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New Coordinator Information
TOPS Club, Inc. Field Staff Source Book December 2015 December 2015 Page i INDEX – CHAPTERS 1 THRU 11 Table of Contents TOPS Headquarters Team .......................................................................................................1 Executive Office ..................................................................................................................... 1 Accounting ............................................................................................................................. 1 Communications/TOPS News ................................................................................................ 2 Database Administration/Information ..................................................................................... 3 Shipping ................................................................................................................................. 4 Headquarters Fax Numbers ................................................................................................... 4 Quick Reference Guide - TOPS Club, Inc. Headquarters ...................................................... 5 TOPS General Information – Chapter 1 ..................................................................................6 TOPS Club, Inc. as a Nonprofit Organization......................................................................... 6 TOPS Chapter Status ............................................................................................................ 6 TOPS Club, Inc. as a Nonsectarian Organization .................................................................. 6 TOPS Club, Inc. is a Weight-Loss Support Group ................................................................. 6 TOPS Club Inc. Lobbying Position ......................................................................................... 7 TOPS Club Inc. Fund Raising Position .................................................................................. 7 Trademarks ............................................................................................................................ 7 Procedure for Resolving Questions and Problems ................................................................ 8 Volunteer Service Donation Programs ................................................................................... 8 TOPS News and Chapter Programs ...................................................................................... 8 TOPS Members as Speakers at TOPS Events ...................................................................... 9 Americans with Disabilities Act .............................................................................................. 9 TOPS Chapters – Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................10 Starting a New Chapter ........................................................................................................ 10 New Chapters Will Receive from Headquarters ................................................................... 10 Chapter Programs ................................................................................................................ 11 Process for Opening Chapter Checking Accounts (U.S. Only) ............................................ 11 Chapter Insurance ............................................................................................................... 11 Chapter Group Exemption ................................................................................................... 13 Chapter Information ............................................................................................................. 13 Leader/Chapter Mailings ...................................................................................................... 14 Weight Chart Procedure....................................................................................................... 15 Officers Charts (L-001) Yearly Updates ............................................................................... 15 Change of Leader/Change of Meeting Place/Time .............................................................. 16 Verification of Chapter Membership Records ....................................................................... 16 Certificates for Chapters for Milestone Anniversaries .......................................................... 17 Non Referral Chapters (NRC) .............................................................................................. 17 December 2015 Page ii Disbanding a Chapter .......................................................................................................... 18 Missing Chapter Funds ........................................................................................................ 18 TOPS Member Classification – Chapter 3 ............................................................................19 TOPS Membership Application (L-003)................................................................................ 19 New Member Defined .......................................................................................................... 19 Renewing Member Defined.................................................................................................. 19 Membership Records Not Deleted ....................................................................................... 19 Entering New Membership Applications............................................................................... 20 Membership Renewals Mailed ............................................................................................. 20 Renewing Member Forms .................................................................................................... 21 Late Renewals ..................................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Members Renewing Online .................................................................................... 21 Half-Price Vision Impaired Memberships ............................................................................. 22 Half-Price Spouse Memberships .......................................................................................... 22 Teen/Preteen Memberships ................................................................................................. 22 Member Name and Address Changes ................................................................................. 23 Members Transferring From One Chapter to Another.......................................................... 23 Welcome to New Members .................................................................................................. 23 TOPS Online Membership ................................................................................................... 23 Converting an Online Member to a Traditional Chapter ....................................................... 24 Converting Traditional Member to Online Member .............................................................. 24 Disruptive Conduct ............................................................................................................... 25 Process for Revoking Membership ...................................................................................... 25 KOPS Members – Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................27 Registering KOPS Members ................................................................................................ 27 KOPS Identification Cards ................................................................................................... 27 New and Reinstated KOPS – Area Captain Notification ...................................................... 27 KOPS Longevity Awards ...................................................................................................... 27 KOPS Weight Charts ........................................................................................................... 28 KOPS Weight Chart Check List ............................................................................................... 28 KOPS Medical Excuse Extension Beyond 12 Consecutive Months ..................................... 30 KOPS Lost Status ................................................................................................................ 30 KOPS Society ...................................................................................................................... 30 TOPS News – Chapter 5 .........................................................................................................31 The Purpose of TOPS News ................................................................................................ 31 Professional Articles vs. Member Submissions .................................................................... 31 When is TOPS News Mailed? .............................................................................................. 32 Submission Deadlines and Forms ....................................................................................... 32 Selection Process ................................................................................................................ 32 Celebrate Success ............................................................................................................... 33 Chapter and Member Resources ......................................................................................... 33 Recipes ................................................................................................................................ 33 December 2015 Page iii Members Voice (Letters to the Editor).................................................................................. 33 Scrapbook ............................................................................................................................ 34 Other Articles ....................................................................................................................... 34 Photo Requirements ............................................................................................................ 34 For the Record – Member Achievements............................................................................. 34 For the Record – Contributions ............................................................................................ 34 Missing Magazines............................................................................................................... 36 New Members First Issue .................................................................................................... 36 TOPS in the Workplace – Chapter 6......................................................................................38 Approaching Businesses – Why is TOPS Doing This? ........................................................ 38 Approaching Businesses – What’s in it For the Business? .................................................. 38 TOPS is an Affordable Solution to a Costly Problem ........................................................... 39 Workplace Chapter Pricing .................................................................................................. 39 Workplace Chapter Service Agreement ............................................................................... 39 Workplace Chapter Policies ................................................................................................. 40 Defining a Workplace Chapter ................................................................................................. 40 Mileage reimbursement policy for workplace chapters ............................................................ 40 Pricing policy for new workplace prospects ............................................................................. 41 Getting the Word Out to Businesses .................................................................................... 41 Tools to Promote TOPS in the Workplace ........................................................................... 42 New Leader Outline ............................................................................................................. 42 Business Chapter Weigh-In Option ...................................................................................... 43 Special Note Regarding Workplace Chapters at Schools .................................................... 43 Workplace Chapter – Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................. 43 Sample Cover Letter ................................................................................................................ 46 Résumés/International Recognition Days – Chapter 7 .......................................................47 Schedule for Resume Procedures ....................................................................................... 47 November ................................................................................................................................ 47 January .................................................................................................................................... 47 By January 31 .......................................................................................................................... 47 By February 20 ........................................................................................................................ 48 State/Provincial Royalty Winners ......................................................................................... 48 March 15.................................................................................................................................. 48 April 30 .................................................................................................................................... 48 June 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Updating State/Provincial Royalty Winners .......................................................................... 49 International Winners ........................................................................................................... 49 March 15.................................................................................................................................. 49 April 30 .................................................................................................................................... 50 May 12 ..................................................................................................................................... 50 June 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 50 IRD Information .................................................................................................................... 50 December 2015 Page iv IRD Report ........................................................................................................................... 51 SAMPLE State/Provincial King/Queen .................................................................................... 52 SAMPLE International King, Queen, Runners-Up ................................................................... 56 SAMPLE Reigning Royalty Maintaining KOPS ........................................................................ 58 SAMPLE David Fox Memorial ................................................................................................. 60 Procedure for 25 and 50 Year KOPS at IRD ........................................................................ 62 Timetable ............................................................................................................................. 