The Secretary

Large organisations, like companies, government departments and Parliament, appoint permanent secretaries to assist the chairperson during meetings.  Smaller organisations, like sports clubs and community societies, elect a secretary in the same way as they elect a chairperson.

Qualities of A Good Secretary

A good secretary should:

• Be prepared to work hard.
• Have a flair for language and an ability to describe proceedings appropriately and correctly.
• Be organised and methodical.

Functions of The Secretary

The secretary may be said to be the official pen of the body, since the secretary’s function is to issue notices of meetings, to prepare the agenda-paper of all meetings, to write up the minutes, to attend to the correspondence of the organisation and to preserve in suitable files copies of all outgoing letters and all-important documents and papers of the organisation.  He will also initiate such correspondence, as may be necessary arising from any decision taken at a meeting of the organisation.

The secretary has many important duties during and after the meeting:  

• Arranges and prepares the venue for the meeting.
• Drafts the notice and agenda and distributes it to members.
• Arranges the agenda and other documentation in logical order for the chairperson to use.
• Circulates the attendance register for all members to sign.
• Notes the starting and closing time of the meeting.
• Notes important points of the meeting.
• Compiles, types and files the minutes of a meeting, i.e. takes care of administrative work.
• Handles the financial matters in the absence of a treasurer.
• Counts the votes in the absence of a voting officer.
• Sees that the venue is left neat.