Department of Administration Update
This article originally appeared in the May 2010 Tar Valon Times.
Here at TarValon.Net, the Department of Administration keeps everything copacetic from a business and legal standpoint. Right now they are quite the busy beehive of activity! From a legal standpoint, they are assisting the Keeper in revising the Articles of Incorporation, updating the By Laws, and completing IRS form 1023 to file for tax exempt (aka charity) status. Since we are a business entity, taxes had to be filed; the prep for that was done by many Directors in addition to the Dept. of Administration, and our taxes have been filed by the Keeper. They have also recently added someone to the Legal Consul team, Hammar of Justice; he's working pro-bono for our organization.
In addition to all of that, the 2009 Annual Report is under final review. A formal write-up regarding the results of the Membership Survey are in the works. The Dept. of Administration (in particular Ubahsur Sedai and Naomi Sedai) is also assisting the Dept. of Membership research Client Relationship Management products that will be the new home in database format for all membership related data. And they are also tentatively beginning the review process for C-level/Board of Directors.
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That's a lot! I mean, really, a lot. And if you're like me, you might have some questions to try to help understand more behind what all of the above information means. When asked, Ubahsur Sedai very kindly answered mine:
What are the Articles of Incorporation?
The Articles of Incorporation is a document that was filed with the state of Alabama to register us as an official business.
When will the Annual Report and Membership Survey write-up be ready, and will they be made accessible to the Tower at large?
Yes, the AR and MS will be made available to the Tower at large. Because others are contributing to it, I don't like giving a hard and fast deadline. My goal is to publish the AR in the next three weeks; it is being reviewed for consistency, grammar, and spelling right now. The MS document should hopefully be in final form for approval by June 30th. I'll be making an announcement in SA for each one as they are ready!
What are "Client Relationship Management" products?
Client Relationship Management products, aka CRMs, would be a database to store data. The design of the database would be to interconnect and track changes in data over time - which is ideal for our dynamic membership. Traditionally it is for sales. Serenla and Naomi actually work with versions currently in their professional experience and would be better able to answer. ;) Here is a decent wiki.
C-level/Board of Directors review... so what is A-level? And B-level? How many levels are there?
Lol, there is no A-level or B-level. C-level stands for anyone in a "C" position - CEO, COO, CFO, etc. The next round of reviews will be done for Directors in the third quarter.
How many people (and who!) make up the Department of Administration? Right now the Department of Administration has myself as Director; our staff of Leilwyn and Kiana; the legal staff of Atreyu, Calypsa, Leora, and Hammar; and our committee of Naomi and Mashiara.
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Many thanks to Ubah Sedai and her staff for all the work they do for us here at TV.Net! If you would like to know more about the Dept. of Administration, check out their membership manual or library page.
