INTRODUCTION
OFFICERS' DUTIES
     CHAIRPERSON
     VICE-CHAIRPERSON
     SECRETARY
     TREASURER
     COMMITTEE DUTIES
      ARRANGEMENTS
      AUDITING
      BYLAWS
      EXECUTIVE
      FINANCE
      HOSPITALITY
      LONG-RANGE PLANNING
      MEMBERSHIP
      NOMINATING
      PROGRAM
     PUBLICITY (NEWSLETTER)
     STUDENT AFFAIRS
     TELLERS
AACC INTERNATIONAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE
     PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT-ELECT
     DIRECTOR
     SECRETARY
SERVICES AVAILABLE FROM HEADQUARTERS
UNIFORM BYLAWS
     NAME
     MEMBERSHIP
     MEMBERSHIP DUES
     OFFICERS
     PURPOSES OF THE SECTION
     RULES OF ORDER
     STEERING COMMITTEE
     MEETINGS
     AMENDMENTS
     DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS ON DISSOLUTION
APPENDICES
     APPENDIX A - SECTION, MEETING MANAGEMENT
     APPENDIX B - CONTROLLING THE MEETING PROGRAM
     APPENDIX C - DEVELOPING SECTION MEETING PROGRAMS
     APPENDIX D - SELECTING NOMINEES TO AACC INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
          AACC INTERNATIONAL NOMINEE INFORMATION FORM
     APPENDIX E - RECORD FILING SYSTEM
     APPENDIX F - ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL REPORTING PROCEDURE
          SAMPLE FINANCIAL REPORT 1
          SAMPLE FINANCIAL REPORT 2
     APPENDIX G - REPORTING SECTION NEWS TO CEREAL FOODS WORLD
     APPENDIX H - CONDUCTING MEMBERSHIP PROMOTIONS
     APPENDIX I - INCREASING LOCAL, STUDENT, AND AACC INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP

return to top

INTRODUCTION

This manual is designed to serve as a guide to the operation of AACC International Local Sections and Divisions. Our objective is to make your job as an officer easier, and to help you run your section/division more efficiently.

Although the manual is designed for the larger Section/Divisions where responsibilities must be delegated to separate committees, small to medium-sized Section/Divisions can easily modify this manual to meet their particular needs.

return to top

OFFICERS' DUTIES

CHAIRPERSON

The Chairperson, an elected official who serves as chief operating officer of the Section/Division is responsible for the overall welfare of the group and its various activities. The Chairperson ensures that programs, meetings, and other activities are properly planned, and oversees the functions of the Section/Division’s officers and committees.

The Chairperson should be familiar with the Bylaws of the Section/Division, and the Constitution and Bylaws of AACC International. In presiding at meetings, the Chairperson should be guided by the Robert’s Rules of Order.

Candidates should be fully cognizant of the qualifications, duties, and responsibilities of the Chairperson before accepting nomination to the office. The Chairperson must be a Professional or Associate member of AACC International.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Preside at all meetings of the Section/Division and executive committee.
   1. Conduct a minimum of two executive committee meetings during the year.
   2. Set up a late spring or early fall joint meeting of the Executive Committee to transfer the duties to the new officers.
2. With the approval of the executive committee, appoint all committees, including student representatives, designate the chairperson of each and fill any vacancies occurring therein in accordance with the provisions of the Bylaws. The important committees are the ones listed in this manual. In addition to these, the Chairperson may appoint such other permanent or ad hoc committees as necessary. Approval of the executive committee is required for all appointments.
3. Attend or appoint a section/division representative to attend the meeting of the Advisory Council held during the AACC International Annual Meeting. This is a meeting where section/division business is discussed and candidates for AACC International office are selected.
4. Perform duties as pertaining to the office and as assigned by the Bylaws or the executive committee.
5. See Appendix A for suggestions on Section/Division management basics.
6. See Appendix B for suggestions on how to control the meeting program.
7. See Appendix C for suggestions on developing section meeting programs.

return to top

VICE-CHAIRPERSON

The Vice-Chairperson is an elected official whose primary responsibility is to serve as head of the program committee. The Vice-Chairperson arranges the programs for regular, special, and annual meetings. Complete arrangements for each meeting should be presented at the prior executive committee meeting for approval.

Candidates must be cognizant of the necessary qualifications, duties, and responsibilities of the Vice-Chairperson as well as those of the Chairperson before accepting nomination to the office. The Vice-Chairperson must be a Section/Division member who is a professional or associate member AACC International.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Serve as head of the program committee.
2. Perform the x duties of Chairperson in the Chairperson’s absence.
3. Perform such other duties as may be delegated by the Chairperson.
4. Succeed immediately to the office of Chairperson in the event of the Chairperson’s resignation, disability, or death.
5. Succeed automatically to the office of Chairperson at the expiration of their terms of office.
6. Provide information on all meeting programs to the publicity/arrangements committee.
7. Arrange for the seating at the head table at Section/Division meetings. Take charge of the program, introduce speakers, greet, escort, and entertain them, etc. (This could be delegated to Arrangements).
8. See Program Committee write-up for additional duties of Vice-Chairperson of that committee.
9. See Appendix B for suggestions on controlling the meeting program.

return to top

SECRETARY

The Secretary is an elected officer who is the official liaison between the Section/Division and AACC International in all administrative matters. Candidates must be fully cognizant of the Secretary’s duties and responsibilities before accepting nomination to the office. The Secretary must be a member of the Section/Division.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Keep a record of the proceedings of the Section/Division Record and distribute the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee.
2. Maintain an accurate membership roster and mailing list of the Section/Division or delegate to a committee.
3. Prepare ballots for election of officers, or proposed amendments to the Bylaws, send said ballots only to Members of the Section/Division; received said ballots for transmittal to the Tellers Committee.
4. Notify the Executive Vice President of AACC International of the results of the election of officers within two weeks of the election.
5. Keep the headquarters of the AACC International provided with an up-to-date copy of the Bylaws of the Section/Division.
6. Prepare an Annual Report of the Section/Division on forms supplied by AACC International and submit said report to the Executive Vice President within thirty (30) days after the end of the year meeting.
7. Maintain a permanent file list of all AACC International members of the Section/Division.
8. Display both Section/Division and AACC International Membership applications and brochures at each Section/Division meeting.
9. Additional information pertaining to the secretary’s function are given in:
• Appendix D-Recommended Record Filing System
• Page 18 - Services Available from AACC International

return to top

TREASURER

The Treasurer is an elected official who is solely responsible for the operational control of all funds of the Section/Division. Candidates must be fully cognizant of the Treasurer’s duties and responsibilities before accepting nomination to the office. The Treasurer must be a member of the Division/Section.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Assure that the Treasurer’s records are properly audited by the Auditing Committee once per year or as required by Section/Division executive committee.
2. Assure that proper bank resolutions and signature cards are executed annually when new officers take office.
3. Collect membership dues and maintain a current master file of paid-up members.
4. Collect all other money due the Section/Division.
5. Pay all bills owned by the Section/Division. Pay only by check. Assure that all bills are properly authorized (i.e., reviewed and approved by the person who incurred the expense) for payment. Keep copied of bills.
6. Obtain a fidelity bond if required by the Section/Division.
7. Maintain a book of accounts showing detail of all income and expense. Records should be maintained in such a manner as to properly reflect the Not for Profit status of the Section/Division.
8. Maintain a checking account. The AACC International is a 501 ( c) (3) non profit organization. Its Federal Identification number will be furnished on request. Short and long term investment accounts, as authorized by the Section/Division Executive Committee, also may be appropriate. A safe deposit box may be rented for storage of critical Section/Division records (stocks, bonds, CDs, etc.) It is recommended that access to the checking and savings accounts (short-term investment) be by single-signature of the treasurer, chairperson, or secretary. Access to the long-term investments and safe deposit box should be by double-signature of any two of the above officers.
9. Prepare written reports on the financial status of the Section/Division as may be required by the Bylaws or the Section/Division executive committee. (See recommended Report for –Appendix F).
10. Annual financial reports must be submitted to AACC International Headquarters in order to satisfy IRS requirements. Headquarters will file any necessary reports with the IRS. If your gross income usually exceeds $25,000 annually, consult with the Executive Vice President or Director of Finance at AACC International Headquarters.
11. Assist Finance and Auditing Committees as necessary.
12. Treasurer’s records should be maintained for a period of at least 10 years.
13. The Treasurer should freely seek competent advice concerning duties and procedures. (See Appendix F for suggestions on how to keep the books of account.)

