Duties of PBS Board Positions -2021

 

Phoenix Bonsai Society

Valley Garden Center 1809

North 15th Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 85007

 

September 2020

 

 

Duties of Board President
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First and foremost, the president is the face of the society. His or her manner is typically how a club or organization is characterized. Following is a list of duties that the president is charged in carrying out.
• Organize or coordinate with the other board members in their roles and duties.
• Schedule and organize quarterly board meetings.
• Listen to ideas from board and club members.
• Delegate tasks to encourage diversity across the board. All members should be seen as playing a part in the club direction.
• Stay within the framework of the established curriculum or direction of the club.
• Reach out to other club presidents or Bonsai organizations to establish or open new opportunities for growth.
• Be the voice of the club when it comes to statements to the media.
• Be available for most if not all the meetings.
• Open the meetings with introductions, program highlights and announcements.
• Remain neutral on critical issues that require a vote, playing the role of tiebreaker if necessary.
• Approve spending, scholarships, and member support after board review and recommendations.
• Foster new ideas to build and expand club membership.
• Be open-minded. Why would someone want join your club? What will make them stay?
• Listen to others. They see what you do, not what you say.
• Adhere to Roberts Rules of Order.
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Duties of Board Vice-President
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The Vice President shall support the President, and in the absence of the President, shall step in and perform all duties that would be required of the President. The Vice President is also
responsible to coordinate the yearly sponsor advertisements that appear in the PBS yearbook. The Vice President is also encouraged to assist with all club activities.
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Duties of Board Secretary
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Attend all club board meetings and provide minutes of the meetings to the board for approval. After board has approved, the board minutes are posted to the member website.
The Secretary is also responsible for the editing of the annual yearbook.
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Duties of Board Treasurer
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The Treasurer shall receive and deposit all PBS funds in the Phoenix Bonsai Society’s bank account including membership dues, raffle proceeds, workshop fees, donations, sales of all PBS items. The Treasurer is also responsible to pay all bills, reimburse members for club expenses as needed, balance the bank statements, maintain and provide financial reports for the board and member website, and prepare and file tax returns with the IRS. The Treasurer shall also keep a record of Active Members, notify members in September that fiscal year dues are payable, and issue membership cards and yearbooks when annual dues are paid.
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Duties of Event Chair
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The event Chair shall oversee all the shows and exhibits in which PBS participates. The Event Chair also coordinates visiting Sensei workshops and special event workshops along with securing locations, reserving tables and chairs, and providing lunch for the Sensei or instructor. The event Chairperson is encouraged to organize additional events such as nursery crawls, member garden visits, collection excursions, and any other extra club activity. The member’s site portion of our website has the table arrangement for the club’s spring show and past Matsuri shows. The Event Chair is encouraged to seek help from membership volunteers for all activities.
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Duties of Education Director
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The Revised 2017 PBS By-laws Article 8.8 states: “Education Coordinator shall oversee formal educational activities and events to support the membership of the PBS.”
Encompassed in this formal education and events are traditional activities and duties that PBS has held for many years. In addition, new and updated activities will be expected and needed to keep the club moving forward including the latest knowledge and newest techniques. It is the responsibility as education chair to manage all aspects of teaching. Professionalism is required and expected. Tried and true methods should be promoted as a responsibility goes out to teaching a large group of people the correct information. It also needs to be noted that the Phoenix area is a unique environment, and overall Bonsai information is often not pertinent to this environment.
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Beginner Bonsai Class
Traditionally it has been expected to head up two Beginning Bonsai classes per year for new members or those struggling: one in the fall and one in the spring. Fall can consist of styling and wiring the tree, and spring can consist of repotting the same tree. Thus, the new student gets a fully started tree correctly implemented from start to finish. This process can be repeated on a yearly basis.
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Secure locations prior to Workshops. This often means months in advance.
Both workshops shall utilize the proper material for that season (i.e. do not have a repotting workshop on tropicals in January, etc.) Material should be chosen that is beginner friendly to promote success.
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Secure materials. A 10-12 participant workshop works well. This is a good number but is dependent on how many Mentors are available for the class as each Mentor should be able to handle 2 students. Leftover material can be sold at PBS auction and swap meets, or other club functions.
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Sign up for classes should be promoted during upcoming newsletters, meetings weeks in advance. Full payment is required to attend class and is often helpful to make sure the attendee is vested in coming.
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Mentors
The Mentor program should be maintained so that there are enough teachers to be at meetings and workshops. Mentors should be available for both Beginner’s Workshops and semi- available for monthly meetings. They should be proactive in teaching and in keeping themselves updated on current practices. They should be willing to show their own work. They should be willing to teach various classes if needed. A mentor should have a minimum of 5 years of bonsai experience, and at least 3 years of successful experience growing bonsai in our Phoenix climate.
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It is the responsibility of the Education Director to make sure the Mentors are teaching up to date information and helping new members on a pro-active basis.
It may be required to redirect other members, in a positive manner, those who are providing misleading information to what the current Phoenix Bonsai Society teachings recommend. A positive learning experience should always be maintained.
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Mentor in Training
A mentor in training is anyone showing interest in becoming a full-time mentor.
