Policies and Procedures

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General Information

This document contains a mixture of both global and departmental policies and procedures. Not all of the “unwritten” policies and procedures have made their way into this document, and each department may have some of their own policies that are not yet recorded. This is a living document and shall change from year to year as needs and goals change.

Policies are organized by Department and not by Executive Team member. The addendum has some sample forms and a few policy explanations.

Policies (Additions, Deletions, and Modifications): Any ConCom member of the current Norwescon may request a policy change. The ConCom member must present a proposal in writing to their Exec Team member and the Chair. It shall be reviewed and voted on by the Exec Team.

Definitions

Throughout this document the following definitions are used.

  • Chair = Chair of Norwescon
  • ConCom = Convention Committee
  • Exec Team = Executive Team
  • Vice-Chair = Vice-Chair of Norwescon
  • GoH = Guest of Honor
  • Volunteer = a convention member who volunteers time at the convention
  • ConCom Member, Staff Member = a volunteer who meets the criteria for a staff membership and who has registered as staff for the current year
  • Exec Team Member, Exec = a ConCom Member who is a director appointed by the Chair and Vice-Chair.

Stages and Structure

Norwescon consists of three stages: planning (the time prior to the convention), the convention itself, and post-con (the time between the end of the convention and the election of new officers).

POLICY: Contract Signing Authority: The Chair, Vice-Chair, Business Director, and Convention Services Director shall be designated to the hotel as the only persons who have signing authority to the hotel contract during the convention. Additional people may be named at the discretion of the Chair.

Starting and Ending Periods for Convention: The actual starting time of the convention shall be the Wednesday prior to the published date of the convention at noon or hotel move-in time, whichever comes first. The closing time for the convention is on the Monday following the published dates of the convention when moving out of the hotel and the storage of all Norwescon properties has been completed.

POST-CON TURNOVER

POLICY: E-Mail Turnover: The incoming Chair and Vice-Chair must review the convention’s email routing upon election and adjust accordingly.

POLICY: Mailbox Turnover: After the announcement of the newly elected officers, the Secretary must ensure that someone continues to pick up the mail or accept all forwards from the mailbox during the summer months. If immediate arrangements for mail handling cannot be made, the keys to the mailbox shall be turned over to either the newly elected Chair or Vice-Chair and the mail forwarding address shall be updated as soon as possible.

POLICY: Voicemail Turnover: The incoming Chair and Vice-Chair must make sure that the Google voicemail transcription email forwarding is adjusted accordingly as soon as possible after the election.

POLICY: Document Turnover: After new Execs are appointed, any outgoing Exec shall turn over all documents to either their replacement or to the incoming Chair and Vice-Chair.

POLICY: Web Password Turnover: The Publications Director or their designee shall maintain a list of the login and password information for all online accounts and services (website, e-newsletter, social media sites, etc.). This list will be provided to the Chair and Vice-Chair as soon as possible after the election.

POLICY: Bank Accounts Turnover: The bank accounts shall be turned over to the new Business Director as soon as possible after the new Business Director has been appointed. The outgoing Business Director shall have full access to the accounts until the books are closed for the convention year.

POLICY: Purchase Card Turnover: All Purchase cards shall be turned over to the new Business Director as soon as they have been appointed. The cards shall be reviewed and reissued at the discretion of the Business Director.

POLICY: Computer Codes and Passwords Turnover: A copy of all computer codes and passwords for Norwescon-owned computers shall be submitted to the Business Director and the Vice-Chair to ensure that the convention shall have access to all convention-owned data. This list shall be updated and given to the Vice-Chair and Business Director by the last regularly scheduled ConCom meeting before the convention.

POLICY: Storage Unit Access Codes and Keys Turnover: A copy of all necessary access codes and keys shall be kept by the Business Department so that the Business Department may maintain storage unit access for Norwescon if needed during the year and in the event of turnover of the personnel in charge of the storage units.

Timeline

The timeline is maintained at the discretion of the Chair and Vice-Chair, who may delegate the responsibility as appropriate.

The timeline shall be ready by the first general ConCom meeting in September.

The timeline shall be available online and updated as needed.

Exec Team and ConCom Voting

POLICY: Voting by Proxy for Exec Team: The Chair and Vice-Chair have no proxy vote. Any other Exec Team member may send a proxy to a meeting to vote on their behalf.

POLICY: Voting by Proxy for Convention Committee: There is no proxy voting in the general ConCom meetings. All items that come to a vote, other than elections, are on a majority vote of the ConCom members present (see Chair - Elections).

POLICY: Ties for Convention Committee Votes: In the case of a tie, a revote will be taken. If there is still a tie, the Executive Team shall vote on the issue.

POLICY: Ties for Executive Team Votes: In the case of a tie, a revote will be taken. If there is still a tie, the Chair shall make the final decision.

POLICY: Executive Team voting by Email: Any member of the current Exec Team can propose a motion for voting by email.

