Preparing for the AGM

by Scott Hutchings, President

I wanted to give everyone a quick overview of how SOCCI operates. Considering that the AGM should be considered the most important meeting of the year for the club, it only seems fitting to me that everyone have a basic understanding of how we operate.

Directors

There are 5 members of the Board and they are elected at the AGM. Each year the Directors retire from the Board or stand for re-election.

What does it mean to be a Director?

The Board usually meets on a monthly basis - sometimes in person, other times via conference calls. A Director should anticipate spending 2-5 hours per month on Club business outside of the monthly Club meetings. This will vary depending on what other activities they are involved in. Directors can expect to find themselves asked to participate in other meetings and conference calls relating to such things as the Driving Schools, our relationship with CASC-OR, Discounts, or Social activities. While there may not be any tasks asked of the Directors when participating in such meetings, it is the responsibility of the Directors to ensure that all Club activities meet the Club objectives.

In short, the Directors are to give direction to the Officers and Chairs of the Club.

* Scott, Fred, and Guido will all be standing for re-election as Directors

Officers

The President is the only Officer of the Club that is elected by the Board of Directors their first meeting. The President is the Chair of every meeting they are present at. The President is also responsible for the general management and supervision of the affairs and operation of the Club and works closely with the other Officers and Chairs.

* Scott will be standing for re-election as President if re-elected to the Board

Vice President

The Vice-President is elected by the members at the AGM and may or may not be a Director. The VP will step in where the President is not available and exercise those duties. The VP also works with the other Officers and Chairs in the day to day running of the Club.

* Fred is standing for re-election.

Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for communication either from the Board to the Members or externally from the Club. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes for all Board meetings.

* This position will become vacant as of the AGM.

Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for the Club financials. They will handle all funds, pay all bills and insurance, and keep track of the book keeping.

* John is standing for re-election.

The remaining Directors will fulfill whatever duties the Board requires of them and they may or may not hold other positions within the Club at their choosing.

Of the Club Officers, if positions are left vacant following the AGM, the Board will appoint Club members to fill them. In the past this has normally been done by a Director accepting the role, however, it is just as likely that they could appoint a "regular" Club member to that position.

Club Chairs and other Elected Positions

This position is perhaps the most demanding of them all and can require upwards of 20 hours per month. Our current Editor has provided a few words on what he does.

"In brief, I review contributions from members and find other material to supplement them and then lay out the articles in the newsletter, editing them where necessary and often finding graphics to accompany them.

The official title doesn't include "Publisher, Stapler, Folder and
Distributor" but I send the electronic file to the printer, pick up the printed newsletters, staple and fold them. Since I have another meeting to attend on the 3rd Wed of every month, I don't deliver them to the meeting but rely upon the good graces of those members unfortunate enough to live near me (Blake Nancarrow, John Burnet, Ken Pavri). It takes me about 2 hours to do those things."

* As John said last year, he is willing to step down if someone is interested in taking over this role. He is just as content to continue on as he is. John would also being ready, willing, and able to take on some help with this. Further, John has also identified that he is always looking for contributions to the Gryphon. So even if you are not looking to become an apprentice, you can still help out!

Social Committee Chair

Paul has identified that the position can range from 2 hours per month to 15, depending on the time of the year and the number of activities. Events can range from winery tours, to scenic drives, to spending the day at the race track watching the JL Racing team tear up the track in their 9-3.

* This position will become vacant as of the AGM.

Membership Chair and Privacy Officer

The membership Chair is responsible for keeping our membership records up to date and accurate as well as providing all notices of membership renewals. The time required varies month to month depending on the new members and renewals. Since our membership information resides here, it has made sense for our Membership Chair to also be the Privacy Officer (this position is not an Officer of the Club, but rather the title of the position) , although it is not required for them to be one person.

* John has offered to step aside if anyone is interested in taking over but would also be willing to continue again this year.

Discounts Chair

This is one of those positions that will take as much effort as you are willing to put into it. Interacting with vendors, negotiating discounts and such, talking to the dealers and getting them to agree to give Club members discounts - it will take up any time you want to put into it.

* This position will become vacant as of the AGM.

Advertising Chair

This position works closely with the discounts chair and is one of the very few areas that actually drives revenue into the Club. It will also take whatever time you want to put into it.

* Trevor has offered to step aside if anyone is interested in taking over but would also be willing to continue again this year.

CASC-OR Representative

This person is our liaison between our Club and the Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs – Ontario Region. They keep us up to date on the CASC-OR goings on as well as ensuring both the members and the Board are aware of any changes to their practices or policies. This role is very important to the Club as we are members of CASC-OR and leverage our insurance coverage through this relationship.

* Ken has offered to step aside if anyone is interested in taking over but would also be willing to continue again this year.

Enhanced Driving School Chair

Given that this position was just filled in the past couple of months, we will not be looking to hold a vote on it at this AGM. Having said that, Patrick is still looking for additional help with the schools. Anyone wishing to offer can contact Patrick directly.

Web Master

In the past, this position has been an elected one. Given the technical nature of this function, this really doesn't make much sense. Therefore, effective immediately, it will one of the "jobs" that is appointed by the Board.

Clinics Chair

We have not actually had anyone in this position since I have been a member of the club. However, if someone were willing to step up to it, it would involve organizing clinics around both basic maintenance to our Saabs (oil changes, brake work, that sort of thing) and advanced modifications (suspension upgrades, cold air intakes, turbo upgrades). These would have to be planned in advance so that members could be notified, dates, times, and places arranged, etc.

* If no one is willing to fill this role, we will remove it from the list of positions within the club at the close of the AGM.

Tools Chair

This may be the hardest position of them all. I know that Jack has worked hard to keep the tools from escaping his capable clutches!

In a nutshell, older Saabs required special tools for particular jobs. The club had secured a number of these tools and will loan them out to members as they need them. In the past decade or so, the need for specialty tools has diminished to the point of obscurity.

* Jack has offered to step aside if anyone is interested in taking over but would also be willing to continue again this year.

Web Content Chair

This is a new position for the club. With all of the work that has gone into the creation of the new web site, it has highlighted the need for additional support. This person would be responsible for the information posted on the site. They won't be responsible for actually creating the content, but ensuring that those responsible for various parts of the site are up to date in their postings. It will also allow us to ensure that we have a separate set of eyes focused on the information presentation to our visitors. This position would work very closely with the Web Master, the Discounts Chair, and the Advertising Chair, not to mention working with the Secretary and the Social Chair. As a matter of fact, this person would likely work with every role within the club as we continue to develop and enhance our new web site.

If you have any thoughts of becoming more involved with the Club and have any questions at all about the roles, please feel free to contact any of the people currently in the roles prior to the AGM in April. I also invite you to contact any of the Directors should you have any questions.