Committees
Communications
Purpose: To promote the chapter’s work and advance the overall theme, communicate and promote activities, policy, and chapter events to the membership, local community, and our partners.
Time commitment: 12-36 hours per year
Chair: Marci Hess
Meetings: zoom 6:00 pm monthly
We divvy up responsibilities related to the annual Communications Plan, some of these include:
- MailChimp communications 2x a month
- Social media presence
- Coordinate newspaper articles once of month for local papers, these are written by SCWFU members.
- Maintain website
Need assistance with:
1. A person to generate at least 1 post each week using the Calendar of Events as a guide
2. A person to update the Community Partnership section – basic info about 1-2 partners and how we can work together
Membership
Purpose: To retain and build membership and facilitate the needs of members.
Chair: John Peck
We divvy up responsibilities related to the annual Membership Plan. Some include:
- Welcoming new members
- Updating membership list
- Calling members with expiring membership
Events and Fundraising
Purpose: Create events that intrigue, involve, educate, and increase membership and to raise money for the chapter.
Time commitment: 10-12 hours per year
Chairs: Penny Molina
Duties include:
- Brainstorm various events and fundraising opportunities
- Organize locations and meeting logistics
- Organize fundraising activities, including the ever-popular silent auction
Policy
Purpose: To draft policy to advance our work which is then submitted to the state for approval. Policy work is a very important area of SCWFU’s work. Having a voice at the political table is the only way to garner the power needed to make positive change. We are the liaison with WFU Govt relations for policy updates and we craft new and edit current policy using member suggestions and ideas.
If you need a cheat sheet of Robert’s Rules, click here.
Time commitment: 12-36 hours per year
Chair: Sheila Everhart
Meetings: Zoom regularly (time to be determined).
WFU Policy 101 video was created to assist with understanding this process.
Committee needs:
- Folks to brainstorm potential topics and solicit other chapter members to help
- Folks to write the above policy resolutions
- A coordinator to organize our chapter’s participation in Lobby Day
- Folks to volunteer for state-level Bylaws and Resolution Review Committees
The Policy process:
1. Annually, SCWFU Policy Cmte reviews the policy book and decides what issues they would like their focus to be.
2. Once drafted and approved by the SCWFU membership, these resolutions or SOBs will go to the state.
3. The WFU state office sends (prior to convention) requests for chapter presidents (or their designee) to volunteer for Bylaws Cmte and also for Resolution Review Cmte (aka Policy Cmte). President can nominate someone else to do this.
4. Bylaws Cmte meets once, Resolution Review meets 2-3 times, often once during convention. Meetings are in person in Chippewa Falls. This is where issues get elevated to SOB or are merely policy edits (called resolutions).
5. Those that are accepted by these 2 committees will then be presented to the whole WFU membership at the annual convention.
6. Delegates for each chapter are the ones who vote for these. Eligible delegates are current on their membership and will represent 10 members of the chapter.
Convention
Purpose: To coordinate our chapter’s presence at the annual WFU convention.
Chair: Matt Sheaffer and Sheila Everhart
Duties include:
- Contacting members to be delegates
- Coordinating carpooling to the convention
- Ensuring info on the convention is available and widespread
Delegate Info
Each chapter has a certain number of delegates assigned to them. This number is determined by the membership total.
Delegate Responsibility
Chapter delegates represent the chapter at the annual WFU convention; they are the voting representatives for the entire chapter membership. Chapter delegates are provided with all the policy resolutions and SOBs prior to the convention. The delegate is responsible for reading through this to understand what will be discussed. At convention, the delegate is welcomed to address any of these items when they come up on the floor.
How Delegates are Chosen
Chapter delegates are chosen by who volunteers for this responsibility. They can also be chosen by being asked.
“When so many things separate us from our neighbors, the Farmers Union’s ethos of ‘let’s reason together’ is truly radical. And shockingly effective, too.”