Expectations of Pikes Peak Blues Community Board Members

• Have fun and enjoy your involvement.
• Ensure adherence to and memorize the Pikes Peak Blues Community’s mission statement.
• Attend and actively participate in all board meetings, or notify the president of any anticipated absence.
• Review all minutes even if not present at the board meeting.
• Actively serve on at least one committee.
• Represent the Pikes Peak Blues Community board in a professional manner and act as the entire board not individually unless authorized to do so.
• Review all financials.
• Notify the board of any potential conflict of interest involving yourself and the Pikes Peak Blues Community.
• Recognize and accept your legal position as a governing agent of the Pikes Peak Blues Community.
• Actively engage in fundraising for the Pikes Peak Blues Community and be a member is good standing.

In the bylaws it states: “All business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by its Board of Directors”. Therefore the board as the PPBC governing body is entrusted with the authority to establish policy for the governance of the PPBC Board by establishing the parameters and guidelines for board members and committees. All procedures being used to conduct business will be reviewed and discussed by the board annually making any changes that are necessary to effectively pursue the Mission of the PPBC. These policies will be used as a guide to help board members have an overall understanding of the organization, how business is conducted and how to present themselves with regard to the PPBC.

Policies may be recommended to the board by committees of the board or individual board members. All proposed policies will be researched to ensure that they are legal, and do not contradict already established policy or bylaws of PPBC. If approved by the board, policies will be written, coded, dated at time of approval and included in all copies of the board policy manual.

Before a policy is written it must be deemed practical, compatible with other policies and consistent with local, state and federal law. All policies will be enacted based on consensus. The board delegates to the board president responsibility for policy interpretation to the public and for rule making, issuance of procedural directives and guides not specifically covered or detailed in the Board Policy Manual.

The purposes of our policies are to:

• Inform everyone of board intent, goals and aspirations
• Prevent confusion among board members and the public.
• Promote consistency of board action
• Eliminate the need for instant (crisis) policy making
• Reduce criticism of the board and management.
• Improve public relations.
• Clarify board member roles.

As a Pikes Peak Blues Community board member, you will be expected to know the information contained in the bylaws. All board members will be given a copy of the Board Policy and Corporate by-Laws. A copy of both documents will be kept at the PPBC office for review and inspection by board members.

Board member rights – Each member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community board has the right to receive notice of board meetings, the agenda and minutes in a timely manner. You have the right to attend and participate in board meetings. You have the right to examine the Pikes Peak Blues Community’s books, records, meeting minutes, financial statements and contracts. And you have the right to place items on the board meeting agenda at the appropriate time.

Authority of the board of directors – Each member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community Board, together with other members of the board, is legally and morally responsible for all activities of the Pikes Peak Blues Community. All members of the board share in a joint and collective authority, which exists and can only be exercised when the group is in session.

Expectations of the board of directors – Each board member should adhere to the Pikes Peak Blues Community’s mission and abide by the ‘Expectations’.

• Have fun and enjoy your involvement – Enjoy your time on the board. Help invent ways to make events fun for all ages and to get more of the public involved. Spread the joy by getting the word out. If it is not fun, it may not be worth doing, and that goes for serving on the board because board members will not be compensated for service on this board.
• Ensure adherence to and memorize the PPBC’s mission statement – The mission statement must match our efforts. If the PPBC is not maintaining the mission then the board will review the mission and vote for any changes necessary.
• Attend and actively participate in all board meetings –. Do your homework and be prepared to participate fully in board and committee meetings. It is the policy of the PPBC board that board members attend meetings to maintain governance and continuity by being fully informed about the issues on which they will vote. It is every board member’s responsibility to contribute to the decisions the board is required to make.

If a board member is absent from three consecutive meetings, the board president will ask the board to consider removing the board member from membership on the board. The decision of the board will be noted in the minutes. If the board agrees to dismiss a member, the president will notify that member by mail.

The PPBC board meeting agenda will approximate the following outline:

• Call to order by the board chairperson or other presiding officer and determination of a quorum.
• Approval of an agenda
• Consideration, correction and approval of minutes of the previous meeting.
• Consideration and acceptance of the financial report.
• Standing committee reports and recommendations for board action.
• Special committee/task force reports and recommendation for board action.
• Unfinished business.
• New business.
• Adjournment.

All members of the Pikes Peak Blues community board who are present when a question is put forward will vote upon the question unless excused by the other members present or unless disqualified by conflict of interests. Results of the vote will be recorded in the minutes.

• Review all minutes even if not present at the board meeting - When absent from a meeting, review minutes and results of the missed meeting.
• Actively serve on at least one committee – It will be the purpose of any committee appointed by the Pikes Peak Blues Community board to assist the board of directors to govern more efficiently. Committees will be used to investigate, deliberate and analyze special issues on behalf of the board.

