calendar of meetings and programs (these dates need to be approved by the Executive Committee). She reviews schedules for the Hort, Floral Design and Photography Shows before they are final.

In addition to her work with the Club, the President is the primary interface with the Garden Club of America. She meets with Zone I leaders and club presidents (typically in meetings called by the Zone Chair for Club Presidents). She interacts with GCA Committee Chairs and Representatives to learn about GCA resources, awards, conferences and other opportunities. She attends the Zone I Meeting and gives a report.

According to the GCMD Bylaws, the President is required to send out a mid-winter newsletter each year. This usually includes the calendar of events and the Show Schedules for the up-coming summer and also mentions off-season events of interest to club members. The newsletter may include dates for GCA events. The President works with relevant committee chairs to find appropriate delegates to GCA meetings. Typically, she attends the GCA Annual Meeting herself and also invites another Club member to attend as a delegate. If she is unable to attend, she asks someone to attend in her place.

In short, the President appoints club committee chairs and then works with them to ensure that the Club operates in a way consistent with its Bylaws and its history.

Margaret Costan—November 29, 2023

The duties of the Vice President consist of communication and assisting the President in order to prepare for the VP’s upcoming presidency. She may also be asked by the President to execute a specific project such as “Main Street Blooms” or another kind of event.

In addition, the Vice President is the “club administrator” which encompasses updating the Club’s membership on the GCA online roster. This includes adding new members and updating membership statuses.

The Vice President is in charge of the Green Book which includes updated addresses, meeting details, and programs for the following summer. (Any member’s address or email change also need to go the Treasurer and Corresponding Secretary.)

The updating of Officers and Club Board members on the GCA website is to be completed by the President.

The Vice President shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the President in the event of her absence and shall assist her in any way so needed.

Updated 2024

Give notice of meetings via email to the membership.

Keep and notify the President, the Membership Chair, and the Treasurer of all changes affecting membership.

Conduct the correspondence of the Club.

Hand address Memorial and Tribute requests in black or blue ink.

Email meeting notices after the latest meeting or two weeks before the first meeting.

Keep track of the list of members attending and those not attending.

Send a follow-up email to those who have not responded; if necessary, telephone them.

Inform the Head Hostess for the upcoming meeting about the correct number of members (and guests) planning to attend, about 5 days in advance.

Inform the Head Hostess of preliminary numbers, including outstanding responses.

Adhere to Article IX of the GCMD bylaws, requiring two weeks' notice for the Annual Meeting and sending meeting notices to all GCA members-at-large living in the area.

Handle Special Meetings with one week's notice and notification of the reason for the meeting.

Write a letter of inquiry to a member who has missed all meetings for a season without explanation, following Article X of the bylaws and with the President's guidance.

Send out notices to the membership upon request from the President or Committee members, all cleared with the President first.

Send the notice of election of Provisional Members.

Keep all email and physical addresses current, sending reminders to the membership well before the Green Book goes to press.

Oversee the GCA Founders Fund vote, sending an email to all members asking them to vote on one project, keeping a tally of the votes to present to the President, who will submit the GCMD winning choice to the GCA.

Updated 2024

The Recording Secretary records the minutes from each Members’ Meeting and each Board Meeting. Once she has completed a draft of the minutes from a meeting, she emails the draft to the President for review. If the President has changes and/or additions, she will email those changes back to the Recording Secretary so she can make changes on the master. The Recording Secretary should pre-arrange with the President whether the Recording Secretary or the President is responsible for sending the minutes to the Corresponding Secretary for distribution to membership. Minutes from Members’ Meetings are distributed to everyone in the Club. Minutes from Board Meetings are distributed to Board members only. Minutes from a meeting should be completed and distributed before the next meeting takes place.

The Recording Secretary should be sure to note in the minutes whenever a motion is made, whether it is seconded and whether it is approved. The Recording Secretary should also include in the Minutes a list of members in attendance. For a Board Meeting, she can record the names of the Board members attending. For a Members’ Meeting, a sign-in sheet may be used. The sign-in sheet should be visible to members as they enter a meeting (placed adjacent to members’ name badges) as well as passed around during the meeting. The Recording Secretary and/or the Corresponding Secretary should remind members to sign in. The President may reinstate Roll-Call if preferred. The Recording Secretary should remind Committee Chairs to send their Reports to the Recording Secretary in advance of each meeting; these Reports may be referenced in the body of, and attached to, the Minutes.

