Positions and Descriptions

Position: Executive Board Members (or Chapter Officers) provide general oversight and strategic leadership to their Chapter. They coach and mentor Chapter members and work closely with the Region Officers and International Committee Chairs to ensure that the goals of the association and needs of the members are met. They also partner with International Right of Way Association (IRWA) staff on regular activities and special projects as needed, working to advance Chapter objectives as defined in the IRWA’s Articles of Incorporation. An Executive Board Member must be a member in good standing of an IRWA Chapter, with membership paid in full.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, International Directors shall act as a liaison between Chapter 4, other chapters, and IRWA staff, working in close cooperation with the Region 7 Chair. They shall inform the chapter’s Executive Board Members of all actions and activities occurring at meetings of the International Board of Directors and of such other matters that may come to their attention.

A member of the Chapter is elected annually to serve a two-year term as a member of the International Board of Directors of the IRWA. There are two International Directors at all times; typically, these positions are held by the President and President Elect, but this is not a requirement under the Chapter 4 bylaws. 

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• International Directors are representatives of Chapter 4 and have a voice and vote at meetings of the International Board of Directors.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, the President shall be the chief executive officer of the chapter and ex-officio member of all committees. The President shall, subject to the control of the Executive Board, have general supervision, direction, and control of the business and officers of the chapter. The President shall preside at all meetings of the chapter and of the Executive Board and shall have the general powers and duties usually vested in the office of President, and such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the bylaws of the association, the chapter, or the Executive Board.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the professional and fiscal health of the chapter.
• Plans, coordinates, and carries out chapter projects and programs for the year with the Executive Board, chapter committees, and appointed task forces.
• Directs education endeavors with the assistance of the Education Chair, membership drives with the assistance of the Membership Chair, and chapter meetings with the Program Chair and reservations desk.
• Acts as the primary contact between the officers, the Region 7 Chair, and chapter members.
• Prepares, in coordination with the chapter Treasurer, the chapter’s annual operating budget. They also review and approve all expenses and invoices submitted to the chapter for payment.
• Appoints all regular and special chapter committees and/or task forces.
• Generally directs the professional development programs in coordination with the Professional Development Committee Chair, including encouraging both candidate application and candidate progress.
• Coordinates with the Region 7 Chair regarding forums, etc.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, the President-Elect shall have the general powers and duties of a president in the absence or disability of the President, shall advise and assist the President when called on to do so, and shall perform such other duties as may be required by the executive board members. If the office of President becomes vacant, the President-Elect shall become President.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to President; second in responsibility for the chapter.
• Acts in place of President at chapter meetings in the event the President is unavailable.
• Assists the President in carrying out chapter planning, projects, and coordination.
• Key responsibility is to plan his/her Presidency for coming year.
• Prepares goals and objectives for the coming year.
• Drafts budget should be prepared for coming year.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, the Vice President shall perform such duties in addition to the regular duties as a member of the Executive Board as may be required by the chapter’s Executive Board. The Vice President shall serve as chairperson of the Program Committee.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to President; third in responsibility. Acts in place of the president if the President-Elect is not available.
• Acts as a liaison between chapter committees.
• Coordinates committee budgets, presents budgets to the Executive Board.
• Ascertains whether committee projects are on schedule.
• Gathers progress reports from committees, presents reports to Executive Board.
• Generally acts as the contact person for all dealings between the Executive Board and chapter committees.
• Serves as the general program chairperson for the regular chapter meetings.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, the Treasurer shall receive all funds of the chapter and keep a proper record thereof, deposit them in a convenient responsible bank, and disburse them only upon receipt of proper authority from the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall provide financial reports as required by the IRWA headquarters in a timely fashion. The Treasurer shall perform such other duties as delegated by the chapter’s Executive Board.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Acts as financial manager for the chapter.
• Prepares chapter budget in coordination with Chapter 4 Executive Board and committees.
• Receives all payments from IRWA headquarters and deposits them in a timely manner.
• Pays all chapter invoices for products, services, and courses from IRWA headquarters as soon as possible.
• Handles deposits to and withdrawals from chapter bank accounts.
• Records all chapter transactions in QuickBooks Online (QB).
• Reconciles QB with bank statement(s) on a monthly basis, prior to the monthly Executive Board meeting.
• Prepares and shares financial reports at each Executive Board meeting.
• Uploads Executive Board meeting records to the IRWA Member Network “Chapter 004 President and Treasurer” group.
• Provides IRWA Chief Financial Officer with financial records necessary to complete a consolidated financial report for the year during which they served as Treasurer.
• Completes chapter tax information based on QB (Excel form, Word form, and supporting information).
• Maintains supporting documentation/information/records for required retention period(s).
• Forwards Internal Revenue Service /Franchise Tax Board notices to IRWA headquarters (does NOT communicate with tax authorities).
• Contacts sponsors annually in May (for next fiscal year of July 1–June 30) and solicits new and/or renewal sponsorships from (at a minimum) all private-sector chapter members. Informs Executive Board of status of all sponsors.
• Provides billing status information to Communications Committee Chair and Social Committee Chair regarding sponsorship renewals for budgeting and website purposes.

