Penquis Leadership Institute

Operational Guidelines:

Revised 7/12/06
During the development of the PLI, serious consideration was given to drafting a set of by-laws from which the future PLI Steering Committees could gain guidance and consistency in their operations. However, through numerous discussions, the Steering Committee decided instead to adopt these guidelines believing that “by-laws” per se would be too confining and, to some extent, “too official”. The Purpose and Goals were used to guide the PLI Steering Committee from the outset and have remained the cornerstone upon which the PLI remains. The Structure and Roles & Responsibilities sections were developed as part of a strategic planning process in anticipation of a very busy future. It is the intent of these guidelines to help in the time of decision-making rather than to over-prescribe rules of order. As such it is expected that the guidelines will be revisited and updated periodically.

PLI Operational Guidelines

A. The Purpose of the Penquis Leadership Institute:

Long-term community development through individual growth accomplished via a sustainable and ongoing process of leadership training.

B. PLI Goals:

1. Strengthen the Leadership Base
What: The PLI will build the capacity of the region by developing local leadership skills.
How: The PLI will provide leadership skill development in various areas including but not limited to goal setting, communications, change management, public speaking, running effective meetings, consensus building, project management, public advocacy and decision-making, time management and etiquette.

2. Foster Effective Partnerships
What: The PLI will build multi-community and organizational relationships and will promote working together toward common goals of the region.
How: The PLI will provide regional exposure and networking opportunities by:

• Varying meeting sites to develop the sense of area vision.
• Selecting class participants in order to represent a cross-section of the region's population.
• Utilizing local leadership resources in session facilitation.
• Studying the many varied interests in the region (i.e., economic impacts, governmental functions, education issues, health care issues, business growth, community development, etc.)

3. Produce Results
What: The PLI will promote action on community, county and regional issues.
How: The PLI will require completion of team projects in which local community issues are addressed. Continuing program success will be ensured by enlisting PLI alumni on the Steering Committee, providing alumni learning and networking opportunities, and using alumni in planning and providing future leadership programs so that graduates become a self-perpetuating base. The PLI will conduct ongoing post-program assessment of participants' community involvement, and will conduct yearly content reviews through a direct link with the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council and the Penquis Higher Education Center.

C. Structure:

1. Sponsoring Organizations:
The PLI is a self-sustaining organization with ties to many organizations, public and private. However, Eastern Maine Community College the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, and the Southern Piscataquis County Chamber of Commerce, are organizations considered to be direct sponsors from which the PLI Steering Committee draws input and resource assistance. Additionally, EMCC (through the Penquis Higher Education Center) acts as the Institute's fiscal body and provides direct staff support.

2. Steering Committee: 

The Steering Committee is a volunteer organization tasked with general program oversight. The following provides general guidelines for the functioning of the Steering Committee.

• Membership—The Steering Committee will have a maximum of sixteen (16) members. If positions become vacant unexpectedly, the Steering Committee will fill those positions by temporarily appointing replacements for the remainder of the vacated term.
• Representation—The Steering Committee will strive for diverse representation in its membership reflecting the demographics of the region as much as possible.
• Standing Memberships—The Steering Committee will have among the fifteen (15) memberships the following as permanent seats

• The SPCCC Director
• A member of the PCEDC
• The PHEC Director
• The Past Chair 

• Terms—Each member will serve a three-year term with the ability to serve a maximum of two continuous terms if agreeable to both the member and the Steering Committee. The goal of a 15-member committee comprised of members with three-year terms is to create a 3-4 person per year rotation on average. Initial committee members (current as of 1/1/03) will self-select staggered terms in order to help create this rotation.
• Officers—The Steering Committee will have only a Chair and Vice Chair as standing officers since the function of “Treasurer” is conducted by the PLI fiduciary party (PHEC) and the administrative tasks normally reserved for a “Secretary” position will be performed by a PHEC staff. Chair and Vice Chair terms are for one year with the understanding that the Vice Chair will succeed the Chair.
• Nomination Process—Annually, the Chair will appoint a nominating committee of at least two Steering Committee members to recommend candidates for Vice Chair and Steering Committee vacancies. If a single Chair is not selected, two Co-chairs may be nominated and selected, replacing the Chair/Vice Chair positions. New terms will commence on June 1st to facilitate the changeover before the start of a new PLI.
• Membership commitment—Steering Committee members are expected to be enthusiastic volunteers on a collective mission of improving the region's leadership capacity. In accordance with this, effective role modeling within the committee and the community are a must. More specific details on the role of a Steering Committee member follow but participation in monthly meetings is considered a minimum contribution. Monthly meetings of up to two hours in length are required and more meetings may be required as the need arises. If a member misses three consecutive meetings, that member may be asked to reassess their availability and forfeit their seat on the committee.

D. PLI Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Committee Members' General Roles & Responsibilities:
Advocacy—Steering Committee members should be enthusiastic public advocates for the following ideals and/concepts

• Leadership development
• Local economic development
• Volunteerism and community involvement

Financial Support—Steering Committee members should assist with the Institute's fiscal responsibilities by:

• Participating in fund-raising activities
• Writing grants
• Developing and maintaining PLI scholarships
• Overseeing the development of a yearly budget
• Monitoring operations to assure fiscal solvency

Program Stewardship—Steering Committee members are responsible for the following tasks relative to the design and constant revision of the program curriculum in order to continuously improve its instruction quality:

• Remaining abreast of current issues impacting the region
• Being aware of emerging trends in leadership development
• Monitoring participant feedback
• Tracking participants community involvement over time
• Identifying presenters and host locations
• Providing feedback to presenters and host locations
• Conducting annual program evaluations
• Publicly disseminating results of the annual program evaluation

Recruitment and Selection—Steering Committee members are expected to take an active role in the initial recruitment and final selection of future participants, team advisors, steering committee members, presenters, and session hosts.

Marketing—Steering Committee members are expected to assist with the overall marketing of the Institute. Marketing activities may include any of the following:

• Updating the brochure
• Conducting business visitations
• Reading for radio and TV spots
• Developing a website
• Presenting to local civic organizations and boards
• Providing press releases

Administration—Steering Committee members should oversee the administration of the PLI by:

• Providing updates to the sponsoring organizations periodically (SPCCC, PCEDC, EMCC)
• Conducting strategic planning on an as needed basis
• Coordinating the activities of the Alumni Association
• Maintaining a close working relationship with all program partners

Other Steering Committee members can expect to perform many more duties not specifically outlined above. Examples of these miscellaneous duties might include:

• Providing assistance to participants as needed
• Establishing a board referral network
• Establishing a youth leadership development program
• Presenting at a PLI session

2. Steering Committee “Job Descriptions”:
Chair:

• Facilitates Steering Committee meetings
• Works directly with PHEC Director on agendas, internal and external communications, budgets, overall administration assistance
• PLI lead spokesperson
• Must sign various communications (grants, letters, etc) on behalf of the Steering Committee

Vice Chair:

• Facilitates Steering Committee meetings in the absence of the Chair
• Liaison with Alumni Association

Program Coordinator (PHEC Director):

• Maintain close contact with EMCC regarding PLI budget and report status at Steering Committee meetings
• Works directly with PLI Chair on agendas, internal and external communications, budgets, overall administration assistance
• Must sign various communications (grants, letters, etc) on behalf of the Steering Committee
• Primary grant contact

PHEC Staff (not a member of the Steering Committee)

• Assist with Steering Committee communications
• Assist with PLI Session coordination
• Contact PLI Session presenters prior to each session and offer assistance