62 April 15 .................................................................................................................................... 62 May 15 ..................................................................................................................................... 62 June 10 .................................................................................................................................... 62 SAMPLE 25-Year KOPS ......................................................................................................... 63 SAMPLE 25-Year Continuous KOPS 10 or More Pound Loss ................................................ 64 SAMPLE 25-Year Continuous KOPS Less Then 10 Pound Loss to Goal ............................... 65 SAMPLE – KOPS Sent Out after Receipt of Acknowledgement Received .............................. 66 Founder’s Award for Coordinators ....................................................................................... 67 President’s Award for Area Captains ................................................................................... 67 Area Letters of Congratulations and Certificates .................................................................. 68 IRD Dress Code Enforced.................................................................................................... 68 TOPS Website Reference Sheet – Chapter 8........................................................................69 www.tops.org ....................................................................................................................... 69 Member Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website ......................................................... 69 Leader Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website ........................................................... 70 Field Staff Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website ...................................................... 71 Area Captain Secure Part of TOPS Website ........................................................................ 71 Coordinator Secure Part of TOPS Website .......................................................................... 72 Chapter Ranking .................................................................................................................. 73 Email .................................................................................................................................... 75 Sending an email using the TOPS website.............................................................................. 75 Please Respond To All Correspondence and Email ................................................................ 75 Email Best Practices ................................................................................................................ 76 Inappropriate emails ................................................................................................................ 76 Basic Email Etiquette reminders .............................................................................................. 76 “Contact Us” Link on the Website ........................................................................................ 76 TOPS Web Store ................................................................................................................. 77 Defective Items, Damaged Items or Items Not Received ..................................................... 77 Approved Vendor List Procedure ......................................................................................... 77 Guidelines for Regional and Local Online Communications ................................................ 78 Criteria for Regional and Local Chapter Social Networking Sites (Facebook et. al.) ............ 79 Official Social Media Sites.................................................................................................... 79 Creating and Updating A LinkedIn Profile ............................................................................ 80 TOPS Field Staff - Chapter 9 ..................................................................................................81 TOPS Field Staff Records .................................................................................................... 81 December 2015 Page v Items for New Area Captains and Coordinators ................................................................... 81 Quarterly Mailings Coordinators ........................................................................................... 82 Coordinator Mailing Information for My Day One and TOPS Rules ..................................... 82 United States ........................................................................................................................... 82 Canada .................................................................................................................................... 83 Mailings by Month with Return Deadlines ............................................................................ 83 Special Event Insurance, Meeting Insurance Application (L-031) ........................................ 85 General Coordinator Information .......................................................................................... 86 TOPS Forms ........................................................................................................................ 86 Ordering Supplies ................................................................................................................ 86 Health Fair/Expo Supplies .................................................................................................... 87 Area Captain Supplies ......................................................................................................... 87 Chapter Supplies ................................................................................................................. 87 Use Current Forms .................................................................................................................. 87 TOPS Policy for Revised Forms .......................................................................................... 88 Method of Shipment ............................................................................................................. 88 Retreat Information .............................................................................................................. 88 Potential Retreat Site Evaluation ......................................................................................... 89 Coordinator/Area Captain Payments ................................................................................... 90 Coordinator Incentive Bonus ................................................................................................ 90 Area Captain Incentive Bonus .............................................................................................. 90 Online Chapter Members – Chapter 10 .................................................................................92 New Members Joining Online .............................................................................................. 92 Online Members Visiting Chapter ........................................................................................ 92 Members in Online Chapter vs Local Chapter ..................................................................... 92 Coordinator Section – Chapter 11.........................................................................................94 Remitting Your Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009)............................................ 94 Memberships- Line 1 ............................................................................................................... 95 Real Life Purchased with membership - Line 2 ....................................................................... 96 KOPS Registrations - Line 3 .................................................................................................... 96 Charter Changes or Replacements - Line 4 ............................................................................ 96 KOPS Replacement Items/Medallions - Line 5 ........................................................................ 96 Donations - Line 6 ................................................................................................................... 96 Balance of Treasury of Disbanded Chapters - Line 7 .............................................................. 96 Other Miscellaneous Items - Line 8 ......................................................................................... 97 Other S-009 Notes ................................................................................................................... 97 Coordinator Statements ........................................................................................................ 97 How to read you S-9 Statements ............................................................................................. 98 Chapter Maintenance Procedure ....................................................................................... 103 Coordinator Procedure for Recording Maintenance on the website ...................................... 104 Logging Surgery for Weight Loss Information in iMIS ........................................................ 105 Weight-Loss Surgery No Longer Effective—Compete For Royalty .................................... 105 December 2015 Page vi Weight Charts with Insufficient Weigh-ins Procedure......................................................... 105 ARD/PRD/SRD General Information .................................................................................. 107 Special Event Financial Report-ARD/SRD/PRD (S-097) ................................................... 109 Workshop Funds ................................................................................................................ 111 Sample Workshop Fund Letter .............................................................................................. 112 Matching Funds for Larger Health Fairs and Conferences................................................. 114 Coordinator Support Items ................................................................................................. 114 Award Display Items .......................................................................................................... 114 U.S. Coordinators & Regional Directors Only- Limited Liability Company Set up ..... 115 Hiring a New Area Captain................................................................................................. 117 Area Captain Attributes and Functions and Agreements ................................................... 117 Expectations .......................................................................................................................... 117 Agreement Procedure............................................................................................................ 117 Notification of Change in Area Served ................................................................................... 118 Notification of Resignation/Termination ................................................................................. 118 AREA CAPTAIN ATTRIBUTES ............................................................................................. 120 AREA CAPTAIN AGREEMENT ............................................................................................. 123 Regional Director Section - Revised December 2014 ........................................................ 127 December 2015 Page vii TOPS Headquarters Team Open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time 414-482-4620 Executive Office President Barb Cady Email: barbcady@tops.org Accounting and Employee Benefits Director Leslie Brown Email: lbrown@tops.org Extension 15 Communication and Outreach Director Shannon Luckey-Mueller Email: sluckey@tops.org Extension 41 Executive Assistant/US Retreat Registrar Laurie Blada Email: lblada@tops.org Extension 13 Accounting Accounting and Employee Benefits Director Leslie Brown Email: lbrown@tops.org Extension 15 Accounts and Funds Manager Accounts Payable IRD Travel Funds for: 25-year KOPS Reigning International Royalty State/Provincial Royalty International Winners Coordinator IRD Travel Funds Coordinator Support Items Mary Neuburg Email: mneuburg@tops.org Extension 37 Membership and Awards Associate Award Orders (L-015 & L-017) Coordinator statements & account problems Defective items and damaged shipments Orders not received S-009 Remittances Liza Amick Email:lamick@tops.org Extension 42 December 2015 Page 1 Accounting Assistant Shannon Barlow Contributions Email: sbarlow@tops.org Insurance Claims (chapter sites) Extension 39 Chapter and Special Event Insurance Registrations for IRD-General T-Shirt orders and other promotions in TOPS News (Not on L-015 or L-017) Communications/TOPS News Communications and Outreach Director Grant Opportunities Media Inquiries Publicity Advertising Shannon Luckey-Mueller Email: sluckey@tops.org Extension 41 Wellness Manager Workplace Chapters Insurance Company Vouchers We Can! Program Maggie Thorison Email: mthorison@tops.org Extension 23 Communications Assistant IRD Forms and Success Stories (L-016) News Releases Taylor Patton Email: tpatton@tops.org Extension 43 TOPS News Editor Story Ideas for TOPS News Corrections Members Voice (Letters to Editor) Jen Ede Email: share@tops.org Extension 35 TOPS News Assistant Editor Backup to Editor Story Ideas for TOPS News Corrections Members Voice (Letters to Editor) Barbara Maciejewski Email: share@tops.org Extension 46 December 2015 Page 2 Database Administration/Information Technology/Website Maintenance Manager Messaoud Zouaghi Data Center Reports email: mzouaghi@tops.org Website (chapter locator problems/questions) ext. 21 Programmer/Web Developer DJ Brensinger email: dbrensinger@tops.org ext. 47 Network/Database Coordinator Website access questions TOPS News (missing/damaged issues) Website (Store & Field Staff section) Linda Senolith email: lsenolith@tops.org ext. 14 General Office Manager Membership Records Annual IRD résumés 800-phone line concerns Sue Poplar email: spoplar@tops.org ext. 22 Chapter/Field Staff Records Associate Field Staff records & changes Field Staff email addresses New Chapter and Chapter Changes Officers Charts Carey Thiede email: cthiede@tops.org ext. 11 KOPS Records Associate Sharon Ignasiak KOPS Awards L-051 email: signasiak@tops.org KOPS Weight Chart questions ext. 18 Lost Status KOPS Records-New, Goal Change, Reinstatement Century Awards & recognition program registration IRD KOPS & Century recognition/registration Imaging and Data Entry Associate Secondary contact for Field Staff Records Data Entry Assistant/Receptionist Address Changes (membership) Chapter Transfers Deceased Members December 2015 Jackie Piwonski email: jpiwonski@tops.org ext. 24 Lori Rendon email: lrendon@tops.org ext. 0 Page 3 Shipping Facilities and Production Manager My Day One Orders Chapter Mailings Field Staff Supply Orders Donna Betchner Email: dbetchner@tops.org Extension 25 Headquarters Fax Numbers General Office 414-482-1655 Executive Office 414-482-3955 December 2015 Page 4 Quick Reference Guide - TOPS Club, Inc. Headquarters Open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time 414-482-4620 800 phone line concerns Address changes (membership) Award Orders (L-015 & L-017) Century Award: Records & IRD Event Registration Certificates: Chapter Anniversaries and 25-50 Year KOPS Chapter and Field