PROCEDURE: The exec proposing the motion must send an email to norwescon-exec@googlegroups.com. The subject line must start with the word “MOTION”. The body of the email must include the specific wording of the motion and include either the necessary information for the motion to be evaluated or a link to where the necessary information can be found on the Google Docs storage site.

The Exec Team may then respond to the motion, whereupon there may be discussion, revisions, or questions. If there are significant changes, the motion should be resubmitted. If there is not significant discussion, another Exec may second the motion.

The Chair or Vice-Chair decides when to move the motion to a vote. A new email is started with the word “VOTE” beginning subject line. The body of the message shall include: the person who proposed the motion, the person who seconded the motion, and the exact wording of the motion. It shall also include the start and end time of voting, which shall be no more than 72 hours or until all members have voted.

Whenever possible, voting should not occur ONLY over the course of a weekend, and courtesy should be given to known vacations, unless the matter is urgent.

When the voting period has elapsed or all votes have been cast the motion is evaluated. If quorum is met, the votes cast determine the outcome. If quorum is not met, the motion fails. A new motion can be made on the same subject but must begin the process from the beginning to be considered.

As further defined under Secretary: Minutes Preparation, meeting minutes approval votes may be called by the Secretary without requiring a second.

Executive Team Responsibilities

POLICY: CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A potential conflict of interest arises when Norwescon contemplates entering into a transaction with an entity in which a member of its Exec Team has a financial interest. “Financial interest” means that the Exec Team member is an owner, investor, contractor, or employee of the entity in question.

When this situation arises:

  • The Exec Team member(s) must disclose the existence and nature of the financial interest to the other members of the Exec Team.
  • After answering any questions that arise, the Exec Team member(s) with a financial interest must leave the room while the transaction is discussed and voted on. The remaining members of the Exec Team should consider:
    • Whether an equivalent transaction is available with reasonable effort at a lower cost to Norwescon.
    • Whether additional time is needed to investigate options or circumstances related to the transaction.
  • The Exec Team may approve the transaction by a majority vote of the remaining Exec Team members.
  • The minutes of the Exec Team meeting should reflect the name of the Exec Team member(s) involved, the nature of this potential conflict of interest, and whether this policy was observed.

E-MAILS

POLICY: When conducting business on behalf of the convention, the use of assigned convention email aliases is encouraged (for example: chair@norwescon.org). ConCom members with assigned convention email aliases are expected to publicize convention email aliases rather than their own personal addresses in order to receive messages.

POLICY: All convention email aliases shall have at least two addresses to forward to: a primary and a secondary.

The primary is expected to respond to the email. Email should be read daily and responded to within 48 hours. If the primary is unable to respond daily, the secondary is responsible for responding. The primary shall notify the secondary responder and other Exec Team members if they will be unable to respond to email at least daily.

When responding to these emails, the e-mail alias should be either CC’d or BCC’d so that all people on the forwarding address can see the response.

CAN-SPAM COMPLIANCE

POLICY: Promotions for Norwescon and Norwescon-sponsored events fall under the CAN-SPAM Act. Accordingly, Norwescon is responsible for ensuring that individuals are not contacted via email and text if they have not given permission to be contacted using those methods. As we do not have a centralized database the following procedures are necessary:

  1. When a request to be removed from a list comes in, the person administering the list is responsible for the following two actions:
    1. Removing the individual from the list(s) that they asked to be removed from.
    2. Sending the individual a follow-up message indicating that they have been removed from the list(s) and asking them if they want to be removed from ALL Norwescon lists (eNewsletter, Google Groups, registration, etc.).
  2. If a person requests to be removed from ALL Norwescon lists, the person receiving the request will forward the request on to their Exec who will then send the request to all of the other Execs on the Executive Team. The Execs will then send the request to their departments that have contact lists (Dealers’ Room, Art Show, Registration, eNewsletter, Art in Action, Games, etc.).
  3. Documentation of these requests will be saved by the Publications Director and passed along to the Chair at the post-con meeting.

Exec Team members shall subscribe to the official Norwescon Exec Google Group and the Norwescon ConCom Google Group.

HIRING CONCOM MEMBERS

POLICY: It shall be each Exec Team member’s duty when hiring an individual for a position to advise them of the need for the Secretary to have their contact information and about our information publishing policy (see Confidentiality of Information). It is the responsibility of the hiring Exec Team member to ensure that their staff register as staff members.

POLICY: It is the responsibility of the hiring Exec Team member to recommend that each ConCom member review the Norwescon Bylaws and Policies/Procedures and to refer them to the Secretary for the location of the electronic version. It is expected that ConCom members read these within a couple of weeks of joining each year’s ConCom.

POLICY: It is recommended that all ConCom and volunteer positions have job descriptions recorded by the Personnel director. Job descriptions should be reviewed and updated by the October ConCom meeting. It is the responsibility of each Exec to supply this information for all positions in their department to the Personnel director.

