Committee Chair Guide: an Overview

COMMITTEE CHAIR GUIDE: AN OVERVIEW

Responsibilities at a Glance

Please note: These policies are currently under review and will be modified in 2016. After approval by the Board of Directors, a revised Guide will be send to the Committees.

Read the Committee Operations Manual

read this binder from cover to cover
consult with your predecessors and read committee reports posted in the members area of the website
the version number on the bottom of each page is based on the date of binder revision
the number following each form in the index is the revision date
forms that can be filed out electronically are provided on the website and named exactly like their traditional counterpart but with an “e” in front
be sure you are using the listed version of all forms

Choose your Committee

follow guidelines in binder for number of committee members
individuals must be a member in good standing with CBBS
Prior experience on committee is not necessary – and remember, fresh ideas keep CBBS alive!
Notify your committee that they may be required to submit a disclosure form if they are involved in planning or moderating at the Annual Meeting.

Groom your Successor

Work with someone you have identified who has indicated an interest in taking over when your term is completed/finished.
be sure you communicate your wishes to the Board Liaison
change in chairmanship should be every 1-3 years, when possible
alternate regional, such as North and South, chairmanship when appropriate and possible
DO NOT promise chairmanship to the person you have identified as your possible successor
Final chair appointments will be made by the President Elect.

Submit your Articles

select committees submit two articles per year
first article due by beginning of January for spring publication, posted in February
second article due by beginning of July for fall publication, posted in September

Schedule your Planning Meeting

hold by beginning of July in preparation for meeting with Board during the summer
if face-to-face, utilize a centrally-located airport for easy access, and low cost of travel –
Every effort must be made to reduce cost for these meetings and to stay within budget.
If conference call (preferred method), utilize central office to set up call for you
Be sure to send minutes from the meeting to the Central Office (refer to forms “Speaker Information Form”. These must be on file for our continuing education accrediting agencies (Board of Nursing, DHS-LFS)
coordinate with your Board Liaison – if at all possible, this individual should be part of your Planning Meeting
Take minutes from your planning meetings and forward the minutes to the Central office. These are required by our CME provider and we must submit copies of them to the provider.

Prepare your Board Reports

three boards reports due per year (refer to form Committee Chair Report to the Board)
the fall board meeting, where you present your planning minutes, including fall regional seminar programs for board approval and annual meeting preliminary programs
the winter board meeting, where you recap seminar activity (if any), present final Annual Meeting program for board approval, outline future needs/directions of committee; and report on any unfinished business from prior submission to board.
Annual meeting, where you give all progress to date for this year.
Remember this is your opportunity to communicate your committee’s progress, needs and wants to be the full Board – be sure to utilize it

Communicate your Needs

Utilize your Board Liaison – this person is your direct link to the Board of Directors
Utilize the Central Office – position will assist the committees with their needs – do not ever hesitate to call for things you may need, problems you may have, information you may be seeking
Remember that the Central Office and Board Liaison are only as effective as you allow- communication is the key to making this work!

Summarize Your Year

Submit a summary of your year’s activities to Central Office prior to the annual meeting (refer to form “Committee Yearly Summary”). This will become a permanent part of the Committee Operations Manual information online – an archive of information for Committee Chairs who follow you.

Where to find forms and resources

Go to the website and click on the Resources tab. Click on the Committee Resources tab.

RESPONSIBLITIES OF BOARD LIAISON

Board Member Participation and Attendance

There are many responsibilities and honors that are part of being on the Board of Directors of the California Blood Bank Society (CBBS). Attention to our mission, an interest in blood banking and being respected by your peers are a part your responsibilities as a board member.

In addition the following is a minimum standard for active participation in the CBBS board:

During the first two years of your three-year term (and/or the period of time that you are finishing out a withdrawing board member’s term) a board member must be in attendance at the four regularly scheduled board meetings at least 80% of the time.
Board members, who have “liaison” responsibilities for the committees responsible for educational programs, are to work with the chairs to be able to attend the planning meetings, either in person or on the telephone. The Board members should also work with the chairs and the committee members to ensure that the programs are within budget guidelines.
Board members must support their other committee chairs as liaison. Depending on the committee, the board member should be in contact with the chair at least once prior to each fall and winter board meeting and not just wait for the committee chair to contact them.
Board members should arrive at the board meeting having reviewed the meeting information provided prior to the meeting and prepared to participate in discussions.
When the committee program is to be presented at the Annual Meeting, the liaison must review the planning minutes for the entire Annual Meeting Program, to ensure that two (or more) strong speakers are NOT schedule at the same time.
Rarely would a board member be removed from the office for not performing as outlined above, however nominating committees should carefully look at the record of board members being considered for their second term. A board member who is deficient in meeting CBBS’ minimum standard of active participation should probably not be re-nominated. This is of course a guideline and extenuating circumstances would be a part of the decision making process.
In general, if an emailed is addressed to you, you are expected to respond (unless otherwise directed). If you are copied on an email, it is for your information only.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF CENTRAL OFFICE

