Provincial Convention 2010: Secretary Oral Report

Submitted by: Pat Deppiesse

Marianna extended our time for reporting to you today, asking that we make this a teaching opportunity, and to be informative, light, and fun. I will attempt to cover all three, hoping that my enthusiasm for the role of Secretary will shine through!

Information for my brief presentation today will be taken from the Constitution and Bylaws and the Executive Handbook with a few personal tips thrown in! How many members have been Secretaries at some time or another? OK, I will highlight the suggested activities of a parish council Secretary which can include the following:

Signatory:

You are a signing officer for official documents for your council.

Correspondence:

It is important that a record be kept of correspondence both sent and received. Sometimes, the president will ask you to draft letters on her behalf and you would usually send congratulatory cards, thank you cards, etc.

Notice of Meeting:

You should always send out a formal Notice of Meeting, either by Email or in your church bulletins. One parish council I know very well, places a large sign on a tripod in the vestibule the Sunday prior to the meeting inviting all interested ladies.

Agenda:

Assist the president in preparing the agenda for both executive and general meetings – making sure you bring forward any unfinished business from the previous meeting.

Roll Call:

Have a sign-in sheet available for members at your meetings. I would advise you to definitely do a roll call of your executive, using the full name and position titles so that members become more aware who has which standing committee.

Minutes:

Minutes should accurately record the decisions made at each meeting and I’m not saying that you have to record everything that is said by everyone at the meeting! They need to record the issues and actions agreed upon. Some of us, and I’m probably as guilty as anyone, try to record too much, especially if you have the privilege of taking minutes on a laptop computer!

I personally like to include the full names of members making suggestions, etc. Don’t forget that you are actually acting as the historian for your council and in the future, members can look back and actually understand the decisions made many years previous.

Because minutes quite often contain action items, please ensure their timely distribution – either by Email, postal or other method as agreed by your council. The minutes will be approved at the following meeting by the members in attendance and signed by yourself and the President. You must keep a permanent record of the edited, final, signed minutes for your archives.

It may be helpful to keep the minute binder with you at meetings for reference purposes.

Annual Reports:

The secretary can help facilitate the annual report process by having the minute book available at an executive meeting especially called for this purpose. She will keep hard copies of all standing committee annual reports for the president to use when compiling her parish council’s annual report.

Elections Register:

The secretary should keep an up to date elections register. A sample can be found in the National Policy and Procedures manual Article XV. Also, as I requested in my final Communique, please keep track of your past presidents to help facilitate the diocesan and provincial elections process.

On-Line Membership Registration:

I would also like to encourage all parish councils to register for the on-line membership system on the national web-site. This may be the role of the Treasurer, or your Organization/Membership chairperson or possibly the Secretary. I was asked by Marianna to do a short demonstration of this system later in the convention.

As you can see, the position of Secretary could easily be a shared one. In fact, you could have an assistant that you would be training for the job!

It is important that you are not intimidated by this position. We may look very professional, with our laptop computers, printers, projectors and screens, but you don’t need to do all of this. Most parish council Secretaries just take hand written notes at meetings and type them up later, and that’s the way it’s been for many years. And always remember, God never gives you a task that He doesn’t provide the Holy Spirit to help you with.

As I complete my term as provincial secretary, I look back on the past two years which have just flown! I have enjoyed my role very much, being very busy and sometimes challenged! This is a role I really enjoy and will miss. Thank you so very much for your faith in me, allowing me to serve as your Provincial Secretary for the past two years.