return to top

COMMITTEE DUTIES

ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE

The Arrangements Committee makes preparations for the monthly meetings, and is usually directed by the Chairperson.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Present complete schedule of meeting-dates, locations, menus, and price schedules to the executive committee for review at the first meeting for the upcoming year.
2. Search for and maintain inventory of prospective meeting places. (For suggestions and guidelines - see Appendix I.)
3. Maintain accurate accounting records for each meeting. Cooperate with the Treasurer to obtain the best practical system. It is recommended that cash dinner receipts be turned over to treasurer for deposit to Section/Division checking account and that treasurer pay the dinner by check rather than with the cash receipts.
4. Ensure that both the meeting room and the registration area is easily identified at every meeting. (Utilize an AACC International logo poster to identify area.)
5. Provide for orderly handling of reservations and tickets sales at each meeting and provide name tags.
6. Maintain and protect equipment inventory.
7. Insure that proper facilities and equipment are available for each meeting. Cooperate with the Program Chairperson for audio-visual needs of speakers.
8. Develop the necessary data to determine dinner guarantee, including the evaluation and improvement of the reservation system, if needed. There are several techniques for controlling the dinner reservations.

1. Set and publish a deadline for canceling advance reservations; bill the no-shows (those who don’t cancel by the deadline).
2. Hold off selling dinner tickets at the door until your certain all advance reservations have been seated.
3. Set a lower price for advance reservations
4. Set a higher price for non-members
5. Set the price of the dinner tickets higher than restaurant cost to cover the guest’s meals and student meal subsidy (if any).

9. Develop statistics for program attendance and incorporate this graphically into the Section/Division annual report.
10. Develop and present the budget report.

return to top

AUDITING COMMITTEE

The function of the Auditing Committee is to assure that the financial records and physical assets of the Section/Division are in good order and that the financial reports are done consistently from year to year. The committee should be comprised of an annually rotating membership. No incumbent officers or other committee chairperson should be members of the Auditing Committee, although they may present during the audit session.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Conduct a prompt (within 30 days) end-of-fiscal year audit as well as other audits as may be requested or required. It is recommended that the books be audited whenever a new treasurer assumes office.
2. The audit should include a review and reconciliation of:

• Monthly bank statements
• Checkbook records
• All investments records
• The book of accounts
• All original invoices and bills. Include a spot check of any unrecognized vendors for dummy payees.
• Treasurer’s financial statements
• Verification of the existence and condition of all Section/Division assets

If justified, recommend to the Section/Division executive committee that an audit by an outside auditing firm be conducted and, if approved, arrange for such an audit. If possible, accounting help from companies within the membership could be solicited. It is recommended for large Section/Divisions (100 persons or more) that a professional audit be made every three years, or so. Also a professional audit should be conducted if there is any suspicion of embezzlement or misappropriation of Section/Division funds. In this event the professional auditors would need to be alerted, since a normal audit does not detect such misappropriation.

3. Prepare a written report of each audit completed. If appropriate, recommend changes in procedures for financial and asset record keeping and reporting.

return to top

AWARDS COMMITTEE

The function of the Awards Committee is to coordinate the granting of awards and/or scholarships as charged by the Executive Committee of the Section/Division. The Executive Committee may assume these responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Consider and propose for Executive Committee approval for the establishment of awards and honor programs that will further the objectives of AACC International.
2. Consider and propose for Executive Committee approval for the funding of student travel grants to the AACC International Annual Meeting, to be administered by the Manhattan Section, or by your own section.
3. Develop guidelines for awards and/or scholarships and select awardees according to said guidelines
4. Promote section/division members for awards within the AACC International organization. Qualified and deserving members of your section or division often need award nomination initiation and support.

return to top

BYLAWS COMMITTEE

The function of the Bylaws Committee is to maintain and interpret the Bylaws. The committee must be comprised of only Section/Division Members.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Annually (at least) review the Section/Division Bylaws and update as needed.
2. The Section/Division Bylaws must specify the procedures for Bylaws change. This procedure must be strictly satisfied. All amendments must meet the basic requirements of the "Uniform Bylaws." It is suggested that this approval be obtained after the proposed amendments have been voted on by the Section/Division membership.
3. The committee chairperson should serve as the Section/Division parliamentarian and, in this capacity, should attend all Section/Division business meetings.
4. The committee also may be responsible for any procedures manuals the Section/Division may employ.
5. The Section/Division Bylaws must be made available to the Section/Division membership on request.
6. The committee should review the current Uniform Bylaws for Section/Division issued by AACC International. The Uniform Bylaws serve as an excellent to assure coverage of basic requirements. (They are also located directly before the Appendix in this manual.)

return to top

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The function of the Executive Committee is to conduct the business of the Section/Division. The Committee is comprised of the Section/Division officers, and in some Section/Divisions, committee chairpersons.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The Committee should meet regularly as specified in the section/division Bylaws, and preferably not less than two times per year, or prior to each Section/Division meeting.
2. Meetings must be conducted in a business-like manner with official minutes recorded by the Secretary.
3. Reports of the various functioning offices and committees of the Section/Division should be made to the Executive Committee for approval.
4. The Executive Committee must make such fiscal decisions as: approval of the budget, setting of dues and meeting fees, selection of official repositories, short-and long-term investments, etc.

See Appendix F for additional information on financial reporting and tax law.

return to top

FINANCE COMMITTEE

The function of the Finance Committee is to ensure the financial stability of the Section/Division. The Committee is comprised of a Chairperson, Treasurer and other members as appointed by the Section/Division Chairperson.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. At the beginning of the Section/Division fiscal year, prepare the annual budget for the approval of the Executive Committee
2. Recommend to the Executive Committee modification of expenditures, as necessary during the fiscal year to meet budget.
3. Suggest and recommend income producing activities. Evaluate the appropriateness of the membership dues charges, dinner meeting charges, conference registration fees, etc.
4. Propose to the Executive Committee and, if approved, arrange for short-and long-term investment of Section/Division funds as appropriate.
5. In small Section/Divisions, the Executive Committee may serve as the Finance Committee.

return to top

HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE

The major function of this Committee is to ensure that new members and guests are made welcome. It is useful if the Committee Chairperson appoints several people to spot new guests and introduce them to establish Section/Division members. Each member of this Committee should be identified by a badge reading "Hospitality."

