Position Summary: The state secretary is responsible for the records of all board actions,
including the taking of minutes of AAUW of Oregon Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings, and those of the annual meeting. The secretary should have the ability to
organize/adjust time commitment to AAUW of Oregon as needed to meet organizational needs.
An addendum lists what should be included in the minutes of a meeting.

Please keep a record of your activities during the year and upgrade this description as needed.

Leadership skills: organization, communication skills, note-taking, listening intently, ability to
meet deadlines, familiarity with current technology tools that AAUW of Oregon uses, i.e. Google
Drive, MS Word, pdf files, Excel, Zoom and email.

Major duties:
• Serve on the AAUW of Oregon Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.
• Have available at all meetings a copy of the current AAUW Charter and Bylaws, the state
bylaws and policies, and a list of state officers and committees.
• Maintain a roster of the branches including branch officers, and a list of all national members of AAUW who have paid the state annual dues.
• File all written reports presented at all state meetings.
• Provide the presiding officer with a copy of the last minutes within a mutually agreed-upon
time, usually 7-10 days after the meeting, as the president makes up the agenda for the
next meeting from the previous minutes.
• Make available upon request the minutes of the meetings of the state, the executive
committee and the board of directors.
• Retain a copy of all retired resolutions.
• After the annual meeting, compile a summary of its important features and business, and send a copy to the president, the state board of directors, and branch presidents retiring and
incoming, and publish it in the next issue of the Oregon News.
• Serve as consultant and board liaison to the AAUW Governance Committee.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the president, the executive committee or
the board of directors, or as specified in the bylaws.

Time commitment: Along with the time necessary to accomplish the above responsibilities, this position requires time to serve on the state executive committee, the state board of directors and other committees as assigned. Attendance at state executive committee meetings, board meetings and conventions/annual meetings is required; attendance at the AAUW National Convention is strongly encouraged.

Resources: Consult with your predecessor; AAUW of Oregon Bylaws and Policies; AAUW of
Oregon State Directory, AAUW state website: aauw-or.aauw.net; national website: AAUW.org.

WHAT MINUTES OF A MEETING SHOULD CONTAIN

Minutes of any meeting are a factual record of what was done, not what was said. All business,
including motions made and votes taken, should be included. Long discussions and background
information should not be included, although background reports may be attached to the
minutes for later reference.

The minutes themselves should include, in this order:
1. a statement regarding the kind of meeting held: regular, special, annual, etc.;
2. the full name of the group that is meeting, i.e.: branch name, AAUW with no periods;
3. the date, time and place of the meeting;
4. a statement that the regular chairperson and secretary were present, or in their absence the
names of the persons who substituted for them;
5. If appropriate, meaning the group is small, (fewer than 10 or 12), the names of those present
and those absent;
6. whether the minutes of the previous meeting were read/sent and approved, and a note of any corrections that were made;
7. all points of order and appeals made to the chair, whether sustained or lost, and the reasons
given by the chair for her/his rulings;
8. all motions that were made and seconded, the names of the maker of the motion but not the
seconder, and whether they carried or failed; any and all amendments should be
included along with the same information;
9. a brief statement as to the reports given, and a synopsis of only the most important points,
including any action to be taken;
10. if an election takes place, a report of all votes cast, if not prohibited by the bylaws;
11. the date, time and place of the next scheduled meeting; and
12. the time of adjournment.

Minutes are signed “Claire/John Doe, Secretary”; the words “Respectfully submitted” were
dropped many years ago and are no longer used. Offices and committee positions should not be capitalized unless the complete name is used: “AAUW of Oregon Finance VP Mary Smith” or “finance vp”.

(revised April 2020)