SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK
Table of Contents
Responsibilities of the Secretary 3
Executive Commitee 3
Maintaining Chapter Records 4
Writing Minutes 4
Chapter Meeting Minutes Form 5
Writing Correspondence 6
Creating a Chapter Newsletter 6
Creating a Chapter Web Page 7
Initiation Reporting 8
Annual Report 8
Officer Elections 8
Secretary To Do List 8
This Secretary’s guidebook is designed to help the chapter secretary carry out the
duties required of the postion. The chapter’s success and your personal satisfaction as
an officer are directly related to the time and effort you put forth in preparation. This
guidebook will be of great assistance while serving as a chapter officer.
2 - SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK
Responsibilities of the Secretary
Kappa Delta Pi Society Bylaws state the following Duties of the Secretary:
• Keep the minutes of meetings of the chapter and Executive Committee.
• Handle chapter communications as assigned by the Executive Committee.
• Keep an accurate record of the chapter membership.
In addition, the secretary must also:
• Ensure New Initiate Information Forms are completed and submitted
within two weeks of initiation to Society Headquarters.
• Formulate the agenda to be used at meetings, in consultation with the
President.
• Notify the membership of the time and place of meetings.
• Work with the Membership Committee to send out letters of invitation to
potential members.
• Maintain, for reference at each meeting, a copy of chapter bylaws, standing
rules, accepted order of business, minutes of previous meetings, and lists of
all committees.
• Read the minutes of the last meeting if asked to do so and amend as
needed.
• Act as custodian of all records except those specifically assigned to others.
• Explain all records to successor.
• Send names and addresses of newly elected officers to Headquarters. The
secretary must attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings. If
unable to attend, an alternate should be assigned to take the minutes. The
secretary is a voting member of the Executive Committee.
The Secretary’s
report should
include: Executive Committee
• Information about The Executive Committee of the local Kappa Delta Pi chapter is a standing
any correspondence
committee expected by the International Constitution and Bylaws. This particular
received and sent.
• Report of meeting committee consists of the following members: President (chair), Vice-President/
attendance and President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, Historian, Foundation Representative,
total member Counselor, and Past-President (if applicable). Serving as a steering committee for
participation in the chapter, it is suggested that the Executive Committee meet more often than
events. general membership meetings would be held. While there are often issues to be
• Other activities voted on that must be conducted during a general membership meeting (i.e.,
accomplished such election of officers, passing of local bylaws), decisions that may affect the entire
as submission of chapter for programming may be approved by the Executive Committee. In
initiation informa-
addition, the Executive Committee is responsible for approving the chapter
tion, Annual Report,
etc. budget.
The secretary is responsible for taking the minutes of the Executive Commit-
tee meeting using the same guidelines and format for chapter meetings. In addi-
tion, the secretary should present a report to the Executive Committee. Each
officer receives a copy of the minutes from the Executive Committee meeting.
Maintaining Chapter Records
One of the most important duties of the chapter secretary is documenting
chapter’s activities and membership. Accurate records are one of the keys to a
successful chapter. This information also is helpful to incoming officers as they
SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK - 3
evaluate the success of previous projects and activities. When applying for an
Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award, specific information about chapter
involvement is important. Following is a list of items that should be maintained.
• Minutes of all chapter meetings and Executive Committee meetings should
be kept in a binder for easy retrieval.
• A current listing of all active and inactive members of the chapter. Active
status refers to those members who have paid their dues for the year, starting
Create a binder with
from the date of initiation rather than the beginning of the school year. When monthly tabs to
the rebate check packet is mailed to chapter counselors in October and keep all meeting
March, a listing of those members who have paid their chapter dues is minutes.
included. Inactive status refers to those members who have not paid dues for
the year.
• Copies of correspondence sent to members, the community, and Headquar-
ters. Newsletters, memos, and formal letters must be filed, as well as a copy
of the Annual Report sent to Society Headquarters.
• Records of activities and events the chapter has participated in, as well as a
record of people attending the events. A record should be maintained of the
total number of service hours the chapter has completed. This information
should be kept in a binder for easy access and reporting purposes.