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Assist the Arrangements Committee in the sale and distribution of tickets and the handling of name tags.
2. Assist the Membership Committee in the enrollment of new members and collection of dues from current members.
3. Be sure that guests and especially new members are made welcome and introduced to members with like interests.
4. In small Section/Divisions, the Membership Committee or Arrangements Committee may serve as the Hospitality Committee.

return to top

LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE

The function of the Long-Range Planning Committee is to assist the Executive Committee in planning the future program of activities to meet Section/Division objectives. Committee membership should consist of the past two Chairpersons of the Section/Division, two newer members, and a Committee Chairperson.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The Committee should review and evaluate existing activities, evaluate the future Section/Division needs and make recommendations for changes or new activities.
2. It is recommended that a senior and active AACC International member be a member of the Committee in order to bring views of the AACC International to the Committee

return to top

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The responsibility of the Membership Committee is to develop and execute, or supervise the execution of, promotional plans to maintain and build the membership of both the Section/Division and AACC International.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Develop a Section/Division membership application and promotional brochure. (The AACC International counterparts are published periodically and can be requested at any time.)
2. Solicit new members among the guests at each Section/Division meeting, conference, symposium, or other function.
3. Solicit new members by direct mail or other means directed as selected groups of potential members.
4. Solicit AACC International members in your Section/Division’s area to join your Section/Division. Headquarters can provide lists.
5. Solicit delinquent Section/Division members by letter or hone for their renewal within one or two months after official delinquency.
6. Feedback to Executive Committee any pertinent views or opinions from solicitation (5).
7. In February or March check out the Student Members in the Section/Division Membership print-out with their schools to identify graduating students and invite them to convert to full membership in both the Section/Division and AACC International.
8. A detailed discussion on how to conduct these activities is given in Appendix H.

return to top

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

It is the responsibility of the Nominating Committee to develop a slate of qualified candidates for each Section/Division and AACC International election. Membership of the committee should be defined in the Bylaws and must be comprised of Section/Division Members. The Bylaws should specify the officers to be filled, the number of candidates required for each office and the length of terms for each.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Careful adherence to the Section/Division election calendar is required. The Committee should begin its candidate selection process at least two months prior to the expected ballot mailing.
2. Candidates for the Offices of Section/Division Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson must be Professional or Associate members of AACC International. Candidates for Secretary and Treasurer may be any Section/Division Members. If the desired candidates do not have required membership status, the nominations committee should assist them in applying for the required status.
3. Untried candidates should be avoided. Whenever possible the candidates for the elective offices should be selected from among persons who have proved themselves as competent committee chairpersons.
4. The Committee must carefully review those portions of the Bylaws that govern the election of officers to make sure that all required procedures are satisfied. The committee should review the ballot format before it is printed and mailed to the membership by the Secretary.
5. If a member of the Nominating Committee is to be nominated for office, they should resign form the committee and be replaced.
6. Instructions and discussion regarding the nomination of persons to AACC International office are offered in Appendix D –Procedures for Selecting Nominees to AACC International Office.

return to top

GUIDELINES FOR SECTION/DIVISION NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The responsibility of a Nomination Committee is a vitally important one to the future health of a Section/Division. It is their job to select the people who will be running the Section/Division in future years.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. No later than January of each year, the Nomination Committee should convene itself and begin work in selecting candidates.
2. Usually the candidates to be selected are for the offices of Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer (or Secretary/Treasurer).
3. AACC International Bylaws recommend that every effort be made to develop a slate of at least two candidates for each elective office.

1. An incumbent secretary or treasurer running for permissible reelection need not be opposed.
2. Single candidates for Vice-Chairperson and Section/Division Executive Committee Members are permissible only if the committee cannot find a second qualified and available candidate.

4. All of the above candidates must be members of the Section/Division. Candidates for Vice-Chairperson must also be Associate or Professional Members of AACC International.
5. The Section Nominating Committee should get the most recent copy of AACC International membership print-out from the Section/Division Secretary to check the membership class eligibility of candidates before they are approached by the committee.
6. After slate is assembled, all candidates should be approached to determine willingness to serve if elected. Slots left open by those declining should be filled with other candidates as soon as possible so the election can be held and the results communicated to the membership.

return to top

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

The duty of the Program Committee is to assist the Vice-Chairperson in planning and executing the Section/Division meeting programs. The Committee should include the Vice-Chairperson who serves as the Committee Chairperson, one other member of the Executive Committee, plus additional members as needed.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. The Committee develops the programs for the year and establishes contact for speakers that meet the programming needs.
2. The Vice-Chairperson contacts each potential speaker and invites said person to present a program on specific topic. (In Section/Divisions that have no more than three or four meetings, each program committee member may be assigned responsibility for one particular meeting. In this case the remaining responsibilities may also rest with that committee member.)
3. Approximately three weeks before the meeting date, the Vice-Chairperson should contact the speaker to discuss audio-visual needs, hotel requirements, transportation to the meeting, or any other needs the speaker might have.
4. If the speaker is arriving form out of town, the Vice-Chairperson should meet the speaker at the airport or hotel, provide transportation to the meeting place, and serve as the speaker’s host for the meeting. The Vice-Chairperson should arrange for a dinner ticket for the speaker and hospitality at the meeting.
5. Within a reasonably short period of time following the meeting (3-5 days) the Vice-Chairperson should personally write to the speaker, expressing thanks for the speaker’s time and efforts spent addressing the Section/Division.
6. In small Section/Divisions, the Executive Committee may serve as the Program Committee.

return to top

PUBLICITY (NEWSLETTER) COMMITTEE

The Publicity Committee is charges with the duties of providing publicity about section/division meetings to external groups and media. Such external publicity is helpful in attracting potential new members as well as informing the public.

The function of the Publicity Committee is to publish and distribute the Section/Division meeting announcements and/or newsletter at least 10 days prior to each Section/Division meeting. An editor should be named to direct this Committee’s efforts and to oversee the production of the newsletter.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Prepare the meeting program announcements with the Vice-Chairperson and the meeting details with the Arrangements Committee.
2. Assemble or search out other news items for publication. (such as, a digest of Executive Committee actions from the Secretary and the Treasurer’s Report.)
3. Produce finished reproducible copy and arrange for printing of the announcement or newsletter.
4. Obtain mailing labels from the Secretary for each issue and handle the mailing or arrange for a mailing service to handle. (Committee should look into pros and cons of first-class vs. regular third-class vs. non-profit third-class bulk mail.)
5. Publicize all future meeting dates well in advance to get them on the calendar and schedules of the membership.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Advance announcements to trade and technical journals for listing in their meeting calendars (three months ahead.)
2. Advance announcements to CEREAL FOODS WORLD on forms provided by AACC International (two months ahead.) See instructions and sample form in Appendix G.
3. Detailed new release of programs and meetings to trade and technical journals (three months ahead.)
4. Brief news release on the date, time, place, speaker and subject of the problem to local newspapers, radio and TV stations, if appropriate (one week ahead.)

return to top

STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The function of the Student Affairs Committee is to solicit and encourage student involvement and participation in Section/Division affairs. It shall be composed of members of the Section/Division, student members of AACC International, and food science clubs of recognized educational institutions in the geographical region of the Section/Division.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Provide a list of all AACC International student members in the Section/Division to the Section/Division Secretary each September.
2. Inform all student members of the advantage of participating in the Section/Division. Negotiate a student subsidy for meeting meal prices with the Executive Committee.
3. Provide assistance to students in obtaining travel support to AACC International and regional meetings.
4. Recommend to the Section/Division Chairperson student members for appointment to certain committees.

return to top

TELLERS COMMITTEE

The function of the Tellers Committee is to count ballots and assure that all Section/Division elections are properly conducted. The Tellers Committee must be comprised of only Section/Division members who do not hold office in the Section/Division and who are not current candidates for any office. The Bylaws should specify the required number of committee members.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Count ballots for all Section/Division elections and matters involving membership voting. Ballots, if written, should be mailed or delivered to the committee chairperson. If voting is by voice or hand count, the committee should assure that only authorized votes are counted, i.e. Section/Division Members in good standing (paid up).
2. Adhere to election procedures stipulated in the Section/Division Bylaws. These procedures should specify:

1. Time ballots are to be opened and counted
2. The procedure for authentication of voter and vote validity
3. Time election results are to be announced and the manner of the announcement.
4. Final disposition of counted ballots and any invalid ballots.

