CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER: Board Action Planning and Accountability
SUMMARY: The Central Florida Chapter designed and implemented a new board member update and meeting template to streamline board meetings, promote action planning, and increase accountability within the board. By centering the template around events, action items, responsible parties, and areas for support, the chapter could better capture the board’s work while tracking progress toward chapter goals. Furthermore, using Google Slides allowed the board to standardize their meeting structure and work collaboratively while providing the flexibility to include notes, images, and data as part of the meeting agenda. As a result, the chapter has increased the board meetings’ efficiency and better tracked ongoing projects and chapter metrics.
YEAR: 2023
NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER: Board Meeting Position Status Report Templates
SUMMARY: To promote accountability and build a stronger board, the ATD New York City Chapter Board created three templates to guide board meetings. The Status Report Template documents any updates and relevant information about each role and enabled the board to move information out of the monthly board meetings. The Board Notes Template provides the detail behind the information included in the meeting minutes and serves as the working document behind all board business. The Meeting Minutes Template captures the outcomes of the discussions and is made accessible to interested chapter members. The templates helped the chapter board eliminate duplicated work, identify new synergies, more accurately reflect what each position does, and serve as a better reference for future boards.
YEAR: 2018
VALLEY OF THE SUN CHAPTER: Board Meeting Minutes Collaboration through Google Docs
SUMMARY: To increase ownership of the meeting minutes for all board members, the board shifted the responsibility from the secretary role to all members of the board. Using a consistent template set up in Google Documents, the board members added in their information in advance of the meeting. While meetings are held virtually, all board members can view the document simultaneously on the call. The change has decreased the hours spent on crafting the meeting minutes and increased transparency as meeting minutes are available sooner to members.
Valley of the Sun - SOS Submission Form
YEAR: 2018
NEBRASKA CHAPTER: Board Education
SUMMARY: In 2016, the chapter’s executive council began incorporating a monthly “Education Nugget” into board meetings to keep the group informed. Topics vary from month-to-month and include information about the chapter, ATD, and general leadership topics. Board members are learning more each month and realizing that there is a large benefit to being a leader of an ATD chapter.
YEAR: 2017
CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER: Keeping Board Members Engaged and Up-To-Date With Monthly Calls with the President
SUMMARY: To ensure that board members stayed engaged between meetings, the chapter president set up monthly calls with each board member in addition to the monthly board meetings. This process helped ensure all deadlines were met and allowed the president to understand what questions individual board members had. The calls provided each board member with an outlet if they had questions or concerns that they did not want to ask with the full group.
YEAR: 2017
GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTER: Efficient Board Meeting Scheduling
SUMMARY: To make board meetings accessible to people in a wide geographic area, the Greater Atlanta Chapter Board of Directors efficiently scheduled its meetings to align with the chapter’s programming schedule. On even months, the board holds meetings prior to chapter meetings and on odd months, meetings are held online since there is not a chapter meeting. This schedule has helped significantly cut down on the amount of time spent traveling to and from a stand-alone meeting.
YEAR: 2017
MARYLAND CHAPTER: Engaging Through Open Board Meetings
SUMMARY: To encourage more engagement from chapter members, the board opened its meetings to members. The chapter moved its monthly board meeting to a weekend day and extended the time allotted. The board sent out invitations to members to attend. This open invitation allowed members to see what happens behind the scenes and encouraged volunteerism. From the initiative, the chapter filled two board positions with members that attended the board meeting.
YEAR: 2017
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Changing Venues and Improving the Community
SUMMARY: The chapter moved its programming and board meeting venue from a local hotel to a local nonprofit organization, the Goodwill, in order to reduce its costs from approximately $4,000 to $1,000 per year. By reallocating these costs, the chapter is better positioned to achieve its 2016 focus of bringing its members more valuable learning programs with a strategic focus that involves both local and national talent. Additionally, the new location provides the community with an increased awareness of the Goodwill’s mission, and has resulted in members bringing items to donate to the chapter’s events.
YEAR: 2016
DETROIT CHAPTER: Chapter Meeting Host
SUMMARY: In the past, the chapter president played the role of host at each chapter meeting. The chapter meeting host is charged with reviewing chapter business, introducing the speaker, selecting winners of gift drawings, and providing closing remarks. In order to showcase specific different board member roles to attendees, the chapter chose to rotate this responsibility among each of the board members. By rotating this responsibility, chapter members are exposed to the individual members of the chapter's leadership team, and board members are excited for the opportunity to host a meeting.
YEAR: 2015
