So, we’re coming up to second semester which means it’s just a few short months until SUTEKH holds its Annual General Meeting. One of the things that occur at this event is the election of the SUTEKH Executive for the following year. Nominations for the Executive roles will open closer to the date, but in case any of you have a latent interest in trying your hand, this post just gets it onto your radar and gives you a bit of an idea as to what you’d be doing and why you should.
Why be on the Executive?
1) The Club Needs You
Corny or not, SUTEKH wouldn’t exist without dedicated and passionate people to run it. Several of the current Executive members finish university this year (including MAJ, myself, NotSteve, and Reg) and won’t be able to carry on their roles next year, and unless someone steps up to take their place, SUTEKH will not be able to continue.
2) It’s Good For The Soul
Many of you already balance university work with work, travel, social life, sport, and other external commitments. Adding the management of a club to your workload is a little taxing, but is great training for time-management. It also gives you experience working as part of a team (but it’s better than mandatory teamwork in class, seriously). These are both good things to have in your skillset.
3) Employers LOVE IT
This is particularly true of the more ‘official’ roles on the Executive, namely President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary, but it’s still true for any of the roles. Even though sometimes SUTEKH just feels like a hobby with little relevance, employers really like to see extracurricular activities like Executive roles in a student club. To them, it shows you have leadership, time-management, dedication and passion, teamwork, interacting with people/clients and so on. If nothing else, it’s simply something that the other applicants don’t have, something that makes you stand out. In fact, in some of the more competitive job markets like law, banking, or engineering, extracurriculars like can be the difference between a successful job for your first choice firm and schlepping back to Centrelink.
4) More Influence in the Running of the Club
While SUTEKH as a general rule always tries to respond to the interests of its members, there is no easier way to get the club to run an event you want than running it yourself. Being on the Executive means you get a stronger say in how the club allocates its resources, arranges the event timetable, and chooses events to run. You think we should have more PC gaming? Join the Executive and make it happen!
What do I do on the Executive?
There are ten roles on the Executive. You may run for as many as you like, and you can hold multiple roles simultaneously, with a few exceptions (you cannot hold two of the roles of Treasurer, Secretary, or President at the same time). All members of the Executive are expected to help run events and the day-to-day management of the club, but each role has some specific responsibilities too. Here’s a brief informal run-through of what each role on the Executive does:
1) President – You are the head of the club. You have the final say on any decision the club makes, and you are generally responsible for the creative direction of the club. You run many of the events, and are generally responsible for correspondence between the club and third parties. You are one of the signatories to the club’s bank account. The current President is Martin Ashton-Jones, or MAJ.
2) Vice-President (Librarian) – You are responsible for the Library (a storage cage downstairs in the Holme Building), and are one of the second-in-commands when the President is unavailable. As custodian of the library, you keep records of what property the club owns and manage the loaning out of that property. You are nominally responsible for property that gets damaged or goes missing, but this is essentially never of consequence. You are often, but not always, a signatory to the bank account. The current Vice President (Librarian) is Julian Byrnes.
3) Vice-President (Functions Officer) – You are responsible for the creation of events, and are one of the second-in-commands if the President is unavailable. Essentially, your job is to book rooms for meetings or events. This is mostly done at the start of semester using the Sydney University Venue Collection website, which allows you to book a room for the entirety of semester. You simply do that for each weekly event, and then book rooms for any other one-off events throughout semester (e.g. holiday games days). The current Vice-President (Functions Officer) is Deborah Law.
4) Treasurer – You are responsible for the club’s finances. You are always one of the signatories on the bank account, and your signature must be on the Club’s cheques. That is, each cheque requires two signatories to sign it, and you must always be one of them. You are responsible for keeping receipts of the club, depositing money into the club’s bank account after each event, keeping records of all the club’s income and outgoings using the spreadsheets provided by the Union C&S office. You are typically, but not essentially, responsible for filing online pre-event and paper post-event funding forms with the C&S office. You are also responsible for calculating the club’s tax liability at the end of the financial year (which is not as hard as it sounds). While experience is valued for this role, it is not essential (I had no prior accounting experience or training). The current Treasurer is me, Charles Davies.
5) Secretary – You are responsible for calling meetings, including the AGM. You take the minutes during each meeting, and you are also responsible for having the club reregistered each year. You are often, but not always, a signatory to the bank account. The current Secretary is Simon Deboer.
6) Editor – You are responsible for collecting submissions for the Zweihander magazine, and publishing it twice a year. This is a good role for those considering a career in graphic design, writing, publishing or other communications. The current Editor is Timothy Scriven.
7) New Member Officer – This role is frequently held by a student who was a first-year SUTEKH member the previous year, but this is not a requirement. Your responsibility is as a conduit between new SUTEKH members and the committee. For example, it is your job to make sure the new members aren’t ostracised at early events, that they meet and greet each other and the older members. You are also generally in charge of O-Week, rostering volunteers on the stall and heading the recruitment drive. This is often the most hotly contested role. The current New Member Officer is Shae Greenwood.
Sponsorship Officer – You are the go-between for the club and the sponsors. Most of your work occurs at the beginning of the year, when you go to our old sponsors and convince them to keep on with their sponsorship arrangements like discounts and donations (easier), and going to new potential sponsors and convincing them to sign on (harder). It is also your responsibility to keep the club members informed about periodic communications (e.g. re sales) from the sponsors, and mediating any disputes between the club and a sponsor. The current sponsorship officer is Anthony “Reg” Dunford.
9) Internet Officer – You are responsible for maintaining the club’s online presence. This generally means the SUTEKH website and forum, but can also include the club’s twitter feed, Facebook group, and other forms of digital media (Steam Group, for instance). You are also the head of the moderation team, and choose the staff of moderators and the moderation policy. The current Internet Officer is Greg Lancaster.
10) Publicity Officer – You are responsible for posters and advertising for events, as well as writing the weekly mailing list email. You are also responsible for advertising the club generally, for example by getting mentions in the student publications like The Bull or Honi Soit. The current Publicity Officer is David “NotSteve” Jamieson.
So that’s the basic gist of why and how to be a committee member in 2012. Think about it, because SUTEKH needs you! If you have any questions about specific roles or about being on the committee in general, such as what sort of work one has to do, prior experience requirements, etc. feel free to ask any of the relevant members of the current Executive.
Also note the C&S office provides training for Secretaries, Presidents, Treasurers and so on before O-Week and throughout the year, so lack of official-role experience is not strictly required for any of the roles.
Categories:Announcements