3. In small Section/Divisions, the Nominating Committee may serve as the Tellers Committee. Alternatively, the AACC International office can offer assistance with ballots.

return to top

AACC International NOMINATING COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT-ELECT:

The President is not expected to attend AACC International Local Section or Division meetings. Such attendance is strictly optional and will depend upon travel time available to the President and the regional nature of the event. All official travel for the AACC International by the incumbent President will be paid by the Association and an appropriate allocation will be made in the yearly budget. In instances where the President-elect or other individuals substitute for the President, their travel expenses will be paid by the Association.

DIRECTOR:

The Director has an equal vote on the Board of Directors and usually serves on one or two standing Committees of the Board. The directors are elected to represent the needs of the members. A Director must attend the usual Board meetings, plus any special meeting of his/her standing committee. Board meetings occur mid-year for two days and at the annual meeting. A standing committee might meet for one day during the year.

return to top

SERVICES AVAILABLE FROM AACC International HEADQUARTERS

Headquarters has a number of services that are available to Local Sections and Divisions. These include:

• Dues collection with funds and records transmitted quarterly to the sections
• Accounting/reporting income and expenses to Treasurers
• Preparation of award plaques and speaker gifts
• Assistance with special mailings, such as election ballots, meeting notices, newsletters
• Publication of meeting dates and reports in CEREAL FOODS WORLD and AACCnet
• Meeting support - signs, badges, logos
• Assistance in obtaining speakers
• Mailing labels for members and prospects
• Assistance, advice in procuring meeting space

return to top

UNIFORM BYLAWS (For Sections)

Bylaws of the ________ Section, No. __ of AACC International

Name

This organization is certified as a Local section of the AACC International, and is know as the __ Section No. __.

return to top

Membership

1. All of the officers shall be Professional Members: at least one-half of the membership shall be Professional, Honorary, or Life Members of AACC International. This rule must be observed at all times, to satisfy the requirements of Article XI, Section 2, of the Articles Incorporation, under which the Section is certified.
2. The remainder of the membership may be made up of the following classes of members:

1. Authorized representatives of Corporate members of AACC International.
2. Persons interested in the activities of the Association who are not members of AACC International, but are willing to pay Local Section dues and attend meetings. Such person shall be known as "local members."

3. In the event that the number of members included under the categories of Corporate and Local membership reaches one-half of the total membership, a waiting list shall be set up, and no more Local members shall be enrolled until vacancies occur. (This should not deter candidates for Local membership form attending Section meetings.)

return to top

Membership Dues

1. Dues shall be ______ per year _______, with special assessments when necessary. Dues shall be payable at the time of the first meeting following the annual election of officers.
2. Dues are payable in advance. The membership card constitutes receipt for the same. Members not paying their annual dues by (date ) shall be dropped from the membership roll and the mailing list of the Section.

return to top

Officers

1. The officers shall be Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer. (The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined when desirable.) Officers must be Professional Members of the AACC International.
2. Officers shall be elected annually at the last Section meeting preceding the Annual Meeting of the Association, and shall take office at the conclusion of the next meeting. Officers may be elected by mail ballot when desirable.
3. It shall be a duty of the officers to encourage qualified local members to become members of AACC International.
4. Notices of the local section elections shall be mailed promptly to the Executive Vice President of AACC International.
5. Notices of section meetings shall be sent to all members of the Section, as well as to all Local Section secretaries. (The AACC International Headquarters will supply the list of Local Section Secretaries.)

return to top

Purposes of the Section

The purpose of the ________Section are in accord with those of AACC International.

return to top

Rules of Order

This organization shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.

return to top

Steering Committee

A Steering Committee, composed of the incumbent officers, the most recent past Chairperson of the Section, and the Program Chairperson, shall advise and assist in the conduct of the affairs of the Section. The Vice-Chairperson of the Section shall be Chairperson of the Steering Committee.

return to top

Meetings

Meetings of the Section, shall be held on the ____ of each month, or at any other time designated by the Steering Committee.

return to top

Amendments

Any part of the bylaws, rules, and procedures may be amended upon review by the Steering Committee and approval by two-thirds majority vote of members present at any regular or special meeting of which all members have been notified. New articles may be added by like vote if they do not conflict with existing articles, or the basic principles of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of AACC International

return to top

Distribution of Funds on Dissolution

In the event of dissolution of this Section, and the discharge of its debts and the settlement of its affairs, any funds and property of this Section remaining thereafter shall be conveyed by the direction of the Section Executive Committee to another qualified non-profit organization, or if no action is taken by the above mentioned, shall be conveyed to AACC International for its general purposes, or with the written consent of the Board of Directors of AACC International, shall be conveyed another qualified non-profit organization dedicated to the perpetuation of objects similar to those of the AACC International, provided that such selected organizations, at the time of the Section’s dissolution, shall be exempt under Section 501 (e) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended, or under such successor provision of the Code as may be in effect at the time of this Section’s dissolution.

PLEASE NOTE: Copies of the Uniform Bylaws are available from AACC International Headquarters.

return to top

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

SECTION, MEETING MANAGEMENT BASICS

The job of running a good Section/Division is a true test of the chairperson’s ability to manage. The test is neither particularly easy nor especially difficult. However, it is different from the usual management situations.

Your job as Chairperson is to provide leadership – to the entire Section/Division and especially to the Executive Committee. Remember, you can’t do everything yourself. You must ask for and inspire cooperation from your officers and committees to get things done.

The democratic leader is most likely to run a successful Section/Division.

The Chairperson sets goals, determines projects, and assesses progress for the Section/Division through the democratic process of meetings with the Executive Committee and committee chairpersons. People will cooperate much more willingly with your direction when they have a hand in determining what they are going to do.

However, democratic leadership does not mean that you should never be "autocratic." As Chairperson you must be willing to take charge. Even during a "democratic" Executive Committee meeting, situations may arise where the group can’t reach a consensus, in which case you will need to take action. And once the Section/Division goals and projects for the year have been determined, it is your responsibility to assign the projects to appropriate committees, give them guidance and direction not only as what to do, but very often on how to do it, and to periodically follow-up with the various committee chairpersons as to their progress.

These three tasks – assignment of work, guidance, and follow-up – are standard management responsibilities in any situation. The difference in a volunteer organization lies in your technique for accomplishing them.

In a company situation you, as a manager, can assign work with very little guidance. After all, your employees were hired because they posses the skills and know-how to do their jobs. Follow-up is usually accomplished by requiring a report by a certain deadline. Further follow-up and additional guidance if needed can be provided easily on a daily or weekly basis since you are in daily contact.

In the atmosphere of the section organization, however, things are quite different.

In the first place, the people who volunteer, or to whom you assign tasks, are not necessarily skilled in doing the task. Assigning a task is not enough. Equally important, is the need to explain how to do the task.

