The Chairman of the Advisory Council is the key man insofar as the overall functioning of the Advisory Council. He is the presiding officer of the Council. He delegates the work of the Advisory Council to the various members and is responsible for their functioning in their respective jobs. The Executive Officer uses the Chairman as his primary contact with the Advisory Council. In delegating responsibilities to various Advisors, the Chairman must see that each job is clearly defined, and there is no overlapping of responsibilities.
In addition to the Chapter Advisor, the following Advisory Council positions are recommended:
In addition to the Chapter Advisor, the following Advisory Council positions are recommended:
- Assistant Chapter Advisor
- Ritual Advisor
- Scribe and Financial/Treasurer Advisor
- Membership Advisor
- Awards Advisor
- Masonic and Public Relations Advisor
- Activities Advisor
- Athletic Advisor
One of the above may be designated as Secretary of the Advisory Council as well.
As a Chapter becomes more active, and has more Advisors available, there will be other areas of responsibility which can be delegated. Oftentimes there won’t be enough adults to fill all the jobs separately, so Advisors will need to fill two or more functions.
Part-time Advisors – Many times recruiting adults to be advisors can be easier if the time commitment is not as great. A part-time advisor must still be a certified advisor, but has volunteered a restricted number of hours per month or to perform a specific task only. This requires the Chairman to be more pro-active to be sure that the Advisor(s) is fully prepared and may require a little reminding since his commitment is less regular. Therefore the Chairman is also a human resources and scheduling manager.
The Chairman of a DeMolay Advisory Council can be compared with the coach of a sports team. The Chairman must provide the cohesiveness to mold the team of the Advisors into a wining combination. He assembles the most competent persons he can find for the Council. Specifically, his duties include:
As a Chapter becomes more active, and has more Advisors available, there will be other areas of responsibility which can be delegated. Oftentimes there won’t be enough adults to fill all the jobs separately, so Advisors will need to fill two or more functions.
Part-time Advisors – Many times recruiting adults to be advisors can be easier if the time commitment is not as great. A part-time advisor must still be a certified advisor, but has volunteered a restricted number of hours per month or to perform a specific task only. This requires the Chairman to be more pro-active to be sure that the Advisor(s) is fully prepared and may require a little reminding since his commitment is less regular. Therefore the Chairman is also a human resources and scheduling manager.
The Chairman of a DeMolay Advisory Council can be compared with the coach of a sports team. The Chairman must provide the cohesiveness to mold the team of the Advisors into a wining combination. He assembles the most competent persons he can find for the Council. Specifically, his duties include:
- Calls and conducts the regular monthly and special Advisory Council meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Council.
- Contacts the Executive Officer as required relative to policy or problems of proper conduct and procedures.
- Acts as liaison between the sponsoring body and the Advisory Council.
- In cooperation with the presiding officer of the sponsoring body, makes certain there is a full compliment of Advisors on the Council.
- Provides for liaison between the Chapter and the Parents’ Club.
- Prepares the agenda in advance for Advisory Council meetings.
- Checks with Advisors and makes certain the various responsibilities are being performed and locates replacements as necessary.
- Is responsible for calling the Annual Meeting of the Advisory Council and the successful completion of the Chapter’s Annual Certification and the competition of the Adult Worker Applications and Re-certifications.
- Is responsible for filing the Annual Chapter Certification in a timely manner.
- Works with the Financial/Treasurer Advisor in completing the Annual Financial Report of the Chapter and is files it with the Boston DeMolay Office by March 5.
- Makes policy decisions concerning the Chapter and is familiar with the rules and regulations of DeMolay International and the Executive Officer.
- Provides a set of bylaws for the Advisory Council.
A good Chairman will see the spirit of his leadership spread among the rest of the Advisors. Use the above check-off list and be sure you’re doing all that is expected of you.