They have shown outstanding ability and knowledge for their time, but still in the process of gaining confidence. They are willing to take direction from Full Mentors and “shadow” Mentors with available helping hands until vested in Full Mentorship.
As Education Director it is a good idea to know the city-wide location of Mentors, due to the fact Phoenix is a large area. Members can be directed towards that teacher for local support.
All guidance, leadership and organizing of Mentors and new students is the responsibility of the Education director.
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PBS Annual Show
The Education Director should help organize tree set up, placement and processes during the show set up. The Event Coordinator oversees the event, but the Education Director and the Mentors should coordinate the visual direction of the show.
A Beginner Bonsai table may be set up aside from the other entries as a learning tool for prospective new members, showing the capabilities and advantages of joining the Phoenix Bonsai Society.
Many prospective members come through to view our show and a “Bonsai Bootcamp” talk usually follows during the next meeting. The Educational Director and a Mentor of choice typically do this. It consists of hands-on tools and pots, soil choices, viewing of wire, a talk regarding what makes up the art of doing bonsai, and how to start in the Phoenix area. The talk consists of a question and answer session, discrediting many misnomers, with a sign-up area and the treasurer ready to take annual dues for new members. If someone joins in April or after, their membership shall run through the end of the following year as a promotional perk.
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Newsletter
Often students like to hear educational information that can also be shared with short guidance in the PBS Newsletters (i.e. times for repotting certain trees, frost warnings, quick tips and advice). This is just another source to keep the learning continual.
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New Member Packets
Theses handouts are available with first time purchase of membership. The handout consists of new member information regarding use of our website, the library, a quick start up guide for local material, and a rundown on how the club works and a short club history. A coordinated effort should be made between the Librarian and the Treasurer, and the Education Director shall oversee and keep these materials in stock and up to date.
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Membership
As Education director it is helpful to keep up on all new and struggling members.
Make sure your contact list is current with the club. Make sure you know who they are, and that they are familiar with you. Make sure all individual educational needs are being addressed when needed. Encourage people to come forward and ask questions by alleviating initial fear simply by promoting friendliness. Be available. Texting is a great way to see quick pictures and provide quick answers.
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“Club retention starts with attention.” Most new members are willing to stay in the club if they have a vested interest in friends, good guidance, and success with their trees.
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Duties of Member Communications
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Assist the president in communicating with the membership. Gather information from members and distribute a newsletter to the club at least two times per month. Maintain a current email list with new member information to be sure all members are included for newsletter distribution or announcements.
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Duties of Member-at-Large
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This position is appointed by the President to act as a liaison between the board and the general membership. This person will participate and have full voting rights in all board meetings and board decisions.
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Duties of Librarian
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The librarian oversees all books and periodicals in the club library. All items are categorized using the Dewey decimal system. The librarian needs to have a good understanding of all items available to assist members in finding what they need. It is important that the librarian be available at all meetings so that members have access to the books. The books are located in the locked closet on the east side of the small meeting room. The librarian arrives at each meeting fifteen minutes before the official start of the meeting to allow members to browse the selection or give any assistance needed.
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Each member may check out up to three books at a time and may be kept for no longer than three weeks. All books must be returned to the club library before the last meeting of the year. As the year comes to a close it is the duty of the librarian to reach out to any members that may still have a book out and make sure the book is returned before the end of the year in May.
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Duties of the VGC Club Liaison
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Represents the PBS at the monthly VGC board meetings and participates in board activities that keep the VGC viable. Communicates pertinent information between the PBS board and the VGC board. Informs the PBS librarian on use of the VGC library. Informs PBS members on any discounts available to them for personal use of the VGC. Keep the VGC manager informed of our meeting dates and activities.
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Duties of the Web Master
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Oversee the PBS Web site, support the use of social media, and manage the use of computer technology needed to support club activities and events.
Maintain the PBS Facebook account and post as appropriate. Respond to any messages sent. Maintain the YouTube account, upload content as appropriate, and restrict access as necessary. Advertise in various sites, magazines, or other outlets to promote all club shows. Works with Hosting Support.
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Duties of Club Historian
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Be familiar with our history as presented in Designing Dwarfs in the Desert (Robert J. Baran, 1997, Pyramid Dancer Publications), its continuation on the Club History page on our website, as well as the Sensei and Presidents and Other Officers listings. Assist our web master as needed. The Club History page, especially, contains info about club activities, members’
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bonsai-related writings and media happenings, local weather and social occurrences which have a particular impact on our growing and displaying of bonsai.
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Archive additional club history as videos, audios, or other information becomes available. Take notes of mentions of our club history by members or public which we might not have yet recorded officially and include these on our Club History page when appropriate.
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The club’s history is a partnership to recall, honor, and extend the interest and teachings of our sensei, visiting artists, officers, and fellow members.