Chair

The Chair oversees the following areas/responsibilities:

• Charitable Giving
• Elections
• Historian
• Lifetime Members
• MoPOP Liaison
• Public Relations
• Marketing
• Timeline

The Chair's primary duties during the convention year are to, in concert with the Vice-Chair, set the tone and direction of the convention. The Chair and Vice Chair appoint the remainder of the executive team, plan and conduct the executive team retreat, and plan and preside over the monthly concom meetings.

Appointment of the Executive Team

The Chair and Vice Chair should, as soon as possible after the election, meet to discuss candidates for the various executive team positions. It is customary to interview any person expressing interest in one of those positions to evaluate their fitness for the role. If a suitable candidate does not present themself, it is encouraged to recruit, especially from among the pool of people who regularly attend concom meetings. Persons who are familiar with the culture and processes of the concom will have an easier time integrating into the executive team and have a successful planning year. Once all appointments are made, the entire exec team can be announced to the concom and the public through social media channels.

Prior to the convention the Chair and Vice-Chair shall meet to discuss and come to an agreement about the Vice-Chair’s role and responsibilities during the convention. It is recommended that the Vice-Chair be included when possible in decisions arising from unforeseen events.

CONVENTION COMMITTEE MEETINGS

POLICY: Convention committee meetings are open to the public.

EXECUTIVE TEAM MEETINGS

POLICY: If held separately from the monthly ConCom meeting, Exec Team meetings(September – May) are open to the public, but portions may be closed to respect personal privacy. Executive Team meetings held during the summer months are by invitation only. The Chair makes the final decision on who attends meetings.

PROCEDURE: Those who wish to attend Executive Team meetings held during the summer months may contact the Chair for a meeting schedule.

POLICY: Exec Team Work Sessions are closed. Exceptions may be made by the Chair.

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR DURING MEETINGS

POLICY: Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, behavior which makes it hard to conduct official business at meetings or is interrupting other events (including non-convention related events) which are happening at the location of the meeting.

PROCEDURE: When someone is causing a disruption at a meeting, the first response is to politely ask them to stop. The person to ask them to stop should be the person who is being disturbed, the person currently speaking, an Exec, or someone assigned the job by the Chair. If the person continues being disruptive, a three-step process will be followed:

1. The Exec of the person causing the disruption will talk to the person in private, letting them know what they are doing, and asking them to correct the behavior.

2. If the behavior continues at the same meeting, that staff member’s Exec and the Personnel Director will talk to them in private about the behavior and explain to them how to correct the behavior. If the person is in the Personnel department, a different Exec will be asked to help with this.

3. If the behavior continues past step two above, the staff member’s Exec and the Chair will talk to the person in private. If the Chair feels the behavior will continue, the Chair will ask the person to leave the meeting.

If a person is asked to leave a meeting, they are allowed to return to future meetings. The Chair may use their discretion to immediately jump to step 3 above if the behavior continues.

In the case of threatening or violent behavior, the person will be asked to leave immediately without using the three-step process above. If they do not leave, the situation will be handed off to the authorities. If the Chair feels that safety of the ConCom is at risk, the person will be asked not to attend future meetings.

If the person causing the disruption is a minor, the parent or guardian is responsible for the minor's behavior. The parent or guardian and minor will both be talked to together. If an action needs to be taken, it will be for both the minor and the parent or guardian.

If the person causing the disruption is not on the ConCom, then the Chair, Vice-Chair, or Personnel Director will be the Exec who handles the situation. If the Exec responsible for the person causing the disruption is not in attendance, the second in that department will be responsible for dealing with the situation. If neither are present, the Chair, Vice-Chair, or another assigned Exec will be designated to handle the situation.

RESUME MEETING

EXPLANATION: A Resume Meeting with hotel staff is held one or two weeks prior to the convention. The hotel staff presents the convention resume and plan for the convention.

POLICY: The entire Exec Team is invited to the resume meeting so that they can meet the hotel staff that shall support the convention. The Chair shall determine if attendance is mandatory for each Exec Team member on a case-by-case basis. Other attendees may be invited by the Chair. Attendees need to dress in business casual at a minimum.

At-Con Responsibilities of the Chair

The Chair must consider themselves on 24-hour duty during the convention. The Chair is strongly advised against the use of any substances that would cause intoxication and should use discretion if doing so. The Chair should not appear publicly intoxicated at any time. If they do so they may be removed from duty at the discretion of the Convention Services Director for such time as necessary for the Chair to recover. In the case that the Chair is unable to perform their duties the Vice-Chair shall assume all responsibilities as outlined in the policies.

The Chair's primary responsibilities during the convention are to meet and greet guests and attendees of the convention. They should make appearances at minimum to the opening and closing ceremonies, P.K. Dick Awards, Onions and Roses panel, Guest of Honor and Lifetime Member event, and preside over the Lifetime Membership awards if applicable. At these events, the Chair must be prepared to speak and is strongly advised to have prepared notes or a speech. If for some reason the Chair cannot attend one of these functions they may appoint a proxy. It is strongly advised that the Vice-Chair be asked to proxy as well as attend these events. The Programming Director and Special Events Director should notify the Chair of any other events that the Chair should attend.

The Chair shall make themselves available for all “midnight” meetings or meetings with the hotel as requested by the Convention Services Director. The Chair shall be available to the Programming Department and its director for consultation or to help resolve problems occurring with any Guest of Honor or professional guest as needed.

SPECIAL BADGES

POLICY: Norwescon may create special badges as necessary, including gold/silver name badges, back hall passes, press passes, etc.

PROCEDURE: Back hall passes may be created and made available to volunteers and convention staff that need access to the back hallways. The hotel employees use the pass as an identifier to know the person is allowed in the kitchen hallways. Gold or Silver Name Badges may be created for the Exec Team and those designated by the Chair and/or Vice-Chair. Badges shall be either gold or silver and shall include the designee’s name, their position/title, and “Norwescon”. Badges to be re-used annually listing only a title and “Norwescon” but without an individual designee’s name may be made at the discretion of an Exec team member.