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FAQ - Functioning of the Board of Directors

This page, intended for candidates in the elections for the Board of Directors of the Club des Cent Cols (CA), describes and explains the terms of reference of the CA, its general operation (which may change if the new team so wishes) and attempts to answer the main questions that may be asked by candidates.

Please note: this document may seem very long, as it gives an exhaustive list of the duties of the Board. However, apart from the statutory tasks specific to certain positions (president, secretary, treasurer), other tasks will be divided up within the team according to the availability and skills of each member. The exhaustive list of all the tasks may allow some members to put themselves forward by mentioning their skills in taking on certain tasks.

Becoming a member of the Board is an important decision; if you are elected, the club will be counting on your commitment and involvement in your role for the next four years. The Board of Directors meets at least twice a year: in the winter before the publication of the annual review and in the autumn before the Annual General Meeting. In addition to the quorum requirements, it is desirable that as many elected members as possible attend the meetings to ensure that they are productive. In the meantime, members generally communicate by e-mail to deal with various subjects relating to the life of the Confrérie. Telephone meetings using teleconferencing software (which is easy to learn) can be organised for subjects requiring in-depth discussion.

Being a board member is much more than just attending meetings. The vast majority of the work takes place behind the scenes, and requires a minimum level of skill in certain areas. First and foremost, a good understanding of and absolute respect for our Rules of the Game. The Board is the guarantor of the quality of our collar catalogues, and in the event of disputes within the national Working Groups (WGs), it is the Board that must make the final decision, which must be trustworthy and made within an acceptable timeframe. In addition, team spirit is essential. This means, among other things, that decisions are taken collegially.

The Board carries out many tasks, some visible and public, others less so or not at all, but just as important; you have to leave your ego at the door. The watchword is to be at the service of our members.

Equally important is the time available: fulfilling one's role on the Board can be quite time-consuming, or at least time-consuming during certain times of the year, such as the review or preparing for the AGM. Most of the activity of the directors takes place during the winter. May, June, July and August are the least busy months. That's why it's essential to read this document to get an idea of the workload involved.

In fact, although this is not a statutory prerequisite, you need to have an adequate broadband connection and a good command of the main IT tools: office automation, in particular Excel, Word (or open equivalents such as Open Office, Libre Office, etc.), e-mail, the web and, if possible, group communications such as "Skype". As the members of the Board, like the rest of the club, are widely dispersed, it would be inconceivable to be a member of the Board without an Internet connection.

We hope this document will help you make an informed decision, and we hope you enjoy reading it.

Board structure

The Board is currently limited to a maximum of eleven members.

There are three types of role:

• Three statutory posts appointed The "Bureau" is made up of three people: the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer. These three distinct persons are required by the regulations governing "Loi 1901" associations.
• Two appointed but non-statutory posts Vice-Chairman and Deputy Secretary.
• Three untitled directorships.

For example, it goes without saying that the treasurer is responsible for bookkeeping, the secretary for official communication of minutes of meetings and assemblies, and the chairman for drafting the annual report. Apart from these tasks, the rest of the work is distributed among all the members of the Board according to their skills and wishes; the members of the Executive Committee take part in all the tasks common to the Board and also do other, non-statutory work that they have undertaken to do.

In some cases, if it does not have the resources, skills or time, the Board may call on the support of members from outside the Board. However, the Board remains responsible for the work done by these colleagues. The best-known example is that of the Regional and National Delegates, who are among the club's main linchpins, but whose work is still the responsibility of the Board.

The Board often has to vote on specific issues. Each member has one vote. In the event of a tie, the Chairman has the casting vote. (NB: there has never been a need to apply this measure, as discussion has always allowed matters to be settled).

Any member of the Board, depending on their skills or wishes, can take part in projects such as designing permanent walks or joining a working group.

Statutory roles making up the bureau

Only certain tasks are statutory. The other tasks normally remain the responsibility of each of these roles, but may optionally be entrusted to other Board members.

These three members also share a number of other tasks, but their statutory tasks with legal status must remain the priority.

Chairman

The Chairman assumes moral, legal and financial responsibility for the association. He is responsible for coordinating the various bodies and players, in particular the regional coordinators, with a view to promoting regional meetings...

