Below is a brief description of what it takes.
- Membership recruitment and processing duties
- Treasurer responsibilities go hand in hand with the membership responsibilities. 99% of the Treasurer’s responsibilities are related to membership because membership dues is where most of the funding comes from. Quicken is utilized for treasurer responsibilities
- The treasurer is also required to file the IRS Form 990 & Delaware Income Tax filing.
- Newsletter – Mike Smith utilizes editing software to collate and develop the biannual newsletters. Articles are submitted by members to Mike for use in the newsletter. Once the newsletter is completed Mike forwards the PDF to Craig, in turn Craig forwards the electronic newsletter to members that receive the newsletter electronically by utilizing a spreadsheet. He then sends the PDF to the printer for printing and mailing to those members that receive a hard copy.
- Events/Shooting Activities – Annually the AHFCA sponsors the BoWhoop and other events at the Northeast SxS/Hausmann’s. There is a significant amount of work that goes into the planning, set up and execution of this event. Daryl and a crew have been supporting these activities for many years. It is truly one of the highlights for our organization each year. In addition, the Shooting Director is also responsible for the annual Fox vs. Lefever Challenge and the Fox Parker Challenge.
- The Display Director is responsible for setting up and managing the three annual displays that we do each year, The Southern SxS, The Northeast SxS and the Rock Mountain/Northern SxS.
- Lastly, there are also the Web Master responsibilities for the AHFCA forums. This requires everyday responsibilities and monitoring when new members register, or other issues occur.
Discussion on Potential Options
- Given all the above the BOD discussed possible alternatives to managing the workload and ensuring the AHFCA continues to operate smoothly and move forward successfully.
- Initial discussion focused on how the BOD could redistribute the work amongst the current Directors to ensure successful operation and redundancy.
- We also discussed whether the current BOD structure is sufficient or do we need to look at additional Director level or Officer level positions to continue moving forward.
- This led to a discussion on the need to educate members to the workload required to successfully manage the organization and request for volunteerism from the membership.
- The BOD also discussed other options including dropping the Newsletter, Drop the membership section and make it a non-membership only forum as well as other options.
- Another suggestion was to add a specific Membership Chair or other Director/Officer level positions
- We also discussed the possibility of utilizing professionals and paying for some services to be done. While this would incur additional costs it may be worth it and alleviate some of the workload
Next Steps
- Research how other similar organizations (PGCA, LC Smith Association, LeFever Arms Collectors Association) currently distribute workload among board members and officers. In addition, the BOD will be reaching out to other similar organizations to see how they handle the responsibilities and see if there are areas we can learn and improve upon by emulating how they conduct the business of their respective organizations.
- It was agreed that there is no short-term solution, but we must find a way to distribute workload and build redundancy into the various jobs.
- Several BODs volunteered to take on some aspects of the current workload to ensure efficiency and redundancy. This would require some face-to-face training/job sharing.
UNCLE ANSLEY’s ASK
- As you read through the above duties and observations ask yourself where you fit in and how you can contribute. Each of you brings skills and passions to this organization that are highly appreciated. Challenge yourself to seek additional opportunities to contribute. Here are some suggestions.
o JOIN and become a Member of AHFCA, get all the benefits of membership to this great organization!!!
o Submit an article for the Newsletter
o Do you have technical or business skills that lend itself to one of the above-mentioned duties that could support the work and mission of the AHFCA?
o Volunteer to help with Membership, Displays, Treasurer, Webmaster or other responsibilities.
o Provide feedback on how to efficiently move the organization forward from other organizations that you participate in or serve in.
The AHFCA BOD’s goal is to ensure that the knowledge, camaraderie, and spirit of this organization moves forward as we approach the 20th anniversary of the group in 2027. Our vision is to continue to improve upon the great foundation that has been built and encourage participation at all levels to make this vision a reality! Let’s make the next 20 years as successful and the first twenty years!!!
All the best! - Brett Farley - Executive Director - AHFCA