RECRUITMENT / TRAINING / LEADERSHIP

POLICY: Everyone in a leadership position is recommended to have at least one assistant in training to take over that position. Executive Team Members are official ambassadors of the convention.

CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION

POLICY: Norwescon shall not supply information contained in the organizational chart, the membership database, the pro/panelist database, or the committee directory to other parties without the consent of the ConCom member(s) involved.

POLICY: Norwescon shall not sell its ConCom member information to outside parties.

POLICY: Norwescon shall not sell its membership information to outside parties. Any third-party services used by Norwescon shall be opt-in and shall have the ability to opt-out. No ConCom or general membership information will be provided to any other party.

ONIONS AND ROSES

POLICY: The Secretary shall collect Onions and Roses (comments regarding concerns or compliments from the convention membership) from the Onion and Roses panel and other methods as deemed appropriate (physical survey forms, email, web forms, social media, etc.). A compiled report shall be provided to the Exec Team no later than the Exec Team Summer Retreat/Planning Meeting.

It is the responsibility of the Exec Team to review the compiled Onions and Roses report and present it to the ConCom.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

POLICY: If two Exec Team members (other than the Chair) cannot reach a mutual decision on any issue, then the Chair has the final decision.

POLICY: ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

Norwescon strives to provide a safe and welcoming space for persons of all descriptions. Everyone should be able to have a great time, in their own way, at the convention—but not at the expense of others. As a community, we insist on behavior that respects the autonomy of each individual member.

Norwescon members and convention staff have the right to be free from unwanted harassment at the convention and while performing convention-related duties throughout the year. Harassment is behavior which focuses unwelcome attention on a person and either inappropriately crosses reasonable expectations of social boundaries or continues after a clear showing of disinterest or a request to desist.

Harassment during the year may be reported to the Personnel Exec, the person’s immediate supervisor, or the chair or vice chair. At the convention, reports of harassment are handled by convention security or the Personnel Exec. Any staff member wearing a convention badge may receive a report of harassment. It is each staff member’s responsibility to treat a person making such a report with respect, and to offer to accompany the person to convention security or the Personnel Exec. The Personnel Exec may designate a person to receive reports of harassment on his or her behalf.

Violations of this policy may lead to a range of consequences based on the circumstances, from a warning to more serious steps, such as revocation of convention membership or banning from future conventions.

Convention staff are required to report all incidents brought to their attention. These incidents should be reported to convention security or the Personnel executive as soon as possible.

Chair

CHAIR'S RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chair must consider themselves on 24-hour duty. 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 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.

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.

MEMORABILIA ARCHIVE

POLICY: Norwescon shall maintain a memorabilia archive.

PROCEDURE: Departments that have items to be placed in the archives should contact the convention historian after each convention. Examples of items to be archived include the program book, pocket program, name tag samples, progress reports, post-convention report, web page printouts, Masquerade video, and names of any award winners from the Art Show, Philip K. Dick Award, Lifetime Memberships, Masquerade, Games, etc.

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.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS

POLICY: Norwescon may choose to donate to local, state, or national charities that reflect the interest of the science fiction community.

PROCEDURE: The Chair and Vice-Chair are responsible for selecting the charitable organization(s) that may receive a donation on behalf of the membership.

ELECTIONS

DEFINITIONS

ELECTION CYCLE: The “Election Cycle” is defined as starting with the last regularly scheduled ConCom Meeting closest to but no less than 10 days prior to the start of the current convention. It ends with the Post-Con Meeting for the current convention.

ELECTION DATE: The “Election Date” is defined as the last day for which ballots shall be accepted, normally the date of the Post-Con Meeting of the current convention.

VOTER ELIGIBILITY

POLICY: ConCom members may opt-in to voting during the staff registration process. A valid email address must be included with staff registration to guarantee the opportunity to vote. ConCom members must complete registration as staff upon the close of the ConCom meeting scheduled closest to but not less than 28 days prior to the start of the current convention to guarantee voting privileges. ConCom members who have registered to vote who do not meet any or all of these criteria may be removed from the eligible voters list.

CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY / NOMINATIONS

POLICY: All candidates for all positions must have held a position on the Norwescon ConCom within the past five years. Nominations open at the second-to-last ConCom meeting before the start of the current convention provided this meeting is at least 30 days before the convention starts. Nominations close at the last ConCom meeting before the start of the current convention provided that it takes place at least 10 days before the convention starts. Nominations may be made in person at ConCom meetings or by email to the Election Committee. All nominations must have a second.

Candidates may make an optional two-minute presentation at the ConCom meeting scheduled closest to, but not less than 30 days prior to the start of the current convention, and at the ConCom meeting scheduled closest to, but not less than 10 days prior to the start of the current convention. There may be a question and answer period at this time. There may also be an additional statement/question and answer session at the Post-Con Meeting if the Elections Committee feels it is warranted.

