The existence of volunteer committees to support
a community association's board of directors can be essential to
the success of a productive board and may also serve as the training
ground for new and future board members. The major function of
such committees is to assist the board by providing information
gathered through research for a recommended course of action for
which the purpose, scope and authority must
first be agreed upon. Sound simple? Read on.
I am reminded of a story I was told by a frustrated
member of a committee who now refuses to participate in the board
or committee process for her association. At a board meeting for
this individual's association, the board was discussing the need
to have some landscape beautification performed for the association.
The president of the association immediately asked for volunteers
to establish a landscape beautification committee to come up with
the necessary plan for the board to implement.
Our volunteer raised her hand and was appointed to
chair the committee and gather the necessary help she would need
from other volunteers. During the course of the next month the
landscape committee visited four nurseries, spoke with a horticulturist
and met with three contractors who presented bids on an elaborate
plan to re-landscape the association. Hours and hours of work were
dedicated to this project by the committee members who walked the
community numerous times and met during the evening hours to take
all the information they had painstakingly gathered and come up
with an agreed upon bid. The final cost of the project was to be
forty four thousand dollars. The committee members were excited
to present their plan to the board at the upcoming meeting for
approval and implementation.
The night of the board meeting came and our chairperson
stood up and verbally presented the committee's proposal. Half
way through her presentation she began to witness the horror on
the faces of the board members once the overall costs were announced,
at which point the board president stopped her cold and announced, “We
only have five thousand dollars available in our landscape beautification
budget and we were only interested in beautifying the front entrance
to the community.” Well, needless to say, the committee chairperson
and her fellow volunteers were quite upset as their hours of work
were in vain and they stormed out of the board meeting swearing
they would never get involved in association business again.
The point to this true story is to stress the importance
of the association board of directors setting the correct structure
for committees to perform effectively for the board.
First and foremost, the board establishes the purpose
of the committee as well as the parameters with which the committee
shall operate. For example, in the case of the landscape beautification
scenario, the purpose may be established “to ascertain a written
specification and bid to present to the board of directors for
the additional landscape beautification necessary to add plants
with color to the north and south side of the main entrance of
the community. The budget guideline for this project shall not
exceed five thousand dollars and the committee is requested to
present a qualified proposal in written form within thirty days.
Any contractor who is bidding on the work must be licensed, insured
and provide a plant warranty with a minimum of a ninety day time
frame.”
With this directive, the board has presented to the
committee the three important guidelines: purpose, scope, and authority .
Once these criteria are met, the committees have a platform to
work from which will assure the focus that is necessary so the
results will be effective for the board of directors.
Another pitfall to avoid, which many presidents and
boards experience, is when the board chooses all of the members
of the committee. It is usually more effective for the president
or board to appoint the committee chair and allow the chairperson
to choose their volunteers. In this manner, the committee has a
better chance to be more productive and to work together as opposed
to becoming a committee saddled with participants who may ultimately
agree to disagree.
The success of the committee itself is dependant
upon the quality of the leadership of the chairperson. It is the
chairperson who sets the tone of committee meetings and keeps the
committee members informed of the progress. In addition, the chairperson
must ensure that the issues are thoroughly researched, all member
ideas are considered, and any controversial issues are resolved
prior to presentation to the association board of directors.
The final requirement is for the committee to present
its findings and recommendations in written form to the board of
directors. Of course a verbal presentation supplemented with the
written report is ideal, as board members will have an opportunity
to study the written documentation, possibly request additional
information, and then be in a position to make the best educated
decisions for the community.
With the proper use of the committee structure, not
only does a board receive the immediate assistance of a support
group to help with the current operations of an association, but
it also lays the groundwork for potential, more experienced, future
board members with knowledge of how the current board is structured.
What better method to establish the training of future board members
than to have volunteers who have worked together, have successfully
participated with their ideas and plans being accepted by the current
board, and who have seen their hard work and results placed into
action?
A committee with proper direction is a powerful support
mechanism to an often over burdened board of directors who will
most certainly appreciate the added help. The results can be amazing
to behold!