Secondly, since you are barely in monthly contact, let alone daily contact, follow-up and/or guidance usually has to be carried out by other means. Follow-up in the Section/Division organization is best accomplished simply by picking contacting the individual directly and checking on how they are progressing with the task. When and how often you make such follow-up checks depends on the length and size of the task, the deadline set for its completion, and to some extent, your assessment of the person doing it.

Many section/division Chairpersons feel that because a section/division is a strictly volunteer organization, they can’t really "order" people to do things. However, as the chief executive officer you must be willing to take charge. Admittedly you can’t motivate people to do their jobs by a direct order, as you can in a power-based organization. For Section/Division volunteers your best motivation tools are appeals for the good of the cause, and adequate recognition and praise for jobs well done. Your best tool is the firmness with which you take charge and the degree to which you instill your own enthusiasm into your officers and committee chairpersons. It is truly amazing how one’s own attitude and enthusiasm, or lack of, rubs off on the people around you.

After your responsibilities as a manager and motivator, the Chairperson’s next most important responsibility is the business of presiding at and running meetings. The two types of meetings you need to be concerned with are the Executive Committee and the Section/Division meeting itself.

The Executive Committee ordinarily is a business meeting; the Section/Division meeting generally is not. The success of both, however, depends on your being a good presiding officer. And the first and foremost rule of being a good presiding officer at any meeting is to take charge and control of the meeting; don’t let it control you.

Section/Division Executive Committee vary in size all the way from a half-dozen people to 20 or more. Regardless of size, the purpose of an Executive Committee meeting is to conduct the necessary business of the section/division. This is accomplished by permitting debate and discussion of issues in order to arrive in an orderly manner at conclusions which represent the will of the majority.

Obviously some of the smaller committees will be able to hold their meetings a little less formally than the larger ones. In either case though it is important that the presiding officer be at least somewhat familiar with the more important provisions of Robert’s Rules of Order so that the meeting can be conducted in a manner that will permit the committee to accomplish its business. Robert’s Rules are simply a tool for the presiding officer and the committee to use to conduct an orderly meeting.

Except for disruptions by latecomers, most of the problems in running an orderly meeting arise because of one or more of the following causes:

1. Two or three people start to argue over minor details.
2. The person with the floor repeatedly gets off track.
3. A committee chairperson will come to the meeting unprepared either because they failed to do their job or because they don’t have all the facts.
4. Certain individuals have to regale the group with personal anecdotes or one story after another.
5. The committee loses sight of the particular subject and talks past the point of decision.

Whatever the cause for the delay, Robert’s Rules provide the presiding officer with the mechanism for getting the meeting back on track, and they should not hesitate to use it.

Of course, like all regulations, Robert’s Rules can also be used against the group. A parliamentary "sea lawyer" who chooses to be an obstructionist can try to filibuster the group to their way of thinking even after the group has virtually made up its mind to the contrary. In this situation, the presiding officer should interrupt and ask someone to move the Previous Question. When seconded, this motion takes precedence, is not debatable, and a favorable vote by the committee is a directive to the presiding officer to conduct an immediate vote on the question on the floor without any further debate. Of course, if the vote is negative, no harm is done because that means the group hasn’t yet made up its mind and would like to continue debate on the issue.

The second and really more difficult meeting requiring your direction is the Section/Division meeting itself. For those portions which may be formal business meeting, of course, the previous discussion applies. But most Section/Division meetings, are program meetings, and what little business is conducted generally will simply be routine reports by the secretary or treasurer and special announcements, ether by yourself or by committee chairperson you call on. The Section/Division meeting format usually consists of the cocktail hour, a luncheon or dinner, and a speaker after the meal.

As presiding officer of the meeting, your responsibility is to see that all elements run on time. Social hour, for example, should be scheduled for a half-hour - 45 minutes at the most. The important element here is to see to it that the social hour is closed up, and the dinner starts on time.

Assuming that the social hour and the dinner have gone off in a good order, this leaves the most difficult part of the meeting to be controlled - the program. In practically all Section/Divisions, developing the program is the job of the Chairperson-elect. This person should present the program during the meeting, including introducing the speaker. However, as Chairperson, you are ultimately responsible for keeping the program on track. Be sure your speaker knows in advance how long a presentation you require.

return to top

APPENDIX B

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONTROLLING THE MEETING PROGRAM

As Vice-Chairperson, you have conducted all the necessary preliminary arrangements for your guest speaker; now you are ready to introduce them at the meeting.

When you invite a speaker, be sure to indicate the length of the presentation you expect. Occasionally, your speaker will go over the allocated time but there are a few things you can do to move the meeting along. For one, keep your introduction brief and if necessary, highlight two or three pertinent items about the speaker’s accomplishments. Second, is to take charge at the conclusion of the talk. If time permits, you may have a question and answer period. In order to monitor the time allowed for this you should:

1. Recognize the questioner
2. Repeat the question
3. Give the mike to the speaker for the answer
4. Remain next to the speaker during the answer
5. Take the mike back after the speaker has answered
6. Recognize the next questioner
7. Repeat the question, etc.

Naturally, you should brief the speaker beforehand that this is how you would like to handle the questions. Repeating the question serves as two useful purposes. It lets the rest of the audience know what the questions was and, in addition, it gives your speaker a few seconds to formulate an answer. Taking the mike back after each answer enables you to keep complete control over the question and answer session so the meeting will adjourn on time.

return to top

APPENDIX C

SUGGESTIONS FOR DEVELOPING SECTION/DIVISION MEETING PROGRAMS

The essential requirement for a successful Section/Division is a consistently interesting schedule of meeting programs for the members. The Chairperson-elect as program chairperson is therefore a key officer to a successful Section/Division.

There are several steps in developing a good program schedule. The first thing you need is input. A survey brief questionnaire in the late spring to your members requesting evaluation of the last year’s program and asking for topics for future programs should help.

Try to block out your entire schedule of next year’s meeting during the summer. Assign topics; select and contact potential speakers as soon as possible. Start early so you can select alternative speakers in case you get turn-downs from your first choice.

The topics should provide variety and hopefully will come from your survey. If your Section/Division is predominated by a particular industry, than many of the topics should appeal to people in that industry area. Section/Divisions that have a wide variety of industries to appeal to will probably not be able to cover all topics in a single programming year.

AACC International can provide you with a Speaker List on request, as a source for obtaining speakers for your meetings. This is compiled from speakers who have appeared at the Annual Meeting or other Section/Division and regional meetings and is updated periodically.

Some other things you should think about in your program planning are listed below:

1. Plant tours are almost always successful.
2. Guest or spouse programs are usually well received. Some section/divisions hold these in December as a holiday social meeting. A late spring "picnic" meeting is also a possibility.
3. Some section/division hold a golf-tennis outing in the late Spring or early Summer.
4. If there is a school in your area, the Student Chapter or food science club could be given responsibility for presenting one of your meetings.
5. The customary meeting format consists of the social hour, dinner, official reports and announcements, and the speaker. Some section/divisions have gone in for a pre-dinner talk along with an after dinner speaker. The pre-dinner talk (half-hour to 45 minutes) can usually be quite a little more technical. The after dinner talk usually has to be more general.
6. The question about whether to hold all meetings at the same place or move them around is a perennial problem. There are good arguments in favor of each viewpoint. Some section/divisions introduce the needed variety by holding two or three special meetings in different locations, while keeping the regular meetings at the same restaurant.
7. While menu planning is not usually the province of the program committee, a meal can make or break a program. Variety in meals, even if they cost a little more, is an important factor in attendance.

