President

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PRESIDENT
Revised by the P&P Committee January 2010

General Statement
The President is the executive director and chief representative of the AWCP.
Policy

1. All official correspondence to the AWCP should be directed to the President.
2. Special Executive Board meetings may be called at the discretion of the President.
3. At the discretion of the President, Board Meetings may be held during a Typhoon Signal #3 or above, provided a majority of the Board has been contacted and approves.
4. The President is responsible for the Club's Board Policy & Procedures Manual. It is her responsibility to ensure that all members of the Board of Directors receive and review copies of the most current edition at the beginning of the fiscal year and that all new members joining the Board during her term also receive and review copies.

Duties
The responsibilities of the President include:
1. Directing and approving the activities of the AWCP. This includes anything in writing or via email.
2. Preparing an agenda for and presiding at all AWCP Board meetings.
3. Ordering of Business Cards for Board of Directors during the March Board Meeting.
4. Maintaining communication with the Club and the community via email or open forums like the AWCP General Meeting. This includes writing a letter each month for Inklings. She will also write a letter for the AWCP website.
5. Representing the AWCP to other organizations.
6. Plan and execute the Board Cocktail Party during the month of March or April. This party is usually held in the home of the President but the food and drinks are catered.
7. Meeting legal requirements and making sure we are in compliances.
8. Attending board meetings of AMCHAM, In Touch, Philippine Air Force Educational Fund and AAP. She may assign participation to an executive board member at her discretion.
9. Responsible for ordering the Memorial Day wreath that is given on behalf of the AWCP and its members to the Memorial Day services at the American Cemetery at Ft. Bonifacio. The order is at the discretion of the President, but usually it specified that the flowers be red, white and blue. The President gives the request to the Makati Office to place the order. The office is responsible to make sure the wreath is delivered to the Cemetery in a timely manner.
10. Plan and execute a special December Board Meeting which will include the regular monthly board meeting activities and holiday festivities.
11. Plan and execute the February Turn-Over Meeting including: Identifying the location, buying the gifts, picking the menu and setting the agenda.
12. Provide Thank You Cards to the sponsors of the HoeDown from the President and Club. The list of sponsors will be provided by the Special Events Chair.
13. Provide Christmas Cards to AWCP contacts (list provided by AWCP Office). Choose Cards during the October/November Board Meeting.

Procedures
Directing the activities of the Club
1. Before taking office, the President-elect chooses the Chairmen /and Co-chairmen of the Standing Committees and submits their names to the Executive Committee for approval.
2. With the assistance of the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer and incoming President, and each member of the Board, the outgoing President plans the overall budget of the AWCP for the year. This will be submitted to the entire Board for approval at the March Board meeting. These meetings are scheduled during the months of January or February (as schedules allow) and each Board/Committee member attends a private meeting with the above mentioned board members.
3. The President, with other members of the Board, plans the overall calendar of activities for the year, which is updated in the course of the year by using a monthly calendar provided by the President. After updating the President emails the updated calendar to the board members.
4. In order to maintain contact with the Board and ensure that she is aware of all aspects and activities of the Club, the President sits on all committees as a member ex officio to make sure the committees are in compliance.
5. Vacancies on the Board are filled as they arise. The President solicits suggestions for replacements from the Board and submits these suggestions to the Executive committee for approval before the name of the replacement is announced.
6. The President calls for a review of the membership dues at the August Board meeting and discusses with the board if the dues should be raised.
7. The President appoints a Nominating Chair and asked the chair to put together a committee. This is done no later than the first week in September.
8. In order to make changes to the By-laws the President must appoint an ad-hoc committee. This committee will review the By-laws and suggest changes to Board members for approval. After the changes are approved by the Board these By-laws will be given to the AWCP attorney to submit to the SEC for approval.
9. In order to make changes to the Policy and Procedures manual the president must appoint an Ad-hoc committee. This committee will review the manual and suggest changes to the Board for approval.
10. The President chairs General Meetings, but may appoint the 3rd Vice President this role. The President conducts the National Anthems, approval of the General Meeting Minutes from the month before. All announcements of club and community interest are made at her discretion.
11. At the end of her term, the President prepares "Certificates of Appreciation" for members of her Board and others who have assisted her in the course of the year and presents them during the February General Meeting. At this time the President may present an “Angel” award to an outgoing board member or office staff for going “beyond the call of duty”.

Preparing agendas and presiding at meetings
The By-laws require that the President prepare an agenda for all official AWCP meetings. In addition, she, or her representative, should preside at all meetings.

