Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury

Board Committee Chair Descriptions

 

 

President

 

The responsibilities of the President include:

 Conduct board and general meetings.

  •  Attend Special Committee meetings.
  •  Attend Massachusetts General Federation meetings twice a year.
  •  Attend regional workshops twice a year.
  •  Participate in as many club activities as possible.
  •  Inform and support Board Members and the general membership.
  •  Attend and participate in as many activities as possible.
  •  Delegate responsibilities if the Co-President’s position is not filled.
  •  Attend as many invitations to other club’s events as possible.

This involves a one-year commitment.

 

Co-President

 

The responsibilities of the Co-president include:

  •  Support and assist the President.
  •  Move up to President’s slot when the outgoing Co-President’s term is over.
  •  Conduct board and general meetings in the President’s absence.
  •  Represent President at Special Committee meetings.
  •  Attend Massachusetts General Federation meetings twice a year.
  •  Attend regional workshops twice a year.
  •  Participate in as many club activities as possible.
  •  Write “A Word from our Co-Presidents” column monthly for the Newsletter out to board
  •  Purchase gift for the outgoing President to be presented by the Co-President at the Annual Luncheon in May.

 

This involves a two-year commitment (One year as Co-president, one year as president).

 

Vice President

 

The Vice-President is responsible for selecting and managing the success of programs for the

year, including the program for the joint meeting with the Sudbury Garden Club every other year.

These responsibilities include:

  •  Attend spring Federation speaker/programs meeting to learn about program opportunities.
  •  Select speakers.
  •  Manage speaker contracts and arrange payment through Treasurer.
  •  Notify speaker in advance of meeting, and arrange for any special items needed by speaker.
  •  Send speaker and program information to Publicity Chair for submission to local newspapers.
  •  Introduce speaker at the meeting.

 

In addition, the Vice-President also makes arrangements with the library or other venue for the

upcoming meetings, and provides floor plans of table and chair locations to the venue for set-up.

The VP submits a monthly article regarding programs to the TGC monthly newsletter.

Most of the work needs to be accomplished over the summer in order to have the programs’ plan

in place and to line up speakers by September. The rest requires a few hours each month.

 

Recording Secretary

 

Responsibilities for the Recording Secretary include recording the minutes at board meetings and

general meetings. Minutes are forwarded to the President for distribution.

 

The Corresponding Secretary

 

This position is responsible for supporting the Board in communications within the TGC, the

community and beyond. Sending or delivering "sunshine" cards and gifts, thank you notes,

invitations and business correspondence are part of the job description. An outline for expenses

and more detailed information is contained in the program folder.

Responsible for contacting members not on email regarding changes in club activities or special

notifications.

 

Treasurer

 

The Treasurer has the following responsibilities:

  •  Collect all dues from active and associate members.
  •  Collect all funds and make deposits.
  •  Custodian of checkbook jointly with the president.
  •  Pay bills. Keep records.
  •  Present statement of funds at each board and general meetings.
  •  Prepare yearly budget.
  •  Prepare annual report.
  •  Pay required federation dues and insurance and place orders for club subscriptions for      the Mayflower
  •  Be custodian of the tax-free number and the post office box
  •  Prepare Federal form 990-N and state tax form PC
  •  Submit renewal paperwork to Federation to maintain club’s umbrella status
  •  Close books at year end

 

Art-in-Bloom Committee Chair

 

The Chair fills out the application to participate (after receipt by the club President) and returns it

to the MFA immediately. She attends the organizational meeting at the Museum of Fine Arts

where artwork is assigned. The Chair and team (one or two members) designs a floral

arrangement to accompany the assigned artwork, purchases materials, and sets up the display

during Art-in-Bloom week. This job is labor-intensive for about six weeks prior to the Art-in-Bloom

show in April.

 

Children's Library Arrangements Program Chair

 

The Thursday Garden Club provides two arrangements to be placed on the desk in the Children's

Library. The coordinator of this program circulates a sign-up sheet for volunteers in May, gets the

names in the yearbook and reminds the volunteers via the newsletter and a call or e-mail. She

should take pictures of the arrangements for the photo album.

At Town Decorating she is responsible for hanging swags at the library and disposing of them in

January. A more detailed description is available in the program folder.

 

Children's Library Garden Program Chair

 

In October the garden is tidied as part of the 'Fall Clean -Up' and bulbs are planted. In April the

garden is weeded and fertilizer is applied. In May, annuals and perennials are planted. During

the summer months the garden needs watering once a week, which should be done by having a

rotation schedule that members sign up for.

All the work in the garden can be done in the evening or on weekends. Members have always

been willing to help at all times.

 

Children’s Library Programs Chair

 

The Children’s Library Program meets at Goodnow on Thursdays from 3:15pm to 4:45pm.

