Clerk of Senior Young Friends
(07/24/07)
(Adapted from 1998 Guide.)
Appointment: The Clerk is nominated by Senior Young Friends and advanced by the Nominating Committee to the Yearly Meeting for approval. The term begins at the rise of an annual session. The Clerk is a member of the Executive Committee and ex officio to the Continuing Committee. Current practice is to appoint more than one person for teamed service. (See Note 1.)
Responsibilities of the Clerk of Senior Young Friends include:
1. Serving as clerk at business meeting and other meetings of Senior Young Friends.
2. Working with the Coordinator of Senior Young Friends to plan activities for the annual gathering, including joint activities with Junior Young Friends.
3. Presenting to the IMYM Nominating Committee nominees for coordinators of the Senior and Junior Young Friends programs.
4. Assuring that nominations are made by Junior and Senior Young Friends as specified under Junior and Senior Young Friends nominations (see Who Makes Appointments page).
5. Serving as a member of the Committee to Choose a Guest Resource Speaker for IMYM.
6. Serving as a member of the Executive Committee.
7. Developing a "Call to Yearly Meeting" addressed to Senior Young Friends. This statement will be included in the Registration Materials and should be provided to the Registrar by the end of February.
8. Coordinating the facility needs with the Senior Young Friends Coordinator and the Ghost Ranch Program Office.
9. Receiving from the Yearly Meeting Watching Committee Clerk epistles received during the year from Young Friends in other yearly meetings.
10. Assisting Senior Young Friends in preparing and presenting an epistle, in consultation with the Watching Committee and the Senior Young Friends Coordinator.
11. Informing the Yearly Meeting Clerk, before or during Yearly Meeting sessions for business, of concerns Young Friends wish to bring before IMYM
12. Ensuring that Senior Young Friends are well represented on the Executive, Finance, Ministry and Counsel, and Joint Service Projects Oversight Committees.
13. Overseeing disbursement of scholarships from the Tim Shaw Fund described below.
Tim Shaw Fund: The Tim Shaw Fund is for SYF Travel and the Annual Gathering. The Yearly Meeting will allot $500 annually to the Fund. The money will primarily be used to assist in bringing those SYFs to IMYM who would otherwise not be able to attend the annual gathering due to lack of financial resources. (SYFs are also encouraged to seek other sources of funds, such as monthly or regional meetings.)
Distribution of funds from the Tim Shaw Fund will be made by the Senior Young Friends Clerk and Regional Representatives to Continuing Committee, using the following guidelines approved by the regular Meeting for Business of Intermountain Yearly Meeting in June, 1991: (See Note 2.)
1. The annual gathering is the first priority for the use of these funds. A minimum of $300 will be used solely to bring SYFs to the annual gathering.
2. Scholarships will be given up to 50% of cost of registration and travel, as funds permit.
3. Requests for annual gathering support should be made between April 25 and May 25th of each year. Requests will not be processed before the end of May, so as to provide equal opportunity for access to funds and to maximize time to find funds from other sources.
4. Requests will be processed through contact with regional representatives and the Senior Young Friends Clerk.
5. Each situation needs to be examined individually; therefore these guidelines shall remain flexible.
Executive and Continuing Committees: The Executive Committee meets in late summer to evaluate the various aspects of the most recent annual gathering and begin planning for next year's annual gathering. The Clerk of Senior Young Friends may be asked to submit a written evaluative report in advance of this Executive Committee meeting. In its winter meeting a few months later, the Continuing Committee completes the planning for the next annual gathering. The Clerk of Senior Young Friends attends this meeting to report on plans for the upcoming gathering and to receive instructions from the Committee. The Yearly Meeting pays the travel expenses to these meetings.
Financial Arrangements: The Yearly Meeting is responsible for the expenses for the Clerk of Senior Young Friends to attend Executive and Continuing Committee meetings and the annual gathering. Senior Young Friends have a budgetary allowance supplied by annual gathering fees for program expenses. The Clerk should consult with the Coordinator as needed regarding the current budgetary situation and spending procedures.
Notes and Concerns:
1. No term is specified for the Clerk’s appointment.
2. Do the guidelines approved in 1991 for administering the Tim Shaw Fund indeed describe current practice? Are the dates suitable? Is there an established mechanism for informing the Registrar and Treasurer of the financial decisions?
