7. CONTINUITY

Supplementing and elaborating on its bylaws, each Section should have a procedure manual which includes a timetable for its work. Manuals need to be updated from time to time and it is the Chair's responsibility to provide for all necessary revisions of the manual. The Chair should ascertain that the manual in his/her possession is the most recent version, and that a current copy is also held by all Section officers, the Council Chair, and Headquarters.

New Section Chairs should receive from their predecessors all files necessary for them to assume their responsibilities. These materials should be transferred at the time of the Annual Meeting. Before the transfer, the outgoing Chairs should have weeded these files and sent materials which have archival value to Headquarters. Files passed to the incoming Chairs should include:

• Copies of reports submitted to headquarters and the Section Council Chair.

• Procedure manual and timetable (the most current edition).

• Correspondence file.

• Significant documentation of Section activities and projects.

If Section Chairs have consistently sent copies of correspondence to Headquarters according to the procedures stated in 4.9 Correspondence, there should be no need to send any files to Headquarters at the end of their terms. If, when weeding the Section files at the end of a term, it is found that copies of any particular correspondence or documentation relating to Association policy have not been sent to Headquarters, copies should then be sent to the Executive Director's Office.

Copies of correspondence which originates at Headquarters is retained there according to the appropriate retention schedule. Any such correspondence in the Chair's files should be passed to the next Chair or destroyed, according to Section guidelines.

The Section Chair should actively communicate with and involve the incoming Chair in activities to help the incoming Chair prepare for the role of Chair. One of the major problems facing Sections is that of continuity.

The incoming Chair should be included in Section planning throughout the year so that, upon the assumption of office, there is no loss of momentum. It is very important that the new Chair start off the year with a clear picture of the status of Section activities and plans, as well as a firm understanding of his/her responsibilities. In addition, a meeting should be held at the Annual Meeting between the outgoing and incoming Chairs for the purpose of transferring files and sharing useful information.

Chair's Manual Table of Contents

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Last updated on: March 21, 2001.