While the foregoing thoughts are neither new nor startling, hopefully they may spark another idea or two that you can use successfully.

return to top

APPENDIX D

PROCEDURES FOR SELECTING NOMINEES TO AACC International OFFICE

The Nominating Committee of AACC International is the group responsible for selecting nominees to office in the Association. The committee members are appointed by the President and serve three year terms. The chief function of the committee is to propose and vote for nominees to be placed on the next election ballot. The procedure is as follows: 

1. The Section/Division nominating committee should choose qualified candidates for AACC International office. Select candidates for President-elect, Director, and International Director for nomination in even years and select candidates for President-elect and Director only in odd years.
2. Suggestions by the nominating committee should be submitted to the membership of your Section/Division, if time permits.
3. While there is no official limit on the number of nominees for each office, it has been practice for the Section/Divisions to submit only one name for each position vacant.
4. After your committee has selected a slate of candidates and they have been approved by the membership (if possible), the committee must contact each candidate to determine if they are willing to stand for election.
5. Obtain from each nominee, who is willing to stand for election, a written statement to that effect, plus a brief biographical sketch. Click here for nomination form.
6. The material cited above must be in the AACC International office in St. Paul no later than March 1.

Once the necessary information has reached the AACC International office, it will be duplicated and submitted to all Section and Division Chairpersons by mail. If your Section or Division did not submit the name of a nominee for each position, you will have another opportunity to do so, or to second the nomination of a person proposed by another Section or Division. PLEASE REMEMBER, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO NOMINATE ONLY FROM YOUR SECTION/DIVISION. Qualities of leadership and knowledge of the AACC International is of utmost importance in your selection of a nominee.

AACC International Nominee Information Form
(additional pages will not be considered)

Name:

Academic record (institutions, all earned degrees):

Professional positions (last 10 years):

AACC International Service

Years of membership:

Offices Held (e.g. Board of Directors, Divisional Officer, Sectional Officer)
and corresponding dates:

AACC International Committee Service:

Other AACC International Service:

Honors/Awards:

Current memberships and service in other professional organizations:

Business/technical achievements:

return to top

APPENDIX E

RECOMMENDED RECORD FILING SYSTEM

Three biggest problems faced by virtually every section are: lack of a fixed location, the change-over in secretaries every two or three years, and making the decisions as to what and what not to keep. The trick to good filing is to establish a system requiring relatively simple procedures that can be easily maintained then turned over to a new secretary with minimal instructions or trouble.

1. Get a portable "container" for the records. Depending on the size of the section and number of records involved, this can be anything from a 3-ring binder(s) to a cardboard transfer file, or combination.
2. One of the binders or the back end of the transfer file should be labeled "Permanent Files, ________ Division/Section, AACC International". Tabbed index pages or file jackets can be used to keep the permanent file items separate and identified.
3. Another binder or the front of the transfer file should be used for the "Current Files".
4. At the end of each year, the secretary should collect and file Permanent File items being held by other officers or committee chairpersons and should discard the two or three year old files out of the Current File to make room for next year’s filing.
5. In those years when a new secretary is elected these operations should be done by the outgoing secretary before the end of his/her term.
6. Also the outgoing secretary should get together with the new secretary to transfer both sets of files and to give the new secretary a few groups on duties and the filing system.

Next, is the questions of what to keep permanently and what to discard. As a general rule your permanent file need only consist of legal or quasi-legal documents and items of "compelling" historical value. All other correspondence and papers relating to the on-going month-to-month activities of the section need only be kept for two to three years.

Thus, the kinds of items that should be in a Section/Division’s Permanent File are:

1. The Section/Division Bylaws
2. The Section/Division Charter
3. Articles of Incorporation
4. IRS Determination Letter of Non-Profit Status-501©(3) or 501(e)(6)
5. IRS Form 990 or 990A Annual Information Income Tax Returns
6. Post Office Determination Letter for 3^rd class non-profit bulk mail privileges
7. State Sales Tax exemption letter
8. Executive Committee minutes
9. Financial Reports (annual only)
10. Record of Officers, Executive Committee Members and Committee Chairs
11. Procedures Manual or Guides
12. Membership rosters

Not all Section/Divisions will have to include items 3 -7. And only Section/Divisions whose financial operations are over $30,000 a year have to complete item 5. Correspondence relating to previous applications in any of these areas, even though unsuccessful, should be filed for the benefit of future officers. 

All Section/Divisions should have items 1 - 2, and 8 - 10.

Item 2 - Need only be the current Bylaws. If space permits, older Bylaws can be kept for historical purposes.

Item 8 - Could also include minutes of a particular annual business meeting of the section if some business is conducted, other than simply announcing the results of the election. Minutes of section meetings describing only the program and the like need not be kept.

Item 9 - Financial reports in item 9 are only the audited Annual Reports: Treasurer’s Reports made during the year are in the Current File material.

Item 10 - Your historical record of the Section/Division management over the years. Secretary should make up the sheet of new officers, etc. at the beginning of each year and enter any changes as they take place during the year. A complete final list of meeting dates and speakers should also be saved for the permanent record.

Item 11 - For those Section/Divisions that have them, should include only the current set of guides for reference of the officers or committee chairpersons they apply to. Significant correspondence and minutes related to the organization and founding of the Section/Division should be stored with the AACC International Charter.

Item 12 - A few Section/Divisions publish membership rosters every couple years or so. These should be filed as long as space and convenience permits, of equal importance are the membership figures by class of member form year-to-year. These can most easily be incorporated in the Treasurer’s annual financial report along with dues income.

return to top

APPENDIX F

RECOMMENDED ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL REPORTING PROCEDURES

Perhaps the most important task in the Section/Division is the Treasurer’s office because most Section/Division members are not familiar with financial accounting and reporting procedures. The usual treasurer’s report is submitted as a report of receipts and disbursements simply reflecting the cash flow through the checkbook. This may work for very small section/divisions having small number of transactions and accounts to worry about and where all receipts and disbursements are income and expenses, but it is inadequate for most Section/Divisions and usually creates much confusion among the officers and Executive Committee in understanding reports.

It is important to keep in mind the ultimate objective of your bookkeeping and accounting procedures is to enable you to easily prepare and publish an understandable and meaningful set of financial reports.

As a minimum, the two reports needed are an Operating Statement (that is, a report of Income and Expenses), and a Statement of Assets, Reserves and Net Worth (or a Balance Sheet). For most Section/Divisions cash basis reports are probably adequate, unless you have a lot of accounts receivable and pre-paid expenses and/or accounts payable and deferred income, in which case you may want to go to a partial accrual basis for the year-end report in order to develop a full Balance sheet.

The Operating Statement should reflect all financial income and expense transactions both for the period since the last report and for the fiscal year (cumulatively). And since the budget is developed for a year’s operations, the budget figures should be on the report in a column next to the cumulative figures for the year for easy comparison of actual operations to budget.

The Statement of Assets, Reserves and Net Worth is arranged in two columns just like the Balance Sheet. On the left side are the Assets, which usually consist of the checking account balance, a savings account and stocks and bonds, or other short- or long-term investments usually listed at cost. Section/Divisions with physical assets like a projector, screen, name badges, banner, etc. should list these at a nominal value of say, $1.00 simply for purposes of recording the fact that the Section/Division do own these items.

On the right side are listed the Reserves and Net Worth, the total of which must equal the total of all the assets. If your Section/Division has no reserves, then all the assets constitute new worth. If, however, you have set aside $500 or $1000 for scholarships, then this should be reflected by setting up a reserve in the amount and reducing the net worth by a like amount so the total still equals the total assets. Some Section/Divisions may even prefer to establish such scholarship support as a special fund in a separate savings or investment account, in which case the fund should show not only a reserve on the right side, but also as a separate savings account asset on the left side. For more detailed guidance you may wish to consult with someone in your company’s accounting department.

