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The Competitive Advantage
Networking Group
C.A.N. Governing Rules
Revised: 7/7/2011
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Statement of Purpose
The C.A.N group is dedicated to the positive
development of purposeful referral generation for
its members within the business or consumer
community in which it has direct influence and/or
association by virtue of past experience or current
knowledge.
Membership Qualification
Procedure of membership: candidate must be a current
GMA member, must not directly compete with a C.A.N.
member business, must review and understand C.A.N.
Governing Rules, and must pay C.A.N. dues upon
approval. The leadership team will review all
applications to determine membership eligibility.
GMA has responsibility to maintain decorum within
all groups and thus has ultimate authority over
operations of all of its networking groups. Guests
are permitted to attend C.A.N. Group meetings twice.
Membership/Category Conflicts
If a current member perceives a category conflict
with a candidate, the member will immediately
discuss this concern with the presiding leadership
team (the president, vice president and GMA
representative), who will investigate and determine
the candidate's eligibility. During these actions
the leadership team will advise the candidate to
postpone attending meetings until the potential
conflict has been resolved.
Attendance Policy
Membership is treated as a privilege; therefore,
attendance and active participation in all
activities of the C.A.N. group are encouraged if all
members are to receive the full benefit of their
membership. You may send a substitute to represent
you and your business without loss of attendance.
However, each member is advised not to abuse his or
her privileges by:
1. Sending a substitute for three consecutive
meetings.
2. Exceeding six substitutes per year.
3. Using a C.A.N. member to act as representative of
your company as a substitute
More than ten absences per calendar year (Jan. to
Dec.) will result in a loss of membership. The
member must apply for reinstatement to be a member
of the group, be approved by the membership, and pay
a $50 fee to re-instate a member who is otherwise in
good standing. A group member will have ten days
notice to pay the reinstatement fee before his
position in the leads group is completely forfeited.
The leadership team will consider extenuating
circumstances in relation to absences.
Program Procedure & Presentations
The elected president or vice-president will present
meeting announcements. Each member will give a
“30-second commercial,” stating name, company
affiliation, location, responsibilities, and any
lead requests they desire pertaining to their
business. Once the meeting has commenced, any person
arriving must present themselves through name and
affiliation only, after all commercials have bee n
presented. A $2 tardy fee may be submitted to the
leadership team in order to do a commercial if
arriving after commercial time. Our predetermined
speaker(s) selected from the roster of members will
give ten-minute presentations. The vice-president
will maintain a calendar of presenters, and will
strive to make sure that all of the group members
present at least one or two times per year. It is
the responsibility of the presenter to notify the
vice-president at least one week prior if s/he will
be unable to present on the scheduled date in order
to find a replacement. C.A.N group members who are
not in good standing (overdue dues or fees) will not
be permitted to give a 30-second commercial until
their account is brought back into good standing.
Occurring at the middle or end of the meeting,
member announcements will consist of anything that
is non-profit and non-commercial in nature-
activities, hobbies, events, concerns, thoughts and
prayers.
Referrals
Members are asked to share any qualified referrals
they might have for a member by filling out a
referral form and passing information along to
another member. All referrals are to be treated in
confidence among the membership and to be acted upon
as soon as possible with ethical standards and
consideration for the person who gave the referral.
Referrals are tallied per person per term and
displayed on the group roster.
Social Functions
On a quarterly basis and at the discretion of the
membership, a social function may be planned for the
express purpose of getting to know other members
better on a casual basis, as well as meeting
prospective members who are invited guests of
current members. All social function costs will be
covered by the dues/fees received during the year
(unless otherwise specified). The group may award a
„free absence‟ for social outing attendance.
Management
C.A.N. membership will elect a President and Vice
President for a term of six months. The Vice
President's term rolls over into the President's
seat for another six months. The terms will commence
with the first meetings in April and October. Duties
of each leadership team member will be provided to
members before each election and anytime in between
at member's request. The leadership team may form
subcommittees as needed to assist with group
management.
Business Category
There is to be only one member per business
category. The business category that is listed on
your GMA and C.A.N. application is the only activity
that you may promote. Example: “Insurance
Salesperson (life and health insurance).” This
designation will allow other insurance people, i.e.,
commercial casualty insurance or private mortgage
insurance or other specialty sales, to join C.A.N.
In stating your category, please be specific,
relative to your duties, responsibilities and
marketing territory. The content of your “30-Second
Commercials” and your “10-Minute Presentations” will
be relative to the GMA member business you represent
in the C.A.N. group.
C.A.N. Dues
Dues are paid at or before the first meeting of each
calendar quarter for which you are paid through.
Checks are to be made payable to GMA. Dues are $65
quarterly, $117.50 semi-annually, or $225 annually.
A penalty fee of $20 will be assessed if dues are
not paid by the fifteenth of the first month of the
quarter of which they are due. C.A.N. members will
have ten days notice to pay dues plus late fee
before his/her position in the C.A.N. group is
forfeited. Member is responsible for knowledge of
his/her dues status. Dues for the current officers
will be waived during their tenure. Officers may
elect to change dues structure as needed to maintain
a healthy budget subject to the approval of the
membership. GMA charges $25.00 for a return check
fee. Any expenditure over $250.00 requires a
majority vote of the C.A.N. membership.
Inclement Weather Policy
If the Guilford County School System has issued a
delayed or closed school day due to inclement
weather, our group meeting will thus be cancelled.
Dissolution of the C.A.N. Group
If for any reason the C.A.N. networking group is
dissolved, any member who has pre-paid dues for a
period greater than three months beyond the date of
dissolution shall receive a prorated refund of his
or her dues. Any funds left in the treasury after
the distribution of pre-paid dues shall be
contributed to a charitable organization. The
charity shall be selected by group members' majority
vote. If the group is unable to decide on a charity,
the funds shall be donated to the United Way.
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