The leaders of any organization are usually the officers. The officer titles and certain specific job functions are most often defined in the organization’s Bylaws, Constitution, Operating Rules or other defining document. The positions described below are the officers defined in the Astronomical League Bylaws, July 1993. They not only describe the duties of the national officers; they also provide guidelines upon which duties of local officers might be based. (Numbers in parentheses reference the appropriate sections of the League Bylaws.) All national officers are limited to two successive terms of office. All officers of the League and its regions must be League members.

The Council is the governing body of the Astronomical League as defined in Article III. The Executive Committee consists of the officers indicated below and this committee acts between formal meetings of the Council, which usually occur at the annual convention. The officers, both as individuals and acting as Executive Committee, may be limited in their actions by direction from the Council.

Many local societies have a similar organization wherein a selected committee conducts the society’s business and sets direction, while the general membership retains ratification power over certain classes of actions. Locally, this committee may be called an executive committee or board of directors or some other designation.

President (II.4.a.)

The President is the chief executive officer of the League and a member of the Executive Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. S/he is elected for a two-year term and has general charge of the business and affairs of the League. In particular, s/he has the power to execute all legal instruments, such as contracts, deeds or other obligations, in the League’s name. S/he presides over all business meetings, Council meetings and Executive Committee meetings and may or may not vote on all issues. (The President’s voting rights should be spelled out explicitly in an organization’s governing documents. There is no definitive pattern which may be assumed.)

The President may call special sessions either of the Executive Committee or of the full Council. Such sessions may be conducted by teleconference or by mail.

Certain committees are defined within the Bylaws and Standing Resolutions. The President has the power to appoint membership to those committees and to other special committees that s/he may create. While s/he is an ex-officio member of all committees except nominations, the President is specifically charged with chairing the Long Range Planning Committee and, together with his/her two immediate predecessors, selecting the recipient of the Astronomical League Award.

A typical annual calendar of the President’s routine activities includes the following:

Note that some activities may shift if the annual convention is not held in mid- to late- July and that other, non-routine activities inevitably require attention.

Vice President (II.4.b.)

The Vice President is elected for a two-year term and is a member of the Executive Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. S/he assists the President and performs the President’s duties in case of the latter’s absence, death, disability or resignation. S/he chairs the Nominating Committee (co-chairs during years in which s/he is a candidate for an office).

A typical annual calendar of the Vice President’s routine activities includes the following:

Note that some activities may shift if the annual convention is not held in mid- to late- July and that other, non-routine activities inevitably require attention.

Secretary (II.4.c)

The Secretary is elected to a two-year term and is a member of the Executive Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. S/he records the minutes of all business meetings, Council meetings and Executive Committee meetings. S/he distributes copies of minutes to all Council members within 30 days of each meeting. S/he prepares a summary of the national Council and business meetings for inclusion in the REFLECTOR following the national convention.

At the annual meeting, the Secretary provides each Council member with a notebook containing the latest version of the Bylaws and Standing Resolutions plus minutes of all business meetings, Council meetings and Executive Committee meetings since the last convention and the minutes of those meetings at the prior year’s convention.

Note that some activities may shift if the annual convention is not held in mid- to late- July and that other, non-routine activities inevitably require attention.

Treasurer (II.4.d.)

The Treasurer is elected for a three-year term and is a member of the Executive Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. S/he receives all money due the League and pays all bills owed by the League. (An exception is made for certain committees authorized in the Bylaws or by Council to maintain separate bank accounts.) S/he maintains an inventory of all property owned by the League.

The Internal Revenue Service recognizes the Astronomical League as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization. Still, the Treasurer must file an annual return with the IRS to maintain our tax-exempt status. In addition, s/he must prepare reports to Council on all financial activity of the League, at least annually.

A typical annual calendar of the Treasurer’s routine activities includes the following:

Note that some activities may shift if the annual convention is not held in mid- to late- July and that other, non-routine activities inevitably require attention.

Executive Secretary (II.4.e.)

