The Competitive Advantage Networking Group
C.A.N. Governing Rules
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:
- Sending a substitute for three consecutive meetings.
- Exceeding six substitutes per year.
- 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 been 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 $75 quarterly, $137.50 semi-annually, or $265 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.