by
Shane Conroy
| Mar 16, 2020
Focusing my previous blog post on the board orientation session with the Central Illinois GCSA, this will post will overlap some. As chapter boards work out their spring board meeting agendas, the Indiana GCSA board met as a group to go through a board orientation session, which was also conducted remotely with the assistance of Leann Cooper, GCSAA’s senior manager of chapter services.
Current Indiana GCSA president and 15-year GCSAA member Chris Groene, who serves as the superintendent at Broadmoor Country Club in Indianapolis, Ind., assisted in setting up the meeting with Leann Cooper and myself. Similarly to the Central Illinois GCSA board orientation session, the focus of the Indiana GCSA board orientation concentrated on:
- Governance
- Tax status
- Legal duties
- Chapter bylaws
- Board member responsibilities
- Financials
- GCSAA/Chapter Affiliation Agreement
- Chapter and member benefits
- Strategic planning sessions
With varying degrees of experience among board members, this relatively quick orientation session ensures all board members are on the same page and acts as an overview of board service. The orientation session also serves as refresher and informative piece on the chapter’s tax status and filing requirements. Additionally, the session provides board members clarity on their roles through chapter standard operating procedures (SOP) and bylaws. This exercise can also help chapters form SOP if they do not currently have them in place.
This session also goes into further detail on chapter and members services such as the Chapter Leadership Symposium which takes place at GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., and the Chapter Executive and Managers Session which takes place at the Golf Industry Show each year. This session can also serve as a great precursor to a strategic planning session. Strategic planning sessions are a great way for chapter boards to develop both short- and long-term goals and create a roadmap to aid in accomplishing said goals. For more information on both board orientation and strategic planning sessions, please visit the Managing Your Chapter page on GCSAA.org.
I would like to thank Chris Groene as well as the Indiana GCSA board members who took the time to participate in the board orientation session. Many positives were taken from the meeting and the board is well on their way instituting another successful year.