The Executive Secretary is elected for a three-year term and is a member of the Executive Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. S/he maintains the national headquarters of the League and the mailing list of all League members. S/he receives written nominations for the AL Award and transmits them to the President for consideration.

It is not unusual for the Executive Secretary to have a high volume of mail and telephone contact with the membership and the general public. S/he is usually the first point of contact for inquiries about the League.

A typical annual calendar of the Executive Secretary’s routine activities includes the following (but much of the activity is not routine):

Note that some activities may shift if the annual convention is not held in mid- to late- July and that other, non-routine activities inevitably require attention.

Regions

Administratively, the Astronomical League is divided into ten geographic regions. Specific boundaries of the regions are defined in S.R. #13. National Bylaws specify that the regional officers are Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and/or Treasurer, and a Regional Representative to Council. The affairs of each region are conducted in accordance with the national Bylaws and the Constitution of each region. The duties of the officers generally follow the duties of the national officers with the Chair and Vice Chair being analogous to the President and Vice President. Note that the Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into one office if so desired by the region.

The regional Constitution may assign additional duties to each of the regional officers. Except as noted below, regional officers may be elected for either one- or two-year terms as determined by the region. Regional officers should prepare calendars of routine activities, such as presented above for national officers, and pass those calendars on to their successors to aid them in administering the region.

Regional Chair (III.2.; IX.2.,3.)

The Chair represents the region on the national Council. Any member wishing to have an item discussed at Council may do so through the Chair of the member’s region. The Chair, together with the other regional officers and the Presidents (or their proxies) of the Region’s societies, make up the regional council. As the title suggests, s/he chairs the regional council and business meetings and, through the regional council, generally conducts the affairs of the region.

Regional Representative (III.3; IV.2.a.; IX.2.,7.)

The Regional Representative is elected to a three-year term and represents the region on the national Council. Any member wishing to have an item discussed at Council may do so through the Representative of the member’s region. The Representative is also a member of the regional council.

The Regional Representative is a member of the national nominating committee, chaired by the Vice President. The Representative should be familiar with individuals within the region who would make good candidates for national office.

ALCOR

This is a position unique to the Astronomical League, but the duties associated with the function are nowhere defined! The closest definition can be found in (II.4.e) under duties of the Executive Secretary, which states, "He she shall, in cooperation with the Treasurer and a correspondent from each Member Society, verify that an up-to-date membership list of the League is maintained." ALCOR, then, is a contraction for the Astronomical League CORrespondent.

While the term "correspondent" is a carryover from the time when written (paper) mail was the most common form of communication, current ALCORs may use any form of transmission for communicating. Essentially, an ALCOR is the single point of contact for communications between the League and the individual Member Society. As inferred from the ByLaws extract, a prime function is to keep the League advised of changes in the club membership. That is the only way the League has of keeping the mailing list for The Reflector newsletter updated. But the ALCOR also serves as the recipient for communications from the League to the society. Minutes of Council and Executive Committee meetings, ballots for electing national officers, convention announcements and many other topics may be sent out from time to time. It is then up to the individual club to decide how to further disseminate the information to its membership.

Another important function of the ALCOR is to act as a communications point to the world outside the local club. If the League gets an inquiry from an amateur who is not in a club, that person may be referred to the nearest ALCOR. Such referrals often result in new members for the club. A listing of all club ALCORs is published periodically in The Reflector and the address provides a contact point for allowing League societies to communicate with one another. Notice that all along the ALCORs function has been tied to communication. Perhaps a better acronym today would be "ALCOM"!

The League does not specify how the ALCOR is chosen or what the ALCOR’s term should be. That is left to the discretion of the Member Society. The position may be filled by appointment, by election or by assigning the job to one of the existing officers. Often the club secretary, treasurer or other "maintainer or the membership roster" doubles as ALCOR. All that the League requires is that someone is designated to receive official communications and be responsible for returning membership address updates. The person who accepts the position of ALCOR must understand that their address and, possibly, telephone number and e-mail address will be published in the Reflector and on the League web page.

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