Committees are a subsidiary of the board, and will be expected to report their work to the full board on a regular basis. Each committee will be expected to make recommendations to the board for action. Such recommendations to be made by a member of the committee will be made in the form of a motion at a full board meeting. Any committee established by the board will have only the powers specifically delegated to it by the board.

The board will appoint the chair of each committee and all committee members, taking into consideration the preference of the board members for committee assignment. Board members will be polled as to their committee preference. Non-board members may also be appointed as committee members.

The committee chairperson will convene all meetings of the committee or a majority of the committee members may call a committee meeting. Meeting dates will be coordinated with the board president and all committee members to ensure maximum participation. The committee chairperson will be expected to lead the committee just as the board president is expected to lead the board. The committee chairperson is accountable for ensuring the productivity of the committee by planning the agenda, notifying members about meetings and appointing a member of the committee to keep a written record of committee actions.

The committees consist of:

• Board Development Committee – Continuance of the organization is the responsibility of the PPBC board, and requires that the board carefully select replacements as board members leave the board. Appropriate potential new board members must be recruited to maintain continuity of the governance of the PPBC. The board will maintain an ongoing recruiting plan that can fill board vacancies with a well-qualified candidate and with minimal disruption to the board’s work. When selecting new board members, the board will attempt to find a broad representation of the community that will offer diverse perspectives to the board’s decisions. Duties will include keeping a log of prospective new board members and developing and maintaining the policies and procedures document.
• Education/Program Committee – Develop and oversee programs including student blues jams and business seminars. Work with the events committee to incorporate education with all events. Provide schedule to marketing and public relations committee.
• Business Development/Fund Raising Committee – Provide strategic approach to financial development including the solicitation for donations and the managing of all merchandise. Locate and apply for grants. Develop and implement a sponsorship program.
• Events Committee - Develop schedule of events. Coordinate all events by maintaining contact with artists, vendors and venue owners. Provide setup, tear down and security for each event. Work with the marketing and public relations committee to ensure the promotion of all events by helping distribute posters and flyers.
• Membership/Volunteer committee – Maintain a membership list. Develop incentives for members. Schedule renewal notices and send membership cards. Recruit volunteers. Maintain a contact list and organize the volunteer schedule. Track volunteer hours, solicit feedback from volunteers and provide follow-up with thank-you letters to volunteers.
• Marketing and Public Relations Committee – Use the various news media for the promotion of the Pikes Peak Blues Community programs and raise the community consciousness regarding the PPBC services. Develop press releases and maintain public contact. Design posters and flyers. Maintain the website design and updates. Solicit in-kind donations. Document events. Develop and maintain an e-newsletter. Work with fundraising committee to assure underwriters are included. Work with all committees to ensure maximum exposure for our events and a growing list of subscribers while maintaining a positive voice in the community. The president of the board (or designee) is the official spokesperson and shall provide the news media with a formal channel of communication.
• Represent the Pikes Peak Blues Community board in a professional manner – Act only as the full board, not individually unless authorized to do so by the full board. Speak for the full board only when the full board sanctions your doing so, this includes speaking to the media.

Members of the Pikes Peak Blues Community must never make political contributions on behalf of the Pikes Peak Blues Community. If a board member takes an active part in the political process it must be done at the board member’s personal expense.

When speaking about the PPBC or about board action, board members should be careful to define when their remarks represent personal opinion and when their remarks represent official board position. Board members must be aware that they are always seen as board members even when they designate comments as personal.

All requests for corporation information from the PPBC, other than routine public information, will be channeled to the board president for a decision about releasing that information. If there is question about the appropriateness of releasing any information, the board president will seek advice from the full board of directors.

• Review all financials – As a board member, you are fiscally responsible for the PPBC. It is your duty to know what our budget is and to take an active part in planning the budget and the fundraising to meet it. You will help create a clear plan for the acquisition of financial resources to pay for the programs and services provided by the PPBC. You will also help provide guidelines for the management and allocation of financial resources, which will produce the optimum benefit for those we serve. Help monitor and evaluate financial plans and guidelines of the PPBC to ensure the financial integrity of the PPBC.
• Notify the board of any potential conflict of interest involving yourself and the Pikes Peak Blues Community – Board members have a duty to subordinate personal interests to the welfare of the Pikes Peak Blues Community and those we serve. Conflicting interests can be financial, personal relationships, status or power. Board members are prohibited from receiving gifts, fees, loans, or favors from suppliers, contractors, consultants, or financial agencies, which obligate or induce the board member to compromise responsibilities to negotiate, inspect or audit, purchase or award contracts, with the best interest of the Pikes Peak Blues community in mind. Board members are prohibited from knowingly disclosing information about the Pikes Peak Blues Community to those who do not have a need to know or whose interest may be adverse to the Pikes Peak Blues Community, either inside or outside the Pikes Peak Blues Community.

