Club Policies

Reference: Board of Directors, Meeting Minutes dated May 1, 1985

• The Club 63 North newsletter published once yearly and forwarded to all members with their annual membership card will be used to communicate special discounts offered to CLUB 63 NORTH members by local and out-of-town businesses. Special discounts received after the newsletter has been published will be communicated on the Syncrude Newscentre postings.
• The discounts should be meaningful (minimum 10%).
• The communication should be written such that is not an advertisement or endorsement.

Club 63 North has a code of conduct that is expected of its members. Club 63 North will not condone acts by its members which offend/harm its members or the public. There have been cases where members or guests have been disciplined for such acts. The function organizers and/or the Board of Directors judge the need for discipline. The following cases are provided as examples:

• Club 63 North will not subsidize complimentary alcoholic beverages of any kind.

Reference: Board of Directors, Meeting Minutes dated May 1, 1985

Club 63 North does not provide monetary compensation for volunteer time. The Club 63 North Executive however does recognize the need to attract and retain good volunteers and uses the following forms of appreciation to do so:

• Volunteers may be treated to a free ticket/entry fee for their assistance in organizing or assistance at an event. Alcoholic beverages are excluded.

• Perks such as free t-shirts, hats, aprons, etc. that were used at a function could be considered.
• For more demanding volunteer roles such as acting as a co-ordinator for a Club 63 North trip, the person could be compensated with goods not exceeding $50.00 in value, e.g. lift tickets on a ski trip.

Club 63 North members, and staff, through their affiliation with Syncrude, are bound to guidelines covering conflict of interest. Club 63 North supports these guidelines and as such, members must avoid situations such as:

• Soliciting or accepting any gift, prize, donation or sponsorship of any amount from any third party as a participant in or organizer of any social or sporting activity, which is, associated with Club 63 North.
• Acquiring ownership, or any significant financial interest in an organization with which Club 63 North does business, or in anticipation of its doing business with the Society, without prior disclosure of this fact to Club 63 North. It should be noted that, in contrast to Syncrude's practices, Club 63 North will do business with businesses owned by Syncrude employees, subject to:
1. The ownership interest being disclosed to Club 63 North prior to the business relationship being entered into; and the decision of Club 63 North that the employee/member's business provides the best overall value to Club 63 North.
2. It should be noted that Syncrude employees / Club 63 North members, must not undertake any activities with respect to their outside business interests on Syncrude premises, during their Syncrude working hours, or using any Syncrude facilities, equipment or supplies, irrespective of the fact that they may be providing a good or service to Club 63 North
3. Interests in the form of stock, loans or financial agreements less than 1% of a publicly owned corporation are not considered to be significant.
4. Giving a gift or favour of other than nominal value to any individual or organization with which Syncrude Canada Ltd., or Club 63 North does business.
5. Pursuing personal gain by using materials or facilities of those doing business, or seeking to do business, with Sycrude, Club 63 North or its members.
6. Using their influence or authority as members, or when acting on behalf of Club 63 North, to gain a benefit for any relative or friend including an offer of employment.
7. Using Club 63 North materials, facilities or information solely for the members personal financial gain.
8. Using their influence or authority as members of Club 63 North to solicit from organizations with which the Society does business, contributions to charitable, recreational, cultural or social associations.
9. When holding public office, voting on issues, which directly affect the company, or Club 63 North.
10. Every society member must disclose to the Board of Directors or Club 63 North Office Manager, in writing, any financial interest in an organization with which Club 63 North does business, held by the Society member or member of their immediate family, either when the Society member joined, or acquired later.

The Board of Directors of Club 63 North is responsible for the administration and interpretation of this Policy and Guidelines and will review all cases and respond.

A charitable cause, such as food bank, United Way, party for an employee with illness, etc., will not be funded by Club 63 North. The decision of the Board is that it is an unreasonable task to determine which causes are more important, and impossible to fund them all. The policy of the Club 63 North is, therefore, not to fund any charitable cause or religious event.

A volunteer organizing an event, cannot sent out a global e-mail advertising the event. The e-mail must be sent through the Club 63 North office with the approval of the Office Manager. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 98/06/15)

Due to heavy workload in preparing for major site-wide events, the office will be closed on the day of that event. The Club will notify the membership of this prior to closing the office. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 98/06/15)

The office will be open to the membership from 8:00 AM to 4:15 PM. The business of the day will be completed by the staff between 4:15 PM and 4:30 PM (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 00/11/20)

To show recognition to those active members who volunteered their own time to plan/organize/coordinate or help at an event, token of appreciation to be given, i.e. at the Lobster Boil and BBQ each volunteer to receive a free meal or at a party, free admission or a gift item for events such as envelope stuffing bees, Children's Christmas Party, etc. Free alcohol is not to be given as a token of appreciation. Complimentary tickets should not be issued to special guests such as managers, retirees, etc.