Position: In accordance with the bylaws of Puget Sound Chapter No. 4, the Secretary shall keep a book of minutes of all meetings of the chapter and the Executive Board; carry on all chapter correspondence not handled by the President, and perform such duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Acts as business manager of the chapter.
• Assures current bylaws are on file with IRWA headquarters.
• Keeps all chapter minutes and records.
• Records actions of Executive Board and chapter membership meetings.

Position: The role of the Communications-Outreach Committee Chair is to distribute informative news releases, publications, advertisements, and announcements to be posted on the Chapter 4 website and/or via email (e-blasts).

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Coordinates and creates announcements via website posting and/or e-blasts as needed to advise members of chapter activities.
• Posts monthly membership meeting information (venue, menu, cost, and speaker photo, bio, and program topic) on the website and in weekly e-blasts.
• Uploads education announcements (Education Chair can also upload) to website and in weekly e-blasts.
• Acts as a point of contact for Chapter 4 Executive Board and Committee Chairs to relay information to be posted on the website and in e-blasts.
• Oversees and coordinates with Communications-Outreach Committee members regarding posting presidents’ messages and stories from the field (Field Notes) on the website and/or in e-blasts.
• On July 1st, receives from Treasurer the status of all sponsorship renewals and updates the website to remove and/or add Chapter 4 website sponsors.
• Maintains a list of e-mail address subscriptions for Chapter 4 e-blasts.
• Obtains Region 7 e-mail list from IRWA Headquarters or Membership Committee Chair twice a year and updates Chapter 4 e-blast subscriber list as necessary.

The Communications-Outreach Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the Communications-Outreach Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in the performance of the committee’s duties.

Position: The role of the Education Committee Chair is to promote education that is desired and required by our members to achieve their educational goals.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Develops and implements a strategic, comprehensive chapter education plan.
• Selects and contracts with instructors for presentation, fees, and class-related expenses.
• Secures class facility locations.
• Selects certified course coordinators to whom class‐related responsibilities and logistics will be delegated, etc.
• Provides a list to the Membership Committee Chair of all non-members who have taken a course so they can invite non-members to join the chapter.

The Education Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the Chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the Education Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in performance of the committee’s duties.

Position: The role of the Membership Committee Chair is to develop and promote membership goals and to encourage non-members to join.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Develops and implements an annual membership recruitment plan with the help of the board,
• Sets goals and objectives for membership growth and retention.      
• Participates in quarterly conference calls conducted by IRWA headquarters.
• Maintains the current chapter membership list as provided on IRWA website.
• Tracks and reports on membership trends and deadlines.
• Oversees the new member approval process to ensure that all new chapter members are approved in a timely manner.
• Obtains a list from the Education Committee Chair of all non-members who have taken a course and invites these non-members to join the chapter.
• Distributes new member nametags and welcome packages.
• Follows up with guests at chapter meetings to seek membership.
• Updates Executive Board member badges as necessary.

