STARTA Constitution

Article I - Name

The name of this branch of ARTA shall be “The St. Albert and Area Retired Teachers’ Association” hereinafter referred to as STARTA.

Article II - Membership

A. Voting Membership

STARTA will accept into membership, with full voting power, any person in receipt of a pension from The Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund.

STARTA membership shall be principally persons resident in or previously employed within the geographic area encompassed by the City of St. Albert, the Counties of Barrhead, Parkland and Sturgeon and the Municipal District of Westlock.

B Associate Membership

The following persons may be accepted as Associate Members without the right to vote or hold the office of President, Vice President(s), or Branch Benefits Representative:

The spouse of a member.
Retired teachers from other educational institutions in Alberta.
Retired teachers in receipt of a pension from other provinces.
Honorary Members of the Alberta Teachers' Association.
Other persons as approved by the Executive.

Article III - Objectives

The objectives of STARTA shall be:

A. To promote good fellowship among retired teachers.

B. To maintain contact with less active members.

C. To encourage the participation of new retirees.

D. To promote contact with other retired teachers in the area.

E. To assist in protecting the welfare of retired teachers.

F. To maintain liaison with ARTA.

G. To encourage members to support the activities of ARTA.

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Article IV - Executive Officers

A. The Executive Officers shall attain office through election at the AGM.

Elected for a two-year term as in IV C below:

President
Vice President(s)
Secretary
Treasurer
Program Convener
Telephone Convener
Communication Convener
Historian

A Branch Benefits Representative and Webmaster will be appointed by the president, in consultation with the other officers, for a two year term.

The Past President will be the person who last served as president.

B. The responsibilities of the Executive Officers shall be as prescribed and generally accepted by ARTA and ATA and as may be determined by the executive from time to time. The lists of duties shall be attached hereto as "Appendix A".

C. The election of the officers shall be conducted in even years at the general meeting in May. The Past President shall prepare and offer a nomination slate, with at least one name for each position, for the consideration of the membership. Additional nominations from the floor shall be in order. The term of office shall begin at the conclusion of the AGM.

D. Should a vacancy occur during a term of an elected person, the Executive shall appoint a replacement, except that if the position of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume that position and a new Vice-President shall be appointed.

E. The appointment of appropriate Executive Officers shall occur at the Executive meeting next following the AGM.

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Article V - Committees

A. A convener may, after consultation with the Executive, appoint individuals to assist in carrying out the functions of the office.

B. Notwithstanding other provisions of this constitution, the Executive may appoint ad hoc committees for specific purposes.

Article VI – Finances

A. The fiscal year of STARTA shall May to April 30.

B. The annual fee shall be as recommended from time to time by the Executive and approved at a general meeting.

C. The annual membership fee covers the period from July 1 to June 30 following. An official receipt will be issued upon request.

D. Payment of operating expenses shall be as authorized by the Executive. Signing officers shall be any two of the Treasurer, the President and the Vice-President.

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Article VII - Meetings

A. Executive Meetings

The Executive shall meet at the call of the President who shall convene the group a minimum of 3 times per year.

B. Annual General Meetings

The Annual General Meeting of the membership shall be held in May.

The Agenda shall include:

The annual report of the President.
Reports of other Executive officers as necessary.
Reports of committees as necessary.
Reports of committees as necessary.
The audited financial statement.
The election of Executive officers.
New business.

C. General Meetings

Other general meetings, in addition to the AGM, may be called by the Executive as deemed necessary for the effective and satisfactory operation of STARTA. Membership shall be notified at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.

D. Social Functions

A minimum of four social activities shall be organized by the Executive each year. The form of the activities shall be in accordance with the wishes of the membership.

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Article VIII - Quorum

The quorum for any meeting of the membership of STARTA shall be 10 members of whom at least 2 shall be executive members.

The quorum for any meeting of the Executive shall be a simple majority.

Article IX - Procedures

Parliamentary procedure for the conduct of meetings as well as other procedures and practices of STARTA shall conform to those of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

Article X - Amendments

Amendments to this constitution and any related by-laws may be approved at any regular or special meeting of the members by an affirmative vote of two thirds (2/3) of the voting members present at the meeting provided, however, that notice had been given no later than the previous meeting.