The primary function of the Central Office is to assist the committee chairs and the Board of Directors, mail dues notices, and keep records for the CBBS. To you, the Committee Chair, this means the Central Office will assist you with the following:

Update the committee operations manual in a timely manner prior to the Annual Meeting, and have it posted on the website for incoming committee chairs
Assist in writing and mailing of letters to committee members, if needed
Send faxes to committee members, if needed
Assist in securing a site for planning meeting, if needed
Prompt you for board reports in a timely manner
Send Thank You notes to authors of CBBS Today articles
Prompt you for planning meeting minutes in a timely manner, to include full seminar and/or annual meeting session your committee has planned for ultimate approval
Send letters to speakers, outlining items needed by the Central Office for record-keeping purposes, as well as confirming their talk, the time, the date
Work with you for seminar brochure
Mail and/or email seminar flyers and/or announcements 8 weeks prior to seminar date
Prepare all documentation needed to host a seminar, including but not limited to:

Sign-in sheets for CLSs, RNs, MDs and non-CEU attendees

Presentation of disclosures

Evaluation forms

On-sight registration forms

Name badges

Certificate of Attendance documents for registered attendees

Copy of speaker CV’s for moderator, if requested

Promotional material for CBBS

Pay honorarium and expenses for seminars and annual meeting to speakers – sent with a thank you letter from CBBS
Mail completed Continuing Education certificated to attendees who have met the requirements
Prepare the Summary of Evaluations from the Seminar evaluation forms.
File documentation required for CEUs.
Receive submitted Institutional Membership applications and present to Board for approval.
Perform other duties as requested by the Chair

This is an outline based on previous experience. Please remember that the Central Office serves you, the Committee Chair, and can help make this experience a positive on for you. Do not hesitate to call if you need assistance!

COMMITTEE STRUCTURES

The Bylaws and/or Policies and Procedures define the makeup of the Committees within CBBS, as well as defining the handling of any ad-hoc committees.

The following is the intended structure of the committees:

Composition of Committees

The President shall appoint the Chair of all committees during his/her term as President-Elect, with the exception of the CE chair who is appointed to the 2-year term. The President-Elect should consult the current Committee Chair prior to the third regular meeting of the Board for recommendations regarding future Committee Chairs.
The Finance Committee shall consist of the President-Elect, the Treasurer, and at least one individual Member who shall be the Chair.
The Awards Committee shall be a continuing committee of three individual Members with three year staggered terms. In the year 1981 the appointees shall draw lots for terms of one, two and three years. Each ensuing year, the President shall appoint one new member for a term of three years. The chair shall be the member who is in the last year of his/her term.
The Nominating Committee shall be composed of the three most immediate past Presidents and one of the most recently retired Directors to be selected by the Board. The immediate Past President shall be the Chair.
The Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Committee shall be a member of the Scientific Committee.
The CME/CE Committee shall include at least one member from each planning committee.

Co-Chairs

All or any committee could have a co-chair in addition to the chair.
While a co-chair does not automatically mean that individual would take over the committee at the end of the chair’s term, it does allow for stronger support, and a sharing of the workload, within the committee structure.

Board Reports

The Chair of the Committee shall submit a report of the Committee activities for review at the regularly scheduled Board meetings. These reports should be sent electronically.
Board report at the 4th Board of Directors meeting is given in person whenever possible.

Committee Expenditures

Planning meetings shall be carefully planned so that the necessary business can be completed in one day.
Meetings shall be held via teleconference, videoconference or at a location convenient to all the members; the Chair shall certify expenses of the members attending the meeting to the Central Office. In the event that these do not fall within the guidelines of the budget approved by the Board, the matter shall be referred back to the Board for decision.
Necessary fund request forms and vouchers shall be supplied to each Chair by the Central Office.

The charges for the committees are as follows.

-Administrative

-Apheresis/Nursing

-Donor Resources

-Clinical Laboratory Scientists

-Quality, Safety & Compliance

These committees shall:

Provide educational programs and/or support to the membership in conjunction with other committees.
Distribute announcements for Seminars broadly to pertinent audiences such as hospitals and blood centers, HLA Laboratories and Bone Marrow Transplant departments.