The basis for any accounting system is a chart of accounts, which is simply formal identification and codifying of the principal areas of income, expense, assets and liabilities. The chart should be open-ended so you can add or remove accounts as needed.

Bookkeeping is the mechanics by which you record all receipts and disbursements and assign them to the proper account in order to develop your reports. Customarily the bookkeeping system involves (1) your check book record; (2) a journal, which is a multi-column book in which you re-enter each receipt and disbursement and assign it to the proper account, and (3) a ledger where you have a separate page for each account. At the end of each month you total all the columns in the journal and transfer each column to its appropriate page in the ledger.

For most Section/Divisions this system can probably be simplified by elimination the journal. All you really need to do is be sure that whenever you write a check against or make a deposit into the checking account, you also enter the amount to the proper page in the ledger. Thus, the total of all such entries for the income and expense accounts for each month gives you the figures for column 1 of the Income and Expense report; the total of all such entries for the year-to-date (the account balance) gives you the figures for column 2.

It must be re-emphasized that this discussion is not complete enough to enable you to set up an accounting system for your Section/Division. It does, however, provide guidelines that we recommend which a professional accountant could use to help you set one up.

CLICK here for Sample Financial Report 1

CLICK here for Sample Financial Report 2

Regarding the sample reports the following comments should be made: 

1. While the accounts shown are typical, the figures are fictitious.
2. In the example the Special Fund accounts were consolidated with the rest of the Section report. An alternative Operating Fund and one for the Special Fund.
3. Most income and expense accounts are clearly one or the other. Some activities, like the Dinner Meetings, the Holiday Party and the Suppliers Night, involve both income and expenses. For these types of activities you have a choice of reporting (1) total income and total expenses separately, (2) net income only or (3) net expense only. In the sample report we have shown all three methods, and it is important to note that even though a particular activity may be shown in the report as a net income or net expense, the total income and total expenses for that activity must be recorded separately in the ledger accounts.
4. The Dinner Meetings we chose to report as a net income on the assumption that dinner tickets would be priced slightly more than the restaurant charges in order to cover guest meals, student meal subsidy, if any, and possible losses form no-shows. These could just as well have been reported as two separate items, one for the total dinner receipts and the other for total restaurant expenses. In fact, for medium and small Section/Divisions or where the net figure keeps flipping back and forth between a net income or a net expense from month to month, reporting of separate figures is recommended. Alternatively, if your Section/Division does not charge extra to cover potential losses, then this activity should be budgeted and reported as a net expense.
5. The Holiday Party is treated just the opposite, i.e., as a net expense, because it was anticipated that the Section would subsidize part of this activity. Reporting of separate gross income and gross expense is entirely in order.
6. For the Suppliers Night we chose to show the separate total income and total expense figures partly to demonstrate the technique. A net income figure would be equally appropriate, but a little less explicit and instructive for your executive committee.

We hope that these suggestions will be of some help to enable you as treasurer, to provide your Section/Division and Executive Committee with meaningful financial reports.

return to top

Sample Financial Report 1

________________Section
Financial Reports
for Period Ending April 30, 20__

Income & Expenses

return to top

Sample Financial Report 2

_________Section
Assets Reserves & Net Worth for Period Ending April 30, 20 __

return to top

APPENDIX G

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REPORTING SECTION NEWS TO CEREAL FOODS WORLD

Any significant activity of the Section that could be of general interest to CEREAL FOODS WORLD  readers and the AACC International membership should be submitted for consideration. News need not be limited to meetings or conferences.

Information promoting upcoming events or meetings can be submitted for the CFW calendar section. They will appear anywhere from 2 to 12 months ahead of event date depending on space. These items will also appear on the AACCnet Calendar.

Information about an event or meeting that has already taken place should be submitted immediately after the event to ensure news is current and interesting. The information will be published in the next available issue’s AACC International News Section. Submission of photos are encouraged and will be published space permitting. Please include a caption identifying the event and persons appearing in the photo. Be sure to protect photos with cardboard on each side so they won’t be damaged in transit.

For your convenience, a reporting form is available below:

Reporting Form for CEREAL FOODS WORLD

Submit to: Assistant Editor, CEREAL FOODS WORLD
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121, U.S.A.
Facsimile: 651.454.0766, E-mail: aacc@scisoc.org

Section Name:
Officer Reporting:
Phone or e-mail:

REPORT OF EVENT/MEETING:

Date:

Location (meeting place, city, state, country:

Name and title of guest speaker:

Affiliation of guest speaker:

Including city, state, country:

Title of presentation:

Program (100 words or less):

Summary of presentation:

OTHER NEWSWORTHY ITEMS:

return to top

APPENDIX H

SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO CONDUCT MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION

Membership growth occurs when the number of new members obtained each year exceeds the number of members who drop out. Membership promotion is not played simply for the "numbers game"; the resulting growth is a significant measure of success of the totality of all Section/Division activities.

Getting new members for the Section/Division and AACC International is responsibility of the Membership Committee. This can be done either by direct solicitation by committee members, by the development of membership drives in which all Section/Division members take part, or both.

Membership efforts by local sections should complement AACC International membership drives - not compete with them. On the other hand, AACC International can offer valuable input and assistance to your local section membership drives.

AACC International’s basic promotion materials are the Application Form and the Membership Brochure. The Membership Committee should recognize that the Section meetings, with their usual number of guests, are gold mines of potential new members. Capitalize on this by distributing the AACC International membership information.

An often overlooked responsibility of membership committees is the solicitation of delinquent members. This is, however, extremely important to growth. Failure to contact non-renewals each year can result in an excessive number of drop-outs and completely negate a good campaign for new members.

Another little recognized responsibility of Membership Committee is to feed-back to the Section Executive Committee the results of their contacts in soliciting non-renewals. Many Section/Divisions try to conduct periodic preference surveys of their membership. Very often the negative results from those who drop their membership are as instructive and helpful to a Section/Division as are the results of a positive, current member survey.

The effective promotion and solicitation of new members for AACC International and the Section/Division is limited only by the ingenuity and imagination of the Membership Chairperson and Committee. However, imagination and ingenuity are not essential to an effective effort. What is more important is a conscientious effort. Obviously, though, if a little extra ingenuity can be built into the program the effort is bound to be a little more effective.

1. Every Section/Division has a table for the Secretary or Arrangements Committee to sell dinner meeting tickets. Nearby, the Membership Chairperson (and/or Committee member) should staff a table with AACC International applications and brochures.
2. To attract attention, prepare a large poster to display at the table.
3. Sometime during the meeting take a minute to issue a cordial welcome and invitation to guests to join the Section/Division and the AACC International, and to stop by the Membership Committee table to pick up materials.
4. Each year a number of Section/Divisions hold one or two special meetings. These are also a good source of potential new members. First, the Membership Committee should staff one of the tables in the exhibit with brochures and applications to promote memberships. If possible, develop a registration form for these special meetings which includes name and addresses and a place to check whether a member or non-member. Within two to three weeks after the meeting, the Membership Committee should solicit the non-member registrants either in a personal or phone follow-up direct mail solicitation.

There are all kinds of varieties of formal membership drives that can be used. Each section should conduct at least one, organized promotion effort annually to solicit new members.