Staff: Records and Changes Chapter transfer of members Contributions Coordinator support item purchases Data Center Reports Deceased members Defective items, damaged shipments and orders not received Grants Healthcare Professional data entry Insurance for chapters & special events KOPS: All Related Transactions/Questions L-016 Success Story Entry Media Inquiries Membership record verification Officers Charts Promotional items (not on L-015 or L-017) Publicity Registrations for IRD-general Résumés (Annual International and State/Provincial) Retreat Registrar (U.S.) Service Award for Field Staff Supply orders: Requests and Questions TOPS News (editorial content, submissions) TOPS News (non-receipt) TOPS News merchandise orders Vendors, approved letter authorizing use of logos Website Access questions Website (chat room & forum log-in) Website (chapter locator problems/questions) Workplace Wellness December 2015 Sue Poplar Lori Rendon Liza Amick Sharon Ignasiak extension 22 extension 0 extension 42 extension 18 Laurie Blada Carey Thiede Lori Rendon Shannon Barlow Mary Neuburg Messaoud Zouaghi Lori Rendon extension 13 extension 11 extension 0 extension 39 extension 37 extension 21 extension 0 Liza Amick Shannon LuckeyMueller Lori Rendon Shannon Barlow Sharon Ignasiak Taylor Patton Shannon LuckeyMueller Sue Poplar Carey Thiede Shannon Barlow Shannon LuckeyMueller Shannon Barlow Sue Poplar Laurie Blada Laurie Blada Donna Betchner Jen Ede Linda Senolith Shannon Barlow Laurie Blada Messaoud Zouaghi Messaoud Zouaghi Messaoud Zouaghi Maggie Thorison extension 42 extension 41 extension 0 extension 39 extension 18 extension 30 extension 41 extension 22 extension 11 extension 39 extension 41 extension 39 extension 22 extension 13 extension 13 extension 25 extension 35 extension 14 extension 39 extension 13 extension 14 extension 21 extension 21 extension 23 Page 5 TOPS General Information – Chapter 1 TOPS Club, Inc. as a Nonprofit Organization The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has considered TOPS operations and has determined that TOPS Club, Inc. is an exempt organization under IRC 501(c) (3). Verification of TOPS exempt status can be obtained by consulting IRS Publication 78 (“Cumulative List of Organizations”), by contacting IRS Taxpayer Information at any U.S. Internal Revenue Service office or from the IRS Website. Contributions made to TOPS Club, Inc. are deductible by donors for Federal Income, Estate and Gift Tax purposes. If any Field Staff desires to staff a booth to promote TOPS Club, Inc. at a health fair that requires TOPS 501(c) (3) letter in order to receive a fee reduction, TOPS Headquarters will forward a copy directly to the Health Fair Organizer requesting the information. Field Staff must contact the Executive Assistant (Laurie Blada) with the request. Materials displayed at any booth covered by TOPS Club, Inc. nonprofit status must be the ones provided by Headquarters. TOPS Chapter Status TOPS Chapters are separate legal entities. Depending on the law of the jurisdiction in which a chapter is located, most TOPS Chapters would be classified as unincorporated associations. TOPS nonprofit status does not apply to TOPS chapters. As such, gifts to TOPS Chapters are not federally deductible by their donors under TOPS exemption letter. If TOPS members are having a local display which is also promoting local area chapters, that event is not covered by TOPS Club, Inc.’s nonprofit exemptions. TOPS chapters may apply for inclusion under TOPS Club, Inc.’s nonprofit status (see Chapter 2 Group Exemption for more information). TOPS Club, Inc. as a Nonsectarian Organization The saying of prayers is not against TOPS Rule 3, which states we are nonsectarian. That means we are not adherents or advocates of any particular religion, not that we are prohibiting religion. If the chapter so chooses, prayer may be offered. Members are free to choose not to participate in prayer or to start chapters in which prayer is not offered. TOPS Club, Inc. is a Weight-Loss Support Group Persons whose purpose and objectives are to gain weight do not have the same purposes and objectives of TOPS Club, Inc., and they may be denied membership in TOPS Club, Inc. December 2015 Page 6 TOPS Club Inc. Lobbying Position We applaud and support those who have worked so diligently to ensure that obesity is recognized as the disease it is and that it is treated as such. Our mission is to raise awareness and give people the tools they need to fight their personal battle with obesity in partnership with their health care professional. While TOPS is happy to participate in and/or make our members aware of opportunities to participate in awareness events and like initiatives, our organization does not participate in lobbying of elected officials. TOPS Club Inc. Fund Raising Position TOPS Club, Inc. has no issue with gambling for fundraising (eg 50/50) as long as the chapter is adhering to state/provincial/local laws governing this type of activity. Consult with your Regional Director if you have any questions. Trademarks TOPS Club Inc. owns several registered trademarks. TOPS Club, Inc. Take Off Pounds Sensibly® KOPS® We're Here For You® TOPS provides the "do-it." ® Hands-On Pounds-Off approach to weight loss.® TOPS® Real People. Real Weight Loss.® Having these registered trademarks and the service mark gives TOPS the right to use these terms exclusively in the wellness and weight-loss arena. Having these trademarks does not exclude all other businesses from ever using the mark. For example, TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) is a program of state scholarships for Louisiana residents who attend Louisiana Public Colleges and Universities. Since this use of TOPS has nothing to do with weight-loss or wellness, it is not a violation of our registered trademark. Furthermore, to keep registered marks, organizations must continually use them. Failure to use a mark for a long period is considered “abandonment,” and organizations must reapply to keep trademarks every 10 years. It’s important to include the trademark symbol after each instance of a trademark. This is easy to do in Microsoft Word because when you type (R), the program should automatically convert it to ®. December 2015 Page 7 Procedure for Resolving Questions and Problems As in any organization, TOPS Club, Inc. has a procedure outlining whom members and Field Staff should contact if they have a question or problem. Chapter member Area Captain Coordinator Regional Director goes to goes to goes to goes to TOPS President goes to Area Captain or Coordinator Coordinator Regional Director TOPS President (or if new, to Mentor appointed by President) Board of Directors If the answer given was unclear or the solution offered was not workable, directly request additional clarification or other possible options from the next level. If still unsatisfied with the results obtained through these channels, Field Staff and members may send a confidential email to the “Board Confidential Liaison” as well as make contact through traditional mail or phone call. TOPS Club, Inc. or your Regional Director will provide this information on request. You can find a direct link to email your question to the “Board Confidential Liaison” on the TOPS website at www.tops.org. 1. Sign in to the Members Area and then scroll down to the Our TOPS Team link. 2. At the top of the TOPS’ Board Member list is the “Board Confidential Liaison”. 3. By clicking on these words, an email format will open up for you to write and send your question/problem. Volunteer Service Donation Programs TOPS Club, Inc. will work with members who have the opportunity to receive money through a Volunteer Service Donation Program or an Employee Matching Funds Program. The dollar value of the program must be $250 or greater. The check needs to be made payable to TOPS Club, Inc. and sent to Headquarters. TOPS Club, Inc. will make these funds available to the chapter upon verifying that the use of these funds meets the criteria and purpose for which TOPS Club, Inc. is established. Contact Accounts and Funds Manager (Mary Neuburg) for more details. TOPS News and Chapter Programs Use of product names in TOPS News and in chapter programs is allowed. Product coupons may be offered in TOPS News. December 2015 Page 8 TOPS Members as Speakers at TOPS Events TOPS speakers at TOPS events may request a fee commensurate with the service he/she is providing. Americans with Disabilities Act TOPS takes the position that Headquarters must comply with ADA responsibilities. However, chapters are their own entities and their responsibilities are tempered by what would be financially reasonable for them to do. Chapters generally use space in buildings owned by others and the owners hold responsibility for their buildings. Note that churches are exempt under the ADA. December 2015 Page 9 TOPS Chapters – Chapter 2 Starting a New Chapter 1. As soon as you receive the completed Officers Chart (L-001) and Leader’s Membership Form (L-003) or names and membership numbers of transferring member, fax to 414-482-1655 or scan and attach to an email to cthiede@tops.org. 2. Since it has been faxed or emailed, the Officers Chart does not need to be mailed. However, the original Leader’s membership form is to be included with your Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) as usual. Mark the top of the Membership Form (L-003) with the word “Leader”. 3. Upon receiving the fax or email, General Office will enter the information into the system within one working day. Shipping Department will be given the information so that they can ship out the Chapter materials within two business days. This will make it possible for a new Chapter to receive all start-up materials within 7-10 days. 4. In addition, if not already supplied by Field Staff attending organizational meeting, Headquarters will include a My Day One, TOPS Rules and TOPS Weight Charts (L027) for each new member. Please write on the Officers Chart (L-001) if you wish Headquarters to mail these items and state the number of new members. 5. Field Staff receives an email listing all Chapter information. 6. Leaders with email receive an email welcome letter with instructions on how to access the Member and Leader section of our website. New Chapters Will Receive from Headquarters Headquarters sends the following to each new workplace and community Chapter: Welcome New Leader letter T-275 Award Order Blank L-015 Leader Log-in L-057 KOPS Awards & Chapter Tools Order L-017 Program Flyers (NEW) L-048 & L-049 Award Items Brochure L-022 and L-022A Real Life Guide M-075 Awards Order envelope Democratic Rules of Order Incentive Flyer W-019 Chapter Manuals (x2) T-199 Ceremonies Guide Poster (x3) PI-095 TOPS Rules L-052 Poster with tabs (x3) PI-095A Chapter Charter* T-058 Door sign X-074 All community chapters also receive: Real Progress Journal Coupon T-200 Real Life Guide Coupon T-201 Order form for chapter manuals and info on news release T-037 Open House Guide/Promoting Your Chapter PI-081 December 2015 Page 10 Members can watch a brief video under Chapter Team Tools showing each item in the new chapter kit and explaining what it’s for and when or how to use it. All Field Staff are encouraged to watch this and other informational webinars to help new members and new chapters. If lost or damaged, charter may be replaced on request by Coordinator. List on S-009. Fee is $1.00 * CHAPTER MANUAL Starting in 2014, the Chapter Manual is a bound booklet. The Chapter Manual, Making Your Chapter Great will be revised every 2-3 years on a necessary basis. The Chapter Manual is designed to be used by all members. For easy reference, the most recent version of the Chapter Manual is always posted in the Members Area on the website, under Forms and Documents. Chapter Programs All Chapter Programs are printed in TOPS News in full color and posted on www.tops.org in black and white. A changing selection of chapter programs can be found in the Member Area under Programs and Contests. All current chapter programs are available in the Leaders Corner under Meeting Ideas. Hard copies of chapter programs may be ordered from Headquarters at a cost of $1.00 each, including shipping and handling. The Chapter Program Index and Chapter Program Order forms are available in the Members Area under Programs and Contest or from your Coordinator. Process for Opening Chapter Checking Accounts (U.S. Only) Banks require an EIN (Employer Identification Number) number. Therefore the Chapter Leader or Chapter Treasurer must apply for the EIN number from the IRS using the IRS Form SS-4. The most recent version may be downloaded from the IRS website www.irs.gov or picked up at a local IRS office. Instruction for IRS form SS-4 (L-069) has step-by-step instructions on completing the IRS form along with a current copy of the SS-4 and can be found in the Leaders Corner under Running Your Chapter. NOTE: IF A CHAPTER NEEDS TO CHANGE THE “MAIL TO” ADDRESS FOR A PREVIOUSLY ISSUED EIN NUMBER, THEY SHOULD USE IRS FORM 8822. Chapter Insurance 1. Certificates of insurance are not issued voluntarily. They are issued only if required by the meeting place. December 2015 Page 11 2. Complete form Insurance Application and Instruction Letter (L-031) found in the Leaders Corner under Running Your Chapter. 3. Include complete address of the chapter meeting place. No P.O. Boxes, please. 4. All certificates are provided on a November 20 to November 20 bases. The insurance fee is never pro-rated. 5. The cost is $40.00 (same for U.S. and Canada) per year. Do not include monies on Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). 6. If additional insured is required by your meeting place/event site, there is an additional fee of $100.00 per each additional insured entity. Only a limited number of such policies are available in the US. Headquarters must approve any such policies. If Canadian chapter requires additional insured, Headquarters must purchase a separate policy for each additional insured entity and the chapter will pay the full insurance cost. 7. No renewal notice will be sent. It is each Coordinator’s responsibility to send the chapter the Insurance Application and Instruction Letter (L-031) annually, prior to the expiration date. 8. Renewal applications should not be sent to Headquarters before October of each year. Applications sent in too early run the risk of being processed as current insurance for the period prior to November. 9. New applications may be sent anytime. 10. Insurance Certificates are not transferable to another location. If a chapter changes meeting place, a new application and fee are required (if insurance is required by the new meeting place). 11. If two or more chapters meet at the same location, one application may be submitted listing all the chapter numbers on the application. The fee is still $40.00. The cost can be divided between the chapters. 12. The insurance company forwards copies of the certificate to the meeting place and to TOPS Accounting Department. 13. Meetings held in private homes are not eligible to receive insurance coverage. Homeowners must check with their homeowners or renters insurance to see if they are covered. Please Note: Insurance coverage depends on the circumstances of any one claim and is determined by our insurance company upon investigation. Headquarters Staff and Field Staff are not able to make any determination on coverage. When an accident is brought to your attention, collect as much pertinent information as possible and send it to your Regional Director immediately in case it may be needed later. December 2015 Page 12 Chapter Group Exemption US Chapters may apply for non-profit status under our group designation. This is available if a chapter receives a large sum of donations or has problems with high fees on a Chapter Checking Account. There are three forms that need to be completed by the chapter. These forms can be found in the Leaders Corner under Running Your Chapter. 