Any possible conflict of interests on the part of any board member should be disclosed to the other board members and made a matter of record. The board member should abstain from voting on anything that would be considered a conflict of interest and the minutes of the meeting should reflect that a disclosure was made.

• Recognize and accept your legal position as governing agent of the Pikes Peak Blues Community – You are legally responsible, along with the other board members, for the PPBC. You are responsible to know and approve all policies and programs and to oversee the implementation of policies and programs. A board member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community occupies the role of a fiduciary with regard to those served. A fiduciary is a person who holds something in trust for another. If the Pikes Peak Blues Community board members violate their trust or fiduciary duty, they may be subject to legal consequences. If the organization becomes the subject of a suit by a private person or of the federal or state government, you, as a board member, may be personally liable for the debts incurred.
• Actively engage in fundraising for the Pikes Peak Blues Community –Financially contribute what you can to the organization. You may want to give as a one-time donation each year, or you may pledge to give a certain amount several times during the year. You may only be able to pay for membership each year and that is fine as long as you actively engage in fundraising for the Pikes Peak Blues Community in whatever ways are best suited to you. These may include individual solicitation, undertaking special events, or mailing solicitations. There is no set amount of money that you must raise, because you are making a good faith agreement to do your best to bring in as much money as you can.

The functions of the officers appointed by the board of directors is spelled out in the by-laws. The board’s job is generally confined to establishing top most policies, leaving implementation of board policy to the board president.

The board president is authorized to make all decisions, take all actions and develop all activities that are true to the board’s policies. The board will respect the president’s choices so long as the delegation of officers continues. The board president is also responsible for adherence to and interpretation of all board policies. This does not prevent the board from obtaining information about activities in the delegated areas.

A position of executive director may be added to the board of directors in a managerial role if the board deems necessary. The board will define the executive director’s duties and obligation and all policies regarding this position will be included in the policies and procedures document.

The Pikes Peak Blues Community Code of Ethics pledge

As a member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community Board, I will…

• Listen carefully to my teammates, and those served by the Pikes Peak Blues Community
• Respect the opinion of other board members.
• Respect and support the majority decisions of the board
• Recognize that all authority is vested in the board when it meets in legal session and not with individual board members.
• Keep well informed of developments that are relevant to issues that may come before the board.
• Participate actively in board meetings and actions
• Call to the attention of the board any issues that I believe will have an adverse effect on the Pikes Peak blues Community or those we serve.
• Attempt to interpret the needs of constituents to the Pikes Peak Blues Community and interpret the action of the Pikes Peak Blues Community to its constituents.
• Refer complaints to the proper level.
• Recognize that the board member’s job is to ensure that the Pikes Peak Blues Community is well managed, not to manage the Pikes Peak Blues Community.
• Consider myself a “trustee” of the Pikes Peak Blues Community and do my best to ensure that the Pikes Peak Blues Community is well maintained, financially secure, growing and always operating in the best interests of constituents.
• Always work to learn more about the board member’s job and how to do it better.
• Declare any conflict of interests between my personal life and my position on the Pikes Peak Blues Community, and avoid voting on issues that appear to be a conflict of interest.

As a member of the Pikes Peak Blues Community Board I will not.

• Be critical, in or outside of the board meeting, of other board members or their opinions.
• Use the Pikes Peak Blues Community or any part of the Pikes Peak Blues Community for my personal advantage or the personal advantage of my friends or relatives.
• Discuss the confidential proceedings of the board outside the board meeting.
• Promise prior to a meeting how I will vote on any issue in the meeting.
• Interfere with duties of the officers of the board or undermine the board president’s authority.
• Work with any vendor, musician, or venue owner that has not shown proper conduct when doing business with the PPBC.

Pikes Peak Blues Community Value Statement

People – Volunteer Power is the creative force that allows PPBC to accomplish any and all goals. The success of the organization is contingent upon the time, energy, and creativity of these individuals.

Collaboration – PPBC recognizes that success hinges upon relationships with our non-profit partners, business partners and musicians.

Communication – PPBC communicates with our membership via the eNewsletter, website, printed material and announcements at various events. Our phone line and community outreach programs are available for those who do not have access or knowledge of computer technology.

Inclusiveness – PPBC does not discriminate musical styles for band memberships. Our name shouts out that the strength of our support is ‘blues and roots music’.

Continuous Improvement – Collection of data in all activities is imperative for any and all support solicitation AND for improvement processes.

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