Below is an indicative list of tasks:

• Communication with the General Secretary, Treasurer and IT Manager(s) on all matters within their remit before committing the Board and the Club,
• Working closely with the secretary, drawing up and proofreading meeting agendas and minutes,
• For the appointment of the Territorial Delegates (TD), after discussions within the Board, solicitation of members with the profile for this role. Management of departures and renewals of TDs. Day-to-day monitoring of messages on the TD mailing list and answering certain fundamental questions, in particular on the application of the Rules of the Game,
• Responses to suggestions and comments of a political or controversial nature made by members publicly or in private,
• Attendance at key meetings to give welcome and farewell speeches,
• Prior to the AGM, drafting of the annual report for Infos Cent Cols, as well as proofreading of all the reports, texts and content of this newsletter,
• At the General Meeting, the Annual Report is read out and any questions from members on the issues discussed are answered,
• Writing the magazine's editorial,
• Drafting newsletters for members,
• Vote on behalf of the club at federal level,
• Attendance at FFCT departmental committee and league meetings, and if possible the FFCT AGM,
• Maintaining relations with other brotherhoods and related associations,
• In some cases, responding to press interviews on behalf of the club,
• Contacts and invitations to local elected representatives, FFCT officials, etc. to the General Meeting and major meetings,
• In consultation with the other Board members, oversees the legal aspects of the club's activities (insurance, trips, intellectual property, etc.).

Secretary

The Secretary is the main point of contact for all general correspondence sent to the club, and also answers the club's main telephone number. He redistributes requests that he does not deal with himself to the people concerned: specific correspondence, for example texts and photos for the magazine, requests to buy catalogues and clothing, are dealt with directly by the people in charge of these activities. Their addresses can be found in the magazine, in the Contacts section of the club website.

The secretary may be assisted in these tasks by assistant secretary(s).

• Registration of new members Checking pass lists. Creation of an electronic member form and inclusion of all contact details and "score" on this form. Drafting of a welcome letter with any comments on the list if any collars have been rejected. Production of a diploma and enveloping of the magazine + welcome letter + diploma + medal. Retention of paper or electronic documents received from the new member. If necessary, contact the new member to complete the list.
• Communication Reading and replying to letters sent to the secretariat. Receiving and processing a number of pass lists and annual subscriptions sent directly to the secretary,
• Sending reminder letters printed once a year for members in arrears,
• Medals Receiving orders. Engraving of medals and dispatch.
• Review Mailing of magazines to existing members who pay late dues after the annual magazine has been mailed. Management of the stock of old magazines and possible marketing.
• Diplomas These include: ad hoc extractions from the THEL, in consultation with the TDs, Regional Coordinators and trip leaders to identify potential recipients, printing the diplomas for significant numbers of passes (500, 1000, 2000, etc.) which are given to members at gatherings, trips and at the General Meeting, updating an appropriate database. Finally, we prepare and send diplomas to members who expressly request them.
• Annual General Meeting Drafting of the annual report, the invitation to the meeting and publication via Info Cent Cols of the various annual reports put to the vote. Preparation of paper and electronic voting material. Receiving postal votes from members. Preparing the vote count (classifying envelopes in numerical order, recording proxies, etc.),
• Drafting the minutes report for the journal.
• Administrative relations with the prefectural authorities: it works with the Haute-Savoie prefecture to carry out all the legal formalities to which the Club is subject (various declarations, registration of documents, etc.).
• Statutory meetings January and September: invitation sent to members of the Board + WG + TD + others. Preparation of the agenda with the Chairman and after interviewing the various guest speakers. Preparation of logistics.
• Drafting a report,
• Archives : Conservation of the club's official documents for the statutory period,
• Accounting Cash and cheque accounting: cash and cheques received (new members, stands if applicable, and any requests received: annual subscription, catalogue purchase, etc.). Deposit cheques in the bank and pass on the accounts to the treasurer.
• Cent Cols stands (Easter in Provence, Semaine Fédérale, etc.). Relations with the FFCT and local officials. General organisation, planning and management, liaison with those who will be on these stands depending on geographical area and availability. Liaising with the people in charge of the clothing and stationery stock (catalogues, Topo guides, etc.) to obtain a few items to sell on these stands. For this activity, the secretary has been supported since this year by the person in charge of the shops (Bruno Litwin).
• Stocks. The Secretary is normally responsible for the club's physical stocks. In practice, clothing is managed by someone outside the Board (currently Helène Laixnaire) and paper stocks (catalogues, Topo guides, etc.) by Gérard Birelli. He also manages the stocks of medals (100 and 1000 bottles) and ensures that they are replenished.
• FFCT licence management Drafting the registration form with updated rates for publication in Info Cent Cols and on the website. Registration of licence applications. Sending cheques to the Treasurer. Registering members on the Féderation's computer system. Relations with the FFCT regarding licences. Receive licences from the FFCT. Sends out licences to interested parties (about a hundred licences a year).

Treasurer

• Accounting Receives invoices, makes payments, performs bank reconciliations, notifies interested parties of transfers received. Accounts for sales of clothing and stationery.
• Deposit cheques proceeds of sales to the Club's bank account,
• Management Checks the financial terms of draft orders and draft contracts.
• Verification and presentation Treasurer: prepares the club's financial statements, submits the accounting information required by the auditors, and drafts and presents the financial report for the Annual General Meeting.

