Secretary

Job Description
(approved by the Board on 11/20/2025)

Rationale: The Secretary takes minutes at all Board meetings, updates records and handles correspondence as needed. The Secretary makes changes annually or as needed to keep record documents of UURMaPA current. These records include: current lists of leaders for general reference and in records of the Massachusetts Secretary of State; a file of up-to-date functional job descriptions submitted for Board and off-Board positions; Bylaws as amended and changes in Operating Procedures as needed. The Secretary sends updated public documents to the webmaster to be posted on the website.

Expectations:

  • Minutes of Board Meetings: The Board holds a virtual meeting most months via Zoom and an annual retreat, which may be in-person. The Secretary takes minutes at all Board meetings and retreats, and may send an early draft of minutes to Board members for possible edits prior to the next meeting. The revised minutes are sent to the Board a few days before the meeting at which members will be asked to approve them. The Secretary sends minutes and attached Board member reports as approved to be posted on the website under Governance. Recent practice has been that the Secretary marks text of decisions in bold and action items in red italics, and inserts line numbers on the left document margin. Line numbers are removed before sending the minutes to the webmaster.
  • UURMaPA Leadership List and History of Service: Each June before a new Board takes office and other times as needed, the Secretary updates two documents. The UURMaPA Leadership List, including off-Board appointees who agree to serve in the next year, is sent to the webmaster for posting on the website. The Secretary also assures that annual updates are made to the UURMaPA Leadership Service History spreadsheet that tracks both elected officers and Board-appointed leaders by service years. The spreadsheet update is sent to the webmaster to be posted on the website under Governance.
  • Updates of Bylaws: The Secretary enters into the Bylaws any amendments proposed and approved by the Board and the membership, and sends the document to be updated on the website under Governance. Some Bylaw updates may also need to be filed with the Secretary of State (see below).
  • Corporate Filing with Massachusetts Secretary of State: UURMaPA is registered as a non-profit corporation with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. Each July, as a new set of Board members is elected, the Secretary (as official Clerk of the Organization) files a Certificate of Change, with officers’ names, addresses, and terms of office with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. Other changes may occasionally be needed (including changes in Resident Agent or updates of the Articles of Organization. The Secretary can file online to the Secretary of State’s website: 

https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx

To access UURMaPA’s record, do a Business Entity search for ID 000572981. If needed, use: CID# bx3k28; PIN 8958. Fees may be charged for some entries and can be reimbursed by the Treasurer.

  • File of Job Descriptions: The Secretary maintains UURMaPA’s reference file of current job descriptions and key functions for all elected and appointed leadership and sends updates to the webmaster as needed. The updated file is kept online and serves as a reference resource for the Board, Nominating Committee, and members in leadership. Revision dates and names should be recorded on each document, and should be checked at least annually and revised as needed by relevant Board or off-Board leadership. 
  • Updates of Operating Procedures – policies: The Operating Procedures document contains the policies and detailed procedures that guide the organization. It evolves as needed based on decisions of the Board that are recorded in the minutes. The Secretary edits the Operating Procedures document as needed to keep it current, and sends the updated document for posting on the website under Governance.

Updated by Judy Gibson, former UURMaPA Board Secretary & Nominating Committee member; in consultation with Barbara Child, Secretary—June 2020.
Updated by Anne Marsh, Secretary – November 2025