BYLAW CHANGES

A bylaw change may be proposed by any ConCom member. To be considered on the ballot, a bylaw change must be proposed in writing before the first opening of nominations. The exec team may waive this requirement by majority vote. The elections chair may assist a member in writing a bylaw change in a format so that voters can easily understand the change being proposed.

BALLOTS AND VOTING

POLICY: Voting is conducted online using a secure voting system or in person at the convention or post-convention meeting. Ballots should be emailed to all eligible voters at least 30 days prior to the election date but must be emailed no later than 21 days prior to the election date.

If the ballots cannot be emailed 21 days prior to the election date (due to meeting schedules or other factors) the Election Committee Chairman shall propose to the Exec Team by the January meeting of the current convention year a modified schedule for Elections taking the entire convention timeline into account. Upon approval by the Exec Team, the modification will apply to the current convention only.

If multiple ballots are received from the same voter, and they cannot be contacted to confirm which ballot is to be used, the ballot received last shall be used. The older ballot shall be discarded and not counted.

The ballots must include:

  • General Election information
  • Candidates’ statements, email addresses, and phone numbers
  • An individualized link to a secure online voting system.

Physical ballots provided at the convention must include:

  • General Election information
  • Candidates’ statements, email addresses, and phone numbers
  • Ballots
  • Blank ballot security envelope

All ballots shall be validated and logged in by the Election Committee. Any ballot received without knowing who it came from shall be considered anonymous and shall not be counted.

The Election Committee shall consist of three people. The Chair shall appoint the Election Committee Chair who shall then recruit two assistants.

Polls should close at the end of the post-convention meeting. The Election Committee Chair determines when and where the Elections Committee shall count the votes. The votes should be counted following the Post-Con Meeting and the winners announced at the social following the post-convention meeting.

QUORUM DETERMINATION

POLICY: Before the votes are counted, it must be determined whether the election has reached quorum and is therefore valid. If quorum has not been met, up to 24 hours of extra time may be allotted at the discretion of the Elections Committee Chair to gather more ballots. At the end of that time, if quorum has still not been met the envelopes are not opened and the election is declared invalid. A re-vote is then run.

VOTE COUNTING

PROCEDURE: Physical ballots are opened and votes counted in secret by the Elections Committee. For the first counting of votes one person announces the votes while the others tally the votes, the tallies are then compared. The counting is then done again, with another person announcing the votes, vote counts must match. Once reconciled, tallies of physical ballots are combined with the tallies of all electronic votes to determine the result. In case of a tie in any one race or discrepancy in vote totals, the votes for that position are counted a third time, with the third person announcing the votes.

TIES

POLICY: Ties for Elected Officers: If there is a tie in any race, the candidates are given 48 hours to decide if they wish to proceed with a re-vote. The only option for any candidate is to continue their candidacy or withdraw. No random mechanism (coin flip, dice roll, etc.) may be used to decide the winner. If only one candidate decides to continue at the end of that period, the position will go to that candidate. If there is more than one candidate that wishes to continue their candidacy, a re-vote will occur.

POLICY: Ties for GoH Selection Committee: If three or more candidates are tied for the GoH Selection Committee positions, those candidates are given 48 hours to decide if they wish to proceed with a re-vote. The only option for any candidate is to continue their candidacy or withdraw. No random mechanism (coin flip, dice roll, etc.) may be used to decide the winner. Withdrawals, if any, will be accepted in the order received until only two candidates remain. Those two remaining candidates will serve on the GoH Selection Committee. At the end of the 48-hour period, if more than two candidates decide to continue, a re-vote will occur with all candidates.

RE-ELECTIONS

POLICY: In the case of not reaching quorum, the election for all positions is re-run with the same candidates running again if they choose to continue, as per the Bylaws, Section Two.

POLICY: In the case of a tie, if the tied candidates decide to proceed, the election for that position is re-run with the tied candidates running again, as per the Bylaws, Section Two.

PROCEDURE: In both cases, candidates will be asked for revised or additional candidate statements if they wish to supply them. The re-vote is conducted electronically only. Ballots must be emailed within 17 calendar days from the invalid election or tie. The deadline for closing online voting shall be at least 10 business days from the date of mailing of ballot materials to voters. Within 7 calendar days of the re-vote deadline it is determined whether quorum has been reached and, if so, the votes are counted and the winner announced. This process is repeated until there is a quorum and a winner.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP

SELECTION

POLICY: A Lifetime Membership is an award given at the Chair's discretion.

PROCEDURE: As a general guideline, the award is presented to someone who has been a positive influence on Norwescon for a notable period of time.

The Chair may ask for suggestions from the Exec Team or the entire ConCom. If the award is given, the recipient should be chosen no later than one month out from the convention.

