The following information is from the SkillsUSA Leadership Handbook, pages 33-36. (Historian is not a national office,
 but is represented in the Constitution for the Arizona Association of SkillsUSA.)


 President
 

• Key to the whole SkillsUSA section
• Must be selected for good leadership qualities
• Must be able to work with people and encourage them to work for the sections’ benefit.
• Knows what work has to be done and when to delegate it
• Must be an impartial judge of the abilities of others and determine where they can make the best contributions
• Keeps informed of the members’ progress and sees that the section is moving forward
• Presides over meetings, making sure they begin on time and follow the order of business
• Never interjects personal opinions and dominates the meeting
• Has a complete understanding of the matters being discussed and the possible effect of his or her recommendations
• Conducts meetings following correct parliamentary procedure and allows ample but not excessive time for discussion
• Brings issues to a satisfactory conclusion when sensing a discussion is dragging or being monopolized

 Vice President

• As first assistant to the president, should prepare for the office as carefully as the president
• Presides at meetings and other functions in the absence of the president
• Must be well informed of the issues and skilled in handling the sections’ business
• Must be prepared to assume the office of president when necessary
• Carries specific responsibilities for program planning, often with help from a program committee, to determine the program topics, secure speakers and arrange for necessary facilities
• With the parliamentarian, is responsible for the arrangement of the meeting room as described in this handbook
• Assists the president by meeting with committees and assuring that all activities are in keeping with general SkillsUSA section practices
• Is responsible for a year-end report on the sections’ accomplishments

 Secretary

• Keeps all section records for a continuous reference to all that has happened
• With the president, sets a tentative agenda of each meeting several days in advance
• Advices the president during the meeting about the agenda
• Keeps the minutes of each meeting in a permanent book having an alphabetical membership roll and the final copy of the section’s calendar of activities
• Includes in the minutes the name of the section; the kind or purpose of meeting; the date, time and place; the name of the presiding officer; the number present; approval of previous minutes; a treasurer’s report; reports and actions taken, in order; motions carried or lost; adjournment; and the signature of the presiding officer
• Counts votes, unless someone else is appointed
• Asks questions if unsure about the wording of a motion or its outcome
• At each meeting, reads the minutes of the previous meeting which, when approved, are the official record of the section business
• Keeps the SkillsUSA constitutions and bylaws at each meeting to be used as a reference
• Maintains a complete list of members as well as committees, their members and chairpersons
• Chairs the membership committee and calls meetings to order in the absence of the president and vice president
• Takes care of section correspondence and reads all communications directed to the section
• Strives to develop skills including listening, interpreting issues, taking concise notes and reporting accurately
• Develops good speaking skills so the minutes can be heard and understood

 Treasurer

• Keeps the record of section funds
• Bills for annual dues
• Sends out membership records
• Assists in developing the annual budget
• Pays all approved bills
• Maintains accurate records of income and expenses
• Prepare financial statements including an annual financial statement, audited by a committee appointed by the president, submitted to the committee at the end of each fiscal year
• At the beginning of the year, has an official treasurer’s book and the complete records of the outgoing treasurer
• Has a bank book, deposit slips, and a business account checkbook, which lasts longer than a personal checkbook
• Makes a complete inventory of section equipment, books and other materials with the assistance of the section advisor
• Knows all the regulations about handling the section’s finances as determined by the constitution or bylaws and school policy
• Masters a basic knowledge of accounting
• Maintains records accurately
• Keeps deposit slips as well as an itemized record of deposits
• Issues and maintains records of receipts
• Collects, records and deposits funds promptly
• Records approved expenditures immediately
• Pays bills upon receipt
• Keeps ledgers in cooperation with the school authorities (in schools where all funds must be administered by a school treasurer or comptroller)

 Reporter

• Gets news about the section before the public
• Is able to write, or willing to learn to write, news stories or section activities
• Does not miss an opportunity to contact the school and local news media
• After getting the details about a meeting or program, prepares news releases and distributes them to newspaper and radio and television stations
• Includes the “who, what, when, where, why and how” – the name of the SkillsUSA section and the main people involved; a description of the activity and how it affects the community; and the place, date and time
• Gets acquainted with local news editors and finds out what they want: fully written stories or just the facts; photos or ample notice to send a professional photographer to events
• Avoids playing favorites with competing newspaper and stations
• Uses school and community bulletin boards to get the news out
• May chair the section’s information or public relations committees
• May collect publicity to display at state and national meetings committees

Parliamentarian

• Is the section authority and consultant to the president on procedural matters
• Has a working knowledge of parliamentary law and gives opinions based on it, not on personal feelings
• Must be able to gain the confidence of others, since he or she may be called on to settle controversial issues
• Calls attention to any errors in procedure, but has no authority to enforce ideas or rulings

 Parliamentary law is quite simple and logical if learned in an orderly manner and a little at a time. Essential
 references are Roberts’s Rule of Order, Newly Revised; the SkillsUSA Leadership Handbook; and SkillsUSA national,
 state and local constitutions.

 Historian

• Keep an accumulative file of clippings, pictures, copies of special programs, etc.

• Maintain and/or develop a system that can be used by future officers

• Assist in building a section/chapter public relations manual.