1. Application for Authorization for US Chapter Inclusion (L-046A) in TOPS Club, Inc.’s. Group Exemption Application 2. Articles of Chapter Association (L-046B) 3. Chapter Affiliation Agreement (L-046C) The three completed forms is to be sent to Headquarters. Incomplete forms will be returned to the Chapter. Enrollment period is from May 1 through August 15. Headquarters sends required paperwork of chapters applying for non-profit status to the IRS. After the IRS sends Headquarters an approval notice, we will send the chapter a nonprofit certificate the following April. Chapters with nonprofit status are tracked in the database. A report for Coordinators is available on the website that lists current nonprofit chapters for their areas under Coordinators, Coordinators Membership Reports. This is a federal government nonprofit classification. It does not exempt chapters from state and local sales taxes. The IRS requires that an “e-postcard” be filed each year. Each November, Headquarters will send a questionnaire to chapters covered under the non profit status, this questionnaire must be returned to Headquarters before December 31. Headquarters will then file the “e-postcard” for the chapter. Chapter Information Coordinators and Area Captains may review their chapters’ information for accuracy on the Coordinators or Area Captains section of www.tops.org. Click on Coordinators Reports or Area Captain Reports to view chapter information. Chapters are listed in numerical order. Click on Coordinators Member Search or Area Captains Member Search to look up Member/Leader’s information. Verify mailing address and status. If Leader’s membership is current, Active appears in the status field (or Inactive if membership is past due). In addition, check the renewal date because the Inactive appears 90 days after the due date, so the member may have missed paying his/her renewal. Coordinators may also check the Leader’s membership status by running the Renewal Dates for my Leaders from the Coordinators Reports. If Leader’s membership is not current, the chapter will miss out on current Leader mailings. Chapter information can also be viewed while in Member Search. Simply enter the chapter ID. Remember to use the complete chapter number which is state/province alpha code, space, 4 digits. Sample: WI 1234 Chapter information is taken directly from the Officers Charts. December 2015 Page 13 Leader/Chapter Mailings 1. Leaders are coded as such in our database. If a chapter is not receiving current Leader mailings, verify that the current Leader is listed as Leader with correct address and that membership is current. Chapters whose Leader’s membership is not current will not receive the mailings. Coordinators may check the Leader’s membership status by running the Leaders Renewal Dates report from the Coordinator report area of the website. 2. Privileged chapters (3 or fewer members) do not receive chapter mailings. These mailings contain forms and other materials and are sent out as follows: February Awards Brochure, Chapter Manual (if revised) June Officers Chart August Welcome New Leader November Chapter Resumes, Weight Charts December 2015 Page 14 Weight Chart Procedure The November chapter mailing will automatically include a supply of weight charts for the New Year based on active members, new and renewing, per records at Headquarters for each chapter. 1. Chapters of 20 or fewer members will receive 20 TOPS Weight Charts (L-027T) and 3 KOPS Weight Charts ( L-027K) 2. Chapters of 21 or more members will receive 30 TOPS Weight Charts ( L-027T) and 6 KOPS Weight Charts ( L-027K) 3. All chapters will receive one Transfer Weight Chart ( L-027TR) 4. Based on an analysis of chapter size and composition, most chapters will receive enough weight charts for the coming year. 5. The Coordinator supplies additional charts when requested. a. Weight charts may be ordered from TOPS Headquarters as needed. b. Weight charts are one-sided and are easy to print or copy. c. Weight charts can be downloaded from the Members Area, Chapter Team Tools section of the TOPS website and printed, or they can be copied at a local copy store. Officers Charts (L-001) Yearly Updates Officers Charts are sent to active Chapter Leaders in early June. Elections are held the second week of July. Once elections are held, and the form is received by the Coordinator, it is forwarded to Headquarters. Review the Officers Charts for thoroughness, then fax or email to HQ daily. 1. Verify the Leader’s membership is current. You can check this on the website. 2. Verify that the newly elected Leader signed the Officers Chart. 3. If a Web Designate is selected, make sure Web Designate’s email address is entered in the member’s record. 4. Verify that the fields on each Officers Chart are complete. 5. Send the Officers Charts to Headquarters a. Fax to (414)-482-1655. No cover sheet is needed; Forms that are faxed do not need to be mailed to Headquarters. Do not wait until you have all your Officers Charts. b. PDF and email your charts to cthiede@tops.org. c. If you do not have fax or PDF capabilities send charts each week with your remits. The August Chapter mailing is sent only to chapters who have sent in their L-001 Officers Chart. If the elected Leader’s membership is not current, indicate on chart and forward chart to Headquarters. 1. Follow up with Leader. December 2015 Page 15 2. Do not hold the chart; Headquarters requires the chapter details for referrals. 3. Headquarters maintains a file of inactive Leaders and updates Leader records prior to each Chapter Leader mailing. Change of Leader/Change of Meeting Place/Time All chapters open to new members are shown on TOPS website. Chapters that meet in the same place but on different days should have identical meeting place and address information. If you are aware of chapters with the same meeting place, list the other chapter numbers on the top of the Officers Chart. We will make certain the information is presented uniformly. Coordinators are responsible for notifying Headquarters and the Regional Director if a chapter needs to be temporarily removed from the website listing if there is reason to believe new members would not have an ideal experience in that chapter. Coordinator is also responsible for notifying Headquarters when that chapter’s difficulties have been resolved and should be relisted online for new member referrals again. Please train chapters that a notice should be posted on the door of the meeting place if there is a meeting “change” or a canceled meeting. Headquarters often receives calls when a prospective member goes to a location listed on the website and no one is there. Headquarters will then follow up with Coordinators. Please train Chapter Leaders to notify you immediately of any change of Leader, meeting time or meeting place. Notify Headquarters immediately if any chapter information changes. The preferred method is to send an email to cthiede@tops.org, however, a fax or phone call to Headquarters is also acceptable. Verification of Chapter Membership Records After July 31 of each year, the Coordinator must print the Highest Weight Report (Page break by Chapter) and send to each Leader. This report is in the Coordinators Reports Section of the website. Coordinator must instruct Chapter Leader that this report is used to determine maintenance for the coming year and that he/she must mark any changes on the report and send to Coordinator right away. This is a good opportunity to reconcile any discrepancies between Chapter and Headquarter records. December 2015 Page 16 Certificates for Chapters for Milestone Anniversaries Coordinators may request certificates that celebrate anniversaries for 25 years and up in 5 year increments (i.e. 25, 30, 45, etc.). Email Laurie Blada at lblada@tops.org with your request, and she will mail them either to you or directly to the Leader of the chapter, whichever you request. Include the following information in the email: 1. Chapter Number and City 2. Anniversary years 3. Leader’s name Non Referral Chapters (NRC) NRC chapters can be workplace chapters, chapters lacking motivation, chapters closing their doors to newcomers, or chapters which have reached room capacity. NRC chapters do not appear in chapter locator on TOPS website and are not promoted by TOPS 800 operators. NRC chapters remain active and receive all mailings, as any other chapter, if the Leader’s membership is current. Note: Any chapters preparing to disband should be flagged as NRC. Headquarters will not disband the chapter until the Coordinator informs General Office of the date the chapter disbanded. Listing on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) is not sufficient, inform General Office by an email, fax or phone call. NEW! Chapters with 3 or less members do not show on the chapter locator on the TOPS Website even if they are not marked as NRC. December 2015 Page 17 Disbanding a Chapter Coordinator should notify Headquarters immediately by email, fax or phone as soon as you have determined that a chapter cannot be reorganized and must disband. Notifying Headquarters of a disbanding chapter in a timely manner prevents prospective new members from obtaining obsolete information on the website and our TOPS 800-lines. Once a chapter is disbanded, it may not be reactivated. 1. Upon learning that a chapter is disbanding (or has disbanded), contact all members by email, phone or mail asking if any of them wish to continue the chapter. (Only three are needed to continue.) 2. If none wish to continue the chapter, contact each member by email, phone or mail and ask if they are attending or plan soon to transfer to another TOPS chapter. Include a list of all who indicate “no” when notifying Headquarters. 3. Next, contact all officers and remind them that they have an agreement with TOPS to return all TOPS materials and assets and that it is against the law to use TOPS copyrighted materials without TOPS written consent. 4. Coordinators have 90 days to notify Headquarters of active members transferring to another chapter from a disbanded chapter. Arrange a time and place to collect all TOPS materials and assets and take at least one witness to this meeting. 5. Coordinators will see the disbanded chapter on their “Coord Disbanded Chapters” report as long as there are active members in the chapter. When there are no longer any active members, the chapter will be removed from the report. The individual member’s information can still be seen in the Coordinator Member Search as long as the chapter is on the Coord Disbanded Chapter list. 6. If you know that a member has transferred to an active chapter, notify General Office Manager, who will complete the transfer process to the new chapter. If the status is “I, the membership has lapsed. If the status is “A”, membership is current. 7. After submitting an accounting and current bank statement to the Regional Director, Coordinators may retain disbanded chapter funds as well as funds from the sale of chapter scales and any other chapter assets up to a maximum of $500.00 for use in the area. Any additional funds shall be submitted to TOPS Club Inc. on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). Missing Chapter Funds A Coordinator shall notify the Regional Director if a complaint is received that funds are missing from a chapter account. Regional Director provides support as requested. December 2015 Page 18 TOPS Member Classification – Chapter 3 TOPS Membership Application (L-003) Form is also found on www.tops.org in the Members Area, Forms and Documents, Annual Membership Application (L-003 or L-003W) 1. Review the application for a complete address, weight, chapter ID and enrollment date. 2. Include middle initial and spouse on the application. It is helpful in identifying members. 3. Weights are now entered exactly as registered on the chapter scale as explained in Chapter Manual. 4. Be sure member signs the application form. The member’s signature is acknowledgement of the conditions of membership. Applications submitted without signatures will be returned. 5. Review member’s history to see if member is new or renewing. Checking on the website is recommended. 6. May be used for renewing memberships also if form L-003R is not available. New Member Defined 1. Someone who has never been in TOPS. 2. A previous member with a greater than one-year lapse of membership—(receives a new membership number). Example: Member was due to renew August 5, 2013. Member rejoins August 5, 2014. Membership is processed as new because membership lapsed more than 365 days. Renewing Member Defined 1. A previous member with less than one-year lapse of membership retains old membership number. 2. An active member renewing annually. Membership Records Not Deleted 1. Records of previous members who rejoin after a one-year lapse in membership shall be archived in a separate file and not deleted. 2. Membership records that have remained inactive for two or more years shall be archived in a separate file but not deleted. 3. Membership records of deceased members shall be archived in a separate file but not deleted. December 2015 Page 19 Entering New Membership Applications Coordinators enter new memberships on the website. Enter name, address, chapter ID, email address and phone number if available. Membership number is generated on completion of entry. Write membership number on L-003 and include with S-009 for further processing. If warning message appears “Another member has a profile similar to your own”… do not complete entry and send with S-009 as usual. Once a membership number is generated, a new member can access the TOPS website. If the new member has an email address, a welcome email is generated from Headquarters. This email, which includes the membership number, may sometimes be caught in a spam or junk mail folder, so it is important for the Coordinator to also contact the new member directly. Whether or not the new member has provided an email address, the Coordinator should email chapter leader and designate the membership number and request they provide the number to the new member at the next chapter meeting. New members do NOT have to wait until they receive their first copy of TOPS News to receive their membership number. Remember, it can take up to ten weeks to receive the very first issue. Younger members especially may give up on the TOPS program much sooner than the ten week mark if they cannot use the member tools on www.tops.org. The importance of providing this information right away is crucial to new member retention! Membership Renewals Mailed 1. Canadian membership renewals are mailed first class through Canada Post. Membership renewals are generated once a month and printed 7 weeks prior to the month of renewal to allow adequate time for members to renew their membership. 2. U. S. membership renewals are mailed standard class. Membership renewals are generated once a month and printed 6-7 weeks prior to the month of renewal to allow adequate time for members to renew their membership. 3. Membership cards for new members who do not receive TOPS News: Membership cards for new half-price spouse, teens and preteens who do not receive TOPS News and new half-price vision impaired members will be sent a one-time membership card at the time of their enrollment. 4. Members who pay full membership fee and receive TOPS News will have their membership card printed on the back cover of each issue of the magazine. December 2015 Page 20 Renewing Member Forms TOPS Membership Application (L-003) Use for renewing members if L-003R is not available. 