Writing Minutes
Minutes contain the details of all action taken by the chapter during a meet- Guidelines for
ing. It is the record of the chapter’s activity. At the beginning of each meeting, taking minutes
the secretary should invite members to review the minutes of the previous include:
meeting and move for approval. • While the secretary
does not need to
During meetings, members recommend action by making a motion—for
document every-
example, “I move that last month’s meeting minutes be approved,” or “I move thing said in a
approval for the planning of a book drive for Reading Is Fun Week.” Motions meeting,
generally must have a “second,” another person who agrees with the recommen- the exact wording of
dation, prior to discussion of the topic and the vote on the subject. every motion, the
A form for taking minutes at chapter meetings and for taking minutes at person introducing
Executive Committee meetings is included in this chapter. It may be photocopied the motion, and
for use at each meeting. the action taken on
After the meeting, the minutes should be typed into paragraph form. The first the motion should
be documented.
paragraph should contain the type of meeting, date, time, location, list of mem-
• Personal opinion
bers attending, and whether the previous minutes were approved or corrected. and discussion are
The body of the minutes should contain a separate paragraph for each subject not included in the
discussed and acted upon. Specify the exact words of the motion, the person minutes; however,
introducing the motion, and the action taken, amended, passed, rejected, with- clarifying state-
drawn, or tabled. Also include whether the motion was debated or amended ments may be
before being rejected or approved. The last paragraph should state the time of needed.
adjournment and the person adjourning. The minutes should be signed by the • If the motion is
secretary and the president. long or involved, the
secretary may
A copy of the typed formal minutes should be distributed to all members of
request the maker of
the Executive Committee and any other members who request a copy. A perma- the motion to put it
nent copy should be kept in a meeting notebook. into writing.
• Minutes should be
brief and reported
in the order pre-
sented at the
meeting.
.
4 - SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK
Chapter Meeting Minutes
The________________________________Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi met at____________(location) at
_________________(time) on_________________(date) for a/an_____________(chapter, committee, etc.)
meeting. The meeting was called to order by __________________________________(name of chair).
The following officers were present: ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
There were_______________(number) members in attendance. The following guests were also in
attendance: ________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________.
ORDER OF BUSINESS NOTES
Call to Order
Attendance
Reading of Minutes
Officer Reports
Committee Reports
Voting
Old Business
New Business
Announcements
Adjournment
SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK - 5
Writing Correspondence
There will be times when it will be necessary to correspond using a written
letter. The secretary is the official correspondent for the chapter. Correspondence
can be communicated in several ways-through the mail, fax, or e-mail. Postcards
should be used for informal responses or as a quick thank you for someone’s
participation in an activity. These are available for purchase from Society Head-
quarters. A copy of the postcard does not need to be kept.
Memos are to be written when information is given to all chapter members,
committee members, or any group. They can be used for updating members about
the status of a project or inform them of upcoming events. A newsletter may also
be written to keep members aware of the chapter’s activities and other pertinent
information. Note: Responses to
Formal letters should be written for personalized communication such as an requests for infor-
invitation or congratulatory note. Official thank you letters from the chapter mation should be
should be formal. handled within
seven days.
Creating a Chapter Newsletter
The secretary is responsible for generating a newsletter for the chapter. This
does not mean the secretary is in charge of writing the entire newsletter; rather, he
or she must coordinate the articles and make sure the newsletter is sent out on
time. The newsletter is a great way to inform members of chapter activities,
important dates, and upcoming topics the Executive Committee and the commit-
tees are considering. It is preferable to send a newsletter at least quarterly (fall,
winter, spring, summer) through the mail or electronically. For sample newslet-
ters, contact Society Headquarters.
Each newsletter should include:
• Programs for the upcoming months.
• Service projects, professional development, and social activities for the
upcoming months.
• Important dates for the Society, chapter, university, and community.
• Recognition of accomplishments by the chapter and members.
Some additional topics for the quarterly newsletters are listed below.
Fall Newsletter (September)
• Welcome back to the chapter and school.
• Officer quotes or thoughts for the year.
