President

You have been elected president of your association. Congratulations! What does it mean, serving as leader? You are probably asking some questions, like: What do I do now? How can I possibly do this on top of my job, taking care of my family responsibilities, etc.?

First of all, remember your year will be better for you and the association if you instill the “team” leader philosophy. Start the year by making sure all officers, committee chairs, and members have all the necessary information to know their duties, responsibilities, and mission at hand. This will make their tasks easier, as well as yours. NALS.org can serve as a guide to help you and everyone in your association know the mission and what is expected and what can be gained. Make NALS.org available to your membership, and make sure that your association leaders have copies of all pertinent information to help them complete their tasks and make your association a success.

Some of the general duties as president include:

• Preside at all meetings of the association and conduct meetings according to the established rules of parliamentary procedures.
• Appoint all appointive officers and chairs, subject to required approval.
• Serve as an ex-officio member of all committees, except the nominating committee.
• Oversee the work of other officers and committee chairs.
• Remain neutral and permit full discussion of all matters, making certain the final determination of all matters is by the members.
• Be responsive to complaints, questions, ideas, and problems of the members and officers.
• Keep members up-to-date and informed on programs and events at all levels of NALS.
• Submit current officer roster to NALS Resource Center.

As president, you will receive a number of routine and special mailings from the NALS Resource Center. It is extremely important that this information be disseminated to your members. Copies of some articles or information should be given to other officers, committee chairs, etc. One of the best ways to make sure all your members are kept informed of the activities and benefits available through all levels of NALS is to include the information in your publication. Some pieces, such as regional newsletters, e-Learn@NALS and Leading the Way, can be copied and included in their entirety.

One of the most popular misconceptions is that leadership is a born trait. While a person may have a natural trend toward leadership, it is a skill that can be developed through reading, listening to tapes, and observation. Having the ability to put into action all that you see and hear is one of the most important traits.

The definition of leadership is as varied as the day is long. However you describe leadership, in order to be a good leader, there are certain things you should do in order to motivate the rest of your team players. When leaders do their best, they challenge, inspire, enable, model, and encourage.

Chapter President

Serving as chapter president is key to the success of NALS. You are the primary contact for the grassroots members. Not all members are able or want to attend state, regional, and NALS conferences. Therefore, it is up to you to make sure your members are aware of the benefits offered by our multi-level association. Oftentimes, a member’s only exposure to NALS is through their chapter events and newsletters. It is important to positively promote all levels of NALS and encourage members to take advantage of their benefits as a member of NALS.

As chapter president, you will in all likelihood hold one or two meetings per month depending on your chapter structure. You will find helpful meeting tips in Book 4 of NALS.org. Keep in mind when planning meetings that not everyone is interested in business; their primary goal may be education. At the same time, you need to be mindful of your leaders’ time as well. If your leaders have to attend too many meetings and events, prepare too many reports, etc., you will find it difficult to recruit new leaders to take your place. Try to find a happy medium—poll your members and leaders (they are members too).
As chapter president, initiate contact with other chapters within your state and NALS. This will maximize exchange of information and help if your chapter is looking for a new program or experiencing problems. Include other chapters on your mailing lists for newsletters and other brochures. Attend the chapter president track at the NALS Professional Development Conference.

State President

Serving at the state level of NALS is just as important as serving as a chapter president. Serving as a state leader takes you to the next level in NALS. You will find that you can assist and mentor chapter leaders to help them do better at their chapter levels. State conferences are yet another way to promote education and “linking” throughout your state. The meetings and conferences are fewer in number than those of a chapter; however, since not everyone is in one geographical area, this makes communication that much more important. With today’s technology, making use of e-mail and the Internet puts the state leaders in better contact than in the past, cutting down on time and dollars. As with chapter meetings, not everyone is interested in business and is attending primarily for the education and “linking.” Making those contacts around the state is yet another benefit your state association can offer to the members.

As state president, initiate contact with other state associations. Just like chapters, this will maximize exchange of information and help if your state association is looking for a new program or experiencing problems. Include other states, especially in your region, on your mailing lists for newsletters and other brochures. Attend the state president track at the NALS Professional Development Conference.

We have included some Basic Parliamentary Procedures, Consent Agenda, Planning Meetings, etc., articles to help you at whatever level you are serving as president. Good luck in your term. Remember, if you serve your members well, and educate and work with the other leaders in your association, the next president will be better because of your leadership.

Suggested President’s Checklist

• Begin by securing all files from your predecessor.
• Read chapter, state, and NALS bylaws and become thoroughly familiar with them.
• Distribute a Personal Data Form for committee preference to all members (see the NALS PDF form—conform it to your association), and use the information contained in the form to select committees.
• Call the executive committee (or elected officers) together for a planning meeting; consider inviting committee chairmen.
• Set goals for the year.
• Make committee chair assignments according to bylaws and personal desires.
• Assign members to committees of their choice if you wish to do so. You may wish to invite the chairs of various committees to help with these assignments.
• After oath of office is administered, give short acceptance speech, announce committee appointments, and goals for the year.
• Attend state, regional, and NALS conferences if possible.
• Try to attend first meetings of all committees and, if you have not already done so, obtain budget requirements.
• Call for the first official board meeting of the year. Some associations have a meeting of the new and old board as their first meeting of the year or, in some cases, as the last meeting of the year.
• Call for committee reports. Review each committee’s plan of operation for the year and obtain board approval of plans.
• Adopt association budget for the year, prepared by the budget or finance committee, chaired by the treasurer.
• Include a report on NALS activities at every meeting. A recap of the most recent NALS conference should be given at the next meeting following the NALS conference.
• Distribute NALS mailings to the proper persons.
• Include a membership report at every meeting.
• Chapter presidents should invite a state officer to attend a chapter meeting.
• State presidents should review and make an officer visitation schedule for chapters.