Position Description—Convention Secretary
Title: Convention Secretary
General Purpose:
The Convention Secretary is responsible for taking minutes of OPA convention business meetings.
Classification: Appointed
Level: National Coordinator
Relationships to Other Positions:
Appointed by: Executive Director
Accountable to: Executive Director
Support from: Director of Administration, Executive Director
Works with: Elections Coordinator, Director of Administration, Executive Director, Convention Coordinator, District Summit Coordinator, ADOs, CSCs, Convention Parliamentarian
Term of Service: One-year appointment during convention year
Time Commitment: Must be present at all convention business meetings. 1-2 hours per week following convention until convention minutes are approved and published.
Required Qualifications:
- Lifetime member in good standing with alum status
- Must be able to attend all business meetings held during the national convention
- Must keep confidential information completely private
- Familiar with Roberts Rules of Order
Preferred Knowledge/Abilities/Experience:
- Able to track all aspects of a convention discussion at a very detailed level
- Prior active participation in at least one OPA national convention business meeting
- Ability to remain calm and capture details of discussions especially while others may be having debates or discussions around the room
Duties and Responsibilities
- In the weeks prior to convention, prepare by reviewing Robert's Rules of Order, Rules of the Day from prior conventions, and prior convention minutes
- Prepare tally sheets and other logging devices to help keep track of convention business debate and get ready for roll call votes
- Review the legislation packet and proposals that will be discussed and have them ready in an electronic file to be available for quick changes and amendments
- Keep an accurate record of the proceedings of all national organization meetings (i.e., national convention, mid-year meeting, and any other Board of Director meetings as assigned)
- Assist in facilitating breakout meetings at the request of the chair (Ex: a parallel Candidates Forum session)
- Assist parliamentarian in counting votes during the meeting, either by show of hands or by roll-call tally, and advise the chair whether a motion met the required plurality to pass
- Assist with counting election ballots and inform the chair of the results
- Prepare business meeting minutes in a clear and timely fashion
- Solicit feedback and edits for provided meeting minutes
- Revise meeting minutes with feedback and edits, provide revised copies to Executive Director
Convention/Mid-year/Summit/Leadership Training attendance required? Yes/No/No/No
Approved by NEB Effective July 2017