The Membership Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the Membership Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in the performance of the committee’s duties.

Position: The role of the NESA Committee Chair is to present and recommend a slate of officers to the chapter membership for consideration as candidates and oversee the Professional of the Year, Employer of the Year, Instructor/Presenter of the Year and Project of the Year awards process.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Prepares nomination forms for Professional of the Year, Employer of the Year, Instructor/Presenter of the Year, and Project of the Year, and makes these available to the Communications Committee Chair for publication on the chapter website in October. Nomination forms must indicate a submittal deadline and an address at which to send the completed form.
• Forwards completed nomination forms to each Executive Board Member and committee chair for their review.
• Arranges a conference call with Executive Board and committee chairs to discuss the nominations and make recommendations and selections for all awards except project of the year.
• Prepares ballots and hands ballots out to members to vote on Project of the Year at the March meeting.
• Collects ballots immediately after member voting and determines Project of the Year winner.
• Coordinates orders for the engraving of plaques for special awards, including past President Award.
• Conducts elections for chapter officers at the general membership meeting.

The NESA Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the NESA Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in performance of the committee’s duties.

Position: The role of the Professional Development Committee Chair is to be a resource to chapter members seeking designation and/or certification with the IRWA. The Professional Development Committee Chair counsels/mentors individual candidates and liaises with IRWA headquarters in order to determine candidate status. The Professional Development Committee Chair shall be appointed by the President to a 1-year term.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Provides advice to candidates on various requirements for designation and certification, including timelines.
• Processes requests for designation and /or certification.
• Liaises with Education Committee Chair to present required courses.
• Tracks progress of candidates, follows up with candidates and IRWA headquarters as necessary.
• Works with IRWA headquarters to identify members whose certification/designation are within one year of requiring renewal; contacts the member to alert them of the impending deadline for re-certification.
• Mentors incoming committee members.
• Makes recommendations to the International Professional Development Committee and IRWA headquarters for continuous improvement.
• Participate in Professional Development Committee Chair Best Practices Professional Development webinar.

Position: The role of the Program Committee Chair is required to secure venues and provide educational or entertainment programs for the monthly meetings.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Secures venues for meetings and provides venue information with speaker photo, bio, and topic to Communication Chair to publicize on website and in weekly e-blasts.
• Coordinates guest speakers for monthly meetings.
• Coordinates with registration desk person; collects head count and meal choices and reports this information to the venue and President.

The Vice President serves as Program Committee Chair.

Position: The role of the Social Committee Chair is to provide a venue for right of way professionals to socialize and network with other right of way professionals.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Researches and presents potential social activities to the Executive Board for consideration.
• Converses with members regarding potential social activities.
• Promotes planned social activities.
• Coordinates with vendors for all social activities.
• Coordinates with Treasurer on sponsorship status to determine budget for social/golf.

The Social Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the chapter President and reports to the chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the Social Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in the performance of the committee’s duties.

Position: The role of the Young Professionals Committee Chair is to encourage younger and new professionals in our organization to participate on the board or in a committee focused on right of way education and leadership roles.

General Roles & Responsibilities:

• Reports to the President.
• Identifies young professionals and encourages participation and open dialogue.
• Collaborates with young professionals and encourages attendance to IRWA meetings and events.
• Markets the IRWA and its benefits to newer, younger (under 35ish) employees.
• Communicates young professional’s education needs to chapter Education Committee Chair.
• Coordinates with young professional representatives from other chapters.

The Young Professionals Committee Chair shall be appointed annually by the chapter President. With the advice and approval of the President, the Young Professionals Committee Chair shall appoint committee members as necessary to assist in performance of the committee’s duties.