A plaque is awarded with the following text: "A Lifetime Membership Presented to <name> in appreciation for many years of faithful service. The Norwescon Committee. Norwescon <##>, <date>."

MASTER LIST

POLICY: Norwescon shall maintain a list of Lifetime Members and make it available upon request with the approval of the Chair.

PROCEDURE: Registration shall maintain a master list of Lifetime Members and shall include the same information for Lifetime Members as it does for the rest of the membership (for example: name, address, phone, email, etc.). It will be turned over to the following year’s Exec Team upon completion of the election cycle.

TRANSFERRING REGISTRATION

POLICY: Lifetime Memberships are not transferable.

REGISTRATION NUMBER

POLICY: Lifetime Members may choose a permanent number and may change it if they wish, as long as that number is not already in use and the registration system supports this functionality.

“NO SHOW”

POLICY: If a Lifetime Member is a "no-show," they may request a badge, program book, and pocket program.

DEATH

POLICY: When a Lifetime Member passes away their membership number may or may not be retired on a case-by-case basis. This decision is at the discretion of the Chair at the time of death. The decision to retire a number is permanent provided the registration system supports this functionality.

INVITATIONS TO ATTEND THE CONVENTION OR EVENT

POLICY: Invitation letters from the Chair to Lifetime Members shall be sent at least three months prior to the convention.

CHAIR MEETINGS

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.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Chair shall oversee, either directly or through an assigned committee, all public relations outreach for the convention.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The social media department shall maintain and monitor online social media community accounts (including, but not limited to, Twitter, Facebook, and others as deemed appropriate) while regularly posting updates for the community’s members and responding to inquiries and comments in a timely fashion.

Vice Chair

HOTEL

ADA HOTEL ROOMS

POLICY: ADA accessible rooms located in the staff room block shall be made available to ConCom members with special needs. ADA rooms located in the staff room block shall be made available to the general membership when staff room registration is complete (typically February).

GUEST OF HONOR GUEST ROOM CHECK-IN

POLICY: Norwescon staff shall assist Guests of Honor with check- in to their guest room.

PROCEDURE: The Norwescon Programming Director shall assist Guests of Honor with the check-in process of Guests of Honor into their sleeping rooms. This is to facilitate a smoother check-in for our Guests of Honor and assist in the prompt delivery of gift baskets.

STAFF ROOM BLOCK

POLICY: Norwescon will reserve ("blocks") a section of the hotel for ConCom members who need to have a sleeping room close to the convention space. ConCom members are required to make their own hotel reservation before requesting a staff room. All staff room requests, including those for specific rooms, requests are made to the Hotel Liaison.

PROCEDURE: ConCom members are required to make their own hotel reservation before requesting a room from the Hotel Liaison. (This ensures the hotel has a record of the credit card used to guarantee the reservation).

ConCom members should provide the Hotel Liaison with their hotel reservation confirmation number when requesting placement in the convention staff block. The Hotel Liaison will confirm their placement and provide the ConCom member with their assigned room.

ConCom members who have been placed in the reserved section may not appear on the records of the hotel registration desk until after the Resume Meeting with the hotel. This meeting takes place one or two weeks prior to the convention. (ConCom members are asked to avoid calling the hotel reservation desk to confirm their specific room reservation.)

ConCom members who requested rooms through the Hotel Liaison, and have questions regarding their room reservation, should contact the Norwescon Hotel Liaison.

SUITE RESERVATIONS

POLICY: The Norwescon Hotel Liaison shall take requests for suite reservations on a first-come first-served basis. Exceptions shall be made by request from the Chair.

PROCEDURE: Although the Norwescon Hotel Liaison takes requests on a first-come first-served basis, preferential treatment shall be given for convention needs (for example Guests of Honor and Spotlighted Publishers) at the request of the Chair. The Hotel Liaison must be informed of these requests prior to the date that the rooms are made available to the general membership.

Individuals or organizations who wish to reserve a suite must submit a request to the Norwescon Hotel Liaison through the Suite Request Form on the website. Other ConCom members receiving such requests must refer the individual or /organization to the Norwescon Hotel Liaison. ConCom members should not take "messages" for these requests to pass along to the Norwescon Hotel Liaison.

Convention members who have made suite reservations with the Norwescon Hotel Liaison may not appear on the records of the registration desk until after the Resume Meeting. This meeting takes place one to two weeks prior to the convention. Individuals or organizations who requested suites through the Norwescon Hotel Liaison are discouraged from calling the hotel to confirm their reservation.

The Norwescon Hotel Liaison shall set the first day suite reservations shall be accepted. This date shall be posted on Norwescon’s website.

Secretary

DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY

POLICY: Any ConCom member may get electronic copies of the current year’s meeting minutes, bylaws, or policies by visiting the designated online location or by request from the Secretary. The Secretary shall make meeting minutes available electronically via the designated online location or by request after the minutes have been approved.

