SHORT STATURED PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA 41st ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING   Notice is hereby given that the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the SSPA is to be held at the Eagle Heights Centre,168 MacDonnell Road, Eagle Heights QLD  on Friday 3 October 2008 at 9.30am.   A form is attached so that members may nominate a person/s for election to National Council. The following positions must be filled: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Journal Editor, Overseas Liaison Officer, Membership Secretary and a minimum of six National Council members.   It is suggested that the following is thought of when electing National Council members: ·         all active states are represented; ·         male and female representation is equally spread; ·         Detailed knowledge of and experience within the SSPA.   To enable members to decide whether they or someone they know would be suitable for a National Council position, please refer to the summary of the responsibilities and obligations of National Councillors that appears below.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF AN SSPA NATIONAL COUNCILLOR?

The following information is a summary of the responsibilities of SSPA National Councillors as well as a job description of each of the executive positions.

Each council position is served on an honorary basis.

Members are invited to nominate fellow SSPA members for any of the National Council positions, by completing and submitting the attached 2008/2009 National Council nomination form.

Please note that nominations are also accepted from the floor on the day of the AGM.

The nomination form on this website is especially useful for those members who will not be attending the AGM.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF SERVING    

 COUNCIL MEMBERS

• Council meets four times a year.  Generally, two of these meetings are face-to-face and two are phone link-ups.  In accordance with the Constitution of the SSPA, a councillor is expected to attend at least two out of the four council meetings.

• In the event of non-attendance at a council meeting, council members should send their apologies. Absent council members may appoint a proxy for a particular meeting. The appointment of a proxy must be in writing, signed by the member appointing the proxy and stipulating the meeting for which it is to have effect [Refer to Constitution, Item 15, Para 1(e)].
• Sub-committees are often formed on council to investigate a new area of activity or examine an existing policy.  In the event that councillors are asked to participate on a sub-committee, they are expected to carry out their duties promptly.
• Councillors should familiarise themselves with the Constitution of the SSPA (with particular reference to the ‘Objectives’) as well as the Mission Statement. Councillors should also be familiar with the Code of Ethics, Code of Behaviour and the Publicity Guidelines.
• These responsibilities and obligations apply to all council members, both ‘ordinary’ and ‘office bearers’. 

DUTIES OF PRESIDENT/CHAIRPERSON

The President is the figurehead of the association and must be a person of short stature and a positive role model to other members.  They should be able if called upon, to speak or give interviews etc., to publicise or represent the SSPA. 

The President shall be the chairperson of all meetings of the council, and therefore must be confident and capable of running a meeting and adhering to the agenda.   Each member of the council has one vote.  In the case of an equality of votes, the chairperson shall have a casting vote.

The President has the normal responsibilities and obligations of a council member i.e. making association decisions and participating on subcommittees when required. See above “Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

The President is required to present a written report to the Annual General Meeting of the SSPA.

DUTIES OF VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice President is the understudy to the President. Like the President they must be a person of short stature and must be a positive role model to other members of the SSPA. 

The Vice President is required to give a report to the Annual General Meeting of the SSPA.

The Vice President has the normal responsibilities and obligations of a council member.  See above “Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

DUTIES OF TREASURER

The Treasurer is responsible for the receiving and banking of all association monies i.e. memberships, donations etc., they are also responsible for the balance of the association’s books. 

They prepare financial statements for each Council meeting as well as the yearly financial report for the Annual General Meeting.  They also prepare the books for audit each year.

The treasurer has the normal responsibilities of a Council member, see above “Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

DUTIES OF SECRETARY

The main role of the secretary is to record all council meeting minutes; prepare them and forward them, along with agendas, to council members.

At least two days before each AGM, copies of the minutes from the previous AGM must be posted on a notice board at the venue of the AGM.

The secretary must respond to any correspondence received, as well as enquiries by phone and/or internet. The secretary is also responsible for outgoing correspondence as directed by National Council.

The secretary is required to give a “Correspondence” report to each National Council meeting and prepare a Secretary’s Report for the AGM.  

DUTIES OF OVERSEAS LIAISON OFFICER (OLO)

The OLO is responsible for maintaining contacts with other SSP groups around the world.

They handle correspondence from overseas, relate any matters of interest to Council and publish the same in the Journal.

The OLO prepares a report for each National Council meeting as well as the AGM.