1. Check the Renewal Application box in the upper left on L-003. 2. Check history for current or past membership. Checking on website is recommended. 3. If membership number is not available, list as much information as possible, such as previous or maiden name, previous chapter, city or state. Form L-003R Refer to CHAPTER MANUAL for instructions and sample. 1. The 8.5 x 14 partitioned form is mailed to the member 6-7 weeks prior to renewal date. 2. Review for completeness: Member’s signature, Date paid, Date received by Coordinator, Remit number. Note: Members can pay their membership fee up to 90 days prior to membership due date. The amount due will be the membership dues in effect as if they had paid on their renewal date. Late Renewals If renewal is paid late, the Coordinator must mark the renewal as either: LAPSED: Member has not been attending meetings and is given a new renewal date. If membership has ‘lapsed’ more than one year, a new membership number is issued. BACKDATE: Member has been attending meetings and should be renewed as continuous membership. Renewal date remains unchanged. Note: issues of TOPS News that may not have been mailed are not replaced. Chapter Members Renewing Online 1. Beginning 90 days prior to renewal date, members will see a reminder to renew when logged on to the TOPS website. 2. Member clicks on red link that reads “Membership Renewal” in the upper right. 3. Renewing members at their highest weight at time of renewal should print their payment voucher and take both the renewal form and voucher to chapter. Weight recorder must enter member’s renewal weight on the renewal form, enter the words “Online renewal” under the weight, attach the voucher and send both to the Coordinator. 4. Online renewal is not available for half-price members. December 2015 Page 21 Half-Price Vision Impaired Memberships 1. Print Disabled members may join at half price. They do not receive TOPS News. 2. Sighted spouse may not join at half price. Half-Price Spouse Memberships 1. It is the Coordinator’s responsibility to verify spousal TOPS membership. 2. Indicate on the application which is the half- price spouse (if joining at same time). 3. If a state or province recognizes same sex marriages, said couple shall qualify for one half-price spouse membership. Reminder, please put full-price spouse name on the half price spouse renewal notice. Half price spouses may not renew online. Here’s How It Works 1. A new member who paid full price may enroll his/her spouse at half- price. The household will receive one subscription to TOPS News magazine. When completing Membership Application (L-003) for the half-price spouse, the name and membership number of the spouse who paid full price must be written in the spouse area of the application. 2. Renewing spouses are also eligible for half-price membership if the other spouse paid full price. Just be sure that the name and membership number of the spouse who paid full price is written in the spouse area of the membership renewal form. NOTE: When sending in a new membership application or renewal for a half-price spouse, always check www.tops.org that the full-price spouse has a current membership. Teen/Preteen Memberships Teens must be under 18 at time of enrolling. Preteens must be at least 7 years of age and under 13 at the time of enrollment. 1. Same information needed as adult memberships 2. Also required: Birth date 3. Specify News or No News (Depending on fee paid) December 2015 Page 22 Member Name and Address Changes Please inform your members to use the United States Postal Service or Canadian Change of Address form to ensure delivery of TOPS News magazine each time members move. Coordinator, Area Captain or member can also update address on the TOPS website. When TOPS News or renewal notices are returned to Headquarters because of a bad address, we place a hold on the member’s mail. Headquarters will attempt to get a current address by: 1. Contacting the member if email address is available. 2. If member has no email, we will contact the Leader of the chapter if email is available. 3. Email the Area Captain. 4. Email the Coordinator. Area Captains and Coordinators may check which members are not receiving mail by running the Members with Bad Addresses report from their reports area of the website. Members Transferring From One Chapter to Another Instruct Leaders to send to Coordinator name, membership number and “from” or “to” Chapter ID, where any member is transferring. Print distinctly, use yellow if you need to highlight. Other colors interfere with scanning. Welcome to New Members Each day Headquarters sends an email to all new members entered into our database (if they provided an email address). This welcome email provides their membership number and information to access the Members Area of www.tops.org. TOPS Online Membership A person can become an online member (OLM) by clicking on www.tops.org. 1. “Join Tops” on the blue ribbon 2. Purchase a New Online Membership or Online Membership bundle. Online Members create their own “login” and “password.” December 2015 Page 23 Converting an Online Member to a Traditional Chapter 1. Instruct Chapter Leader to copy the online membership number and enrollment date listed on the voucher to Membership Application (L-003). 2. Instruct Chapter Leader to fill in member’s first weight recorded at chapter as member’s present weight. (The online enrollment date on the voucher is the starting date; the first weight in a chapter is the present weight.) 3. Instruct Chapter Leader to complete all other areas of the Membership Application as usual. 4. Instruct Chapter Leader to attach the voucher to the Membership Application and mail to Coordinator. If the member does not bring the printed voucher, chapter must verify membership number and date with Coordinator. 5. For the Coordinator to receive Service Fee, the membership application must be received at Headquarters within 60 days. Coordinators can check for online members in their area waiting to join a traditional chapter by running the report Members in Online Chapter in My Area Excel found under the Coordinators Reports section of the website. L-003 must always be send to Headquarters for members who join online. Converting Traditional Member to Online Member 1. When General Office receives a member request to change from a traditional chapter member to an online member: a. General Office explains that as an online member, the member is no longer eligible for awards, including KOPS. Coordinator contact information is offered. b. If member declines the contact, the membership is converted from traditional to online. Coordinator and Regional Director are notified. 2. If a Coordinator or Regional Direct requests a change from a traditional chapter member to an online member: a. Membership is converted. Coordinator and Regional Director are notified. b. Member is placed in the online member chapter. c. Original starting weight and renewal date from chapter remain a part of the record. December 2015 Page 24 Disruptive Conduct Disruptive, offensive, inappropriate and abusive behavior is all conduct violating TOPS Rule 9 (e) and the purpose and objectives of TOPS Club, Inc. It subjects a member to: dismissal from the chapter and loss of TOPS membership Based on a member’s conduct, the Chapter Executive Committee, consisting of the chapter’s elected officers and the Weight Recorder, may determine that a member should be dismissed from the chapter. The Chapter Executive Committee shall advise the Coordinator and request the Coordinator’s approval for dismissal, and upon receiving the Coordinator’s approval, the Chapter Executive Committee shall advise the member of his or her dismissal from the chapter. If the Coordinator believes the member’s actions also justify loss of TOPS membership, the Coordinator shall advise his or her Regional Director of the circumstances relating to the member, and the Regional Director shall make a determination as to loss of membership. In all cases of member misconduct, time is of the essence. If a member is dismissed from a chapter but does not lose membership rights, the member may join another chapter or become an online member. Any time a person threatens personal harm to anyone, the local police department shall be notified immediately of the nature and circumstances of the threat. One caveat would be when we are dealing with a member who has a mental or physical handicap. We should be especially careful in our actions regarding their behavior. Process for Revoking Membership When revoking a TOPS member’s membership for good cause, the following procedure should be followed: 1. Field Staff should talk with all those involved. 2. Obtain signed documentation of just cause from several sources. 3. Make sure member has been given the opportunity to make changes in his or her behavior if appropriate. This must be duly documented. 4. Do not give the member in question a copy of the documentation received from the chapter. 5. Contact TOPS Headquarters immediately to ensure a membership renewal is not sent to the member and proper procedures are followed. 6. Regional Director shall write a letter addressed to the member simply stating the action taken. (e.g. As per our discussion on Monday, October 23, 2014, your membership has been revoked and you are not permitted to attend any further TOPS meetings or functions.) The original copy of the letter will go to the member with copies to TOPS December 2015 Page 25 Club, Inc., Chapter Leader, Coordinator and Area Captain. A list of all revoked members is available to Regional Directors using Detailed Search, Status S-suspended at www.tops.org. 7. A person whose membership has been revoked may not attend any TOPS event or function. December 2015 Page 26 KOPS Members – Chapter 4 Registering KOPS Members KOPS Registration form (L-014) is used for First Registration, Goal Change and Reinstatement. This form is available on the website under Members, Chapter Team Tools, for the Weight Recorder. 1. 2. 3. 4. Verify membership is current on www.tops.org before sending in any registration. Both Coordinator’s and member’s signature are required. Send KOPS Registration form (L-014) to HQ and retain a copy for your records. KOPS goal slip must be on prescription blank or stationary containing healthcare professional’s license number and contact information. Facsimile copy is permitted. 5. Chapters are required to send a copy of current weight chart with the L-014 so Coordinators can verify dates and weights for accuracy before sending to Headquarters. These copies shall remain with the Coordinators. KOPS Identification Cards KOPS card and KOPS pin are sent in the same envelope to the member for a first registration. KOPS cards are not replaced yearly. If there is a reinstatement or goal change, a new card will be issued stating goal change or reinstatement. All KOPS cards list the original KOPS date. Pins damaged in shipping or not received are replaced at no charge if requested within 6 months of processing. New and Reinstated KOPS – Area Captain Notification 1. Each Friday evening, the TOPS computer system sends an email to all new and reinstated KOPS processed during that week (provided the member’s email address is listed in their member record). The email will tell them that their KOPS registration has been approved and that they have been added as new or reinstated KOPS members at Headquarters. The email will also offer congratulations from the TOPS Board of Directors. 2. The Area Captain will be sent an email with the member’s name, email, membership number and chapter ID. Area Captains are encouraged to use this information to offer their personal congratulations in an email or in some other way to the new and reinstated KOPS. KOPS Longevity Awards KOPS Longevity Awards form (L-051) is available on the Members Area of the website under Chapter Team Tools, For the Weight Recorder. December 2015 Page 27 1. Confirm all information on form is complete. Check on the website to make sure membership renewal is current and that the KOPS Longevity Awards form (L-051) is completed through the validation date. 2. Member, Weight Recorder, current Leader and Coordinator sign form. Correct membership number must be listed for the Leader and Coordinator. 3. Note remit number in appropriate box on right side of form. KOPS Weight Charts KOPS Weight Charts (L-027K) are available on the website under Members Area, Chapter Team Tools, for the Weight Recorder as well as from TOPS Headquarters. Reference Chapter 7 in the CHAPTER MANUAL 1. KOPS weight charts are sent to HQ for archiving; however, we can only archive the charts received. When a longevity award is requested and we do not have a chart archived, we must request a copy from the Coordinator. 2. At the end of December, Coordinators receive from Headquarters a bar-coded label for each active, registered KOPS member. The Coordinator attaches the label to the lower left corner of the corresponding KOPS weight chart before sending to Regional Director. It is very important that the name on the label matches the name on the weight chart. If a weight chart has an incorrect label, it cannot be retrieved for viewing after being scanned. KOPS Weight Chart Check List 1. Instruct your Weight Recorders to use red or black ink for all data entries on weight charts so the charts can be read when scanned. 2. Verify membership number and spelling of name. 3. Verify that male or female is indicated. 4. Verify KOPS date. 5. Verify goal change(s). 6. KOPS medical excuses are limited to a maximum of 12 consecutive months. If, at the end of the 12-month period, the medical condition still exists, a healthcare professional must provide a statement in order to consider extending the medical excuse. This request will be reviewed by the Medical Excuse Review Committee. 7. Verify weight for pregnancy. Health Care Provider slip must be attached to KOPS chart. 8. Members who were KOPS all year must have 15 weigh-ins per year to maintain status, unless letter of exceptional circumstance is attached. 9. Medical excuses or letter of exception should be the only attachments to KOPS weight charts. December 2015 Page 28 10. For pre-teen and teen members, mark KOPS weight charts with member’s height and growth allowance. 11. Remember the website is available for checking all KOPS information. 12. Use the website to verify lost status dates to be sure a KOPS Lost Status Card (L-021) or email notification was sent. 13. When reviewing your KOPS weight charts, if you notice that a member lost status, simply note date status was lost on label and affix to chart. It is not necessary to complete a lost status card. 14. When sending KOPS weight charts with a lost status to the Regional Director, keep them separate from weight charts of active KOPS. If the Coordinator has a label for an active KOPS member (check on the website) but no chart, the Coordinator should request the chart from the chapter 15. If the Coordinator has a KOPS Chart and there is no label, verify whether or not Headquarters received the proper registration paperwork. 16. No special order is required, sort charts into three groups, active KOPS, lost status and no labels KOPS weight charts sent to HQ at the end of the year are scanned for permanent record but are not verified for missing data until validating a longevity award. December 2015 Page 29 KOPS Medical Excuse Extension Beyond 12 Consecutive Months 1. Coordinator should record period covered by medical excuse in NOTES section in member’s website record for reference. 2. Upon receipt of medical excuse, Coordinator advises chapter of procedure for requesting an extension beyond 12 consecutive months when needed. 