General Overview of Board of Director’s Roles:

CPRS Hamilton’s Board of Directors is accountable to members of the local society, and responsible to everyone who can be affected by the organization. Directors are legally obligated upon joining the Board to abide by the CPRS Code of Professional Standards.

Responsibilities:

1. Serve the professional interests of CPRS Hamilton members

Denounces racism and discrimination in all its forms and actively engage and create initiatives to end racial inequality in the PR profession and build a more inclusive society overall

2. Further the PR profession including advocating for the value of PR practitioners
3. Strengthen the sense of community among Hamilton’s PR practitioners
4. Create, defend and promote member value
5. Ensure the desired outcomes are being achieved, and maintain accountability
6. Ensure adequate resources are available, and managed effectively
7. Enhance CPRS Hamilton’s reputation and the reputation of the PR profession
8. Ensure legal and ethical integrity

Current Vacancies:

Special Event Chair - Description:

Special events are an important way for CPRS Hamilton members connect, network, and grow the PR community.

As Special Event Chair your role is to serve as the special event chair to support large outward facing events created by CPRS Hamilton. These events include the ElevatePR sessions (usually two per year) and the Pinnacle & Special Awards event (occurs annually). The Special Event Chair will collaborate with the Chairs of Professional Development, Awards, and Communication portfolios, however this role may also be involved in smaller events as well if appropriate.

Other Details:

Special Event Chairs should enjoy special events and have a knack for organizing people and logistics. Part of these responsibilities will be to recruit (with support from the Board) and lead a committee of volunteers, plan the event in collaboration with the portfolio chair.

Commitment is approximately 1-4 hours per week depending on the time of year. This includes Board meetings every other month, and contributing to the quarterly newsletter twice per year and supporting the mission and vision of CPRS Hamilton

Business Development Chair – Description:

The Business Development Chair focuses on building networks with corporations, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders with the goals of:

• Creating a portfolio of sponsorship and advertising opportunities available through CPRS Hamilton and enhancing the value of PR
• To attract financial and in-kind sponsorship for ongoing events and programming
• Generating ideas for potential organizations for sponsorship and advertising
• Collaborating with organizations with the goal of furthering the expertise of CPRS Hamilton, and Public Relations in general though the CPRS Hamilton Speaker’s Bureau, offering expertise at PD sessions etc
• To provide greater membership value to CPRS Hamilton members who are professional independent communicators

Other Details:

Commitment is approximately 1-4 hours per week depending on the time of year. This includes Board meetings every other month, meetings and correspondence with potential sponsors and advertisers contributing to the quarterly newsletter twice per year and supporting the mission and vision of CPRS Hamilton

Membership Chair – Description:

The mandate of the Membership Portfolio is to retain existing members and welcome new members. The Membership Chair is involved in the following:

• Proactive communication, building relationships with members to understand their needs, and reaching out to individuals who may find membership in CPRS Hamilton beneficial for their PR career.
• Following up with past members to encourage them to renew their memberships
• Opportunities for presentations about CPRS Hamilton Membership
• Responding to member questions
• Receiving and reporting on membership reports from the CPRS National Office
• Following-up with CPRS National on membership concerns, payment inquiries and more

Commitment is approximately 1-3 hours per week depending on the time of year. This includes Board meetings every other month, and contributing to the quarterly newsletter twice per year and supporting the mission and vision of CPRS Hamilton

Secretary of the Board – Description:

The CPRS Hamilton Secretary is a very important member of the Executive Committee. The secretary, together with the president, vice-president, and treasurer, is responsible for the effective functioning of the whole board.

This role requires an individual who: is detail-oriented and well organized, is willing to become familiar with the bylaws and legal status of the organization and enjoys record-keeping.

The secretary is responsible for:

• Management of records of the board, such as by-laws, meeting minutes, filing deadlines such as for our incorporation status
• Helping construct and manage the board meeting agenda in partnership with the executive
• Tracks board member terms
• Sets and creates calendar entries for board meetings, and agenda-setting meetings for the executive
• Taking minutes that summarize deliberations and accurately record the decisions made
• Serving as a governance coach or advisor to the board on their processes
• Ensuring that important correspondence is brought to the board’s attention

Commitment is approximately 5 hours per week depending on the time of year. This includes supporting the mission and vision of CPRS Hamilton.

Vice-President of the Board – Description:

The CPRS Hamilton Vice-President is a member of the Executive Committee . The secretary, together with the president, vice-president, and treasurer, is responsible for the effective functioning of the whole board.

The VP role is a commitment of three years. The VP transitions to the President role the next year. In their third year, they serve as Past President.

• Support and counsel the President as they fulfill their role
• Chair meetings of the Board in the absence of the president
• Attend CPRS National meetings of Local Society presidents, whether by phone or in person, in the absence of the President
• Chairs Election Committee for AGM
• Organizes and Chairs the AGM
• Sits on the Nomination Committee
• Responsible for organizing, designing and preparing the Annual Report

Communications: Social Media Director available
There are two Director roles responsible for the Communications portfolio – one role focuses on traditional tactics such as the newsletter and the website. The other position focuses on social media. These two Directors are the communications team and work very closely and collaboratively.

The mandate of the Communications portfolio is to provide timely, responsive, and engaging communications to the CPRS Hamilton members, potential members, and the PR communities in Southwestern Ontario.

Tactics include but are not limited to:

• Newsletter – four times per year with content provided by Directors
• Event registration
• Website updates (content provided by Portfolio Directors)
• Social Media engagement

Open Position: Director at Large

This role will be assigned to a Portfolio in September based on skill sets and needs of the Board

Student Director Positions (3)

Student Directors can take on a portfolio that they are interested, such as Communications, Special events etc and work directly with their Board counterparts. It’s a great way to dig into a particular area of PR, and develop their skills.

Student Board members do not have voting rights, however they also do not have any legal obligations.