Non-statutory "named" roles

Le Vice-Chairman may replace the Chairman in the event of prolonged absence, or if the Chairman is unable to fulfil his duties. He may represent the Chairman at certain meetings, but this replacement is often dictated by availability and geography; the Chairman may therefore appoint a representative other than the Vice-Chairman in such cases.

Le Assistant Secretary assists the secretary as required. He or she has the same access rights to computer files as the secretary.

For the rest of their work, the Vice-Chairman and Deputy Secretary are treated in the same way as other Board members with unnamed roles (see below).

Unnamed" roles

The other three members of the Board, together with the Vice-Chairman and the Deputy Secretary, share the majority of the tasks common to the whole Board, and also take on tasks that are specific to them. These are described below.

Joint or specific tasks within the Board of Directors

The Board appoints members of the working groups (GT) the auditors WGs, the Regional and national delegates (DT) and regional coordinators.

Board members may represent the club on external bodies or working groups in an advisory capacity (e.g. work with the tourism committees of regional councils, etc.).

Votes on proposed collars

The national working groups (WGs) draw up the pass catalogues and manage the modifications (new passes, deletions, various changes) which come from the field or which are proposed within the WG. Each WG has a verifier who ensures that the work of the WG follows the rules of the game.

One member of the Board is specifically responsible for relations and monitoring the work of the WGs:

• In the event of a dispute between the auditor and the majority of WG members, the auditor reports the matter to the Board. The Board must then vote to resolve the dispute.
• Voting must take place within acceptable time limits, so as not to slow down the WG's work, and in full compliance with the rules of the game.
• It informs the WGs of the Board's decisions and monitors the implementation of any additions.
• Members who have proposed collars must be able to receive an acknowledgement of receipt and information about the processing of their request.

Votes on other business

Board members also have to vote on a number of administrative and "moral" issues, and on how to respond to members' suggestions and comments, etc.

Internal matters or those directly involving the Board are voted on by e-mail or other online tools. More complex matters, or those requiring the participation of other club volunteers, such as WGs or TDs, are generally discussed at a semi-annual meeting.

Annual review

The annual magazine is the club's flagship publication and the main channel of communication with all members, whether 'connected' or not.

The editor-in-chief of the magazine is a Board position, and the duties of this post keep the incumbent busy from December to the beginning of May, or even longer, to deal with returns and items that have not reached their addressees (new items, address corrections, etc.).

There are two main areas of work for the magazine editor:

1. Environment and general organisation
2. The actual composition of the magazine

This document describes the current process. As far as the composition of the magazine is concerned, the editor-in-chief has complete freedom to achieve the objective (IT tools, working methods, time invested), i.e. the production and delivery of documents.

1. Environment and general organisation
   • During the first year of operation, we canvassed in advance to find a printer: specifications, request for quotes and presentation of bids to the Board to select the printer.Note As the magazine is compiled by a computer graphics designer, it is preferable for the editor-in-chief to be geographically close to the printer (or the computer graphics designer if he or she does not belong to the printing company), who will have to travel frequently to facilitate the delivery of data and its presentation in the magazine.
   • Composition of the reading committee and definition of working methods with the creation of a rating file shared via the Internet,
   • Precise definition of the contents of the envelopes that will be sent to members: magazine + enclosures (annual addenda, registration forms and various order forms),
   • Establishment of the printer's production schedule (computer graphics and printing of the magazine + printing of the various attachments) and choice of the latest dispatch date,
   • Via a customer account, drawing up direct mail contracts with La Poste (PRO branch) for the dispatch of 2,500 items in France and abroad, setting the delivery date and indicating the France/overseas breakdown,
   • Printing routing labels (in collaboration with the IT manager)
   • Once the printer has delivered the complete sealed envelopes, professional plastic crates are collected from the post office to transport the envelopes ready for mailing,
   • Organisation of a labelling group and labelling session (normally at the editor's home).
   • Printing of deposit slips sent by post,
   • Transport of the hundred or so filled crates to the post office (in the vehicles of the labelling group volunteers).
2. Composition of the magazine
   • The editor-in-chief receives text and photos from members by email and records them electronically, text on one side and photos on the other.
   • It enters the manuscripts (it can ask for help from volunteer members of the reading committee) and translates or arranges for the translation of texts into English, Italian or German.
   • It reads and makes an initial correction of the texts, and offers authors of very long texts a shorter version.
   • It sends the texts in batches to the reading committee, which it leads and solicits until the end of the process of selecting and classifying the articles, and selecting and wording the sections.
   • It receives the versions of texts proofread and corrected by the members of the reading committee and summarises the corrections and suggestions (extensive communication by e-mail for certain texts).
   • It ensures that all the members of the reading committee update the grading table, which will be used to classify the texts on the basis of content and form, and to define the section in which they will eventually be published.
   • Again in agreement with the editorial committee, and on the basis of the classification induced by the marks awarded to the texts, he draws up the table of contents of the magazine, which has until now been set at 80 pages, with certain texts therefore not being retained even though they have been examined with the same attention. The table of contents, which is the graphic designer's working tool, includes an estimate of the space that each of the texts will occupy.
   • He chooses the photos to accompany the articles (from among those sent by the authors of the texts if they are of sufficient quality or from among the thousands of photos sent by members, sorted and stored in the photo libraries that he sets up each year), communicates with the authors if necessary to send the photos in high definition.
   • For an initial layout work using the typesetting software, he sends the computer graphics designer, in the form of individualised and numbered directories according to the table of contents, each of the texts accompanied by the chosen and captioned photos.
   • He works at the printer's with the graphic designer (2 to 4 hours a day, 2 to 3 times a week over 4 weeks, from mid-March to mid-April) to perfect or redo the layout, balance the content of the sections and ensure a good balance between text and photos.
   • it retrieves the magazine in PDF format, forwards it to the Board and the Reading Committee for proofreading and corrections, and does so as many times as there are errors, without exceeding the deadline set with the printer for starting the printing process
   • They receive or create their own documents to accompany the magazine (roll of honour, statistics, holiday and AGM registration forms, various order forms), which they also print.
   • He gives the go-ahead for printing and collects the sealed envelopes within about ten days, starts labelling and delivers them to the post office in the first week of May.
   • It annually updates or recreates the clothing order form (front and back) with the various prices and the new models chosen, for publication with the Revue and on the website.