During meetings, the Recording Secretary should sit with or near the President so she can hear clearly what is said. She should keep track of any changes to the Minutes that are communicated to her after the minutes are distributed and alert the membership to the changes when the President asks if there are any changes during a meeting. She should also bring a copy of the minutes from the previous meeting to each new meeting in case there is a discrepancy when voting to accept the minutes from the previous meeting. The exception to this is the Annual Meeting – the minutes from the Annual Meeting from the previous year should be brought to the Annual Meeting the following year for ratification. Once minutes are approved at a meeting, the Recording Secretary should email the approved minutes to the Chair of Archives Committee.

The Recording Secretary should keep a file of both Members’ Meeting Minutes and Board Minutes for the duration of her term. At the end of her term, she should prepare a folder containing minutes from both Board Meetings and Members’ Meetings, along with any reports or relevant materials, and present it to the newly elected President.

Updated 2024

GCMD By-laws article III – Treasurer

1. The Treasurer shall make all collections and disbursements of all Club money subject to action of the Club or the Board of Directors. She shall keep a correct account of all money received and paid out. She shall pay promptly all obligations and all contributions and shall render a report at the Annual meeting. She shall prepare the annual budget, which upon approval by the Board, shall be presented at the Annual Meeting.

2. The President and the Treasurer shall have the authority to sign checks.

3. The Treasurer shall reimburse members for any Club expense upon presentation of appropriate documentation. Any expenditure over $100 outside the approved budget must have prior approval of the Treasurer.

DUTIES

The Treasurer shall notify all members in January that dues are payable. If payment has not been made by March 1st, the Treasurer shall send a second notice. If payment has not been made by April 1st another notice shall be sent and a penalty fee as determined by the Board shall be assessed. If payment is not made by May 1st, the Treasurer shall refer the matter to te Board and membership may be forfeited. Members thus dropped may be reinstated by unanimous vote of the Board and payment of all arrears.

The Garden Club of America has a Treasurer’s Handbook that explains the responsibilities of the Treasurer. A Treasurer must read and become familiar with this Handbook.

The following are the responsibilities of the Treasurer:

The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the accounts of the Club and reporting the balances to the Board of Directors at meetings. Currently the Club is using Quick Books and has four accounts at the Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and four accounts at E*Trade.

At the end of the fiscal year, which starts Sept. 1 and ends Aug. 31, the Treasurer submits the Club’s records to the accountant who will then prepare the IRS 990 tax form. When the form is completed the Treasurer will review the form & send it to the Exec. Committee for their review. The Treasurer signs it and sends it to the IRS. Currently the accountant is Melinda Workman at Coston & McIsaac in Bar Harbor.

The Treasurer sends out the dues notice in January and collects the dues.

For Open Garden Day the Treasurer collects the money from the sale of tickets and from the Patron party. On the day of the event she sets up the money boxes at each garden and collects and records the money from ticket sales.

When contributions are received by the Club the Treasurer sends an acknowledgment card to the donor stating the amount contributed and any value of goods or services the donor received. There are printed cards for this purpose.

The Treasurer and the President shall select a Finance Committee.

The Finance Committee prepares a budget for the disbursement of funds from the Contributions account each year and presents it to the Board for approval prior to the Annual meeting. At the Annual Meeting the Treasurer presents the approved recommendations to the membership for a vote. In the spring the Treasurer sends the contributions to the approved recipients.

The Treasurer with the Finance Committee also prepares the operating budget which is presented to the Board prior to the Annual Meeting for discussion and approval. Once approved it is presented to the membership for their approval at the Annual Meeting.

The Treasurer is responsible for keeping an accurate list of the Primary and Secondary and Provisional members of the Club. The GCA billing is divided into those categories.

When a new President or Treasurer is elected she must alert the bank/financial institution to change the signature cards on file. She will need to supply the bank with her birth date, driver’s license, social security number as well as address and phone number.

The Treasurer has a key to the safe deposit box and the PO Box.

The Treasurer puts old financial records in the archives.

Updated 2024