hello hey i am in the process of starting a new club but i don’t understand the role of the president,vice,secretary anybody in a brief note can share with me there experience on what these officers roles are…
In many clubs the President is the force that keeps the club going, which means more than just running official meetings, of which there don’t need to be very many anyway.
The President either does things or makes sure others do them.
When I was president of the Lincoln Chess Club, I was usually the first one to the club each week, to help set up tables and sets, and most of the time the last one to leave after everything got put away again.
I organized and/or ran the city championship(s) and other local events, including an annual awards dinner, I organized simuls and speed tournaments And if I didn’t organize them, I tried to find others to do that.
I helped send out flyers for local events. I sent out press releases to the local media. These days the President might work on the club’s website, if it has one.
When new players showed up at the club, I greeted them or made sure someone else did, including trying to find a suitable first opponent for a casual game, if that’s what the visitor was interested in.
The VP fills in for the President when he/she is unavailable, among other things.
The Secretary keeps club records (including names and addresses of members, if the club has them.)
The Treasurer keeps the money from memberships and tournaments, pays bills, etc.
I think it depends on the size of the club. If you’re just starting a small local club, you probably don’t need lots of officers and titles. If it’s small enough, one person can do everything, as is the case of the club where I play regularly. We have a TD who does everything, and he picked up an assistant TD along the way who subs for him when can’t make it and sometimes helps out, but that’s the whole organization. It’s just not a big enough club to need more than that.
–Fromper
Can anyone help me with being a tournament director? is there a program u have to go thur or,course to take or is it just a certificate that is needed from the USCF?
Sign the certificate and send it to Darrell Wyatt in Crossville. That makes you a Club TD for 3 years.
You can find that form and a lot more useful stuff at:
http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_uscf_dirlist/Itemid,412/
First thing you need to do is buy a copy of the United States Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess, Fifth Edition (Chess) (Paperback) and read it.
It is helpful if you know someone that is a TD that you could work with initially but you should still be able to do it yourself. After all you have this nice Forum to come to to ask for advice. 
On the list of things to do ‘soon’ is the ability to sign up as a Club TD online. Bill Hall approved that several weeks ago.
In my experience, you don’t need pres, vp, sec, etc.
You need two to five people who are willing to take responsibility for what needs to be done. To echo what Mike Nolan said, that includes housekeeping such as…
…publicity (flyers, web site, email or mail communication)
…setup at beginning of chess sessions, greeter during the session, put-away after chess sessions for every single session
…collecting data on members (email list, member list with phones and addreses)
…money–someone to collect funds, pay bills and keep financial records.
This could all be done by one person, but it sure is more fun if there are two or more. Having two or more people involved also ensures continuity of the club.
If you want to organize more formally – and if you’re charging substantial dues, you might need to – then by all means elect yourself some officers. Just make sure you have all the
housekeeping stuff covered. For instance, you don’t need meeting minutes if you’re organized informally, but you do need a member contact list.
Mostly you want to set things up so you get to enjoy the club, too. If you’re doing everything, you might not have as much fun.
I agree with wzim–if you’re new to directing, find yourself a mentor, or apprentice yourself to a more experienced director for a couple of tournaments.
Have fun and best of luck on starting your club. It is very rewarding once it gets going.
I know of one club that went to the extent of electing a King as a way of recognizing that only one person was interested in doing the work while everybody else was willing to let him make the decisions as long as they had a place and time to play.
Training other club members in individual tasks allows continuity if the primary person takes a vacation (or retires to another state).