If a golf tournament is rained out, have the golf course issue gift certificates or coupons to the event attendees to be used at a later date rather than rescheduling the tournament and proceed with the banquet. Letters have been sent to both golf courses asking if they would do this. The Fort McMurray Golf Course will be implementing for the 1998 golf season "course Closure Checks" having an expiry date of October 15, 1998. The appropriate certificates for "Course Closure Checks" will be filled out by the Pro Shop staff and handed to the tournament organizer.

Miskanaw Golf Course also agreed if the course is closed due to the weather conditions, they will issue rain checks to all golfers to be used at a later date. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 97/09/22)

The previous policy of Club 63 North will remain and that is, the entry fee will apply for all Club 63 North members wishing to participate in a golf tournament organized and subsidized by Club 63 North. If a Ft. McMurray golf course has a policy that they do not charge green fees for members of their golf course, and that reduction in expense is given to the organizer of a Club 63 North golf tournament, the reduction in expenditure will be applied to the tournament as a whole. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 97/07/01)

Golf tournaments must have a minimum participation of forty (40), in order to qualify for a subsidy from Club 63 North. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 99/10/20)

There will be no refunds on ticket sales unless there are persons on a wait list that want to purchase the tickets or package. Wherever possible, the office will print this on all event tickets and advertising so that there is no confusion with the policy. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 95/01/17)

Lost tickets will not be refunded or replaced. The office will, however, offer the member the opportunity of buying additional tickets and should they find their original tickets, a refund will then be made. (Board of Directors - e-mail decision 98/05/12)

The event organizers will designate whether an event will allow smoking or be designated non-smoking. The policy regarding smoking or non-smoking shall be advertised on postings and/or tickets. This could be no smoking, no smoking until dinner is complete, no smoking until 10 PM etc. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - 00/05/23)

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Budget Guidelines

• The fiscal year for Club 63 North is October 1 to September 30. In September the Treasurer will provide the Board of Directors with a forecast of the funds available for the fiscal year.
• At the end of September, or early October, the staff of Club 63 North provides the Board of Directors with a summary of all Budget Request forms received for the upcoming fiscal year. The Board of Directors review the summary and using the financial forecast determine whether sufficient funds will be available to support all requests.
• Should the financial forecast indicate that insufficient funds are available to subsidize all events at the previous years subsidy; the Board of Directors will adopt a new subsidy guideline and/or policies based on the best interests of the Club.
• The Treasurer prepares a revised Budget Request form for approval by the Board of Directors. The revised form is forwarded to all event organizers by the staff of Club 63 North with a request to resubmit the Budget Request under the new guidelines. If the revised Budget Request, under the new guidelines, is not received by the specified deadline, the staff of Club 63 North will revise accordingly.
• Should it be necessary to limit the funds available to each Social, the Budget Request forms are forwarded to the Vice President for review and discussion with their event organizers. This group will determine which activities will best meet the needs of the majority of the members. There are several options available to them: a) combine events for optimum attendance, b) approve all submitted budgets with a reduction in subsidy available for each event, c) select only those events which best meet the needs of their membership. Once this process is complete, the Budget Request forms are resubmitted to the Club 63 North Office.
• The Board of Directors reviews the revised summary of Budget Requests for approval. The office staff will advise all event organizers when their budget has received approval.
• The financial accountants for Club 63 North provide a monthly financial report. After checking the monthly report against the file records, the staff of Club 63 North, provide the Board of Directors with an updated financial report.
• Any deviations from approved Budget Requests, or special requests regarding an event, are brought forward to the Board of Directors by the staff of Club 63 North.

