Women s Council of REALTORS Knoxville Network Standing Rules The Standing Rules have the purpose of giving continuity, direction and consistency for current and future officers of the Women s Council of REALTORS (WCR) Knoxville Network. Standing Rules are for administrative convenience and rights of membership are not granted or limited in the Standing Rules, only in the Network Bylaws. I. Meetings A. Network Events Regular Network Events/Meetings shall be held according to Bylaws Article V Section 1: (A). There are only two (2) matters of business which are put to a vote at a General Membership Meeting: 1. Election of Officers 2. Proposed Bylaws Amendment per WCR Leadership Policies and Procedures Manual B. Governing Board Meetings Governing Board Meetings shall be held according to Bylaws Article IV Section 4: (A). The Governing Board shall have the power to declare the office of a member of the Board to be vacant in the event such member has a total of three (3) unexcused absences. An excused absence is considered to be illness or death in the family or extenuating circumstance approved by the President. Two (2) tardies constitute an absence. Prior notice must be given to President. This may be done by electronic means or via the telephone. Approved absences should be noted in the Governing Board Minutes. II. Elections A. Officer Qualifications
Any member nominated for office should have the following qualifications: 1. Held membership in Knoxville WCR Network for at least one (1) year. 2. Be a member in good standing and to renew membership by February 1 st (first). 3. Served on at least one committee. 4. Primary profession is to be in the real estate industry for at least one (1) year. B. Officers Consent to Serve Officer nominees shall sign a Consent to Serve form. This is to occur following the reading of the role of the office for which they have been nominated. The signed consent form will remain with the secretary for the term of the nominee s office. C. Installation of Officers Installation of Officers to be held during November s Network Event. The outgoing President shall have the duty of obtaining the incoming President s pin, at the expense of the Local Network. This is for presentation at the Installation of Officers. The incoming President shall have the duty of obtaining the outgoing President s plaque, at the expense of the Local Network This is for presentation at the Installation of Officers. D. Additional Officer Duties In addition to the duties and responsibilities of officers as directed by the National Women s Council of REALTORS and as outlined by the WCR Leadership Policy and Procedures Manual, the officers of the network will maintain a team of leadership to inspire participation and involvement from all members. The following are additional responsibilities for certain officers: Membership Director shall prepare an updated orientation manual which shall contain current information, appropriate conduct, coupled with a new member orientation. They shall educate the members about the WCR organization and the opportunities afforded with membership. They are responsible for ordering WCR membership pins for new members, at the expense of the Local Network. They shall head membership drives for the Local Network, including the National Women s Council of REALTORS membership drive January thru March of each year. Oversee the Recruiting and Retention teams. Program Director responsible for passing out and collecting the event survey forms and evaluating the success of each event. Coordinate the details of event
setup and breakdown, including food/beverage. Secures sponsorships for door prizes at events and food/beverage for educational events. Treasurer shall provide all appropriate documents, books and records for an annual audit. The President will appoint a project team to perform the audit according to Bylaws Article X Section 2. Members of the audit project team are not to serve successive terms. In the event that there are checks presented to the network which are returned unpaid, the Treasurer shall collect the original amount of the returned check, as well as any fees charged to the network by financial institutions and a $5.00 service fee made payable to Women s Council of REALTORS Knoxville Network. Secretary may be requested to make minutes of meetings available to audit project team. The Secretary will bring a copy of the Standing Rules and Network Bylaws to each Governing Board and General Membership Meetings. If the Secretary is absent, the minutes will be related to the membership by the President or their designee. The Secretary is to maintain a permanent printed record for 3 years in a Network Minutes Book for use by the audit committee and review as need by the Governing Board. A backup of the minutes are to be placed on the network s google drive. III. Project Teams Project Teams must consist of not less than three (3) members, however, a goal of WCR is member involvement thus larger teams are recommended if appropriate for the particular project team. Appointments of project leaders are the responsibility of the President. The appointments are subject to the approval of the Governing Board. Candidate Review Project Team will provide copies of the duties and responsibilities to the candidates with an interest in running for an office. The team is to establish a set of qualifications to be reviewed annually for officers based upon the present needs of the chapter. The team will determine that candidates are for President-elect and Treasurer are qualified. Preference should be given to members who have actively participated in network activities. Service on this project team is limited to REALTOR members one National Affiliates Strategic Partner. Any special Team Leader shall give a written report and budget to the Governing Board for future reference. It is recommended that past Special Team Leaders serve on the next annual project team for the same event, in the role of adviser. It is important that a budget for special project team fundraising events is given to the Treasurer to be reviewed by the audit team.
