Happy New Year! 2013 promises to be an exciting year for the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild. We are approaching many new and positive changes for the guild. As you know we have been working on formally organizing our group to get the most out of our creative community. We’ve got a strong and fun group and, as we grow, we need to come together in order to stay together. The Task Force formed at the last general meeting has created by-laws and now we are ready to nominate and elect five officers and become an organized non-profit in 2013. Therefore, it is time, once again, for another General Meeting – yay business!

When: Monday, January 14 at 6.45 p.m.

Where: Woodland Park Presbyterian Church, 225 N. 70th St. Seattle, WA 98103 (Thanks, Sue!)

What: We will be discussing the next phase for the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild, including voting on our by-laws and officers.

Here are the major agenda items for the meeting:

1. Voting in our by-laws
2. Nominating and voting in our Board Officers
3. Dues
4. Show and Tell – if time permits

(Please note, you must be present to vote)

By-laws

At our last general meeting, we formed a Task Force to keep the formalization of the guild moving forward. So far the Task Force has drafted by-laws for the SMQG to govern our group as well as to register for non-profit status with Washington state.

We will be voting in our by-laws at the January 14 meeting. Please download and read the by-laws [here] to be prepared to vote at the meeting. We will have a short Q&A for any questions you may have regarding the measures in the by-laws before we vote. However, please make sure that you have read through them before the meeting.

Board Officers

As we approach non-profit status as well as maintaining the organization, we need to elect officers. Below are descriptions for the officer positions. Please read and consider carefully if you would like to be nominated for one of these positions. We can’t do this without you 😉

If you are interested in having greater involvement with the guild but do not want to hold an officer position, please see below a list of non-officer positions, which are appointed positions.

All positions have a one year term.

President 

• Arrange for, schedule, and facilitate meetings for Monthly Officers meetings and SMQG meetings
• Assist/Coordinate in planning monthly SMQG meetings
• Primary function is to see to the smooth running of the entire guild; coordinate committee activities; and serve as a leader, acting as spokesperson for all guild activities
• Qualifications: must feel comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people, organization is necessary and follow through is a must

Vice President, Programs

• The vice president will perform the duties of the president if needed, including running the monthly meeting. Assist in any way needed and help prepare for board and guild meetings
• Coordinate committees responsible for sew-ins, special events, and quilt shows
• Qualifications:  comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people, organization and follow through is a must.

Vice President, Memberships

• The vice president will perform the duties of the president if needed, including running the monthly meeting. Assist in any way needed and help prepare for board and guild meetings
• Primary function is to serve as the welcoming face of the SMQG, respond to new and renewing members by sending out membership welcome information, and maintain membership roster
• Coordinate all social media committees (email, blog, Flickr, twitter, etc)
• Qualifications:  comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people, organization and follow through is a must.

Secretary

• The primary duty of the SMQG secretary is to take notes during officer’s meetings and communicate these to the officers.
• Coordinates publication of notes and photographs for the SMQG blog.
• Qualifications: good writing and organizational skills, plus attention to detail

Treasurer 

• Maintain bank accounts, including preparing monthly/quarterly statements for SMQG, pay bills in a timely manner, including expense reimbursements to members
• Transfer funds between accounts as needed
• Collect membership dues
• Qualifications: organizational ability, can handle collection of money and keep finances recorded and in order

The nominations are open, although there are already some who have expressed interest:

Katie Pedersen – President
Sandie Holtman – VP, Memberships
Chandra Wu – willing to serve in any position where there is need
Becca Jubie – Secretary
Patti Auburn – Treasurer

If you would like to have your name added to the list of nominees, please contact Chandra Wu at chandrawu [at] gmail [dot] com. You do not have to present at the meeting to be nominated. However, you must be present at the meeting to vote.

Non-officer positions (committee leaders, appointed by VPs, also one year term):

• Budget Committee Chair (1+): oversees annual audit; works directly with Treasurer and committee members
• Social Media Coordinator: maintains blog, twitter, flickr, etc.; works directly with the VP, Memberships
• Photography committee (1+): takes photos at monthly meetings and sew-ins; works directly with the the Secretary and the social media coordinator
• Sew-in Coordinator: organizes SMQG sew-ins, scout and schedule sew-in locations, works directly with the VP, Programs
• Giveaway Coordinator: organizes giveaways for meetings and sew-ins, works directly with the VP, Programs
• Challenges Coordinator: organizes SMQG challenges and national MQG challenges, works directly with the VP, Programs

I know this is a lot of information all at once. Please do not hesitate to contact Season at seattlemodernquiltguild [at] gmail [dot] com or Chandra Wu at chandrawu [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions you might have.

We do hope to see you at the meeting! We are growing strong and we look forward to a great new beginning for the guild!

P.S. Some of us are planning on some post-meeting cocktails, if you’d like to join us.  **location yet to be determined**