• Starting in August, the staff will advertise via Newscentre Postings, Intranet and e-mail messages, that Budget Request forms are being accepted for the upcoming fiscal year.
• Budget Request forms are forwarded to the Club 63 North office where they are reviewed for adherence to Club policy and followed up with the event organizers should there be any discrepancies.
• Submission of Proposed Budgets for the major site-wide functions such as the Lobster Boil, Family Fun Day, Children's Christmas Party, Family Day Activities, etc. is the responsibility of the Club 63 North Office Manager.
• The staff of Club 63 North prepares a summary of all Budget Request forms submitted for the upcoming fiscal year. The summary and Proposed Budgets are reviewed and approved by the outgoing Board of Directors prior to the end of September or early October. All Budget Requests received after September 15th are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis and are approved based on the availability of funds.
• Prior to advertising an event, the event organizer must contact the Club office. At this time, final details regarding the event and expense and revenue are confirmed to ensure conformance with policy prior to placing the advertisement.
• In the majority of cases, the Club office collects registration fees. On a weekly basis Club 63 North will provide event organizer with a registration update.
• Upon completion of an event, a financial statement is prepared and compared with the records provided by the accounting firm providing services to Club 63 North. The "actual" column of the Budget Request form is completed and a copy forwarded to the event organizer.
• Any deviation from policy, procedure or over-expenditure is brought to the attention to the Board of Directors for follow up.

• Since the subsidy guideline for the fiscal year cannot be determined until late September or October, the event organizer prepares the Budget Request form using the previous year's subsidy guidelines and submits to Club 63 North by September 15th. Budget Request forms received after distribution of funds has been completed by the Board of Directors are approved on a first-come, first-served basis according to availability of funds.
• Where possible, determine actual expense to be incurred. Should actual expense not be available due to the fact that rates have not yet been determined for the time frame in which the event will occur, use the best possible estimate based on the previous year's expenses.
• The quantity of individual expenditures, e.g. green fees, dinners, etc., shall reflect the number of paid participants. The only exception to this rule may be found under the section regarding Compensation of Volunteers.
• The Club 63 North Office Manager will review the Budget Request form. Should the request not meet current guidelines, it will be returned for revision. Since the subsidy guideline is reviewed yearly and may change according to the financial position of Club 63 North, ensure the correct Budget Request form is being used. The most current form may be obtained by contacting the Club 63 North office at ext. 6268.
• Should a league/event be scheduled for early October, and it is necessary to begin advertising and accepting registrations prior to this date, the subsidy guideline of the previous year will apply.

• Club 63 North is a non-profit society whose membership consists of current employees and retirees who were active members of Club 63 North at the time of their retirement from Syncrude Canada Ltd. Each Club 63 North member may invite one guest. The participation guideline for a sports event is 50% of each team must be Club 63 North members. A member may only sponsor a non-member guest if they are participating in an event, except in certain events, at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors. For example,
  1. Ladies Weekend Getaway - if the Club member is a male, his wife may participate and bring a non-member as a guest.
  2. Out-of-Town Trips - if a member is attending and wants to take a child of another member who cannot attend, this child is considered a member and does not have to pay the increased non-member rate.
• It is the responsibility of an event organizer to ensure the financial benefits of participating in a Club 63 North event are limited to the membership and guest guidelines of Club 63 North. For a sports event, rosters must be completed for team registrations, and for most social events, tickets prepared and a list of purchasing members kept. Only registered and paid members may participate. Membership must be confirmed.
• With Board approval, additional non-member guests may be invited. Dependent upon the financial status of the Club, this rate could reflect that additional guests pay the total expense involved, or a reduced subsidy established by the Board.

• It is the responsibility of the Event Organizer and/or the staff of Club 63 North, to ensure only members in good standing receives the benefit of membership.
• With the exception of volunteer organizers, all participants must register and pay the applicable registration fee as determined in the approved Budget Request form.
• The event organizer in the approved Budget Request form has determined the estimated number of participants. Permission to increase participation requires Club 63 North approval as determined by the Board of Directors and requires that a "Revised Budget Request" form be submitted to the office of Club 63 North. Likewise, should participation be less than determined in the approved Budget Request form, a "Revised Budget Request" form must be submitted reflecting the decreased numbers as policies such as the "give-a-way" policy and total subsidy available will be affected by reduced participation.

• Prior to advertising an event, the organizer should confirm expenses with the vendors to ensure previous price quotes are still applicable. Should there be a change, the Budget Request form must be revised and resubmitted to the Club 63 North office.
• All Club 63 North events must be advertised and open to the membership on a first-come, first-served basis with participation being guaranteed upon receipt of payment.
• Members of their particular area, e.g. Research, Calgary, etc. Prior to posting an advertisement in the area only, a copy must be forwarded to the Club 63 North office for approval and information purposes.
• For site-wide advertising, forward all pertinent information to the Club 63 North office. Information for site-wide Newscentre Postings and the intranet must be received by the Club 63 North office by Thursday to ensure posting the following Tuesday.
• Indicate a registration deadline in the advertisement. All events should be advertised well in advance to ensure adequate participation to proceed, meet vendor cancellation deadlines, and determine participation for the give-a-way portion of expense.
• A volunteer organizing an event cannot send out global e-mail advertising the event. The e-mail must be sent through the Club 63 North Office with the approval of the Office Manager. (Board of Directors Meeting Minutes dated 98/06/15)