GOOGLE SUITE

EMAIL SERVICES

The GSuite administrator manages all @norwescon.org individual, departmental, and other email addresses. Individual addresses are assigned to one person and act as a standard email address; departmental and other email addresses are special-purpose Google Groups that can be accessed by multiple authorized users.

info@norwescon.org: During the convention, the information (general inquiries) email alias should be checked daily by a member of the Secretary Team, Chair, or Vice-Chair.

GOOGLE GROUPS

The Secretary team GSuite administrator manages the norwescon, norwescon-concom, and norwescon-exec Google Groups/mailing lists.

  • norwescon: Open membership, general purpose conversation.
  • norwescon-concom: Restricted to ConCom members, used for ConCom announcements and discussion. All ConCom members are added to this group by default, they may unsubscribe if they wish (though it is not encouraged). This is the primary “mailing list” for distributing information to the ConCom members.
  • norwescon-exec: Restricted to Exec Team members, used for Exec Team communication. All Exec Team members are required to be part of this group.

U.S. MAIL SERVICES

POLICY: The mail is picked up at least once a week until three months prior to the convention and twice a week during the three months prior to the convention, continuing until the Norwescon books close. Mail may also be forwarded to the Mail Services staff person if the mailbox provider offers this as an option.

PROCEDURE: Mail is logged and scanned (excepting junk mail) and distributed. Scans may be distributed via email upon receipt. Originals should be distributed at the next ConCom meeting at the latest.

Checks should not be scanned before distributing to the Business department. Any accompanying documentation should be scanned and distributed accordingly.

The Mail Services volunteer shall provide an electronic copy of the mail log to the Secretary once per month via email and to the Chair or Vice-Chair upon request.

Mail logs older than two years may be stored off-site. Mail logs older than 7 years shall be offered to the historian and, if not taken, shall be shredded and recycled or deleted if electronic.

VOICEMAIL SERVICES

POLICY: If Norwescon has a voicemail account, then the voicemail is checked at least once a week until three months prior to the convention and at least twice a week during the three months prior to the convention. During the convention the voice mail should be checked daily by a member of the Secretary team.

A log of all calls received shall be kept electronically for the purpose of tracking utilization. It shall be made available to the Secretary once per month, and to the Chair and Vice-Chair upon request.

The Secretary shall maintain a list of passwords for voicemail accounts that shall be provided to the Chair and Vice-Chair as soon as possible after the election.

MEETING NOTICES

POLICY: Meeting notices shall be sent out no later than 10 calendar days prior to the meeting in question.

Meeting notices shall include the following information:

  • Date and time(s) of the meeting(s)
  • Location(s) of the meeting(s), including address and phone number
  • Information about (and directions to) a post-meeting social activity, if any
  • Information about future meeting dates and locations
  • Information about where the message is being distributed and how to be removed from the distribution list

PROCEDURE: The Secretary Team will send the meeting notices unless other arrangements are made with the Chair and Vice-Chair. Meeting notices are to be posted to the website, sent to the e-newsletter mailing list, and sent to the ‘norwescon’ and ‘norwescon-concom’ mailing lists. Notices should also be posted to Norwescon social media accounts, as well as any other outlets where the message would be of interest. The desire is to show transparency by distributing the message as widely as possible.

NOTE TAKING

POLICY: If the Secretary shall be absent from an Exec Team or ConCom meeting, they shall appoint a person to take notes in their stead.

MINUTES PREPARATION

POLICY: If held as separate meetings, Exec Team minutes and Convention Committee minutes shall be prepared as two separate documents.

Minutes shall include date, time, and location of meeting, Exec attendance, decisions, items called for a vote, action items, and items discussed. Only items discussed during official meetings shall be noted in the minutes.

Items discussed during “Closed Sessions” of the Exec Team shall be recorded but shall not appear in the regular Exec Team minutes. Such notes shall be distributed only to the Exec Team as Addendums to the Exec Team minutes.

Minutes shall be prepared within five business days after the meeting in question whenever possible. They are then sent to the Exec Team (and any proxy holders) for proofreading. A deadline shall be given as to when changes/corrections are due.

In the event an Exec Team member is unable to attend a meeting(s) and authorizes a non-Exec Team member to act as their proxy for all or part of that meeting(s), that person shall also be sent a copy of the minutes draft(s) from said meeting(s) for review.

Minutes of the previous meetings of both Exec Team and ConCom shall be approved by the Exec Team no later than the first Exec Team meeting after they have been submitted.

The preferred method of approval is that Execs read the electronic draft of the minutes and submit any changes within one week of their distribution to the team. Then the Secretary shall call the question to approve the minutes as submitted by email. Exec Team members who do not respond with an approval or rejection email within one week of the question being called shall be counted as abstaining from the vote.

After approval by the Exec Team, copies of all approved meeting minutes shall be made available to members of the ConCom via the designated online location. Hard copies shall be provided on request.

