Pudu Rotary Club

DISTRICT 3300 MALAYSIA

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Administrative Guidelines:
Past Presidents' Council

1. COMPOSITION
   
   The Past Presidents' Council is made up of ALL Past Presidents 
   of the Rotary Club including the current President.
   The President Elect is an invited member who also acts as  the    
   Secretary of the Council.

2. OBJECTIVES

2.1 TO SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    This  MUST be the FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT objective  of  the 
    Past Presidents' Council. Since the  Council consists of Past 
    Presidents who are respected elders of the Club,  the Council 
    should  always   be there to support the  President  and  the 
    Board.  Thus if an issue arises, the Council should use their 
    influence to "bail" out the President and the Board.
    Thus the Past Presidents' Council MUST never be used to "find 
    fault" with the President and the Board.

2.2 TO BE THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE OF THE CLUB
    This  is  the ONLY objective of the Past Presidents'  Council 
    which  is LEGAL.  The Club's Constitution and By-Laws  should 
    provide for this Nominating Committee.
    The duties of this Nominating Committee is to propose to  the 
    Club  a list of nominees to be Board of Directors of the Club 
    for the ensuing year.  As Past Presidents with vast knowledge 
    of the Club and also having no vested interest, they are in a 
    better position to ensure a smooth transition of  leadership. 
    The  in-coming  President  (Presidenr-Elect)  is  invited  to 
    attend  the  OFFICIAL Nominating Committee Meeting where  his 
    views  will  be  given strong consideration  other  than  the 
    positions of President Elect and Vice President which  remain 
    the TOTAL perogative of the Past Presidents' Council.

2.3 FOR FELLOWSHIP
    The  regular get together of the Past Presidents of the  Club 
    gives good opportunity for both the Past Presidents and their 
    spouses to enjoy good fellowship.
    The  meeting  of  the Council should thus be on a  fixed  day 
    every month where the expenses involved for the  lunch/dinner 
    can be on pro-rata basis or on rotation payment basis.
    The President Elect who is the Secretary of the Council  will 
    be  responsible for notifying all the Past Presidents of  the 
    date, time, venue, host and possible topics for discussion.

2.4 TO RALLY SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD
    This objective is based on that Past Presidents do have quite 
    an influence on the general membership. Thus the President at 
    the regular meeting with the Past Presidents can solicite the 
    assistance  of the Past Presidents to rally support from  the 
    Club members.

2.5 TO RELIEVE THE PRESIDENT OF DIFFICULT TASKS
    The President and the Board will at times meet with difficult 
    actions  which  can  make them "unpopular"  or  the  member/s 
    "boycotting"  their  projects.  Thus the Past Presidents  can 
    take  over these unpleasant tasks on behalf of the  President 
    and  the  Board  and  thus relieve  them  of  the  unpleasant 
    encounter. Also when a Past President confronts the member/s, 
    the response is often less negative. 

2.6 TO ACTIVATE PAST PRESIDENTS
    Invariably  after  serving the Presidency,  some  will  "slow 
    down" or become inactive. The regular meetings of the Council 
    provides  an  opportunity  for  fellowship  with  other  Past 
    Presidents and thus be motivated to be continuosly active.
    The Council can also play the role of encouraging or cajoling 
    or  even  reprimanding their fellow Past Presidents  who  are 
    either inactive or slacked in attendance.   

2.7 AS ADVISERS TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD
    The  Past  Presidents'  Council must surely  be  a  potential 
    avenue  for  the President and the Board to  seek  advice  on 
    matters of club administration and project implementation.

2.8 AS CUSTODIANS OF CLUB RECORDS AND CULTURE
    The President and the Board must constantly seek the  Council 
    on matters affecting the Club especially those involving past 
    activities  of  the  Club or Club Culture ie  guidelines  not 
    listed  in  the  Constitution or  Manuel  of  Procedures  but 
    precedence  had been set.  Or even on projects which had been 
    carried out before and thus the causes of success or failures 
    can be taken note of.

2.9 AS CRITICS 
    On the same basis,  the Past Presidents' Council can also act 
    as  devils'  advocate (critics) of the President and  Board's 
    performance  or  short falls.  This IS NOT  CONTRADICTORY  to 
    Objective 1 as here the criticism is with no malice  intended 
    and  within the confines of the Council  meeting.  Discussion 
    must be open with frank views expressed by all members of the 
    Council. 

2.10 TO SUPPORT DISTRICT/ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
    As Rotary doesn't revolve around only at Club level, the role 
    played  by  Past  Presidents  at  both  District  and  Rotary 
    International  level cannot be over-emphasised.  The  Council 
    provides a forum for the Past Presidents to share their views 
    on both District and RI matters as well as the role they  can 
    play in these areas. 

3. CONCLUSION

    The  Past  Presidents' Council has NO LEGAL STANDING  in  the 
    Club. Its  existance can either be given high regard orignored 
    and this depends on  whether the Council is  positive  in  its 
    actions or not.
    This  Council  thus has great potential to bring the  Club  to 
    greater heights or destroy a Club.
    To be successful,  all Past Presidents MUST place the interest 
    of their Club before any possible personal ones.
    

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