• Except with pre-approval from Club 63 North, registration fees will be processed through the Club office with payment being accepted with cash, cheque, debit card, Visa, or MasterCard.
• Registration is guaranteed only upon receipt of payment.
• Should the event organizer have permission to collect the registration fee, it is their responsibility to record and submit a list of the participants adhering to the Participation Guideline. Revenue must be submitted to the office in a timely manner as funds may only be released based on revenue deposited. All revenue must be deposited at the Club 63 North office. Revenue collected cannot be used to cover expenses.

• At the time of booking a facility, advize that Club 63 North is sponsoring the event. In the majority of cases, the vendor will invoice Club 63 North directly. When an invoice is received directly from the vendor, Club 63 North staff will request approval from the event organizer prior to issuing payment.
• If prepayment is required, complete and forward a Club 63 North updated Cheque Requisition form (sample attached) to the Club offices allowing seven days for processing.
• The "sold to" portion of an invoice must be shown as Club 63 North not the event organizer.
• Vendor's invoices or receipts must include the name and address of the vendor.
• Lump sum amounts such as dinner - $1500.00 is not acceptable. Since invoices or statements must state goods and services provided, credit card receipts are not acceptable.
• With the exception of a deposit required to secure a facility, funds will be released based on revenue deposited through the Club 63 North office.
• Expenses under the approved "give-a-way policy" are dependent upon participation. Should participation be less, a Revised Budget Request form must be submitted to determine the available give-a-way portion. The staff of Club 63 North cannot release funds until participation has been finalized.
• Once participation has been confirmed, a Cheque Requisition form may be submitted for the purchase of give-a-ways. If the cheque is made out to an event organizer, all paid invoices or receipts must be submitted to the Club 63 North office within seven days of issue of the cheque. The receipts or invoices must state the goods and services provided. Credit card receipts will therefore not be accepted. Total expenditures may not exceed the approved limit. Should expenditures be less than the cheque issued, the balance must be deposited with the Club office along with submission of receipts.
• Should there be a deviation from the approved Budget Request form; Board approval may be required prior to issuing payment.

• Room Rental Charges - at many facilities there is a charge for room rental in addition to the per person meal charge.
• Cancellation of Booking Policy - if the facility does not have a written agreement, ask about their requirements for cancelling an event and if there are any cancellation charges request that they be confirmed in writing.
• Attendance - Estimated vs. Actual
  1. Use realistic attendance figures when booking a facility. If organizing an event that has occurred on previous occasions, use previous attendance figures as a guideline. The facility will provide the date and time they require a final attendance figure.
  2. The final guaranteed attendance given will be the minimum dinners for which you will be invoiced. For this reason, it is best to advertise a firm deadline for purchase of tickets so that an accurate attendance figure may be provided.
• If a buffet dinner has been selected, guarantee attendance at approximately 5% below ticket sales. Most facilities prepare food for 10% above the guaranteed attendance and there are almost always a few people who have purchased tickets but do not attend.
• Alcohol - Complimentary alcoholic beverages of any kind will not be subsidized by Club 63 North.
• Goods and Services Tax - confirm whether the expense quotes include GST.

• Confirm booking availability and facility expense. The organizer will need to know the number of hours and the dates the facility is required. Book the facility well in advance as availability is often limited. Remember to include tournament or extra dates required.
• The initial Budget Request form is based on estimated participation. Once registration is complete and the actual participation is confirmed, check that the facilities previously booked meet the requirements for actual registrations. It may be necessary to cancel or increase facility bookings.
• Be aware of hidden costs, signing of contracts or committing to a facility before participation has been confirmed. Club 63 North cannot accept responsibility for expenses incurred due to the signing of a contract or agreement by an event organizer unless prior approval has been received from Club 63 North.
• Advertise the event well in advance so that there is sufficient time to cancel or alter bookings should there be limited interest or the event has to be cancelled.
• The participation guideline for sports events is 50% of each team must be Club 63 North members. A member may only sponsor a non-member guest if they are participating in the sports event themselves. Membership in Club 63 North extends to immediate family, that is spouse and/or children up to and including seventeen years of age. Immediate family members are therefore considered to be members of Club 63 North.

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Bylaws

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If you have any questions feel free to email us at office@club63north.ca