ACTION ITEMS

POLICY: The Secretary should take all the Action Items from the last Exec Team and ConCom meetings and send them to the Exec Team as soon as possible after the meeting, but no later than with the corresponding minutes, which are due five business days after the meeting.

STAFF LISTINGS

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

POLICY: The Secretary shall only accept names for the Organizational Chart from, or with the knowledge of, the Executive Team member under whose department the listing occurs, or from the staff registration database. Committee members must register as staff by the conclusion of the ConCom meeting scheduled closest to but not less than 28 days prior to the start of the current convention. Committee members must include a telephone number and email when registering as staff. Contact information will not be made public and will only be made available to the Exec Team and to those ConCom members with a valid need as determined by their Exec. If the person wishes to vote they must also opt-in during registration.

A person shall not be placed on the Organizational Chart until the Secretary has verified their staff registration. At a minimum, either a phone number or email address should appear on the Exec Team version of the organizational Chart.

Information to be included on the Exec version of the Organizational Chart shall include position, name, phone number, and email address. The list shall also include the general contact phone, email, and address for Norwescon, and a “current as of” date.

Information to be included on the ConCom version of the Organizational Chart shall include position, name, and the appropriate departmental Norwescon email address. The list shall also include the general contact phone, email, and address for Norwescon, and. It shall also include a “current as of” date.

The Secretary shall invite approved committee members to the Norwescon ConCom Google group.

Business

ADVISORS

POLICY: Norwescon shall have access to a lawyer and an accountant.

FINANCIAL ARCHIVES

POLICY: The Business Department Exec or their designee shall maintain the financial records for Norwescon at their personal residence. The financial records must be protected from the elements. Financial records shall not be stored in Norwescon storage units.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURES

POLICY: The following have signature authority on Norwescon accounts: Business Director, Treasurer, and Chair. The Vice-Chair may be added at the request of the Chair. Authorized signers may be added to Norwescon’s financial accounts at the discretion of the Business Director.

POLICY: Contract Signing Authority: The Chair, Vice-Chair, Business Director, and Convention Services Director shall be designated to the hotel as the only persons who have signing authority to the hotel contract during the convention. Additional people may be named at the discretion of the Chair.

BUDGET

POLICY: A preliminary budget shall be available at the first meeting in September. Any member may request to look at the budget at any time.

CASH ADVANCE

POLICY: Cash advances have certain legal implications and shall not be made except on a case-by-case basis. The decision of the Business Director on this matter is final.

CHECK RETURN

POLICY: All NSF (insufficient funds) and closed account checks may be charged up to the maximum return charge allowed by state law. Legal action may be sought at the discretion of the Exec Team to the extent allowed by applicable law.

CONTRACTS

DEFINITION: The definition of a contract for Norwescon is: Any agreement that commits convention resources, including, but not limited to, funds, time, equipment and use of the convention’s name.

POLICY: The Business Director must review all contracts and concur with them prior to signing. If the Business Director rejects the contract and the ConCom member still wishes to use that contract, the ConCom member must do the following:

  • First: Try to work it out with the Business Director and see if an agreement can be reached.
  • Second: Bring it to the ConCom Member’s Exec Team member, who can then bring it before the Exec Team. The Exec Team can override the Business Director’s decision by a 7 of 11 majority vote.

Contracts Rebuttal Procedure: Vendors must submit a complaint in writing within thirty days of the incident to the Norwescon P. O. Box addressed to the Chair.

The Chair shall investigate and respond in writing within thirty days after receipt of the complaint.

PURCHASE CARDS

POLICY: When using a purchase card the department head must promptly submit the receipts attached to a completed check request form with the purchase tracking number clearly printed on the form. The purchase card shall be returned at the same time, unless previous arrangements were made with the Business Department.

In the event that the vendor does not accept purchase cards, please contact the Business Director for assistance.

All purchase cards shall be returned to the Business Department on or before the post-con meeting.

EQUIPMENT/ARCHIVES AT INDIVIDUAL’S HOME

POLICY: The Business Director shall maintain (and the Exec Team shall review) a list of all Norwescon-owned items. This list shall include the location/address of the equipment and equipment description, including model and serial numbers where applicable.

When Norwescon equipment is not stored in the Norwescon storage unit(s) a list shall be generated that includes the responsible person’s name, location/address of the equipment, and equipment description, including model and serial numbers where applicable. Both the individual and the Chair shall sign the loan agreement. The Norwescon insurance policy does not extend coverage to convention equipment stored at individual residences. ConCom members are expected to treat the convention’s equipment as if it were their own equipment during the time the equipment is residing in their personal residence. ConCom members shall provide proper environmental conditions and security provisions. In many cases, personal homeowners/rental insurance shall cover this equipment in the event of a loss.

