Committees

Active Committees

Newly formed committees may use the Committee Page Template for forming their KB page.

Committee Formation Guide

Area Host - Guides the committee to further its goals in conjunction with TheLab.ms’s mission statements. In charge of submitting activities to the Vice President for social media, coordinating activities for an Area, and attending Leadership meetings for reports.

Steward - Works with the Area Host and TheLab’s Fundraising Coordinator and TheLab’s Treasurer to raise funds pertinent to the Committee’s purview and provide updates regarding the Committee’s budget.

Clerk - Records and reports the Committee’s activities to TheLab.ms via their Committee Page on TheLab.ms wiki. 

Area Hosts are approved by the Board, as stated in TheLab’s ByLaws, but may be nominated by Membership, or self-nominated. Stewards and Clerks are also volunteer positions, ultimately they are approved or denied by the Board, or by Membership if a quorum is called on the matter.

Committee Formation

To form a committee, at least three members must come together and declare their intention at a Membership meeting. The Committee Clerk must submit to TheLab’s Secretary a document with:

• names of the Area Host, Clerk, and Steward
• Committee purpose
• Proposed committee goals
• How the committee intends to further the mission statement of TheLab

The Board will then review the document and approve or request re-submittal of the new committee.

Committee Reporting

Area Hosts are required to collect reports of the committee’s meetings, financial/fundraising activity, and other pertinent information as recorded by their Clerk to their Wiki page and report at monthly membership meetings. If an Area Host in unavailable, either the Clerk or Steward may attend in their stead.

Committee Responsibilities

Committees are responsible for the upkeep of their area of TheLab. This includes but is not limited to:

• Cleanliness - must keep their area clean
• Safety - must institute a safety policy appropriate to their particular area
• Member Education - must, at least once a month, hold an education meetup related to their area. To be coordinated with the Education Coordinator.
• Equipment upkeep - must create a regular schedule for equipment maintenance, 
• Fundraising/Budgeting for area growth - Related financial earmarks and purchases must be coordinated with the Treasurer.

Each committee shall have a page on TheLab’s Wiki, to be maintained by their Clerk. Each page shall list:

• Committee Goals

• Committee Heads
• Active Members
• Area Rules
• Area Equipment
• Links to Committee Meeting Minutes
• Links to Committee Financial Documents
• Links to pertinent Lab GitHub repositories
• Links to the Committee’s Slack Channel

(Wiki Templates are available for each of these items.)

All committee activity reports, rules, goals, and responsibilities are to be recorded to the committee’s Wiki page.

All activities must comply with the ByLaws and Supplementary Rules of TheLab.ms and may not contradict or supercede them.

Committee Suspension

There may come a time when a committee finds the need to suspend its activities for a period of time. (i.e. leaves of absence, lack of interest, etc.) A committee may be listed on its Wiki page as under suspension. Related funds earmarked for that committee may be used for the committee’s former area as deemed necessary by The Board, and may be reabsorbed by the general fund if the committee has not re-activated six months from the suspension period.

A committee is automatically placed in suspension if it has less than three members actively serving in the Area Host, Steward, and Clerk positions. 

Committee Dissolution

A committee has the right to dissolve for whatever reason. Should this occur:

• A representative (preferably the Clerk) is asked to submit any remaining minutes and financial documents to the Secretary.
• All finances formerly earmarked for committee use shall become part of the general fund unless deemed otherwise by the Board.

Any committee that has not re-formed after being in suspension for six months is automatically in dissolution.

Forced Dissolution

If a committee’s activities are found to be illegal, in severe conflict with membership’s safety, are abusing funds, or otherwise misaligned with the goals and mission of TheLab.ms, they may be forced to disband by either a 3/5 vote of the Board, or, by popular vote of membership if a quorum is held on the matter.