Scientific – This committee shall:

Provide educational programs and/or support to the membership in conjunction with other committees.
To select a speaker and topic two years in advance for the Suzanne Ledin Memorial Lecture and the Herbert Perkins and George Garratty Lectureship and Award at the annual meeting and submit nomination to the board for approval at the fall board meeting.

Awards – This committee shall:

Select individuals to nominate for the following awards prior to the winter board meeting (the committee has the option to not nominate an individual if they do not feel a qualified individual can be identified at the time of selection):

OWEN F. THOMAS, M.D.

UPTON-HEMPHILL

Upon approval of the Board, the President shall notify the individual of their nomination for this award by letter and a personal phone call.
Upon direction of the Board, select nominations for other awards the Board may deem appropriate as a one-time acknowledgement.

Bylaws – This committee shall:

Reviews the Bylaws for possible changes;
Hear suggestions of Members regarding the Bylaws and possible changes;
Be aware of the actions of the corporation, the Board of Directors, or any of the members for any violation of the Bylaws and point out such violations;
Report suggestions regarding Bylaws to the Board for possible submission to the Membership.

Commercial Exhibits – This committee shall:

Solicit participation at the Annual Meeting of firms supplying materials and equipment used in blood banking;
Oversee the area of display for adequacy of space requirements and such additional services as the vendor/partners may require;
Make every possible effort to provide a happy atmosphere for the exhibitors, express appreciation to the firms during and after the meeting.
Work with the Website and E-network committee for corporate support
Work with the Chairs for support of the regional seminars
Perform an audit of the website to ensure that all vendor/partners are listed appropriately that all committee information is correct and that all links are up-to-date. This is performed shortly after the Annual Meeting to ensure that the most current Board of Directors and Committee Chairs are listed.

Continuing Education – This committee shall:

Collaborate with CBBS Central Office and Committee Chairs to ensure that educational programs and articles in CBBS Today meet applicable physician, nursing, ABHI and Clinical Laboratory Scientists’ continuing education accreditation requirements.
Oversee accrediting agency applications, surveys and program inspections.

Emergency Preparedness – This committee shall:

Plan and coordinate activities of CBBS Institutional Members in the event of a local, regional, or national blood emergency;
Act in cooperation with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority in the event of any such emergency;
Hold periodic exercises to test their communication response system.

Finance – This committee shall:

Review the financial actions of CBBS
Present a budget for the next fiscal year at the Board of Directors meeting prior to the Annual Meeting.
Recommend dues and fees;
Advise the Board regarding the safe keeping of accumulated funds;
Warn the Board of any discrepancies, violations, or untoward action in the use of CBBS funds;
Provide a format for committee budget requests in the “board Action Requested” area of your board report.
Suggest means for revenue enhancement.

Membership – This committee shall:

Actively campaign for new members and for retention of present members;
Send information to potential new members regarding the advantages of membership and the obligations of membership;
Refer appropriate applications to the Board of Directors for action.
All Membership applications are sent to the Central Office for enrollment in the records, for notifications of acceptance and for billing purposes.

Nominating – This committee shall:

Carefully select nominees for the vacancies on the Board, with due regard to maintenance of vocational and geographical balance. Nominees selected by this committee must be:

a current individual Member in CBBS,
willing and able to attend all of the meetings of the Board for the ensuing three years,
Willing to perform assigned tasks and to give due concern for the needs of CBBS.

Notify each selection, pending approval of the Board, so that his/her name can be presented for election at the Annual Meeting;

That his/her expenses shall be paid to meetings of the Board;
That he/she must attend the first meeting of the Board immediately following the Annual Meeting;
And that he/she must acknowledge and accept these requirements.

Select a nominee for the office of President-Elect who has had previous experience on the Board.

The term of a Director who is elected as a President-Elect during a second term shall be automatically extended to end three years from time of such election.
In the event that the selection is one who is not a present member of the Board, the nomination must be included with the nominations as a Director, with a three-year term.

Publications – This committee shall:

Publish to the membership through the Central Office.
CBBS Today at least twice yearly containing articles of interest to the members.
Annual Meeting Program guide.

Website and e-Network – This committee shall:

This committee shall support applicable internet and e-network technologies to support the interests and education of the membership.

Ad-Hoc Committees

The President may recommend to the Board the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee to further special interests of CBBS. The committee membership, the goals and objectives are subject to Board approval.

GENERAL COMMITTEE POLICIES