By Patty Becnel, Utah Chapter
Our Utah Sierra Club volunteer Executive Committee (Ex Com) has undergone several changes these past few months as members' terms of office expired or a need emerged to devote more time to family and other responsibilities. As always, we are pressing ahead in our efforts to achieve social and environmental justice and have already realized many significant goals this year. We are in the process of recharging our volunteer Conservation Committee, where many of our campaign and issue priorities take root, in partnership with Chapter Staff to expand our capacity.
No doubt there is much to do and more than ever, we have opportunities available for anyone who wishes to join us. We encourage you to consider joining our volunteer leadership whether on ExCom or one of our many volunteer-led committees which include Political, Communications and Conservation. We’ll get you plugged in with our Chapter in this incredibly important journey to protect our environment, and everyone’s right to a healthy and equitable way of life.
Current Opportunities:
Chapter Secretary
The Chapter Secretary will work directly with the Chapter Executive Committee Chair to maintain the Chapter’s records. They also assist in ensuring that other responsibilities are carried out. The secretary may advise the Chapter Chair on meeting agendas and support facilitation of the executive committee meetings using Robert’s Rules and/or other basic meeting operating procedures. The chapter secretary keeps informed of national policies and changes that affect chapter operation and disseminates this information as needed. Keeps minutes, maintains bylaws and manages part of the election process.
The qualifications for this position are as follows:
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Member of the Sierra Club Utah Chapter
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Must be very organized and timely
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Have a strong understanding of Google suite and collaborative tools
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Ability to work well with others and communicate clearly a must
Time commitment: This position will require about 5 hours weekly, with increased commitment based on the time of the year (election process in the fall).
Legal Chair
The Legal Chair will coordinate with the Chapter Director and Conservation Chair. They provide legal advice on conservation to the Utah Chapter; coordinate any legal action with the Environment Law Program(ELP); keep track of any local environmental actions that the SC may want to fight against and timely informs the Utah Chapter ExCom and ELP as needed. May offer legal representation as needed (rare).
The qualifications for this position are as follows:
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Law degree, preferably in environmental resources
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Knowledge of Utah legislative process and legal ecosystem
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Ability to communicate and coordinate with other committees of the Chapter and the ExCom.
Time commitment: This position will require about 5 to 10 hours a month, but could require more during the legislative session or during the work of legal actions undertaken by the Chapter or National.
Chapter Treasurer
The Chapter Treasurer will work closely with the Chapter Director and Finance Chair to provide accounting and oversight of the Utah Chapter finances including supporting the reporting and accounting of the Political Action Committee (PAC). The treasurer prepares the budget and compares budget vs. actuals during the year. The treasurer will promote adherence to all Sierra Club policies and procedures that relate to grants, investments, tax issues, insurance, contracts, legal services, contract employees, hiring staff, and political regulatory compliance and any changes related to these. The treasurer completes and submits the year-end financial reports.
The qualifications for this position are as follows:
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Member of the Sierra Club Utah Chapter
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Attention to detail, and respect of deadlines a must
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Bookkeeping, accounting experience a plus
Time commitment: The time commitment will be about 2-4 hours a week, average 10-15 hours a month. In January and February, the time commitment increases to support the needs of year-end financials and reporting. We would like a commitment to this position of 2-years with willingness to support finding and training a new treasurer.
Please review our webpage and submit your volunteer application today by visiting bit.ly/sierra-club-utah-volunteer-applications. Or learn more about the many other ways to get involved!