3. Chapter immediately must send to the Coordinator a copy of the KOPS chart with a letter from the health care professional explaining exceptional circumstances that require extension of medical excuse. 4. If letter indicates a chronic condition that will continue indefinitely, goal may be changed or member forfeits KOPS status. 5. Coordinator must send medical excuse slips to TOPS Club, Inc. Attn: Medical Excuse Review committee, immediately upon receipt. 6. Do not hold copy of chart and letter until end of year. These may be sent at any time as 12 months may be up before year ends. 7. Medical Excuse Review Committee will review and advise Regional Director in writing of decision. Committee will return approved letter of exceptional circumstances to be attached to KOPS weight chart. Coordinator shall inform chapter. KOPS Lost Status KOPS Lost Status Cards (L-021) are available on the website under Members Area, Chapter Team Tools, For the Weight Recorder, but the cards are not required. 1. Instruct Leaders to send Lost Status Card or email lost status information promptly. Email is preferred. Be sure to include membership number and, most importantly, the lost status date. 2. To avoid duplication, check your records and the website to be sure lost status information has not been sent previously. KOPS Society Field Staff are not required to attend KOPS Society meetings but may do so if invited. KOPS Society is not responsible for paying the visiting Field Staff expenses. December 2015 Page 30 TOPS News – Chapter 5 First published in 1949, TOPS News has grown from a mimeographed club newsletter to a fullfledged glossy magazine with an international circulation. Our magazine is produced bimonthly by a team of professional writers, editors and designers at Headquarters. Unless noted, all material in TOPS News is the intellectual property of TOPS Club Inc. and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. TOPS does give limited permission for chapters and members to make photocopies for chapter or personal use (for example, copies of chapter programs for use in educational portion of meeting or copies of coupons and IRD registration forms so they do not have to be physically cut from a member’s magazine). In keeping with TOPS Club’s nonprofit, noncommercial status, the magazine contains no outside advertising, and articles do not endorse specific products or brands, although brand names do appear from time to time. The Purpose of TOPS News Inspire, educate and motivate each member on his or her personal weight-loss journey, Provide sensible weight-loss information members can apply in their everyday lives, Recognize member achievements and contributions, Help members support and connect with one another, Build strong, caring chapters led by informed volunteers, Raise awareness of how TOPS can help individuals, organizations and communities to combat obesity and its devastating effects. Give members and Field Staff a vehicle for sharing the TOPS message with healthcare professionals, workplaces, friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and anyone interested in living a healthier, happier life at any age. Professional Articles vs. Member Submissions Because TOPS prides itself on offering our members the most current and accurate information possible, recipes and articles covering nutrition, medical conditions, human behavior and fitness are written or reviewed by accredited professionals in those fields. This includes regular features such as: Focus on Nutrition and Nutrition Q&A Focus on Fitness and Fitness Q&A Medical Feature and Medical Q&A December 2015 Page 31 Chapter programs covering nutrition, fitness, medical issues and behavior modification Recipes, which include exchanges and serving information The topics of these features are often selected based on questions, comments and ideas submitted by members. TOPS encourages members to send in their medical, fitness, and nutrition questions and article suggestions to share@tops.org. TOPS does not pay for member submissions and any articles published as the result of a member submission become the property of TOPS Club Inc. Due to the volume of submissions, materials cannot be returned. Articles by both experts and members are edited for space and style. When is TOPS News Mailed? TOPS News follows the bimonthly schedule outlined below. Mailings are synchronized so magazines arrive in the U.S. and Canada at roughly the same time. Issue Approximate in-home date Last date to submit December/January February/March April/May June/July August/September Oct/Nov. late November late January late March late May late July late September September 1 November 1 January 1 March 1 May 1 July 1 Submission Deadlines and Forms As you can see from the chart above, the TOPS News team is working on each issue many months in advance. Magazine content often is already assigned or chosen in advance of the “last date to submit” deadlines listed above, so early submission is highly recommended. Please note that Headquarters has discontinued the use of the L-011 TOPS News Report Keep reading for suggestions that increase the likelihood of a submission appearing in TOPS News. We still require the L-016 Success Story Form (revised for 2015) for recognition of State and Provincial Kings and Queens and International Division Winners. For more information, see Chapter 7. Selection Process TOPS News is comprised of items that are considered educational, informational, newsworthy, and of interest to the greatest number of readers. Priority is given to member and chapter submissions that are: December 2015 Page 32 unusual motivational first-time last-time exciting colorful helpful outstanding Celebrate Success TOPS News annually features success stories of International Winners. In addition, Provincial, State, and Overseas Kings and Queens receive high consideration. However, we also welcome good stories from successful losers, stories from new or alumni KOPS, stories from members with unusual lifestyles, etc. The main thing is that they are inspiring. If you know of a good, articulate loser with an engaging story, ask him or her to send it to us or simply send us the details, and we will contact that member to follow up if feasible. Chapter and Member Resources This pullout section in the center of each issue is a new feature in TOPS News. While chapter programs and contests have appeared in the magazine for several years, they are now grouped together, along with the Leaders Corner and I Was Wondering, so that everything chapter-related is conveniently located in the middle of the magazine. Chapter and Member Resources section includes Chapter Programs, Contests, Installation Ceremonies, KOPS Ceremonies and tips for recruiting, recognizing and motivating members. The material’s originality and helpfulness to other chapters and members is the main consideration for publication. Interactive programs that are brief and require few props or supplies are best. Recipes The editorial team solicits healthy recipes from Registered Dieticians, other nonprofit wellness organizations and professional food writers, but members are encouraged to send in original recipes as well. A few things to keep in mind: 1. We do not reprint copyrighted recipes from cookbooks, other magazines, etc., without their permission. 2. Please include the approximate serving size (in cups, tablespoons, etc.) and how many servings the recipe makes. This enables our consulting dietitian to calculate calorie counts, exchanges and other nutrition information. Note: We cannot provide this service to individuals who are curious about a favorite recipe. 3. In keeping with our mission to help our members take off and keep off pounds sensibly, TOPS reserves the right to edit recipes. Members Voice (Letters to the Editor) Members Voice (formerly In the Mail, formerly Letters to the Editor) includes comments and criticisms from members. Comments may pertain to a magazine article, a TOPS event, a personal triumph or challenge, or anything else other members may find relatable or helpful. Items included in Members Voice come from messages that members send to Headquarters or Field Staff over email, on Facebook, or by mail or fax. Unless confidentiality is requested, any communication deemed helpful to members may be edited and included in Members December 2015 Page 33 Voice without notification. The full name and chapter number of the member who wrote it will be included. As Field Staff, you are encouraged to pass these along. Scrapbook The Scrapbook features more member and chapter submissions. These snippets are generally chosen based on the quality of the photos, although some poems, songs and sayings have also been included. Photos should be accompanied by a list of everyone pictured. Please list in order from left to right, by row, etc. Other Articles Field Staff are in a special position to spot article ideas and encourage their authors to submit them. Talks given at recognition days by professional speakers can often be excellent material for TOPS News. If you hear an especially informative or inspiring talk, please send us a transcript, manuscript or overview of the speaker and topic. The editorial team will follow up with the author/speaker to obtain reprint permission or an interview if feasible. Photo Requirements Quality photos help bring TOPS News articles to life. Good images enhance articles to produce a professional, visually pleasing publication. TOPS News cannot publish photos if they do not meet basic photo guidelines. Photos should be sharp and clear and show something of interest to more than one chapter or member. If possible, they should be action photos. Complete guidelines (are available to review and download from the Forms and Documents section of the Members Area at www.tops.org. For the Record – Member Achievements In each issue of TOPS News, For the Record recognizes new chapters, KOPS milestone anniversaries and new Century Award winners. Please remind chapters that they do not need to submit this information. Lists in For the Record are generated automatically from Headquarters records. For the Record – Contributions TOPS Club appreciates and recognizes gifts of all sizes. Once received at Headquarters, contributions are included in For the Record, and a small token of appreciation is sent to the giver for any contribution of $20.00 or more. Missing information can cause a delay in this recognition, so the following checklist is included for your convenience. 1. Please note that all donations must be accompanied by Contribution Form (L-019) 2. Be sure to indicate whether it is an individual or chapter contribution and designate a fund using the checkboxes provided. General Fund is the most helpful as monies can be directed toward the area of greatest need at any given time. December 2015 Page 34 3. To ensure donations appear correctly in TOPS News, please provide the full name, as it should appear, for all “in honor of” and “in memory of” contributions. (For example, in memory of Jane Doe’s son, is not enough information on the L-019). 4. Heritage Society donations are recognized once per year in the December/January issue of TOPS News. To qualify for the Heritage Society, donations must be at least $100 and made using form L-019B. All contribution forms are available on the website under Members Area/Forms and Documents. December 2015 Page 35 Missing Magazines Please check on the website if membership is current and check bad address report before notifying Headquarters. Procedure if a member is on the “Bad Address” report or if the words “Bad address” appear under their address in a member search: 1. If member’s address is correct, notify General Office Manager, who will take it off the report. 2. If member has moved with no forwarding address, and the chapter has no contact with the member, notify General Office Manager, who will mark the file so that the member will come off the report. 3. If member’s address is incorrect, make the address change, and then the member will come off the report in 1-2 business days. Remind members that snowbirds need to (a) notify Headquarters as they move back and forth or (b) change their address on TOPS website. If any member’s information needs to be corrected, notify General Office Manager at spoplar@tops.org New Members First Issue This chart shows when a member is likely to receive the first issue of TOPS News. Many factors may affect this, so these dates are by no means guaranteed. Join online before 1-Jan 23-Jan 19-Feb 26-Feb 23-Mar 13-Apr 5-May 19-May 17-Jun 2-Jul 15-Jul 6-Aug 1-Sep 17-Sep 8-Oct 30-Oct 17-Nov 10-Dec Join at chapter before* Most likely to receive 11-Dec 2-Jan Feb/March 29-Jan 5-Feb 3-Mar April/May 24-Mar 14-Apr 28-Apr June/July 27-May 11-Jun 24-Jun Aug/Sept 16-Jul 11-Aug 27-Aug Oct/Nov 17-Sep 9-Oct 27-Oct Dec/Jan 19-Nov December 2015 Mailed** 17-Jan 3-Feb 27-Feb 14-Mar 1-Apr 22-Apr 21-May 29-May 26-Jun 18-Jul 24-Jul 15-Aug 17-Sep 26-Sep 17-Oct 14-Nov 26-Nov 19-Dec Page 36 *Assumes 3 weeks to reach HQ and be entered in database. **Allow additional week for US delivery and 2 extra weeks for Canada. December 2015 Page 37 TOPS in the Workplace – Chapter 6 Exciting news – TOPS completely updated our workplace options in 2013. The pricing and structure is different from that of community chapters, so please do not quote the $32 or $36 fees and do not share the PI-028, S-103, L-003 Membership Application or L-001 Officers Chart when speaking with a business. This chapter will guide you through what TOPS has available to businesses, how workplace chapters are different from traditional chapters and how you can work with TOPS Wellness Manager Maggie Thorison to spread the powerful TOPS message to more people, one business at a time. If you have any questions, please call Maggie at 414-482-4620, Ext. 23 or email her at mthorison@tops.org. You may also reach out to Outreach Assistant Alyssa McNamee at 414-482-4620, Ext. 43 or email her at amcnamee@tops.org. Approaching Businesses – Why is TOPS Doing This? Employer-sponsored wellness programs are one of the fastest growing trends. TOPS provides the weight-management component to corporate wellness programs in the form of on-site weight-loss support chapters, which differ from community chapters. Reaching out to businesses helps spread the TOPS message to a broad audience by: Fostering diversity (age, gender, racial, ethnic). Getting the word out to people who may not have heard about TOPS. Allowing people to create their own positive experience with TOPS. Making impressions through word-of-mouth, e-newsletters with TOPS information and TOPS posters/pamphlets in company break rooms, etc. Approaching Businesses – What’s in it For the Business? In short, wellness programs can help save companies money through reduced healthcare costs, reduced absenteeism, reduced worker’s compensation claims and increased productivity. In the United States, medical expenses are 42% higher for an obese person than for a normal weight person. Research shows that every $1 spent on wellness can yield a $3 return. Wellness is a smart investment. December 2015 Page 38 TOPS is an Affordable Solution to a Costly Problem TOPS is cost-effective: TOPS costs a fraction of what commercial programs cost. TOPS is easy to implement: TOPS provides volunteer meeting Leaders with the educational resources and support they need for informative and engaging meetings. TOPS is proven effective: Research published in Obesity shows that TOPS members experience measurable and lasting results comparable to those of more expensive, commercial programs. Workplace Chapter Pricing The membership fee for workplace chapters is not $32 or $36. TOPS has two packages available for businesses. o The Basic Package includes a one-year membership, My Day One, subscription to TOPS News, Real Life: The Hands-on Pounds-off Guide and Food Exchange Cards. The Basic Package is $46 in the U.S. and $50 in Canada plus shipping. o The Total Wellness Package includes all of the items in the Basic Package plus My Real Progress, a set of Fitness Cards and Nutrition in the Fast Lane. The Total Wellness Package is $56 in the U.S. and $60 in Canada plus shipping. Workplace chapters pay a $96 startup fee and $48 renewal fee each year. TOPS invoices workplace chapters. Workplace chapters do not open a bank account. TOPS invoices the business, and they pay TOPS directly. For more information, please see Pricing policy for new workplace prospects under Workplace Chapter Policies. Workplace Chapter Service Agreement All workplace chapters are required to sign a service agreement (W-018) and return it to TOPS Headquarters. To see a copy of this agreement, please contact TOPS Wellness Manager. The service agreement includes: Pricing for workplace chapters. A membership roster. This is used in place of the L-001 Officers Chart. A membership application. This is used in place of the L-003 membership application. Terms and conditions. The service agreement must be signed, and whoever is signing it is agreeing to all the terms and conditions. December 2015 Page 39 Workplace Chapter Policies Defining a Workplace Chapter In order to qualify for workplace chapter status, the following must be true: 1. Management of the workplace must sign the service agreement. 