Policy and Procedure Manual Lois Ann Garlitz, Chieftain, American Clan Gregor Society, 2016 American Clan Gregor Society thoughtfully crafted policies and procedures for each elected and appointed position, as well as for standing committees, as they were identified in the Bylaws. Input was recruited from the person holding each position by means of a bulleted list of what their understanding was of their responsibilities. That is a total of twenty seven policies and procedure documents. Each document repeated any reference to that position from the Bylaws, and included the full text for that reference. A description of the procedures/ duties of that office were listed as well as what support from the society or other society offices might be expected. Any person in a specific position need only look at his/her own P&P without referring to the 17 page Bylaws to understand his job description, or any other officer’s. Each officer would be able to maintain their own 3 ring notebook with 1-31 numbered divider pages. Behind Tab #1 was the Title page, a preface statement, a Table of Contents, as well as a list of current officers/council members. Tabs# 2-28 were used for each position. Numbers 29-31 could be used for addenda or other reference material as time goes on. When all these P&P were approved by our Council, these documents were signed by our chieftain, scanned into pdf files, and distributed on flash drives, instead of engaging a print shop. Each officer could do that for themselves if they wished. A 3 ring notebook would allow for easy insertion of changes to a particular document and handed over to a new person who assumes that role. Learn more here: https://www.cosca.scot/post/policy-and-procedure-manual |
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ChatGPT Historian Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie have "hired" an artificial intelligence (AI) historian! Utilizing ChatGPT, the clan now channels historical questions to the "ChatGPT Maclaine Historian." COSCA recently "interviewed" the historian about how other societies can set up a similar system. The AI provided nine steps: define goals and scope; gather resources; choose an AI platform; customize the AI; build an interface; test and refine; promote use among members; monitor and update; and finally, consider privacy and ethics. Learn more here: https://www.cosca.scot/post/chatgpt-historian |
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Clan and Family Society Coats of Arms Most clan and family societies proudly display their crests, which are based on the Coat of Arms of their current or past chief. However, the full Coats of Arms of these chiefs are the specific property of the current chief. They may not be used by any other individual or organization, without express permission. Today, anyone can create and register his or her own personal or corporate arms. In fact at least five clan and family societies have registered their corporate arms. The first clan and family society to be granted its own Coat of Arms was the Buchanan Society of Glasgow, Scotland. This society was founded in 1725 as a charitable organization. The group successfully petitioned Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1917 for its own corporate Coat of Arms. In 1997, Dr. Johnnie Little, founder of the Clan Little Society of North America, secured arms for the Society. Also in 1997, the Clan MacNicol Federation was granted a coat of arms by The Court of the Lord Lyon. In 2006, the Court of the Lord Lyon granted corporate arms to the Clan Currie Society, also known as the Learned Kindred of Currie. In 2012, the Clan Crawford Association was issued Letters Patent from the Court of the Lord Lyon granting a coat of arms that integrates the designs of the two main branches of the House, Crawfordjohn and Dalmagregan. Learn more here: https://www.cosca.scot/post/clan-and-family-society-coats-of-arms |
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SNACC 2024 Conference Set for Alexandria, Virginia First Weekend in December The upcoming Annual Scottish North American Leadership Conference (SNACC) will again be held in Old Town, Alexandria on Friday & Saturday, December 6 and 7, in conjunction with the Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Parade. Attendance these days can be either in-person or remotely. This allows for the widest possible audience to attend and participate in SNACC, regardless of location. One group be attending in person at the conference site in Alexandria, another group will be attending remotely from their individual locales, and a half dozen “hubs” around the USA and Canada have also been established to attend the conference remotely via Zoom. SNACC is cosponsored by a consortium of seven Scottish heritage organizations--COSCA, together with the American-Scottish Foundation (ASF) out of NYC, the St. Andrew’s societies of Chicago, Detroit and Toronto, the Scottish Studies Foundation of Ontario, and the Scottish-American Women’s Society (SAWS). Learn more here: https://scottishleadershipconference.com/ |
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Join the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations! We welcome clan and family groups, St. Andrew's Societies, local and national Scottish heritage organizations, games and festival organizers, and purveyors of Scottish goods and services. Your organization will receive our e-newsletter, gain access to the Members Services section of the website, become eligible to vote, and receive all other benefits of members. If you want to join for the first time, you can join here: https://www.cosca.scot/join#join If you are a current member, you can renew through your MembershipWorks account here: https://www.cosca.scot/delegate-account#myaccount. This account has separate login credentials and cannot be accessed using your Member Services account. If you have forgotten your credentials, please contact cosca@bforbes.com. Scottish heritage societies are stronger together! Please welcome back the renewing Organizational Members in November 2024: Nov 27, 2024 - Clan MacEwen Nov 25, 2024 - Clan Gunn Society of North America Nov 17, 2024 - Clan Henderson Nov 16, 2024 - Clan Dunbar Nov 11, 2024 - Family of Bruce International Nov 8, 2024 - Clan Irwin Association Nov 5, 2024 - Clan Macneil Association of America Nov 4, 2024 - Clan Irving - The Border Irvings & Irvines Nov 2, 2024 - House of MacAlpine
Join or renew here: https://www.cosca.scot/join |
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