1. Timing - Carefully consider the time you will begin the drive.
2. Duration - Time should be long enough to enable people to get it in gear; but not so long as to wear everybody out. Around two to four months should work, depending on the nature of the drive.
3. Shot-gun approach - is descriptive of the kind of activity where the Membership Committee plans a drive which utilizes all Section/Division members.

• "Every-Member-Get-A-Member" is a typical, and incidentally usually works very well if it isn’t overworked. Incentives can be provided, if desired, by awarding some kind of prize(s) to the top winner(s).
• The "term" approach to membership drives start on the premise of awarding prizes to the winning team. Teams can vary from 3 -25 members depending on Section/Division size. Team captains can be Membership Committee members, or selected volunteers.
• A variation that combines these two ideas is to start with the "Every Member Get A Member" approach, but plan a prize award not only to the winning member, but also to all of the new members that he/she and they continue to get. In this way, each member builds his/her own team.

4. Rifle Approach - describes the kind of drive where the Membership Committee itself first develops lists of prospective members, either as individuals or classes of individuals. For example: 1) a check of the Yellow Pages of the phone book (or city or other directories) against the Section membership list would yield food companies in the area that don’t have AACC International members or 2) an appeal to the Section/Division membership could bring names of non-member friends and colleagues. Whatever the method of developing the prospect lists, the drive itself is generally conducted by having the Membership Committee members split the list into workable sizes. About 10-12 is the maximum that can conveniently be solicited by any one member. It may be necessary to increase the size of the membership committee if the total list is large. Customarily drives like this, conducted by the Membership Committee itself, do not involve incentives. However, incentives could be incorporated by awarding a prize to the committee member who signs up the largest number of people if all list sizes are equal; if not, the highest percentage. Another form of rifle approach is to use the prospect lists to conduct a direct-mail campaign. This is generally less effective than personal contact, but is certainly better than no campaign at all. Direct-mail would be indicated either for Section/Divisions that would have difficulty getting a large enough Membership Committee or where prospect lists are very large.

Since direct-mail is very specialized form of mass communication, it might be well to seek guidance from AACC International Headquarters.

Timing between pieces is important. It should not be so long the prospect has completely forgotten the previous one: but it needs to be long enough to enable you to filter out as many prospects as possible who join before making the next mailing. Two to four weeks is probably about the right spacing.

A variation of these two approaches is a combination of a single direct-mail piece to break the ice –i.e. introduce the prospect to the Section/Division and AACC International – and a follow up call by a Membership Committee member. In this case, the personal follow-up with the prospect could include the invitation to the Section/Division meeting with officer of transportation and introduction to the Section/Division.

Because AACC International and Section/Division Membership is separate, there are two special cases of new member solicitation that should be conducted as a routine matter each year by the Membership Committee.

1. New Section/Division Members: Each Section/Division has about 25% of the AACC International members in the Section area who do not belong to the Section. The easiest way to do this is for the Treasurer to prepare a Section dues bill for these AACC International non-Section members during the annual billing and for the Membership Committee to draft a suitable promotional letter inviting them to join the Section/Division. Obviously, a Section/Division membership application should also be enclosed. Alternatively, if you don’t want to be presumptive by enclosing a dues bill, you could just send the invitation letter and Section/Division application.
2. New AACC International Members: Each Section/Division member has members who are not AACC International members, These are officially limited to 25% of the Section membership. The limit can be maintained only if the Section/Division Membership Committee conducts an annual effort to get its local members to join AACC International. Another slightly different promotion letter, plus an AACC International application and brochure could be enclosed with their dues bill. This type of promotion is handled by AACC International however.

The solicitation of delinquent non-renewed members is as important a Membership Committee function as the promotion of new members, for both the Section/Division and AACC International. However, it is unlikely that both solicitations can be carried out together because of the differences in billing and timing. AACC International handles delinquent non-renewed members through its headquarters office.

Section Delinquents

1. About one or two months after the deadline for Section/Division dues, Membership Chairperson should obtain an up-to-date list from the Secretary or Treasurer or all non-paid members.
2. Divide the list among the Membership Committee for follow-up.
3. Committee members should then contact people on the list to solicit renewals. This can be in the form of a reminder to the delinquent member to be sure to remember to pay his/her dues at the next Section/Division meeting; or to provide the delinquent with the name and address of the treasurer for mailing in their dues.
4. Prior to this follow-up activity Membership Committee should develop and agree on a "questionnaire" or procedure to be used for delinquents who are not going to renew.
5. If the follow-up call reaches this point, Committee Members should then attempt to determine delinquent’s reason for not renewing, filling in a separate questionnaire for each one.
6. Following this activity Membership Committee should summarize the questionnaire and report results back to the Section/Division Executive Committee.

return to top

APPENDIX I

SUGGESTIONS FOR INCREASING LOCAL, STUDENT, AND AACC International MEMBERSHIP

1. FOR INCREASING LOCAL MEMBERSHIP:

• When companies do something for your section/division, give them credit. Send a copy of the acknowledgment to the company - it will help the members involved get needed support.
• Cooperate with other professional societies in your area to promote their meetings and they will help you advertise your activities.
• Appoint representatives from your section/division to local chapters of ACS, IFT, Nutrition, Education, Home Economist in Business, etc.
• List section newsletter advertisers on cover or back page to promote services of local members.
• Introduce new section/division members at regular meetings and thank them for taking an active role in the section/division.
• In section/divisions having a large geographical area, hold meetings in different cities to encourage participation of members who always have to travel long distances when only one location is used.
• Encourage professors to take an active role in the section/division. (They will often appoint someone to do the work, thus increase membership)
• If your section/division is "dominated" by one institution, be careful not to have all of the officers from that organization. Let officers from the smaller companies have their turn running the section/division.
• Encourage spouses to attend meetings of general interest.
• Use reply postcard mailings so recipients can request membership forms or information.
• Enclose extra membership forms for pass-outs when requests are made by individuals or companies.
• With dues statement, mail a flyer and an invitation to membership which could be passed along to a coworker.
• Reply postcard with a list of Local Section’s activities which can be served by volunteering for them. The same card can request suggestion for speakers and suggestions to improve the section/division.
• Include information about AACC International when sending news releases on member promotions or other activities to local publications.
• Announce details of future meetings, including agenda, date, and location at every regular meeting.
• Promote Regional meetings, when held.

2. FOR INCREASING STUDENT MEMBERSHIP

• Student involvement is a good method of recruiting and keeping new members.
• If you have a local student group in your area, ask them to put on a regular section meeting.
• Assist students in raising funds for travel to Annual Meetings (raffles, book cover sales, etc.)
• Use major company recruiters.
• Promote employment services of AACC International for members.
• Offer to pay part of dinner costs at regular meetings to encourage student attendance or offer a lower ticket price to students.
• Encourage greater enrollment among college students through an incentive program to individuals or clubs.
• Promote greater involvement of student chapter officers in membership activities. (i.e., to design and to post membership posters, to encourage the election of a membership representative who will promote membership activities, etc.)
• Have Student Chapter promote a membership drive.
• Encourage your members’ involvement in student activities.

3. FOR INCREASING AACC International MEMBERSHIP

• Enclose extra AACC International membership forms for pass-outs when requests are made by individuals or companies.
• Provide incentives for current members to recruit co-workers to join AACC International.
• With dues statement, mail a flyer and an invitation to membership which could be passed along to a co-worker.
• Promote Professional Membership status more widely.
• Include information on AACC International when sending news releases on member promotions or other activities to local publications.
• Local section meetings are a good place to promote membership among the non-members attendees. Contact AACC International Headquarters to request a supply of membership applications and brochures before your meetings.

return to top