Policy and Procedures 2024

PRESIDENT (REVISED 2020) •

Board members are asked to summarize their reports and post them prior to the meetings so questions and comments can be received in advance. The president is also responsible for asking the board if they need an agenda item added for discussion at the board meeting. We try very hard to keep the meetings to one hour, so it is recommended that reports are not read in the meetings, which allows more time for discussion of concerns/ issues and new business. Roberts Rules of Order are followed for meetings and meetings on held on our confer ence line. • APPOINTED POSITIONS Appoint persons needed to replace empty chair positions which are not elected positions (those should be elected by the membership prior to January). These appointed positions may include show chair/co-chair, show venue chair, member outreach chair, newsletter chair, social media chair, Café chair, scholarship chair, historian, webmistress, sponsorship chair, advertising chair, publicity chair, graphic de sign chair or any other needed chairs added to the roster of supporting board members. • CONTRACT EMPLOYEES OR STIPENDS : Social media chair, webmistress and Café administrators are considered contract employees and these payments are approved by board prior to the end of each year. It is the responsibility of the president to present a motion for approval of payments for these administrators in the final meeting of the year as they are contractual obligations. • DISMISSAL OF NON-PARTICIPATING VOTING BOARD MEMBER : Voting board members who miss more than two consecutive meetings without a legitimate reason can be considered inactive and removed as voting members as per the bylaws-appointed board members can be excused. (The bylaws do not at this time reflect that and we need to change it if possible.) “If a Board member is absent for two (2) consecutive Board meetings without a good and sufficient reason, the office shall be declared vacant and a quorum of the Board of Directors shall appoint a replacement within thirty (30) days, to serve in that capacity for the remainder of the term.” • NEWSLETTER NEWSY NOTE : Prepare a written “Presidents Message” four times a year for the news letter which is also published quarterly. Work with newsletter chair if necessary to determine newsletter dates in advance for the year because you will want time to prepare a letter to include. At the time of this writing, our newsletter editor is Barbara Parish who is excellent at reminding the president and members of upcoming news letter deadlines. • ATTEND SHOW COMMITTEE MEETINGS (if invited and available.) Stay current with show commit tee reports and request updates. ( I know for a fact that sometimes you have to push to be included...every show chair is different but it is easy to lose track of what is happening if you are not included so sometimes you have to just insist on inclusion. Make certain the show budget is approved by the board and is reasonable. • GO TO THE SHOW : Attend the national show if possible. The President’s travel and lodging are cov ered and there needs to be an estimate of reasonable cost included in the show budget. • CONGRATULATE NEWBIES : Send congratulations either by email or phone call to brand new Associ ates, newly promoted Signatures and newly promoted Master Signatures. • CONTRACTS MUST BE SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT The president is authorized to sign contracts of behalf of the membership. Sign contracts with show venues and facilities used in regard to the show such as a restaurant, etc. Negotiate and sign contracts for show venues if a show chair has not been selected but also sign with the show chairs if the position is filled. One we do not ask the president to sign is the magazine ad contracts which are negotiated by the ad director.

RENEWALS OF NON-PROFIT Make certain that the non-profit status 501 (c) 3 is renewed each year. The treasurer usually fills out these forms because it has a monetary cost but a reminder to the treasurer is need ed and the president should be aware of the paperwork. • BOARD liability INSURANCE: Also make sure that the WAOW liability insurance (currently with Great American Insurance and the Hartford) is paid. This covers such things as board members who could be sued, etc. (See folder of paperwork samples) DO NOT fall for scams that suggest you pay their company to fill out these forms for an exorbitant cost. There are many. • VOTED APPROVAL OF NEW BILLS OR SHOW BUDGETS Make certain bills are approved by the board before payment. This does not include bills such as monthly stipends that have already been approved by board vote or bills regarding a show after the amount of an item has already expressly been approved in the show budget. • TRADEMARK : Make certain that the trademark is renewed every ten years. ( TEAS@uspto.gov serial no. 85172935. See folder of paperwork) Currently, this costs $425 per trademark and we are supposed to have WAOW as principal trademark and Women Artists of the West as supplemental) At the time of this writing, we need to get the WAOW trademark again as it was allowed to lapse. TRADEMARK: It will be due again between 2029 and 2030. The emailed reminder is currently set to go to the bookkeeper or to the current president (Mary Ann Cherry) and this information can be changed. It can be updated when needed upon election of a new pres ident. DO NOT fall for scams that suggest you pay them to fill out these forms for an exorbitant cost. There are many of these bogus scams). • FILLING VACATED ELECTED POSITIONS ACCORDING TO BYLAWS : Appoint a nominating chair for elections to fill the elected positions who are at the end of their two-year term (Sept-October) or who must resign for any reason be sure to see bylaws regarding elections. • FINANCES : The president needs to receive copies of the WAOW monthly bank statements and work with the treasurer and accountant to maintain a current knowledge of the fiscal status of WAOW. A financial statement should always be included in the board meeting per laws regarding non-profits. It is best to request these reports prior to a meeting so board members have time to familiarize themselves with them. Work with the treasurer if needed to prepare an annual budget – our budget is usually about the same each year, with the same stipends and outgo, but this needs to be verified – especially in years where WAOW may be holding two shows. Work with the show chairs and pertinent committee members to prepare and seek board approval vote for the show budget (ideally no less than 10 months before the show). The prior year’s show is always a good basic ex ample for the new show chairs. But each show is different. • REGULAR MEETINGS Hold a minimum of four board meetings per year, one per quarter or by email if necessary. These can be held virtually but if possible, if enough board members can attend an annual show, hold a meeting at that show to meet in person. AGENDA! Prepare the agenda for the meetings and send out at least two reminders. This helps keep the meet ing organized. Dates and times of these should be announced (plan all of these quarterly meetings in January if possible, but at least two weeks before a meeting) so board members can put them in their calendars.

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