Let’s Talk About the Leadership Structure Of VPPA
By Gwen Meehan, Northern District Director
I have been a member of VPPA for six and a half years, which may not seem like a long time. In the first four years, I struggled to understand the leadership structure of VPPA and the responsibilities of different positions. However, during my nearly two years on the board as the Northern District Director, I have gained a lot of knowledge, and I would like to provide a brief overview of our structure for those who are unfamiliar with it. Note: This article has been updated after the vote taken at the August 2023 membership meeting.
Note: Article has been updated since the August Annual Meeting and vote.
Each member belongs to a district (non-resident members are unofficially members of the closest district to them geographically). The state is divided into four districts: Northern, Capital, Blue Ridge, and Tidewater. Each district currently has a director, an assistant director, and a treasurer. The four directors serve as voting members on the board of directors, acting as liaisons between members and the board while driving VPPA's mission of Connecting Professional Photographers Through Education & Networking. The district director serves as the main point of contact for members, addressing their inquiries and bringing their ideas to the attention of the association's leadership. The assistant director assists the district director and takes over their responsibilities when the district director is unavailable. The treasurer tracks the money in the district treasury, which is funded through district fundraising and can be used for educational and social purposes. These district officers are elected by the members of their district in October and assume their roles in November every other year, serving a two-year term.
Executive Officers of VPPA
During the annual meeting of members, held during one of our statewide events, a recording secretary is elected as the next executive officer of the board. The incoming recording secretary audits board meetings until their official term begins in November of the year they were elected. Each November, the executive officers rotate into the next position, serving a total of five years on the executive board.
Great, we have these five officer positions but what exactly do they do? Wonderful question!! I’m not going to cover everything that each position is responsible for, but I’ll list the most important tasks.
Recording Secretary - Responsible for writing and keeping accurate minutes of all board meetings as well as the annual meeting, helps the 2nd Vice President with the registration desk at all three PhotoConnect events, and is a member of the finance committee.
2nd Vice President – Responsible for registration and check-in at all three PhotoConnect events, including managing badges, payments, and ensuring the registration desk operates smoothly before, after, and during sessions as needed, presents a report on the event registration at the annual meeting, and is a member of the finance committee.
1st Vice President – Responsible for planning and organizing the annual PhotoConnect convention, overseeing a variety of tasks necessary for a successful event, and is a member of the finance committee.
President – Officially represents VPPA to other organizations, appoints action teams (and is an automatic member of those action teams), handles any organizational issues that may arise, including at the district level, and chairs the Board of Degrees.
Chairman – Presides over all board meetings and the annual member meeting and conducts the election at each annual member meeting.
Appointed Executive Officers of VPPA
The board of directors appoints the Executive Treasurer and Executive Secretary, each serving a four-year term and having voting rights.
Executive Treasurer – Administers and manages the financial assets of the association, completes necessary IRS paperwork, chairs the finance committee, balances the books and pays the bills, prepares and presents an annual report to the board and a summary report to the membership at the annual meeting, and acts as a liaison for each district treasurer.
Executive Secretary - Handles all official correspondence from the board, ensures our PPA community network status is current, provides board members with agendas and relevant reports prior to each board meeting, maintains archive copies of board documents and contracts, administers the VPPA degree program (including credit records for image competitions and service), oversees the availability of certificates and degree medals during the awards banquet, chairs the scholarship committee, and maintains member profiles, including invoices for dues.
VPPA Board of Directors
The board of directors consists of all individuals listed in the graphic above. Each board member, except the chairman, has the right to vote on official business matters. The executive committee is composed of the executive board members, the executive secretary, and executive treasurer. The executive committee acts as the nominating committee responsible for presenting the incoming recording secretary for election at the annual meeting. Additionally, the board appoints five directors, as listed above, and the four district directors are elected by their respective districts.
If you would like to learn more about the responsibilities of board members or district officers, feel free to reach out to any of us. Detailed information on running the association can be found in the member portal under Members -> Legal Documents -> Policy Manual. Please note that the policy manual is periodically updated, so some information online may be currently outdated.
Providing networking and educational events for our members requires many volunteer hours, but I believe the time and effort invested are truly worthwhile. I hope this explanation has shed some light on how VPPA's leadership functions. For further clarification, please don't hesitate to ask.