Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

“The members elect the members of the governing body.”

“The nominating committee prepares and submits a ticket of ten candidates for election by the membership (directors elected by the membership serve three year terms). This ticket shall be prepared to assure the election by the membership of two individuals residing in the mobile area, but whose principal place of business is outside the corporate limits of the city of mobile. A copy of the nominating committee's ballot shall then be mailed to the membership to allow for nomination of additional candidates. The nominating committee nominates six directors to serve one year terms. Following the election of ten directors by the membership, the board elects six directors to one year terms. The incoming chairman of the board of directors shall appoint six directors to serve a one year term concurrent with his term of office, all of whom shall be voting members of the board and three of whom may be past chairmen of the board of directors. Anyone who has served a full three year term may not be elected to serve another term until spending a year off the board. A person that has served a one year term three years in a row cannot be re-elected. A copy of the nominating committee's report shall be presented to the membership of the organization to allow the members to nominate additional candidates for directors by petition. Each petition shall bear the signatures of at least twenty five qualified members in good standing of the chamber and may nominate any number of additional candidates up to ten. Such petition shall be filed with the nominating committee within ten days after notice has been given of the names of those nominated by the nominating committee. If no petition is filed within the designated period, the nominations shall be closed and the nominated slate of ten candidates shall be declared and elected by the board of directors at their next regular meeting. If a legal petition shall present additional candidates, the names of all candidates shall be arranged on a ballot to identify those candidates nominated by the nominating committee. The president shall cause this ballot to be posted in a prominent position in the chamber office and mailed to all active members at least fifteen days before the regular october meeting. The ballot shall be marked in accordance with the instructions printed on the ballot and returned to the chamber office within ten days. Voting shall be by individual members only and only on the official ballot approved by the board of directors or the executive committee. Such vote shall be mailed or delivered by hand to the chamber of commerce office sealed in the official envelope provided for such purposes. No member shall cast more than one ballot, and only individual members in good standing, shall be entitled to vote. To be in good standing, members must have paid all membership dues, which are then due and payable.”

“On an annual basis, the board of directors engages a certified public accounting firm to complete the form 990 and prepare it for submission to the irs. The form 990, along with the annual audited financial statements, are available for review by the board of directors and the public as requested.”

“At the beginning of each term, we conduct a director orientation whereby our conflict of interest policy is distributed and carefully explained. It is rare there would be an opportunity for a conflict of interest among our officers and directors. However, on those rare occasions when there may be a potential for such a conflict, our directors would abstain from voting. The board legal counsel is present during board meetings to guard against such conflicts.”

“The chamber's compensation committee is composed of the current board chair, past board chair, board chair elect, and another agreed upon board member, all independent business individuals, none of which are employed by the chamber in any capacity. Comparable compensation data is obtained from approximately 9 equivalent chambers across the u.s., and other sources for comparable duties, as well as an in-depth review with the president of goals accomplished and future plans, are all a part of the process used to make an independent decision on the compensation for the chamber's president. A written report is then sent to the chamber's cfo from the compensation committee with their compensation decision for the president.”

“The compensation committee may also make a recommendation for employee compensation based on review of job grades and job performance.”

“All governing documents are made available to the public by request.”

“Readership costs 242,186 0 0 professional development 79,423 21,138 0 communications 81,569 0 0 dues & subscriptions 20,741 32,080 0 general expenses 14,889 13,363 0 administrative 0 25,552 0 finance & operations 0 19,001 0 training 0 9,956 0 entertainment 4,899 4,662 0 bad debt expense 0 7,627 0 professional development 1,945 0 0 other direct costs 720 0 0 dues & subscriptions 414 0 0 general expenses 259 0 0 entertainment 172 0 0”