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Executive Job Descriptions

In June of 2010, the executive decided to try and outline the duties of each executive position to help future members of the executive take on their roles more effectively. Present and former executive members reported on their responsibilities and these are compiled below.

President

Presides at meetings of STARTA, including Executive Committee meetings, Breakfast meetings, and the Annual General Meeting.

Prepares an agenda for each of the above meetings, including the Annual General Meeting.

Represents STARTA on the ARTA Board of Directors as a voting member.

Represents STARTA at the ARTA Annual General Meeting as a delegate.

Serves as official spokesperson for STARTA.

Prepares an annual report for the Annual General Meeting.

Serves as ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee.

Exercises all powers and performs all duties normally incident to the office of president.

Vice President

Provides assistance to the President and Executive as needed (Silent Auction, book sales, collection of toys for Christmas Hampers, golf tournament).

Organizes the North Central Convention booth in Feb. of each year.

Arranges the venue and menus for the breakfast meetings; meeting with the hotel staff (or staff of other venue used) in June to set dates and prices and menus for the coming year. Provides ongoing feed back to the management regarding the meals and venue activities.

Chairs breakfast meetings in the absence of the President.

Attends the Annual General Meeting of ARTA as a voting delegate.

Attends ARTA Board of Directors' meetings if President is unable to attend

Updates job descriptions for each executive position as changes are made by the executive.

Invites political candidates to come to meetings and make contact with members when elections occur; encourages members to vote in federal, provincial and local elections.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings

Attends meetings of the organization.

Past President

Chairs the nominating committee.

Assembles reports of the Exec. for the AGM.

Conducts the AGM meeting.

Prepares retiree packages and mail to schools; contacts new retirees.

Provides “back-up” services, such as acting as Master of Ceremonies for times when other executive members are unavailable.

Shares ideas, guidance, and expertise with the Executive Committee.

Assists Executive Committee as requested.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

Phoning Convener

One needs a reliable phone message system, and it helps to have the phoners on speed dial!! Now that most are on email, the job has gotten easier but a phone call is always used as a follow up.

In September e-mail (or phone) the phoners to confirm that they will be available to phone for the September STARTA breakfast meeting. If any are unable to phone, arrange for an alternate to do their phoning for September. Also ask for names of members who have not attended a breakfast in a year and call them to see if they are planning to attend or if they would like to be taken off of the phoning list. (Because all the former “300’s” have been phoned, there is not need to have that listing anymore).

Keep the directory up to date and print copies for the president and vice-president(s).

At the September STARTA breakfast meeting, recruit new phoners as monthly phoners and as alternates.

Prepare the yearly phoning lists and distribute them to the phoners at the phoning meeting in October.

Attend the monthly executive meetings and present the phoning convener’s monthly report.

After the executive meeting, e-mail the Gazette with the details of the next monthly STARTA Breakfast Meeting for the “What’s Happening” section in the newspaper.

Prepare the phoning memo and e-mail ( or phone) the information to each phoner 2 Sundays before the next STARTA Breakfast Meeting.

Phoners should report back the names of promised attendees by the Sunday before each breakfast.

E-mail the caterer 2 days before the breakfast with the numbers expected.

Phone Susan Suprunuik to tell her how many center pieces she will need to make for the breakfast meeting.

Appoint a care convener from the committee to send cards (eg. sympathy, get well) to members and/or their families.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

STARTA Historian

The task of the Historian is twofold:

record STARTA events.

gather, organize, and preserve items which are of interest to STARTA members and associates.

These tasks are done by:

Taking pictures at STARTA events such as monthly Breakfast Meetings, Summer Picnic, etc.

Preserving those pictures, along with copies of current STARTA newsletters, in albums or on digital media, noting names and dates whenever possible.

Making those picture records freely available to STARTA members and associates by displaying them at Breakfast Meetings or at special events such as Teachers' Conventions or on the STARTA website.