IV. Budget Expenses A. Budget Expenses and/or officer travel reimbursement shall be submitted by receipt within thirty (30) days of expense. B. Bills and reimbursement request shall be given to the President in writing. This document is to be reviewed, and initialed, prior to being sent to the Treasurer for payment. Treasurer will reimburse approved budgeted expense within fifteen (15) days of receipt. C. The President s bills and reimbursements will be submitted to the President-Elect for review and approval, before payment is made by Treasurer. D. All reimbursement forms must be submitted to allow for reimbursement during the same calendar year as such expense occurred. V. Convention and Conference Expenses and Attendance A. The officers of the chapter will be funded for State and National meetings as the budget allows. They will be required to attend WCR sponsored events. These events are outlined in the Leadership Policy and Procedure Manual, under the heading of National Meeting Information. This will allow an accurate detail of any recommendation, educational opportunity or other benefit available to the Local Network. B. The President shall appoint an officer(s), from the Network, to provide an oral or written presentation to the Network about the Convention, Educational Opportunity or Conference attended. C. Monies will be budgeted on a yearly basis for President and President-Elect travel to include two (2) National meetings, two (2) State meetings,oi one (1) Regional meeting, WCR State Orientation and President-elects travel to the Leadership Academy, as the budget allows. The President s expenses and reimbursements shall be submitted to the President-elect for review and approval before payment is to be made by the Treasurer. The Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Director and Program Director shall attend one (1) state convention, one (1) Regional meeting, one (1) WCR State Orientation as budget permits and may be able to attend National and State conferences. D. Travel expenses for each officer is limited to the budgeted amount per meeting. Any unused monies can be carried forward and allocated to other meetings. The allocations to other meetings will require a majority vote by a quorum of the Governing Board. Expenses shall be reimbursed
after all receipts of expenses are turned into the Treasurer as evidence of the expenditures for attending the meetings. All receipts of expenses must be turned into the Treasurer within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the meeting, conference or orientation attended to qualify for reimbursement. The registration fees for conferences can be paid in advance by the Treasurer as outlined in the budget. If cancellation is not able to be obtained, it will be the responsibility of the officer to reimburse the chapter within 30 days of the conclusion of the event. Officers traveling should use early bird registrations, book airline flights in advance to secure the best rates, stay at WCR designated hotels, or another hotel with a less expensive published rate, in order to conserve network funds. Sharing of hotel rooms is encouraged. E. The Network will not duplicate funding/reimbursements received from other organizations. F. On a case by case basis, an allocation of half of the budgeted monies may be disbursed to officer prior to meeting, conference or convention to help cover travel expenses. VI. Guests Guests, who are eligible for membership, may attend two (2) General Membership Meetings before joining the Women s Council of REALTORS Knoxville Network. The Membership Director will send correspondence, along with a membership application, to all qualified prospective members after their attendance at two (2) General Membership Meetings in a calendar year. A follow-up call will also be made to encourage their commitment. VII. Network Courtesy Policy A. In the event of illness or death of a member or a member s family, no memorial or courtesy gift will be sent from the Network. Cards and notes will be encouraged. A voluntary collection may be held and the contributors may decide to disburse the contributions in any way they see fit. B. The Network should provide a complimentary meal and give a gift of a maximum value of twenty dollars ($20.00) to the meeting s guest speaker.
VIII. Local Strategic Partner Membership Policy A. The total of all National Strategic Partners in the Women s Council of REALTORS Knoxville Network will be capped at twenty percent (20%) of the REALTOR membership. B. There is no limit on the number of Local Strategic Partners. IX. Parliamentarian At the President s discretions, a member knowledgeable in Parliamentary Procedure and meeting management shall be present at all meetings of the Network. It is recommended that there be a Parliamentarian at the annual election meeting and Governing Board meetings. X. Women s Council of REALTORS Local Network Entrepreneur of the Year Award Team All nomination forms must be submitted to the project team by November 1 st. XI. Scholarship Money $300 of the budgeted scholarship money is reserved for a Women s Council Knoxville Realtor member to attend KAARLeadership if accepted. Preference will be given to the President-Elect. Note: Standing Rules should be reviewed and voted on each year by the Governing Board. Revised December 29, 2017 President Women s Council of REALTORS Knoxville Network