NEHS offers an array of chapter-level leadership opportunities for student members. Stepping into a voluntary NEHS Chapter Officer role provides a range of personal and academic benefits.
As an NEHS Chapter Officer, students master leadership skills, dive into enriching literary activities, and spearhead impactful literacy-focused community service projects. They forge strong peer connections, experience personal growth, and have the chance to make a significant positive impact on their chapter. In addition, they earn official NEHS recognition, boosting their scholarship and college applications.
Optional Chapter Officer Roles
Chapter Officers are elected for one-year renewable terms and are vital for the day-to-day leadership and success of a chapter. Officers are chosen for their dependability, enthusiasm, and vision. They work closely with Chapter Advisors to maintain continuity and align with school policies.
Chapter Officers and the Chapter Advisor manage the chapter’s business. Their tasks include setting dues, updating bylaws, organizing meetings, and approving events. All decisions must be reviewed by the membership, and Chapter Officers should maintain good relations with the school’s administration and other organizations, ensuring that chapter activities support the broader school community.
A list of optional Chapter Officer roles is given below; individual chapters should feel free to adapt this or include other roles that best fit their context.
President
The President presides at the meetings, initiates activities and sees that they are carried out, appoints committees and sees that they function, lends continuity to the chapter, and makes certain that work is distributed among as many of the members as possible. The President should be aware of the importance of teamwork, and that the distinction of being elected President is an honor not to be treated lightly.
Vice President
The Vice President presides in the absence of the President. This officer confers with the President and Chapter Advisor often and should be kept informed and involved in the activities. The Vice President, with the Chapter Advisor, may also assume the duties of (co)program chair of the induction ceremony. This requires inviting speakers and making other necessary arrangements, and seeing that the program is effected in good order. As a committed chapter officer, the Vice President can chair particular committees as needed and provide leadership for particular projects and activities.
Secretary
The Secretary keeps the minutes of the meetings, both of the business transacted and of the programs and activities. They send out announcements of future meetings and the minutes of previous meetings. Other duties of this officer may include reporting activities, being responsible for local speakers, acting as host or hostess at chapter programs, and possibly serving as chair for a particular activity or project.
Treasurer
The Treasurer, working with the Chapter Advisor, handles the chapter’s financial affairs. They should administer chapter funds and keep the other officers informed of the status of chapter finances. Although the Chapter Advisor should be responsible for actually making enrollment fee payments to the Central Office, the Treasurer may be enlisted to help with the collection of any local chapter dues. The Treasurer should also take an active role in any fundraising projects in which the chapter engages.
Historian
It is essential to maintain a permanent record of the chapter’s members and activities. Clippings, rosters, programs, correspondence, etc., should be kept in some permanent form, perhaps in a physical or virtual scrapbook. In years to come, when current members have left, these records will become increasingly valuable. These materials should never be kept at a member’s home but in the care of the Chapter Advisor or in a permanent location at school. A chapter Historian, working closely with the Chapter Advisor, may be elected to handle this important work.
Public Relations Manager
A good chapter should be as visible as possible. One member may be assigned the responsibility of keeping the news media (i.e. the school newspaper or TV station, the local newspaper, and radio and television stations, etc.) informed of programs, speakers, awards, and honors involving their chapter. This person should work closely with the school’s newspaper and yearbook staff. It is always important to keep the principal and other school and/or district administrators in the loop. The Public Relations Manager also can make certain that fliers and banners are posted and that announcements concerning chapter events are made in a timely fashion.
Activities Manager
It is wise to appoint one person who knows how to go about setting up activities within the school system. An Activities Manager can work with the Chapter Advisor to help find rooms for meetings and events, make arrangements for food, ensure that invited speakers have correct information, and check out equipment. School officials and staff generally appreciate working with one contact person, not many.
Technical Liaison or Social Media Manager
Some chapters maintain their own websites, blogs, and/or social media profiles. In such cases a person can be put in charge of updating any online presence, having the chapter content included on the school’s website, notifying the Central Office of any online presence, linking the chapter to other chapters in the region, and assisting chapter members in accessing information on the Society website.
It is essential that the Chapter Advisor be informed at all times of all information that is put online, and that absolutely nothing that might contravene the NEHS Belonging Statement and Freedom to Read Statement is ever published. Any online presence is a public image of the chapter and of the Society and should always reflect this. Any violation of this may result in the loss of the chapter’s charter.
Other roles, as applicable
Chapter Advisors, in consultation with their student members, can create other Chapter Officer roles as necessary to ensure accurate representation of all students and needs within the context for their school and wider community.
