Membership Committee

Mandate
The mandate of the Membership Committee has not yet been set by the Board. The following draft mandate is proposed by the Committee.

"The Membership Committee is responsible to make sure the organization has sufficient members with the skills, background and participation level for the organization to meet its needs."

To do so, the committee must understand what the personnel needs of the organization are. It receives that information from the Board (for organizational needs) and the Preplan Committee (for operational needs).

When there is an insufficient number of members or a lack members with the specific background or participation level, the committee recruits from the community for new members.

If there is a lack of specific skills, the committee coordinates with the Training Committee to decide whether to recruit for new members with those skills, or train existing members.

The committee is responsible to maintain a high retention rate so that member turn over is low and the need to recruit replacements is low. To do so, the committee may run programmes to do such things as
 * make new members feel welcome
 * help existing members feel connected
 * provide a positive social environment
 * understand why members leave

The committee is responsible for periodically reviewing membership policies and recommending any useful changes to the Board.

The committee is responsible for keeping the membership list. It maintains the personnel record on each member, which shows both information needed for the organization (such as e-mail address, voting status, participation and committees) and for operational needs (such as emergency contacts, equipment and operational status).

Annually, the committee reviews the membership list determining who is in good standing.

The committee brings to the Board for consideration new membership applications. It tracks which Associate Members qualify for or no longer qualify for Voting membership, and informs the board of that. It provides a list of Voting Members for all general meetings.

The committee provides electronic mailing lists that allow e-mail communications between all members and within each committee.

The committee where necessary provides membership information to outside organizations such as:
 * the provincial government for WCB and insurance coverage
 * SAR Alberta for statistics
 * the RCMP for service awards

The committee provides operational information in the form of a call-out list and individual personnel records.

Members
The Membership Committee consists of:
 * Co-Chairs: Jannet Findlater, Char Bruder
 * Dave Scott

You can contact all the members of the Membership Committee by e-mailing the committee address.

Activity plan
The 2011 activity plan for the committee is:
 * 1) Perform an annual review of membership statuses (done)
 * 2) Communicate training opportunities re SAR Fundamentals to increase number of responders
 * 3) Contact "stale" members to determine whether we are missing their participation records or whether they wish to drop off the membership list
 * 4) Do "exit interviews" with a selection of members who are leaving to understand typical reasons
 * 5) New Member Stewardship: encourage and support new members in integrating into the organization
 * 6) Hold a widely attended social event to build group cohesion
 * 7) Understand the requirements and recruit as necessary to meet the need for snowmobile responders
 * 8) Increase Pincher SAR's profile in the community through alternative media to increase recruitment
 * 9) * Rec Board sign at Arena (Dave)
 * 10) ** talk to Town, Linda Jumago
 * 11) * Co-op mobile bill board
 * 12) * Echo events listing, monthly (Dave)
 * 13) * school take-home material for parents (Dave)
 * 14) Get specifics on RCMP's requirements for our members (i.e. Criminal Records Check) (Dave)
 * 15) Prepare membership packages for Emergency Preparedness Week (Brett - done)

Meetings
Past:
 * 2011-01-13
 * 2011-04-12 19:00 planning meeting at the Fire Hall
 * 2011-05-20

Next:
 * 2011, mid August, date to be determined

Policies
Policies are set by the board. Click here for the ones related to Membership Status.

Recruitment

 * New Member Package
 * New Member Information

Record keeping

 * Membership Database
 * Individual membership records
 * Call Out List
 * First Call List