Responsibilities of the Chair include:

  •  Meeting with the librarian.
  •  Choosing a book.
  •  Designing a project both related to the story and age appropriate.
  •  Buying supplies.
  •  Requesting volunteers and snacks.
  •  Making name tags.
  •  Teaching a nature-related lesson with the project to 15 children age 7-11.
  •  Setting up and cleaning up on the workshop date.
  •  Writing a brief article for the newsletter monthly.
  •  Keeping both a photo and workshop record.

 

Currently, the library requests 4 workshops per year. I would estimate the total time for each one

at about 6+ hours.

 

Civic Committee Chair

 

The Civics chairperson is responsible for managing the fall and spring planting and clean-up in

Grinnell Park, the cemetery and the town center planter. The October meeting is set aside for

clean-up and planting of mums, daffodils, etc. Civics purchases the plants, signs up volunteers at

the September meeting and coordinates with the Children’s Library Garden Chair. Plans

extension of the Daffodil Trail.

 

The May meeting is set aside for the Spring clean-up and planting in Grinnell Park, the cemetery

and town center planter. Civics contacts the Children's Library Garden Chair and members who

maintain planters in town to purchase plants. A sign up sheet for volunteers is handed out at the

April meeting.

 

The park and town center planter is maintained through the summer with volunteers organized by

Civics. Any other civics projects is up to the individual chairperson.

 

Education Chair

 

The Education Chair brings attention to gardening-related classes and workshops in the area,

mainly those listed in the Mayflower on such subjects as flower shows and landscape design, and

mentions them to the club at meetings and / or in the newsletter. This job could include garden

related education workshops.

 

Fundraising Committee Chair

 

This position assesses the need for, plans and manages the spring club fundraiser. Time

commitment depends on whether it is determined that a fundraiser is needed for that year, and

the type of fundraiser activity. Past (and current) fundraisers have included a garden tour of

Sudbury, and an open luncheon meeting with speaker (coordinated with quilt raffle and boutique).

 

Horticulture Chair

 

This position writes a monthly article for the newsletter on some aspect of horticulture. Past

articles include outlines of some of the seasonal jobs for each month and reviewing gardening

books at Goodnow Library.

 

These articles can be done at the Chair’s convenience as long as there is one in the newsletter

each month. This job could easily be shared if needed. On average, it takes

several hours to read a book, take notes, and write the article.

 

Hosmer House Committee Chair

 

The chairman attends two organizational meetings at the Hosmer House - one in June and

one in September where a theme is selected.

 

The chair organizes a interested committee to help decorate the assigned space according to the

theme. The committee decides how they will decorate their space and organizes appropriate

workshops for interested members. This could also include posting a wish list of props in the

newsletter.

 

The set up is on the last Sunday and Monday in November and can take three hours.  The take down can be done in half an hour, it is on the second Monday, in December. Members

who signed up for these tasks are emailed to confirm their availability.

 

The chairman should check with the Treasurer regarding assigned budget. Receipts for any

materials purchased should be submitted to the treasurer as soon as possible and a record kept.

Hosmer House will request a list of all members who have helped as they will receive invitations

to the Open house Party, which is held on the first Friday evening in December.

 

The chair of Hosmer House is a position that requires a commitment from June to December. The

months of October to December are when most of the work happens.

 

Membership Committee Chair

 

The Membership Chairperson should provide a welcoming atmosphere for potential new

members. She should provide opportunities for potential members to learn about and meet

members of the Thursday Garden Club through workshops, designated meetings or coffees and

to keep attendance records at each of the meetings. The chair is also responsible for making

sure the name tags are in order and at each of the meetings. The membership chair is also

responsible for the distribution of the yearbook to all members. The only time this chairmanship

is time-intensive is when a membership event such as a workshop is planned. The planning,

publicity and execution of the event takes between 5-10 hours.

 

Newsletter Editor

 

  •  For the Monthly newsletter the editor:
  •  Notifies Board members of the deadline for receiving information for the monthly (excluding July and August) newsletter.
  •  Gathers all articles submitted by the deadline and formats the newsletter. Checks all  articles for general spelling and grammar for accuracy.
  •  When completed, e-mails the newsletter to the memberships and prints out and mails hard copies to those members who do not have e-mail

 

This job requires good computer skills.

 

Publicity Chair

 

The responsibility of the Publicity Chair is to contact two local papers regarding the monthly

General Meetings and do any additional publicity for projects or club activities as either warranted

or requested by the board (articles about projects, flyers in town about programs, mailings, etc.).

The amount of time needed for the monthly is minimal since filings with the papers are done via

email. Time for other publicity would depend on the nature of the project (still probably minimal

since almost all contact is electronic). All of this can be done during the evenings and most of it by email communication. It is a monthly job, which continues throughout the club year.

If the chair doesn’t attend the board meetings, someone at the meeting needs to inform the

publicity chair regarding what should go in the newspaper. If the information comes directly from

the program chairman by email, no additional typing is needed, only a little editing and adding the

required Federation tag that goes with every article.