2. Payment must come from company to TOPS Headquarters. 3. All members work for the same employer (or, with employer consent, are family members who are insured through the company health plan or clients of the employer when the employer is a medical facility, social services agency, senior center or other organization whose clients directly benefit from the TOPS program). 4. Meetings are sanctioned by employer. 5. A chapter meeting in a workplace that is simply donating meeting space is a community chapter if items 1-4 above are not true. Mileage reimbursement policy for workplace chapters 1) TOPS will reimburse Field Staff for 50% of mileage ($0.44 per mile), 50% of tolls, and 50% of parking if the distance traveled one way to the potential workplace location is 15 or more miles from Field Staff home or workplace. 2) TOPS will pay whether or not a chapter is started. 3) Field Staff visit must be preapproved in writing by Headquarters Wellness Manager to receive reimbursement, and Regional Director must be notified (copied on email), but RD approval is not necessary. 4) There is no form for reimbursement. To receive reimbursement, Field Staff should fax, mail or email the following documentation to Wellness Manager: a. Proof of mileage using a printout from MapQuest, Google Maps, or similar service (Printout must include both starting and ending street address, city, and state.) b. Receipts for tolls and parking (No reimbursement without receipts.) c. Note stating the date of the workplace visit, the purpose, and the outcome. d. Wellness Manager will initial and approve the request (assuming it meets requirements) before passing to Accounting Department for payment. e. HQ will issue a check to Field Staff within 10 business days of receipt. 5) Each visit must be preapproved by the Wellness Manager. This policy applies only to starting and supporting workplace chapters. 6) Regional Director may add to reimbursement from TOPS, using RD publicity fund, as RD deems appropriate. December 2015 Page 40 Pricing policy for new workplace prospects 1. The new pricing offered on the service agreement is the ONLY pricing that will be offered to workplaces. Workplaces must choose one of the two packages we are offering. No discounts can be given. If prospects have questions, please put them in touch with Wellness Manager. 2. For workplace chapters, there will be no half-price memberships for spouses or teens. Every participant must pay the full fee. 3. TOPS Club Headquarters will handle all sales of all items. 4. All payments will be handled by Headquarters. Coordinators will receive credit on the S-9. 5. Field Staff are not to send any invoices whatsoever to workplace chapters. This includes but is not limited to event fees, program fees or chapter maintenance. These fees are covered by the corporate start-up and renewal fees, a portion of which will be given to Field Staff to offset these costs. 6. All workplace chapters will pay either the start-up fee or the renewal fee each year, and a portion of that will be given to Field Staff to offset maintenance, event assessments and other fees that workplaces do not pay per item 5 above. 7. Companies with chapters at multiple locations pay the start-up and/or renewal fee for each chapter since each chapter will receive mailings, support materials and service from a member of Field Staff. If prospects have questions, please put them in touch with Wellness Manager at HQ. Getting the Word Out to Businesses The TOPS wellness packet will help you explain the program to a prospective business. For example, this is a great tool to bring if you’re meeting with a wellness committee. It includes informational pieces about TOPS and may be ordered through your Regional Director (Regional Directors may purchase the packets out of Publicity Funds for $2.00 each, with a minimum of 6 packets per “ship to” address). If you still have wellness packets that do not include the Service Agreement and Workplace Member Application, please do not use them, as the pieces are outdated. If you are unsure, please contact Wellness Manager. Please do not mail the wellness packet to a business if you have not already made contact with them. This is because a business may feel overwhelmed with an entire folder of information if they did not ask for it. Instead, you may mail or email the W-020 workplace chapter flyer to make initial contact. When delivering or mailing the flyer, be sure to include a personalized cover letter with your contact information. See Sample Cover Letter at the end of this chapter. Here are other ways to get the word out: December 2015 Page 41 1. Look for wellness articles and events in both the Business and Health and Fitness section of your local newspaper. Oftentimes, these areas feature an article on a company’s employee wellness program. When a company is actively committed to the health and well-being of its employees, it is a great idea to send them information about TOPS. Look up a company’s address online and send TOPS information to the attention of “Human Resources.” A Human Resources employee might even be quoted in the article. If this is the case, you may send information directly to this employee’s attention. 2. Send TOPS information to local hospitals, school districts, manufacturing facilities and municipalities. 3. Enlist the help of members who are actively involved in their companies and eager to share their TOPS success with co-workers. Tools to Promote TOPS in the Workplace Sample Total Wellness Package. This is great for a show-and-tell when meeting with a business or for having on hand for an employee health fair. You may order through your Regional Director. “What is TOPS?” PowerPoints. A scripted PowerPoint is available in the Area Captains section of www.tops.org. W-020 workplace chapter flyer. This will help you walk a business through how to customize its own unique TOPS chapter. Available as a hard copy and as an electronic PDF through Wellness Manager. Wellness packet. Includes the W-020 and other informational pieces that explain the TOPS in the Workplace program. W-005 payroll inserts. Last updated in October 2013, these inserts are perfect for helping employers gauge employee interest in holding an on-site chapter. They’re also a great handout for employee health fairs. Live and recorded webinars. The TOPS Wellness Manager may make available live or recorded webinars to help Field Staff and businesses better understand what TOPS can offer. Please contact Maggie Thorison at mthorison@tops.org for information. Special note about employee health fairs: Do not distribute the PI-028 brochure or handouts with $32 or $36 pricing. Instead, please use the W-005 payroll inserts, PI-097 fruit and veggie challenge flyers, PI-071E Emotional Eating brochure, Healthy & Active magazine and TOPS News. New Leader Outline The New Leader Outline is especially helpful for workplace Chapter Leaders, who are often pressed for time. The outline includes weekly program suggestions and important TOPS reminders for one full year. The outline is available on the website under Members Area, December 2015 Page 42 Leaders Corner. There is also a seasonally changing New Leader Outline in the Leaders Corner. Business Chapter Weigh-In Option Business chapters sometimes have a concern about employees knowing each other’s weight. In order to accommodate this concern and allow employees to be eligible for contests and TOPS recognition, the following procedure should be implemented. If you have any questions, contact Wellness Manager at mthorison@tops.org. Field Staff or volunteer does first weigh-in and leaves charts with members. Members weigh themselves all year and fill out their own weight chart. If a person joins mid-year, someone else needs to verify weight at time of joining. It does not matter who verifies the weight as long as someone has done this and placed the weight on the application. Field Staff or volunteer member verifies final weigh-in and collects all charts. Field Staff prepares resume and submits along with other chapter résumés. Members are eligible to be chapter winners and also may qualify for ARD/SRD/PRD or IRD winners as long as they have their first and last weigh-ins verified by someone else and qualify as per TOPS Rules. The resume will be included in Coordinator’s area resume. Special Note Regarding Workplace Chapters at Schools TOPS Chapters meeting at a school or university may close at the end of the school year and restart in the fall. "Excused" is entered each week on the weight chart during the period the chapter is not meeting. Members may be issued a travel chart to take with them if they wish to weigh in at a local community chapter. The travel chart is turned in when the school chapter restarts in the fall. The weights are transferred to the member's chapter chart for the appropriate week. It is important to note that in order to participate in the TOPS yearly recognition programs, there must be a weight recorded during the month of December. Workplace Chapter – Frequently Asked Questions Q: Will the option of the wellness packages be made available to regular new members at the beginning of their membership? And will it be made available to other members? A: The Basic Package is available to new, traditional TOPS chapter members, as they may order the Real Life Guide and Food Exchange Cards right on the L-003 membership application. The Total Wellness Package is a special offering available only to workplace chapters and other special circumstances. December 2015 Page 43 Q: How do you order materials to start a workplace chapter? A: The service agreement is only available through the Wellness Manager and includes the membership roster (for the Leader to complete) and membership application (for each member to complete). The L-027 weight charts remain the same for both traditional and workplace members. My Day One booklets are included as part of the wellness packages. It’s a great idea to hand out past issues of TOPS News at a workplace chapter’s first meeting. Q: If workplace chapter does not pay a workshop fee, then why are they permitted to attend workshops that all other chapters paid fees for? A: A workplace chapter does not pay miscellaneous events assessments you may have throughout the year (quarterly meeting fees, etc.). However, if employees would like to attend an event such as SRD, PRD or a rally, they are still subject to the event’s registration fee just as traditional members are. Also, Field Staff will receive a portion of the startup or renewal fees for workplaces to help defray these costs. Q: When the application is completed, does it go to the Area Captain, Coordinator or Headquarters? A: When the service agreement is completed, it is sent directly to Headquarters. Please keep the Wellness Manager posted if you are working on starting a workplace chapter. Q: Can a person join the workplace chapter in the middle of the contract year? A: Employees may join at any time throughout the year. They have to fill out the Workplace Membership Application (PART D of the Service Agreement) and send to Headquarters so we can invoice. Q: Do workplace chapters not contact Field Staff for anything after we present the program? Do they only communicate with Headquarters? A: Workplace Chapters will still stay in touch with Field Staff after you initially meet with them. TOPS Headquarters will serve as the contact for new memberships, financial questions and ordering materials. However, Field Staff will still stay in touch as they do with a traditional chapter. This includes follow-up emails, newsletters at your discretion, and presenting the Area Captains program (if the business will allow such a visit). Q: When a member transfers from a workplace chapter to a community chapter, does the member pay chapter dues? A: Yes. If members transfer from a workplace chapter to a community chapter, they will be subject to that chapter’s dues. December 2015 Page 44 Q: A new workplace Leader doesn’t seem to have any interest in me visiting. Why is this? A: In some cases, a business may have very strict policies regarding visitors. This can be particularly true of government agencies that may need to restrict visitors for security reasons and manufacturers who must comply with OSHA guidelines. It’s a good idea to check in with the workplace Leader regarding visits, just as you would with a community chapter. However, if they do not express interest in an in-person visit, do not take it personally. The most important thing is to let them know that you’re available for any questions they may have. Q: If I haven’t heard from a Workplace Chapter Leader in a while, is it okay to drop in for a visit? A: Unexpected visits are not a good idea and can put you and the business in an awkward position for the safety and security reasons listed above. Also, the Leader may be on deadline or in an important meeting. Instead, follow-up with a quick and friendly phone call or email. Following up monthly is sufficient, as your main contact person may simply be very busy at the moment. December 2015 Page 45 Sample Cover Letter Date Business Address Dear ___: As a local representative of TOPS, I’d like to introduce our weight-management program, which is affordable, easy to implement and proven effective. For more than 60 years, TOPS has helped millions of people Take Off Pounds Sensibly and keep them off with our unique system of peer support and recognition. During meetings, members receive expertly prepared educational materials and engage in fun activities that address issues related to nutrition, realistic goal-setting, physical activity and behavior modification. This, combined with weekly weigh-ins and encouragement from others, helps people develop the knowledge and motivation they need to make permanent lifestyle changes, while lowering their risk for serious and costly health problems. Unlike other for-profit weight-loss companies, TOPS is nonprofit and charges an uncommonly low annual membership fee per participant, plus a one-time start-up fee for the chapter. A university study published in Obesity, the official journal of The Obesity Society, shows TOPS is just as effective as for-profit weight-loss groups but costs much less. I have attached a flyer that shows just how simple starting a TOPS chapter is. I would welcome the opportunity to briefly walk you through this flyer and discuss how our program can help your employees live fuller, healthier lives. Please contact me at your convenience, so that we can set up a time to meet briefly over the phone or in person. Wishing you and your employee’s lifelong health. Sincerely, Name Title Email Phone December 2015 Page 46 Résumés/International Recognition Days – Chapter 7 Schedule for Resume Procedures November Executive Office emails the following forms to Coordinators: 1. Division Winner Recognition (S-033) 2. Annual Royalty Recognition and Best Average Loss Resume (S-034). These forms are also available in Excel on www.tops.org on the Coordinator page. January 1. Leader sends completed Chapter Resume (L-010) received in the Chapter Mailing. If chapter did not receive a form, it can be found in the Members Area, Chapter Team Tools, for the Weight Recorder. Leader sends to Coordinator as soon as possible after the chapter’s last weigh-in of December. 