President Statement of Responsibilities

I. General Responsibilities 

The President is responsible for ensuring that the Board of Directors and its members:

  • are aware of and fulfill their governance responsibilities;
  • comply with applicable laws and bylaws;
  • conduct board business effectively and efficiently; and
  • are accountable for their performance.

In order to fulfill these responsibilities, and subject to the corporation's Bylaws, the President presides over meetings, proposes policies and practices, sits on various committees, monitors the performance of directors and officers, submits various reports to the Board and to other "stakeholders", proposes the creation of committees, appoints members to such committees, and performs other duties as the need arises and/or as defined in the Bylaws. 

II. Accountability

The President is accountable to the Board of Directors and Members as specified in the Bylaws. The President may delegate specific duties to the Executive Director, Board members and/or committees as appropriate; however, the accountability for them remains with the President.

III. Specific Duties 

A.         Ensures that an agenda is planned for Board and Membership meetings. This may involve periodic meetings with committee chairpersons and the Executive Director to draft the agendas and reporting schedules. 

B.         Presides over meetings of the Board of Directors and Membership. In this capacity, the President chairs meetings according to accepted rules of order for the purposes of encouraging all members to participate in discussion; arriving at decisions in an orderly, timely and democratic manner; votes as prescribed in the Bylaws.  The President may call special meetings of the Board of Directors or Membership Council as deemed necessary.

C.         Serves as a member of the Executive Committee and as an ex-officio member of board committees specified in the Bylaws. In this capacity, the President's role is to negotiate reporting schedules; to identify problems and assist the committee chairperson to resolve them, and if necessary, to bring them to the attention of the Board of Directors. 

D.         Acts as the primary liaison between the Board and the Executive Director.  In this capacity, the President meets periodically with the Executive Director; ensures that an annual performance review of the Executive Director is conducted; oversees the hiring of the Executive Director. 

E.         Designated by the Board of Directors and/or Bylaws as one of the signing officers for certain documents. In this capacity, the President may be authorized or required to sign or countersign checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts or other documents on behalf of the organization.

F.         Ensures that structures and procedures are in place for effective recruitment, training, and evaluation of board members. 

Approved August 1, 2012; Updated February 10, 2017