Name: Katrina Swarthout
Position Title: Vice President of Finance
Position Duties: The duties for this position are rather straightforward. The main duty of the position is collecting membership dues each semester and sending them into the PRSSA Headquarters. Additionally, I work on any FAC requests that PRSSA may need, whether that is for travel or another type of project. Overall, I manage the bank account for the UA PRSSA and UA PRCA. I issue checks and reimbursements for spending from either organization.
What did you do in your position this semester?
This semester this position was a little bit different since we hosted The University of Alabama PRSSA 2016 Regional Conference. I assisted with a large portion of the financial management for that project. Additionally, I submitted membership for both the fall and the spring for our chapter. I have also submitted FAC requests for funding.
What qualities or characteristics does it take to do your position well?
I think for this position, since you are dealing with money, you need to be very ethical and honest. Additionally, there is a lot of paperwork and forms that are utilized in this role, so someone in this position must be organized. I also think that being a good communicator is important because you must communicate with different audiences and through different channels, and you have to be able to tailor your message to fit each of them.
How much time did you dedicate to your position?
In general, this position is probably the least time-consuming position on a weekly basis. More time is taken up when it is time to submit membership dues.
What would you like to go back and tell yourself before taking on this position? I think this position should do more promotion about submitting membership dues. I’d also like to see if there is a more efficient way to submit membership dues, rather than by a check and a paper form turned in to the A+PR office. How does your position fit in with or engage with the rest of the executive board? This position is important to everyone else because we need to know how much money we have to be able to execute anything we want to do. There is also a close relationship with fundraising, since a lot of that money is going directly into our bank account. This position must also have a strong relationship with the chapter faculty adviser, since she must approve all decisions.