Changes
change grace period
Each Committee, [[Study Groups|Study Group]], and [[Sub-Groups|Sub-Group]] within The Augustan Society, Inc., needs a leader. These are variously titled ''Chairman'', ''Coordinator'', ''Moderator'', or ''Dean'', and some have specific titles that apply only to that group. Most Chairmen are appointed by the [[President]], but some are appointed by other officers or elected. All are referred to as ''Chairman'' and ''President'' on this page for simplicity.
These Chairmen all have similar duties. This page is an effort to make a list of them all in one convenient place. Chairmen are encouraged to make contributions, whether they are typos or complete rewrites.
<li>There are four ways to leave office:
<ol type="1A">
<li>The President asks you to step down (sometimes by announcing a new Chairman, though that's very poor form);</li>
<li>You tender your resignation, which should go to the President (so he can appoint someone else) and to Headquarters (so they can take your name off the website);</li>
<li>If you fail to submit an [[Annual Report]] in July, or fail to report your time and expenses for twelve consecutive months, you will be automatically removed — [[Headquarters Staff]] will send reminders so this last is unlikely to happen by surprise.); or</li>
<li>If you fail to maintain your membership in the Augustan Society. Note that while there is normally a 30-day grace period, the [[Board]] has at times eliminated all grace periods, so or extended them. But best to assume that if dues aren't paid by 31 December (or such other deadline as may be published), you'll be out of office on the following day. You may of course be reappointed after restoring your membership to [[Good Standing]].
</ol></li>
<li>If yours is a standing committee or [[Study Groups|Study Group]], it will continue from year to year. If yours is an ad hoc committee (one formed for a specific short-term task), then it will end when the [[Board]] receives your final report or at the Board meeting following the next [[Annual Meeting]], unless extended.</li>
<li>You are required to give an [[Annual Report]] of your Committee's activities and plans to the Board of Directors for the August Board meeting, and at such other times as the Board or President may request it. Annual reports are normally sent to Headquarters during the month of July, but sub-committees maybe asked to submit such reports to their supervising officer during June that he may consolidate such reports. If you are the head of such a sub-committee and have submitted such a report to your supervising officer in the past year, you may freely disregard any calls for reports from Headquarters Staff.</li>
<li>You are '''required ''' to report your volunteer hours, expenses, and mileage to [[Headquarters Staff]] on a regular basis. Monthly is best, but so long as a report on one calendar year is submitted by 31 January of the next, no harm is done. Note that some offices have more stringent reporting requirements. Note too that reimbursement is subject to budget limitations, and occasionally to cash-flow challenges. Under those conditions, volunteers who make prompt, monthly reports will be paid first.</li>
<li>Chairmen of Standing Committees and [[Study Groups]] are authorized to appoint any Augustan Society member in [[Good Standing]] to their committee. To check if a member is in good standing, please contact Headquarters. It is far preferable to check before extending the invitation! Such appointments do not take effect until you notify Headquarters of your appointment and we receive word of their acceptance. Email is acceptable for this.</li>
<li>If you determine that the expertise your Committee needs is not available from the membership, as indicated by the lack of response to an annual advertisement for such in ''[[Augustæum]]'', you may appoint [[Non-Member Consultants]] to your Committee, provided that a majority of the Committee are members of the Society at all times. Should the number of Augustans fall too low to balance the number of Non-Member Consultants, you must make either additional member appointments or dismiss sufficient non-members to regain a member majority. If yours is a [[Review Committee]](one that reviews petitions and makes recommendations to the Board for recognition or registration), you will not be able to submit recommendations to the [[Board]] when you lack a member majority. Note that this restriction applies to all Committeesand all recommendations.</li>
<li>The [[President]] and [[Headquarters Staff]] are ex officio members of all committees. They are not to be counted in the calculation mentioned in the previous item. They must be copied on all communications sent to your whole committee. This is done automatically if you use the Society email system.</li>
<li>Study Group [[Coordinators]] may name a Vice-Coordinator according to standards set by the [[Dean of Studies]].</li>
<li>Vice-Chairman Chairmen will be asked to step in whenever you are unavailable or unresponsive. This is not to be used to avoid contacting a Chairman, but only to ensure that business continues despite all the interruptions that volunteer service is prone to.</li>
<li>If you have trouble finding appropriate members for your Committee, contact Headquarters, as they keep a file of [[Member Interest Surveys]] that may suggest worthy candidates, the [[Assistant Webmaster for ENS]] maintains the "Help Wanted" list on the website, and the [[Augustæum Editor]] can place a want ad in ''[[Augustæum]]''.</li>
<li>While incidental expenses like postage and long distance will normally be covered by the [[Budget]], should your Committee need additional funding for any reason, you should work with [[Headquarters Staff]] and the [[Finance Committee]] to put your requests into each year's [[Budget]]. Do not delay "until the next budget cycle", as it is very often possible to make mid-year adjustments — the Budget is primarily a planning tool, and only secondarily a control mechanism.</li>
<li>Not all members with such email addresses actually receive email. Some are offline and some people just don't bother to read their email. You may wish to take the level of responsiveness into consideration when appointing and retaining members.</li>
<li>If you appoint members to of your Committee who are offline, you must take personal responsibility to mail them copies of all online communications. Your expenses, and theirs in replying, may be reimbursed under your budget.</li>
<li>Unless you are also a [[Directors|Director]], you will not be expected to attend either [[Board]] meetings or the [[Annual Convention]], though we of course hope you attend the latter (at your expense). You may occasionally be asked to join a Board meeting; these are normally held via teleconference, so the commitment is small (and any telephone charges will be reimbursed).</li>
