CEO or Executive Director
The primary concern of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Executive Director is to be knowledgeable and have a working understanding of governance as is applies to Council and Conferences for which he/she has responsibility including the National Council for which he has the responsibility to participate and provide advice.
The Rule and Manual: Every CEO/Executive Director is expected to have read both documents and be familiar with the contents of both and able to search them for needed direction and answers. Emphasis on The Rule should be for Parts 1 and 3. Part 2 of the Rule relates specifically to the operations of the Council General International.
Bylaws: It is expected for leadership to be intimately acquainted with the specific sets of Bylaws for the Conferences and Councils for which their leadership has accountability and responsibility.
Resolutions: Resolutions for the National Council provide specific policy direction. Resolutions of local Councils must be found in local documents (not on this website). CEO/Executive Directors need to be familiar with where these documents are and how to navigate through them to find needed policy direction and answers to specific issues.
Council President / Vice President
A Council President and his/her Vice President is expected to learn and understand everything about governance in his/her particular Council setting. However, the Council President may also be a voting member of an (Arch)Diocesan Council and/or the National Council, which means he/she must also be familiar with governance in those settings. This also holds true for the Vice President since he/she may, at some point in time, stand in for the President.
The Rule and Manual: Every Council President is expected to have read The Rule (Parts 1 and 3) and the Manual — not memorized, but familiar with the contents of both and able to search them for needed answers. Part 2 of The Rule addresses the operations of the Council General International.
Bylaws: It is most important for leadership and members to be intimately familiar with the specific Bylaws adopted for their Council. In this case the Council President must understand the bylaws adopted by his/her Council as well as those of the upper Councils of which they are part and the Conferences which he/she supports.
Resolutions: All leadership should be familiar with where these documents are and how to navigate through them.
Conference President / Vice President
The primary concern of a Conference President and his/her Vice President is to learn and understand everything about governance in a Conference setting. However, the Conference President is also a voting member of a District Council (and possibly a Board of Directors) which means he/she must also be familiar with governance in a District Council setting. This holds true as well for the Vice President who may, at some point in time, stand in for the President.
The Rule and Manual: Every member is expected to have read both documents — not memorized, but familiar with the contents of both and able to search them for needed answers. The Rule, Parts 1 and 3, are most important. The Rule, Part 2 has to do with international operations.
Bylaws: It is most important for leadership and members to be intimately familiar with the specific Bylaws adopted for their Conference and Council. In this case the Conference President must understand the bylaws adopted by his /her Conference as well as those of the District and Diocesan Council to which He/she belongs. If no bylaws were adopted by the Conference, Document 1 is a good starting point to make this happen.
Resolutions: All leadership should be familiar with where these documents are and how to navigate through them.
Council/Conference Secretary
The Secretary attends meetings of the Council/Conference, verifies that a quorum of Active Members is present at meetings, ensures that all votes are recorded and minutes kept of all proceedings. The Secretary shall give or cause to be given notice of all meetings of the Council/Conference and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the President.
The Secretary is responsible for ensuring that records are kept of Aggregation/Institution, formal documents, meeting attendance and that annual report records are maintained. The Secretary prepares all of the statistical information of the Council/Conference Annual Report. Use of forms in the Minute Book is primarily the responsibility of the Secretary.
The Rule and Manual: Every Active Member is expected to have read The Rule (Parts 1 and 3) and the Manual — not memorized, but familiar with the contents of both and able to search them for needed answers. Part 2 of The Rule addresses the operations of the Council General International.
Bylaws: It is important for leadership and members to be intimately familiar with the specific Bylaws adopted by their Conference and Council.
Resolutions: All leadership should be familiar with where these documents are and how to navigate through them.
Council/Conference Treasurer
The primary responsibility of the Council/Conference Treasurer is the care and custody of Council/Conference funds, i.e. the keeping of accurate and appropriate records of all receipts and expenditures. The Council/Conference Treasurer is an “officer” of the Council/Conference and may be a voting member of its Board of Directors. The Council/Conference Treasurer should have a full understanding of financial statements, how they are prepared and when correctly prepared and properly interpreted, they contribute to an understanding of the current financial condition, problems, and possibilities of a Council/Conference.
The Rule and Manual: Every Council/Conference Treasurer is expected to read The Rule (Parts 1 and 3) and the Manual and have a working knowledge of each. Part 2 of The Rule specifically addresses the operations of the Council General International.
Bylaws: A Council/Conference Treasurer should also have a working knowledge of the bylaws that pertain to its respective Council or Conference.
Resolutions: Although resolutions are specific in nature, Council/Conference Treasurers should be familiar with those applicable to their respective needs.
Spiritual Advisor
Spiritual Advisors should be familiar with the following:
The Rule and Manual: The Rule (especially Parts 1 and 3) and with the Manual. Part 2 relates to the operations of the Council General International.
Bylaws: Whether or not a voting member of the Conference/Council, the Bylaws of his/her specific Conference/Council.
Resolutions: The VOP section of Resolutions. These can be found by visiting the VOP section of Resolutions by Category.
Although not specifically Governance, a Spiritual Advisor should be familiar with the Serving in Hope series, the Pathway Toolbox section for Spiritual Advisors, and the Vincentian Prayers, Reflections, and Liturgy.
Conference Member
It is important that Conference members understand the governance related aspects of being an Active Member of a Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference. A Conference member should attend the Ozanam Orientation to gain a good understanding of the Society.
The Rule and Manual: All members should read The Rule, Parts I and III. In addition, in the Manual of the Society, they should review Chapter 1, Vincentian History and Chapter 2 Vincentian Organization, 2.1 Conference.
Bylaws: Each member should also review their Conference Bylaws and be familiar with the National Group Insurance Policy.