 

Tasks

  •  Get information from program chairman on details of the meetings.
  •  Edit information and send to Town Crier and Action Unlimited.
  •  Keep copies of articles printed about the club.
  •  Compile a Publicity Press book according to Federation guidelines and submit to Federation Awards Chairman.
  • The following tasks could be delegated if one wished to do so:
  •  Doing publicity beyond the monthly filings could be divided as necessary.
  •  Collecting of the articles from papers.
  •  Preparing the Publicity Press book.

 

Scholarship Committee Chair

 

The responsibilities of this position include meeting with Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

counselors and members of the science department to inform them about the scholarship.

Counselors solicit applications from students. The committee reads the applications and selects

the most appropriate for the scholarship. Scholarship is awarded by the TGC chair or committee

member at the L-S awards ceremony. This is a good job for someone who works outside the

home or can not donate a lot of time.

 

Tea Committee Chairs (3 People)

 

For monthly meetings the Tea Committee Chairs:

  •  Arrive at 0900 to the meeting site to review the room. Prepare the coffee (either on site or at home), provide other liquid refreshments, serving containers, ice, cream, sugar, tea, etc. and finally provide the tablecloths.
  •  Send out reminders to the monthly hostess and her group who provide the edibles and creative artistic touches (including centerpiece).
  •  Provide support as needed to the monthly hostesses as needed in terms of set up and clean up. Maintain the party supplies for paper products, napkins, and beverages, etc that are used during meetings.
  •  Contribute a written piece to the monthly club newsletter.

For special Theme meetings:

  •  Coordinate and organize the special theme meetings such as the Faith Luncheon and the December Town decorating at the Grange.
  •  Establish the volunteer sign up sheet and circulate it to members to contribute food items for that particular event.
  •  Oversee the "kitchen" action required to make the event run smoothly.

 

The person(s) on the committee should have storage space in their home for the tea committee

supplies, be willing to recycle said items when appropriate, and be willing to lift and transport a

significant amount of materials to and from meetings.

 

This is a busy committee that requires some time and effort to oversee but it is a wonderful

opportunity to meet club members and be active in the monthly meetings!

 

Town Decorations Committee Chairs (2)

 

These chairpersons are responsible for planning and managing the greens decorations for

Sudbury Town Center and coordinating greens decorations with the Library Arrangements

Program Chair. Chair responsibilities include:

 

  •  Notify or request permission from Town Selectmen early in the fall to do any town decorating.
  •  Arrange for greens-picking site and request help and/or greens from membership as needed.
  •  Manage sign-up sheet for greens workshop.
  •  Arrange for an early bow workshop to replenish supply as necessary.
  •  Reserve the Presbyterian Church, or other suitable venue, for greens workshop in December (2 days) in coordination with the Vice-President of Programs.
  •  Line up committee for providing snacks and soup luncheon in coordination with tea committee.
  •  Coordinate all plans and materials with Library Arrangements Program Chair to ensure that a sufficient amount of greens and materials are available for both Town Center and the Library.
  •  Ensure Town decorations are removed in a proper time frame.

 

Trips and Tours Chair

 

The responsibility of trips and tours is to organize garden or non-garden related outings. The

number of trips depends entirely on the organizer although Art in Bloom and the New England

Flower Show are two that we always go on. This job takes minimal time. You can inform the

members either through the newsletter or by e-mail.

 

Website Chair:

 

This position is responsible for maintenance and monthly updates to the TGC website.

 

Yearbook Chair

The responsibility of the Yearbook Chair is to produce the annual yearbook for the club and have

it ready for distribution at the September General Meeting of the club.

 

The amount of time needed is variable depending on one’s familiarity with the club and computer

skills. All of this can be done during the evenings and most of it by email communication. It

should be a one-time project (when the yearbooks are distributed in September that should be

the end of the job).

 

From my experience, the hardest part is getting the information from people to be able to finish

the job. Much of the formatting can be done ahead of time and the new data plugged in. All the

information should be sent by email so there is as little retyping as necessary. After the data is

available, it still takes 3-4 days to get the formatting perfect. Sometimes that does not allow time

for multiple proofreaders in order to get the printing done and have it ready for the meeting.

 

Tasks

  •  Compile information from club officers and chairmen for inclusion in new yearbook.
  •  Decide on format and enter new data. (Membership Chairman should be responsible for obtaining updated information on members, i.e. changes in addresses, phone numbers or email addresses)
  •  Proofread copy and have another member proofread before printing if time permits.
  •  Take to and pick up from printer.
  •  Distribute at September General Meeting.
  •  Give extra copies to Membership Chairmen to give to members not at first meeting and new members joining during the course of the year.

The following tasks could be delegated if one wished to do so:

 

  •  Entering data
  •  Proofreading
  •  Getting printing done
  •  Distributing to members