• National Education Week activities.
• Kappa Delta Pi Mission.
• Convocation (in odd numbered years).
• Chapter goals.
Winter Newsletter (November)
• Professional development opportunities.
• Benefits of KDP membership.
• Honor an Educator Program.
Spring Newsletter (January)
6 - SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK
• Achieving Chapter Excellence (ACE) Award information.
• Scholarship information.
• National Student Teacher/Intern of the Year Award.
• Publications available (New Teacher Advocate, The Educational Forum,
books).
Summer Newsletter (March)
• Officer transition-introducing the new officers.
• Year-end activities.
• Initiation (include names of new members).
• How to stay active with the chapter after you graduate.
Creating a Chapter Web Page
The Kappa Delta Pi Web page, KDP Online, is located at [Link]. It
includes numerous resources to support members and chapters and a template
for chapters to fill in the blanks for their own Web pages. A chapter Web page is a
great way to keep members and the community informed about the activities of
the chapter.
The secretary is responsible for the creation and upkeep of the Web page.
However, there may be a member of your chapter who would like to assume
responsibility for the Web page and serve as the Webmaster to keep the informa-
tion current.
It is simple to start your own chapter’s Web page. The information that follows
shows what information is needed to set up the Web page. Utilize the hints below
to complete your chapter information. Next, go to KDP Online at [Link] to
insert the information.
Hints for Filling out the Web Page Information:
Chapter Information:
Chapter Name: the Greek name assigned to your chapter.
College/University Name: the school name.
College website URL: main Web site address for college-e.g., [Link].
Chapter Description: information about your chapter that is important or interest-
ing, such as if your chapter initiates professionals in the field as well as under-
graduates and graduates, if it participates mainly in service activities, or if it has
won awards.
Webmaster: the name of the person in charge of keeping the Website current.
Webmaster’s e-mail address.
Officer Information:
Put the name of each officer and his or her e-mail address in the appropriate
blank.
Calendar Information:
Date: the date of the next upcoming activity.
Event: description of activity—where, what, why.
SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK - 7
Initiation Reporting
Each initiate should complete a New Initiate Information Form prior to being
initiated. The chapter should keep the bottom copy of this form and forward the
original top copy to Society Headquarters. These forms should accompany the
check for the new initiate dues and fees. Instructions for completing this form will
be mailed each year to chapters.
Annual Report
The Annual Report must be filled out and sent to Society Headquarters no
later than August 1. The secretary is responsible for helping ensure the report is
completed and sent in. The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail
addresses of each officer are required. In addition, there is a section to be com-
pleted about chapter activities over the course of the year. The dates for the
beginning of school, school holidays, and the ending date of each semester are
requested. The Annual Report is mailed to the chapter counselor each spring.
Officer Elections
Upon the election of new officers, KDP Headquarters should be sent a list of
the new information. The secretary is responsible for sending in the names,
addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, officer positions, and terms of
office. If the officers change during the course of the year, the secretary must send
to Headquarters the names of the incoming officers.
Secretary To Do List
August
Ensure Annual Report was submitted.
Send officer address and telephone updates to Society Headquarters. If infor-
mation changes from the time the Annual Report was filled out, please send
the new information.
September
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
Invite members to first meeting.
Prepare first chapter newsletter.
October
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
November
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
8 - SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
Prepare chapter newsletter.
Submit New Initiate Information Forms with initiate fees to Society Headquar-
ters.
December
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
January
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
Prepare chapter newsletter.
February
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
March
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
Prepare chapter newsletter.
Plan for officer transition by updating all files and taking out all information
that does not apply to the secretary position.
April
All incoming officers should take office.
Attend all chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Record minutes of chapter and Executive Committee meetings.
Distribute minutes of meeting to all Executive Committee members and any
other members requesting a copy.
Submit New Initiate Information Forms with initiate fees to Society Headquar-
ters.
May
Collect information needed to fill out Annual Report.
July
Finalize Annual Report and submit to Society Headquarters.
SECRETARY’S GUIDEBOOK - 9
Secretary’s Guidebook 12/01