When Norwescon equipment is rented/loaned to another convention a list of that equipment shall be generated that includes the responsible person’s name, location/address of the equipment, and equipment description, including model numbers and serial numbers where applicable. Both the responsible person representing the other convention and the Norwescon Chair shall sign a contract concerning the rental/loan of the equipment. The Norwescon insurance policy does not extend coverage to convention equipment rented/loaned to other conventions.

An inventory of the Norwescon archives at individual homes should be generated and updated from time to time. A copy of the inventory should be supplied to the Business Department.

INSURANCE

POLICY: Norwescon shall have insurance.

DISPOSITION OF LEFTOVER BADGE BLANKS & HOLDERS

POLICY: The Head of Registration, or the Membership Services Department Head, shall take all the leftover badge blanks to the post-con meeting.

The Historian, or a member of the Public Relations department, either in person or through a request to their department head, may request as many badge blanks as they determine they need to perform the function of their office.

Anyone desiring to acquire one or more sets of badge blanks at or after the post-con meeting must petition the Exec Team in writing with their request. After discussion, approval may be obtained by simple majority vote.

The remaining badge blanks shall be given to the head of Registration or the Membership Services Department head for use at the next convention, for training sessions, or for disposal. If recycling is possible, that should be the disposal method. If not, then disposal shall be of a kind to ensure that the badge blanks shall not be able to be used for their original purpose.

LINES OF CREDIT (AND ACCOUNTS WITH BUSINESSES)

POLICY: Norwescon currently has accounts open at various vendors (such as Costco and FedEx). Only an Exec Team member may approve the opening of an account at a vendor and only after approval from the Business Director (tax I.D. numbers, credit ratings, and other information are usually required). See Contracts.

LOST NORWESCON CHECKS

POLICY: ConCom members may request a replacement check for checks that are lost. After notification to the Business Department that a replacement check is requested, the Business Department shall wait approximately 30 days prior to issuing a replacement check. This shall be handled on a case-by-case basis.

MUSIC

POLICY: Norwescon pays ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC for use of music during the Convention (dances, Masquerade, etc.).

VALID FORMS OF PAYMENT TO NORWESCON

POLICY: Valid forms of payment are cash (in U.S. Funds), checks (up to four weeks prior to the convention), money orders, and electronic payment via PayPal (prior to the Convention) or Square (at the convention).

Checks are not accepted as a form of payment at the convention, even during the Pre-Registration for the following convention on Sunday. A check returned for NSF (insufficient funds) or closed account may be charged a fee up to the legal limit.

PHOTOCOPIES/PRINTING

POLICY: Norwescon maintains an account with FedEx for copy needs. When copies are made and charged to the FedEx account, the department that the copies are made for and the reason code must be noted on the FedEx charge slip. The customer copy of the charge slip should be submitted to the Business Department. If more than one department is on the copy charge, the charges should be itemized. Items that are charged to the FedEx account need not be documented on a Check Request Form.

PREPAYMENT

POLICY: If a check is needed for a vendor at the convention, please fill out a Check Request Form and give it to the Business Department by the February meeting.

REIMBURSEMENTS, CHECK REQUESTS

POLICY: All reimbursements for an expense acquired on behalf of Norwescon shall be made via the Check Request that must include the following:

  • Budget Line Number or Title
  • Receipt of Expenditure
  • Name of Payee
  • Address of Payee
  • Approval by the Exec in charge of that Department’s Budget

There shall be no exceptions.

REIMBURSEMENTS, DEADLINE

POLICY: If no request for reimbursement is received by the Norwescon financial books closing date, no reimbursement shall be given. Any exceptions shall be at the discretion of the Business Director.

STAFF RATES

The staff rate is available to people listed on the organizational list and to other people who are designated as staff by the Exec Team member in charge of their department. The Registration and Business Departments shall verify the eligibility of persons who request the staff rate.

CAPPING POLICY

POLICY: Prior to the convention the Exec Team may set a maximum attendance level for the current convention (the “cap”). During the convention, it may become necessary to evaluate the cap set by the Exec Team to be able to raise or lower the cap based on such things as membership registration, availability of membership supplies, convention/hotel resources, or other events occurring during the convention.

The Membership Services Department (Registration), the Business Director, and the Convention Services Director, with oversight by the Chair and/or Vice-Chair, shall meet to assess set levels previously agreed to. If there is time, this decision may be handled at the regularly scheduled nightly meeting, but if this isn’t possible it may occur as necessary. Various needs such as the safety and enjoyment of the attendees, the available resources of the Convention and hotel, and the convention’s economic considerations must be balanced.

The final decision for modifying the attendance cap shall fall to the Business Director and Convention Services Director, who must concur on the decision.

If a deadlock occurs, the Chair shall act as mediator and, if necessary, make the final decision.

ANNUAL STORAGE UNIT INVENTORY

POLICY: Each year the Business Department and Convention Services Department shall update the inventory of the storage units.

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