Association Management Consultants Inc.

Changing Winds

From Changing Winds - The Quarterly Newsletter of Association Management Consultants

Each month we will include an item or two from our newsletter Changing Winds on the AMC Web site. The two year subscription rates for the quarterly publication are $75 (GST included) in Canada, $90 outside Canada. Send a cheque/check or money order, in Canadian funds, payable to Association Management Consultants Inc., 315-409 Granville St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 1T2.

Topics in the Spring 2008 edition of Changing Winds

• Monitoring Organizational Effectiveness – Part Two
• Survey Findings and Tidbits
• Software Shortcuts
• Q & A (See below)
• Interim Executive Director
• Volunteer and Staff Training Opportunities
• AMC Video The Complementary Model of Governance Now Available in DVD and VHS - Cost only $119! (See a preview sample of the video on our Video web page.)

Reader's Question (Excerpt)

In the last issue of Changing Winds, you responded to a question about the board position called President-Elect. I have recently encountered an association with a volunteer Chair and Chair-Elect. What’s that about?

AMC’s Response: There are two things happening with the association you describe. First, it has moved away from calling the most senior volunteer position President and instead, calls this position Chair— as in, Chair of the Board of Directors. I prefer the title of Chair (or Board Chair) rather than President, because there is no possibility of confusion as to whether the title Chair is used to describe a staff position or a volunteer position. It is always a volunteer position. The same cannot be said of the title President. Sometimes, the title President is used to describe the most senior volunteer position—sometimes the title President is used to describe the most senior staff position.

Second, in the organization you describe, the relationship between Chair and Chair-Elect is identical to the relationship between President and President-Elect that I discussed in the last issue of Changing Winds. That is, the organization elects the Chair-Elect and that individual is automatically elevated to the position Chair when the current Chair’s term ends.

Tom Abbott, B.Comm., CGA, CAE