Permanent cycle-tours

A manager from outside the Board is responsible for managing and monitoring registrations. He or she communicates with registrants or responds to requests for information and draws up an annual report, which is presented at the General Meeting.

The Board must :

• Updating the route books to take account of new or withdrawn approved passes.
• Print various documents: flyers, logbooks. Printing is carried out under contract with the reprographics workshop mentioned above,
• If necessary, prepare applications for FFCT certification of permanent tours

Frequently asked questions

These frequently asked questions may be added to as and when questions arise.

Workload and availability

Q How much time do you need to devote per day to being a member of the Board?

R It all depends on the role and the tasks you agree to take on. Some jobs can keep you busy full-time for several hours a day for a few months, as in the Revue. Others are more spread out over the year. The important thing is that you are available throughout the year for votes and other activities involving the entire Board. Depending on the tasks you take on, you will need to be available at the times required to complete these tasks when they have a fixed timetable, such as holidays. For example, a trip leader could not be absent for several weeks in the run-up to a trip.

It is difficult to give a precise assessment of the workload of each individual. In essence, volunteering requires a certain amount of availability, but it is clear that some people are more available than others.

Q Do all Board members have to attend the semi-annual meetings?

R As far as possible, yes. Please note that article 8 of our Articles of Association states^bis any Board member who misses three consecutive meetings without good reason may be deemed to have resigned. Board members are reimbursed for their travel expenses for these meetings.

Q If I'm on holiday or away on business, is it necessary for me to remain available electronically?

R No. Your activity on the Board (as part of any voluntary work) must remain a convivial and fun activity and not a constraint, except for the cases mentioned in the first question of this section where you must carry out the tasks for which you have committed yourself, your professional time and your free time are completely up to you.

Q What should I do if, after a certain time on the Board, I realise that the workload is too heavy?

R The important thing is to get a good idea of the workload before applying. Read the terms of reference carefully, talk to members of the current Board, contact the Chairman, and get a clear idea of what skills you can bring to the table and how much free time you have.

Once the workload has been allocated, it is more difficult to make changes. If, however, you want to adjust your workload after a running-in period, there will normally be enough latitude and flexibility to make adjustments.

Q Do I have to attend all the trips, all the meetings and all the AGMs?

R For meetings, see above. As far as possible, all Board members should be able to attend the General Meeting, which is the most important statutory event in the life of the club. The International Summer Meeting is also a major event, which is usually attended by all Board members. But as with the statutory meetings, an absence can be excused.

Skills

Q Do I need to have certain computer equipment to be a member of the Board?

R Your choice of hardware, internet connection and software is entirely up to you. However, you need to be able to read, create and edit office documents such as those from Microsoft Office, Libre Office or Open Office.

You should also have broadband Internet access, as many large files are frequently sent by e-mail; you should have a recent browser, as well as e-mail software that can handle large files as attachments.

Finally, as this software is used for audio conferences, you must have "Skype", or at least undertake to install it, in order to take part in telephone meetings of the Board. Skype is free software, and you can help a member to install it and get to grips with it.

Q What other technical skills do I need?

R This naturally depends on the tasks you are undertaking. The treasurer should have basic bookkeeping skills, although it is not necessary for him or her to be a chartered accountant in professional life (an asset, all the same!).