Maintaining communication with the Club and community
The President, with the assistance of the Corresponding Secretary, if she chooses, is responsible for issuing statements and responses to inquiries directed to the Club. In addition, she is responsible for answering official correspondence. She should provide true copies of all correspondence sent and received to the Historian.
Inklings publishes a monthly President’s Message to the membership from the President. She also provides a picture with each article.
The AWCP website publishes a letter by the President. This letter can be rewritten at her discretion.

Representing the AWCP to other organizations The President, or her representative, should personally attend commemorative patriotic services on behalf of AWCP members and their families. Such events include, but are not limited to, ceremonies on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day, as well as certain World War II anniversary commemorations. The coordinating organization for most American patriotic events in Manila is the American Association of the Philippines (AAP), and the President should contact them for details of these events to publicize them to the membership. The annual Memorial Day service held at the American Cemetery at Ft. Bonifacio, is perhaps the most important event of this kind to attend, as it is a solemn occasion for both Americans and Filipinos. The Club sends a wreath for the event. The President will present the wreath during the ceremony. She should announce to the Board and the membership at their respective May meetings, the date and time of the ceremonies and invite others to attend. The President or her representative can be reimbursed by the AWCP for the cost of tickets to attend the annual AmCham Thanksgiving Ball, and the AAP Geprge Washington Ball.

Several groups have invited the AWCP President to attend their meetings and be a part of their activities. Among these are: the American Chamber (AmCham), In Touch, Philippine Air Force Educational Fund and AAP. The President may attend these meetings or appoint a representative. The President will report information from these meetings at the next AWCP Board Meeting.

Meeting legal requirements
The AWCP must satisfy certain legal requirements with local and national government agencies. The President, with the assistance of the Treasurers and the Ex-Officio, should maintain regular contact with the AWCP's attorney and auditing firm to ensure that the Club complies with all legal and financial requirements in a timely manner.
The Club is governed in several different ways by different governmental entities. Our bylaws and any changes that need to be made in them must go through the process for amending as stated in our bylaws and then must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before taking into effect. As we are a non-government organization (NGO) we must adhere to a strict set of rules on how business is conducted and money is spent. The importance of NGO status is primarily in our fundraising. As a government sanctioned NGO, any company that donates to AWCP receives a tax advantage for doing so. The governing body for NGO’s is a division of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). BIR is also responsible for granting zero-rated VAT (value-added tax) status. This designation is extremely valuable for conducting business and using our funds with maximum benefit.
It is important it is to assure that the NGO accreditation is kept updated. The President, with the approval of the Board, should engage an attorney as needed to ensure that all legal aspects of the Club's operation are in compliance with Philippine law.

The attorneys are:
Atty. Fred Pio de Roda and Atty. Daisy Inocentes
Quasha, Ancheta, Pena & Nolasco Law Offices
6th Floor, Don Pablo Building, 114 Amorsolo St.
Legaspi Village, Makati City
TEL: 892-3011 to 20 FAX: 817-6423
E-mail: quasha@quasha-interlaw.com.ph

And

Atty. Victor Johann Espiritu
RMBSA
30th Floor, Citibank Tower
8741 Paseo de Roxas, City of Makati
Tel: 848-0114 Fax: 810-3110

In addition, the President, with the approval of the Board, should follow-up with the Treasurer in regards to the hiring of an independent auditor to audit the AWCP's books each year.

The auditing firm is:
Fernandez, Santos and Lopez
Unit 2501 Floor, Pacific Star Bldg.
Cor. Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City
Tel: 812-8341/840-1604 FAX: 867-4288
E-mail: fslsummit@skyinet.net
Contact Person: Atty. Eliseo Fernandez

Both of these firms assist in ensuring that the AWCP files required documents on time and makes timely payments of government fees; however, as the primary officer of the AWCP, the Treasurer and the AWCP Office handles this task but the President is ultimately responsible for seeing these requirements are met. The President also makes sure the Audited report is published in the May Inklings. Preparing a Year-end Report on the activities of the Office The President will prepare a Year-end Report on the activities of the Office during the year and supply copies to the Historian and her successor. The President will also ensure that all board members prepare Year-end Reports and submit to the Historian and their successors.

Planning a Budget:
Planning the budget is the responsibility of the Treasurers and the President.
Normal expenses incurred by this position include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Admin
b. February Turnover Board Meeting/Lunch
c. Memorial Day Wreath
d. President’s Cocktail
e. Representative Events:
AmCham Thanksgiving Ball and AAP George Washington Ball
f. Discretionary fund (condolence flowers for members or staff)
g. Angel Awards
h. Christmas Board meeting/lunch