Leadership: Annual Club Calendar

Clubs are often criticized for lack of communication to the families. An effective strategy to enhance communication to the families and to the community is to establish and maintain an accurate organizational calendar that describes the club activities. The calendar needs constant maintenance to have integrity and function to your stakeholders–families and partners. This simple task is a mission-critical exercise that will facilitate professional and efficient leadership communication. The calendar has to be easy to find and easy to read. Make it easily accessible on your website.

The club calendar will also enhance the ability of the club staff and board leadership to focus, plan and implement. Your board will include men and women who deserve to be well informed in advance. An accurate and up to date calendar will demonstrate that your club is on top of the game, and ready to utilize their time efficiently.

Board meetings – Schedule board meetings one year ahead to accommodate members’ busy schedules. In your calendar, make a note to send board packets at least a week or two before the meeting consistent with the requirements of your bylaws.

Committee meetings – Note committee meetings in the calendar to allow committee members adequate time to prepare. Depending on the committee, it may not be possible to set the schedules a year ahead as issues may come up unexpectedly, or a matter needs more work than anticipated.

Board education – Board member education is another issue that tends not to happen unless it is scheduled. Assign special governance topics to each board meeting to involve the board in discussions of its own practices and how to improve them.

Annual meeting – In the legally required annual meeting, the board elects new members and officers, and there is the changing of the guard. This date is a practical tool when calculating boundaries for terms.

Board orientation – Learning how your board functions is a necessary process. An annual orientation session sets the right tone for the new arrivals and allows old and new members to mingle and get to know each other before the hard work starts.

Annual awards banquet – This important annual event is normally scheduled in the spring, and may also fulfill one of the club obligations to host an annual meeting and election.

Annual fundraising activities – Important annual club fundraising activities might include a Ski and Snowboard Swap or a Ski and Snowboard Ball.

Annual parent orientation sessions – These are scheduled in the fall. The board and the staff takes the opportunity to communicate philosophy, policy, procedures, and expectations and to answer questions.

Annual retreat – The board should set aside time outside of its regular board meetings to address important issues. Topics can vary from a refresher course on basic board responsibilities to brainstorming factors affecting the organization in the coming years.

Reprinted with permission from www.boardsource.org, members-only section. BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is the premier resource for practical information, tools, and training for board members and chief executives of nonprofit organizations worldwide. For more information about BoardSource, visit www.boardsource.org or call 800-883-6262. BoardSource © 2012. Text may not be reproduced without written permission from BoardSource.