They are also required to fulfil the normal obligations of a serving council member.  See above, “Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

DUTIES OF JOURNAL EDITOR

The Journal Editor is responsible for the publication, collation and dispatch of the SSPA Journal every second month. 

As well as being a time-consuming position, this is a very responsible one as the Journal is the means by which members keep in touch and are made aware of what their association is providing for them.

The Editor prepares a report for each National Council meeting as well as the Annual General Meeting

The Journal Editor has the normal responsibilities of a Council member.

See above, “Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

There are minimum computer requirements for the position of Journal Editor. The elected Journal Editor must have:

·                                 Minimum of Windows 98, preferably XP.

·                                 Microsoft Word

·                                 Microsoft Publisher

·                                 A scanner

·                                 CD burner on which to copy the Journal for forwarding to the publisher.

·                                 Internet connection.

DUTIES   OF MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

The role of the Membership Secretary is to maintain up-to-date records of the current status of the members of the SSPA and to make those records available to the national and state secretaries.   To do this the Membership Secretary must liaise with the Treasurer who receives the money for membership fees.

The Membership Secretary is required to submit a brief report to each National Council meeting, citing the current numbers of members and any statistics or information worth noting.   A report to the Annual General Meeting of the SSPA is also required.

The membership secretary has the normal responsibilities and obligations of a Council member i.e. making association decisions and participating on subcommittees when required. See above

“Responsibilities and Obligations of Serving Council Members”.

Usual tasks of the membership secretary include:

·                                 Letter of welcome to be mailed to new members along with a package of SSPA resources/materials e.g.  SSPA brochure, Emily Neyland Book and Parent Rep kit. Journals for the current year also to be included in the package.

·                                 Maintain membership database by:

-                                                          keeping record of all financial members of the association

-                                                          keeping separate databases of all short statured children of members

·                                 Maintain database of overseas journals and free journals.  Liaise with OLO re. the receipt of overseas journals.

·                                 Email labels (for members, overseas and free journals) to printer one week after journal deadline.

·                                 Advise Journal Editor of new members

·                                 Liaise with Web Master re. email addresses

·                                 Respond to queries.

·                                 Keep National Councillors and State Secretaries updated re. membership by:

 - sending full membership lists to President, Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian at the end of the financial year, including separate lists of SSP children. Periodically send membership lists to all the above;

        -  periodically sending membership lists and separate children’s list to all state secretaries;     

        -  regularly mailing the lists of new parents to state secretaries to pass on to

        the Parent Reps.

_____________________________________________________________

Note:  the following two positions are not elected but Council appointed.

DUTIES OF LIBRARIAN

 The Librarian takes charge of all the publications that have made up the SSPA’s library over the last 40 years.  They are responsible for collecting new and interesting publications and material relating to people with disabilities in general and short stature in particular.

The Librarian establishes a system for lending the SSPA’s library to members; and is also responsible for informing members (through the Journal) of the library’s content as well as any new additions or acquisitions. 

The Librarian is required to submit a brief report to each National Council meeting, giving an update on the status of the SSPA library.  Also a report to the Annual General Meeting of the SSPA is required.

Like the Web Master, the Librarian is not an elected position, but is Council appointed.  As an appointed officer, they are not required to attend council meetings but of course are welcome to do so.

DUTIES OF SSPA WEB MASTER

The SSPA Web Master is an appointed Officer of the National Council.  As an appointed officer, they are not required to attend council meetings but of course are welcome to do so.

Prerequisite for this role:  Must have a Mac/PC which has website editing software e.g. Microsoft Front Page, Dreamweaver.

The Web Master’s duties include the following:

·                                 Responsibility for creating, maintaining and regular updating of the national website to ensure proper functioning, navigation, accuracy and currency of the information.

·                                 Use Web development applications, such as Microsoft Front Page to develop and format web pages for publication on the national web site.

·                                 Take editorial responsibility for the content, quality and style of the site.

·                                 Answer emails sent to the website addresses: enquiries@sspa.org.au  and

             membership@sspa.org.au

·                                 Provide regular log analysis of website statistics and emails

·                                 Co-operate with others in putting together and maintaining State branch websites, and to ensure uniformity in both style and content with the national website.

·                                 Write and present a quarterly report to National Council on website developments, including an analysis of enquiries and website user statistics. Also a report to the AGM.

·                                 Repair any errors and broken links as they occur.