Women’s Section Meeting Information

2002, Rochester, NY	Minutes (pdf)
2003, Alburquerque, NM
2005, Atlanta, GA	Minutes (pdf)
2006, Milwaukee, WI	Minutes (pdf)
2007, Québec, Canada	Minutes (doc)
2008, Louisville, KY	Minutes (doc)

 

Convener Responsibilities

Women’s Section Convener Duties

(or: oral tradition is great and all, but it’s nice when the conveners know what their jobs are!)

Women's Section Senior Convener Responsibilities:

• Moderate the Women's Section meeting at AFS; circulate the previous year’s minutes and the current year’s agenda before the meeting on the listserv (if possible) and at the meeting itself
• Submit a program request at the time of AFS proposals to have a Women's Section meeting scheduled at the next conference. Request a table in the book room if this is something section members want. Put out a call asking for sessions the Section might sponsor.—late March
• Approve requests for section sponsorship of proposed sessions or other activities requiring formation of committees
• Attend the section convener’s breakfast at AFS
• Submit a report to AFS about the section’s activities once a year—immediately after AFS before relinquishing duties
• Confer with the junior convener before finalizing drafts of section communications
• Approve expenditures on behalf of the section (according to the decision making guidelines adopted by the section)

Women's Section Junior Convener Responsibilities:

• Take minutes at the Women's Section meeting at AFS
• Submit updates for the Women's Section website to the AFS webmaster
• In November – submit names and emails of new conveners & new submission deadlines and information for EKM prize; post the approved minutes for the previous year’s section meeting
• Aid the senior convener in drafting and finalizing section proposals and communications
• Attend the section convener’s breakfast at AFS

This list of duties is not exclusive so both conveners need to attend to other duties as necessary.

*The change from Junior Convener to Senior Convener happens right after the AFS meeting, so it is essentially an October-October yearly position.

Approved at October 2008 Women’s Section Meeting, Louisville, KY

Decision-making Guidelines for Conveners of Women’s Section

Occasionally an issue will emerge outside the expected duties of the conveners or that deals with an expense greater than $300 that requires a decision before the annual Section meeting in October. Conveners should use their judgment to choose one of the following paths toward decision-making.

1. Convene a committee that can meet virtually to research the issue and advise a path to pursue. One of the conveners should attend these meetings or be CCed on the email communication. The committee will give its opinion to the two conveners and they will make the final decision. The conveners should inform the Section via the listserv and at the annual meeting of the committee process and findings and the conveners’ final decision.
2. Set up a voting poll on an on-line service such as SurveyMonkey.com. Invite votes from the membership via the Section listserv. For the vote to be considered valid, at least 50% of the number of members who attended the previous October meeting needs to have voted. If less than 50% of that number of members votes by the deadline, then the conveners should use the votes gathered as advisory, make a decision on behalf of the Section, and then inform the Section of the decision via the listserv and at the annual meeting.
3. Conveners send out a query to the listserv and use the replies to guide their decision-making. Then they inform the Section of the decision via the listserv and at the annual meeting.

Approved at October 2008 Women’s Section Meeting, Louisville, KY

To join this American Folklore Society interest-group section, please visit the AFS membership page of this web site, where you will find both a secure online and a printable, mailable membership form. You need not be a member of the American Folklore Society to join its sections.