Policies and Governance: Roles and Responsibilities

Officers

President

  • Presides at all General, Board and Annual meetings
  • Appoints all committee chairs
  • May choose to attend any and all committee meetings (ex officio)
  • Serves as the legal and public representative of the Club

Vice President

  • Serves as President in his or her absence
  • Acts as Parliamentarian at meetings
  • Serves as Policies Chairperson

Treasurer

  • Prepares a yearly budget and presents it to membership for approval
  • Is responsible for accounting and maintaining financial records, providing safe and secure physical and electronic storage

Assistant Treasurer

  • Assists the Treasurer as needed

Recording Secretary

  • Keeps the minutes of General Membership, Board and Annual meetings
  • Conveys those minutes to the Archivist once approved
  • Provides safe and secure storage for all signed contracts, leases and agreements

Corresponding Secretary

  • Is responsible for incoming and outgoing correspondence and handling all official Club communications and making them available to the Club when needed and appropriate
  • Serves as a member of the Membership Committee

Committee Chairs

Christmas Market 

  • Selects various sub-committee chairs to organize for the sale – sub-committee responsibilities may include plum puddings, boxwood trees, food, holding area, Market setup & clean up, yard sign distribution and pickup, poster distribution, silent auction
  • Schedules product-making workshops
  • Purchases all necessary materials for the Market
  • Oversees those who work on the sale itself, including cashiers, holding area assistants, general salespeople, setup and cleanup sub-committees
  • Works with Publicity and Communications chairs to publicize the market and its workshops
  • Draws up a budget for both income and expense related to the sale and works with the Treasurer to reconcile actual vs. budget once the Market is over, reporting results to the membership

Civic Beautification

  • Project chairs review and assesses needs of current civic projects:  Bayley Beach, Community Center/Library, Pinkney Park, Triangles (McKinley Street, White Bridge, Sammis Street), and Rowayton School Pond and Wetlands
  • Project chairs develop and initiate new projects where needed, involves other civic groups if possible
  • Project chairs are responsible for purchase of materials needed for enhancement of projects
  • Project chairs schedule planting, weeding and cleanup days, communicating needs to sub-committee members
  • Project chairs collaborate with Archivist to supply annual photos of work underway at work areas for our historical record and website
  • At least one project chair attends monthly Board meetings to report on issues and progress
  • New civic beautification/enhancement projects may be suggested from time to time and new civic beautification project committees  will be formed as needed

Communication

  • Keeps members informed of Club activities through a variety of media including email, Constant Contact, Facebook and our website
  • Keeps our website, Facebook page, and other social media sources up to date with regard to calendared events and member activities including photos provided by the Photo Historian and others
  • Works with Publicity Committee to coordinate consistent messages across social media outlets with regard to Club activities

Environmental Awareness

  • Provides information on environmental issues to members and apprises of them about environmental educational opportunities in the area
  • Keeps members up to date on conservation and recycling information as well as any conservation legislation of local, state or national interest
  • Provides information on how members can participate in ways that will improve our environment (for example, petitions, lobbying efforts, publicity)
  • Plans community educational programs
  • Works with vendors and others to urge their use of environmentally sound practices
  • Plans community educational programs
  • Works with vendors and others to urge their use of environmentally sound practices

Flower and Bench Shows (as needed)

  • Arranges flower shows, bench shows, design contests (i.e. Christmas doors, June luncheon miniature arrangements) as approved by the membership
  • Decides upon and communicates  titles and requirements of shows
  • Arranges workshops in design and/or horticulture as needed
  • Decides upon and arranges for setups required
  • Arranges judges for the bench and flower shows
  • Works with Publicity and Communications chairs to publicize events
  • Decides upon awards to be given, if any, and arranges for their creation and disposition.

Garden Therapy

  • Plans areas of involvement, may change year to year (currently makes monthly visits to Hill Top Homes with horticultural therapy)
  • Runs projects for planting at Elderhouse and Broad River Senior Housing
  • Plans projects and purchases material needed

Horticulture

  • Provides horticultural information to membership
  • Provides horticultural information and advice to all committees
  • Works with Program Chairman for lectures and workshops
  • Works with Flower and Bench Show Chair on horticultural schedules

Hospitality

  • Organizes or provides for lunches at September and June meetings
  • Works with Christmas and Spring Market Chairs to provide refreshments at workshops or events as deemed appropriate
  • Organizes additional approved Club social functions

Library Flowers

  • Solicits membership to provide weekly flower arrangements for the Library
  • Contacts volunteers to remind them of their assignment – when to deliver and when to remove

Membership

  • Processes new member applications and correspondence – contacts new applicants to discuss knowledge and interest in the RG
  • Presents new members to the Board and introduces them to full membership
  • Keeps updated database of membership contact information and committee interest
  • Oversees the annual publication of the Rowayton Gardeners Yearbook
  • One member of the committee serves on the Nominating Committee as per the By Laws

Potting Shed

  • Creates and sustains an organic garden landscape and structure that will serve as a setting for Rowayton Gardeners activities
  • Provides integrated, hands-on lessons that connect the community (those of all ages and levels of interest) to plants, health, and the environment
  • Presents programs that foster a positive sense of environmental stewardship and that deal with topics such as cycles, seasonality, and change; sustainability relevant to the participants; nature as a context for learning; environmental and personal impact of food choices; wellness through knowledge of healthy choices;  education through beauty, innovation, experimentation, and observation

Program

  • Plans education topics along with speakers for 4-6 General Meetings annually.  The Committee endeavors to have the programming for the coming year outlined by the June meeting of the prior season.
  • Makes all arrangements with speakers including payment, needed equipment for the presentation (podium, AV, extension cords, tables, calling Ed Carlson as needed 838-1650), introduction of speaker, and thank you notes.
  • Arranges 2-4 tours and/or field trips including transportation and lunch as appropriate
  • Submits information with regard to speakers and/or field trips to Communication and Publicity committees, as appropriate, to inform membership and/or public

Publicity

  • Submits notice, along with appropriate copy/pictures, to news sources (including the RCA newsletter) with regard to Club events
  • Prints and distributes flyers, lawn signs, fence signs as needed for publicity around town and arranges their prompt clean up (and storage) when the event is concluded
  • Coordinates consistent message in social media sites with Communication committee

Spring Market (formerly Plant and Tag Sale)

  • Organizes and oversees the annual Spring Market fundraiser
  • Forms sub-committees to handle various aspects of the Market – annuals, perennials, tag sale, arrangements, gift items, marketing, logistics, holding area, check out, etc.
  • Submits report to Club on results.

Youth Gardening

  • Plans activities to involve community youth in gardening, nature, health, and environmental education opportunities
  • Includes youth in gardening classes, workshops, contests and projects