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Past-President handout at 2020 Diocesan Winter Meeting from the Handbook for Past Presidents 2004

Parish, diocesan, and provincial levels

  • Archives should be kept in a locked filing cabinet on church property or in a secure facility at the diocesan archives location.
  • A review of all archival materials should be undertaken by the immediate past president, or by a member with archival interest, appointed by the president, who could serve as on-going archivist for the council.
  • Every two years, an index of archived items in safekeeping should be updated and submitted to the president and noted in the minutes.

Parish archives should include

  • original charter framed and displayed, if possible;
    • contact national office regarding charters
  • minutes of executive/general meetings are the permanent record of council activities and should be kept in dated binders
  • the recording secretary should retain minutes from the previous two terms only; all other minutes should be transferred to the archival binders
  • the recording secretary should retain motion books from the previous two terms only; all other motion books should be transferred to the archival binders
  • all accounting records (including cheques and receipts) should be kept for five years
  • separate binder for other important information related to the life of the parish council
    1. list of parish presidents/spiritual advisors with names and term of office
    2. list of recipients of maple leaf service pins/ League pins, with names and dates of presentations
    3. a record of anniversary dates of all members; excellent reference for awards research (refer to annual per capita lists)

Other

  • written histories
  • scrapbooks and/or albums labeled by date and event
  • annual reports
  • special project file with financial statements
  • sample of newsletters, if applicable
  • each past president should be encouraged to write a two to three page story of highlights of her term as president (a valuable resource)

Download National brochure on archives.