Collecting published items which mention STARTA members or associates and adding those to the STARTA albums.

Maintaining and updating the existing collection of STARTA members' teaching biographies.

Continuing to ensure proper storage and preservation of STARTA historical records such as minutes of Executive Meetings, etc. Currently these items are stored in a filing cabinet (property of STARTA) at the St. Albert Protestant Board of Education's District office.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

Web Master

The position of web master involves the creation and maintenance of the STARTA website and e-mail contact with members as needed.

Sends the monthly newsletter to all e-mail accounts, which saves our organization the cost of printing and mailing them.

Keeps the website up to date. Our website, which is paid for by the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association, has been restored and we are now able to keep it up to date again. This service is free to our group.

Maintains communication with the ARTA staff, regarding the web site.

Makes a laptop projector available for presentations at STARTA meetings. Purchase and store the back-up bulb for the projector. (The STARTA association has entered into a joint-ownership agreement with the Edmonton and Area Friendship Force organization. Together we have purchased a Casio laptop projector complete with a 3 year extended service plan).

Works with ARTA on province-wide communication, including a data base which will include any members who have joined the ARTA group and who say they are in our area. Contacts these members and invite them to our meetings.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

Treasurer

Receives and disburses money on behalf of STARTA.

Collects money for breakfasts.

Balances the money collected with the number of people present. An official receipt will be issued upon request.

Pays the breakfast bills.

Deposits money from book sales and auctions.

Collects membership dues and deposit the money.

Keeps a spread sheet of all transactions.

Prepares a monthly statement for each executive meeting.

Prepares a yearly financial report for the Annual General Meeting. This includes a balance sheet, income statement, as well as a budget for the following year.

Keeps an updated list of members.

Writes cheques for expenses incurred by members.

Balances the monthly statements from the bank with spread sheets.

Keeps an accurate account, with cheque stubs and bills submitted, of all transactions.

Arranges a meeting with the bank for co-signers of cheques.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends all Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

Program Convener

The Program convener’s primary task is to work with his/her committee and the executive to provide interesting and varied programs for each of the monthly breakfasts. Specific tasks of the program committee and convener include:

Meets with the program committee to design a yearly program of topics based on suggestions from STARTA members, the executive, and the program committee.

Presents this proposal to the executive in May, if possible, for approval.

Contacts speakers to present the proposed program agreed upon by the executive. (Fall speakers should be presented to the executive for approval by June; winter speakers should be approved by November).

Provides the phoning convener and newsletter editor with information about speakers for publicity purposes.

Arranges for special AV and table set-up with the Web Master and hotel, if needed by the presenters.

Meets the speaker on the morning of the breakfast and introducing the topic and speaker to the audience.

Helps with special events such as the silent auction or book sales or summer picnic as needed.

Arranges for a dinner theater outing each year.

Assists the President with the agenda for the breakfast meetings as needed.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings and meetings of the organization.

Secretary

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings and records minutes of the meetings.

Emails minutes to the Executive Committee after the meetings.

Records minutes of AGM.

Stores minutes executive meetings and AGM in STARTA filing cabinet each year

Replies to correspondence on behalf of the executive.

Attends meetings of the organization.

ARTA Branch Benefits Representative

Attends ARTA meetings as an Insurance Benefits Branch Representative.

Represents STARTA at the meetings, conveying our point of view.

Keeps STARTA members informed of new developments.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

ARTA Branch Pension Representative

Attends ARTA meetings as an Insurance Benefits Branch Representative.

Represents STARTA at the meetings, conveying our point of view.

Keeps STARTA members informed of new developments.

Shares retirement and pension information with potential retirees wherever possible e.g. At local ATA council meetings, in small coffee groups, with business cards.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends all Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

Communication

Produces a monthly newsletter which advertises upcoming events, provides background for the breakfast meetings and news about members, and includes other newsworthy items.

Forwards the newsletter to the Web Master for e-mailing; prints a small number of hard-copy newsletters to be read at the breakfast meetings; mails newsletters to those members without email.

Serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Attends Executive Committee meetings.

Attends meetings of the organization.

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