2. For his or her area, Coordinator determines royalty and division winners, and completes Division Winner Recognition (S-033) and Annual Royalty Recognition and Best Average Loss Resume (S-034). 3. Coordinator also determines chapter with best average loss. By January 31 1. Coordinator sends S-033 and S-034 to Regional Director. Note: Coordinators send completed résumés and charts as soon as possible to Regional Directors. 2. Headquarters sends Success Story (L-016) to King and Queen as part of IRD Royalty packet. Royalty and Division Winners will not receive monies to travel to IRD until Success Story and useable photos, along with other required paperwork in packet, is received in Headquarters. See letters pages 69-84. Success Story (L-016) may be sent to outstanding losers in each division requesting story and pictures be sent immediately as well 3. Regional Director tabulates Royalty, Division Winners and best average loss chapter for each state/province/country and sends to Headquarters for processing. December 2015 Page 47 By February 20 1. Regional Directors deadline to mail forms S-033 and S-034 to Headquarters. 2. Regional Directors combine all Coordinator reports from a state or province and send the completed resume to Headquarters as instructed. 3. All Best Average Loss Chapters, Division Winners, and State and Provincial Royalty are entered into a database at Headquarters. From this list, the David Fox Memorial Award Winner (this is an International Award only) and all International Division Winners and Royalty are selected. 4. This database is also used to print the State and Provincial Best Average Loss and Division Winner and Royalty Certificates to be sent to the Regional Director for presentation at ARD, SRD or PRDs. State/Provincial Royalty Winners Travel Funds for IRD will not be released until the signed Success Story (L-016) with before-and-after pictures has been received at Headquarters, along with other forms in the winner registration packets. March 15 1. Congratulatory letter and invitation to attend IRD mailed. 2. Included with the invitation is a packet of required paperwork, including Request for Travel Funds Form (IRD-102B), Success Story (L-016), IRD Registration Form (IRD000), IRD Events Entry Form (IRD-003) and Photo Requirements. Mileage will be paid or discounted coach airfare with required receipt. 3. A set amount of $599.00 is provided to help with other travel expenses. If you do not hear from your Regional Director by March 15 about winners in your area, please contact her or him. April 30 1. Acknowledgement stating whether or not winner plans to attend IRD must be received at Headquarters. 2. Headquarters must receive the completed Success Story (L-016) from each State, Provincial and Overseas King and Queen. A list of Kings and Queens whose stories and pictures are received will be sent to the Regional Directors weekly. 3. If event is prior to April 30, King or Queen must send completed Success Story Form (L016) and before and after pictures to Headquarters at least two weeks before the event is held. 4. The April 30 deadline date is critical. Do not wait until your local Recognition Days to take “after” photos. Please follow the instructions on the Photo Requirements Form. Everyday clothes in solid colors are best. Avoid large logos or writing and small patterns such as plaid or paisley. December 2015 Page 48 June 1 1. Completed Request for Travel Funds to IRD (IRD-102B), Success Story (L-016) with photos, IRD Registration Form (IRD-000) and IRD Events Entry Form (IRD -003) must be received at Headquarters or offer will be rescinded. Updating State/Provincial Royalty Winners Coordinator must notify Regional Director immediately upon learning that a King or Queen has lost status. They are to be replaced by next in line. General Office Manager (spoplar@tops.org) is to be notified immediately by the Regional Director and new certificate(s) will be issued. Once the Queen or King is crowned at SRD/ARD/PRD, if the recipient is unable to attend IRD, the runner-up shall be offered the opportunity to attend IRD to represent the state, province or country. The generic term “royalty” shall be used. Executive Assistant (lblada@tops.org) is to be notified immediately by the Regional Director, and a new letter will be generated. Upon notice from Coordinator that an invited King/Queen is no longer eligible to attend IRD, the Executive Assistant sends a letter to rescind the offer, and if funds were sent, requests the return of funds sent. International Winners 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. International Division Winners International King and Queen International King and Queen Runners-up Reigning International King and Queen Recipient David Fox Memorial Award Travel Funds for IRD will not be released until the signed Success Story (L-016) with before-and-after pictures has been received at Headquarters, along with other forms in the winner registration packets. March 15 1. Congratulatory letter and invitation to attend IRD mailed. 2. Included with the invitation is a packet of required paperwork, including Request for Travel Funds Form (IRD-102B), Success Story (L-016), IRD Registration Form (IRD000), IRD Events Entry Form (IRD-003) and Photo Requirements. Mileage will be paid or discounted coach airfare with required receipt. 3. A set amount of $599.00 is provided to help with other travel expenses. December 2015 Page 49 If you do not hear from your Regional Director by March 15 about winners in your area, please contact her or him. April 30 1. Acknowledgement stating whether or not winner plans to attend IRD must be received at Headquarters. 2. Headquarters must receive the completed Success Story (L-016) and Before and After pictures for all Kings and Queens and International Winners in their area. Note: The April 30 deadline date is critical. Do not wait until your local Recognition Days to take “after” photos. Please follow the instructions on the Photo Requirements Form. Everyday clothes in solid colors are best. Avoid large logos or writing and small patterns such as plaid or paisley. May 12 1. Executive Office mails out invitation for the Awards Reception to International Winners who have sent in an acknowledgement that they will be attending IRD. This invitation includes one guest for each winner. June 1 1. Completed Request for Travel Funds to IRD (IRD -102B), IRD Registration Form and IRD Events Entry Form (IRD-003) must be received at Headquarters or offer will be rescinded. IRD Information 1. Winners must register for IRD using Form IRD-000 included in the registration packet mailed in March and are responsible for their own housing. 2. State and Provincial Kings, Queens and Reigning Royalty must arrive by Wednesday and not depart until after Saturday session ends. 3. International Division Winners and IRD King, Queen, King Runner-up and Queen Runner-up must arrive on Tuesday and not depart until after Saturday session ends. 4. Headquarters will inform winners of schedule for pictures, rehearsals, etc. 5. Winners will receive a final schedule for pictures, rehearsals, etc in their package at IRD The word “Royalty” shall be used to designate all Queens, Kings and Runners-up. Executive Office sends to RDs and Coordinators monthly reports which list: 1. Date that the Winner/Royalty either accepts or declines the invitation to IRD. 2. Date and amount of travel allowance check mailed to Winner/Royalty. 3. 25-year / 50-year KOPS. 4. President’s and Founder’s Award Winners. Copies of letters sent by the Headquarters for International Winners, KOPS, Century, Baggy Clothes, and State, Provincial and Overseas Royalty shall be emailed to Coordinators in March. Samples of letters sent from TOPS Club, Inc. are included at the end of this chapter. December 2015 Page 50 IRD Report 1. Once the International Resume has been prepared at Headquarters, no changes can be made to Division Winners. 2. IRD résumés are run after all State and Provincial Résumés are received—usually around March 10. These reports are mailed to all Regional Directors and members of the Board within days of running the reports. Letters to winners are mailed after Board and Regional Directors are sent the IRD Report of winners. 3. State/Provincial/Overseas Royalty lists are sent to IRD chairperson no later than April 1. Regional Directors notify Regional Director in charge of IRD if there are any changes to this list or if the Royalty is not attending. Two lists are created. One list notes kings and queens by state, province, and country—complete with mailing address. The other list shows kings and queens separately with names, addresses and pounds lost. 4. Regional Director in charge of IRD receives two additional copies for co-chairpersons. 5. The “David Fox Memorial Award” is noted on the IRD report. A congratulatory letter is sent to the Regional Director with a news announcement indicating the chapter will be receiving the David Fox Memorial Award. This is an International Award. Only one is presented each year. 6. Congratulatory letters are sent to each IRD winner by TOPS Club, Inc. Allow time for winner to receive this notification before contacting them with your congratulations. 7. Regional Directors contact Executive Office and Regional Director in charge of IRD immediately with any change in eligibility of (or notice of not attending) State and Provincial or International Royalty or International Division Winners. 8. In case of change of State and Provincial or International Royalty, Executive Office shall notify the next in line that they have earned the honor and shall notify Regional Director in charge of IRD. December 2015 Page 51 SAMPLE State/Provincial King/Queen March 15, 20XX Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code Dear (Name): Congratulations! You have earned the honor of representing: State of (name of state) (Queen, King) of TOPS Club, Inc. for the year 20XX. **Please share this information only with your chapter and family until your recognition event. We applaud your wonderful weight-loss efforts! As long as you maintain continuous KOPS status without raising goal until time of recognition, you are eligible to be recognized at TOPS International Recognition Days in[City, State or Province], [Month Date Year], and receive round-trip discounted coach airfare to IRD plus $599.00 to help with lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. Airfare must be purchased at least 30 days before International Recognition Days. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. Please plan to arrive by noon on[Day, Date], and stay at IRD through noon on[Day, Date]. To help you in planning your trip, you’ll receive a letter and a personalized schedule with your check for travel funds. These provide important information on event participation, dress code for onstage participants, housing and photo schedule. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. To receive this financial help, please complete and return the enclosed packet using the return envelope provided. Completed forms and photos must be received by April 30 or two weeks before your recognition event, whichever is earliest. Please contact your Coordinator with any questions. Remember to bring your state sash and crown or tiara and to review the dress code. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to receive recognition for your achievement. I look forward to applauding your success! Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: IRD Acknowledgement Receipt & packet [includes Request for Funds (IRD-102B), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003), Success Story (L-016), Photo Requirements and postage-paid envelope] December 2015 Page 52 On TOPS Letterhead State and Provincial Royalty Acknowledgement Receipt and Checklist Please indicate your choice, then sign and return the entire packet in the return envelope provided. Yes, I accept! I am pleased to represent my region and to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State. I realize I must be maintaining my last 20XX registered goal weight or lower. I realize that I will not receive funds until I complete and send all parts of the packet as outlined below and that I must refund all money received if I do not attend and participate in IRD 20XX. No. I am declining to represent my region and to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State I realize that once declined, TOPS will immediately contact the runner-up to take my place. I understand that I must still fill out the attached Success Story (L-016) and submit photos by April 30 if I wish to be recognized in TOPS News. Signature _____________________________________________ Date __________________ If you will be participating, please complete all attached forms and indicate how you will be sending your photos. Please do not separate this packet. IRD Registration (IRD-000) and payment. Please check here if you have already registered by mail or online. Leave form blank. Events Entry (IRD-003) Please check here if you do not qualify/do not wish to participate in KOPS or Century Award Recognition or Before-and-After Parade. Leave form blank. Please check here if you already sent in the Events Entry form. Leave form blank. Success Story (L-016) Request for Funds (IRD-102B) Before and after photos that meet the enclosed Photo Guidelines. I am enclosing professionally developed photos that meet the guidelines. I am sending digital photos that meet the guidelines to share@tops.org. . December 2015 Page 53 SAMPLE International Division Winner Member Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code March 15, 20XX Dear (Name): Congratulations to you for earning the honor of: INTERNATIONAL DIVISION WINNER FOR THE YEAR 20XX. Your weight-loss efforts are so inspiring! As long as you are no more than five pounds above your last weight of December at time of recognition, you are eligible to be recognized at TOPS International Recognition Days to be held in City, State or Province Month days, 20XX and to receive round-trip discounted coach airfare to IRD plus $599.00 to help with lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. You will also receive a $200 Visa gift card after your participation in the TOPS News photo shoot. Airfare must be purchased at least 30 days before International Recognition Days. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. Please plan to arrive by Day, Date, and stay at IRD through noon on Saturday,Date. To help you in planning your trip, you’ll receive a letter and a personalized schedule with your check for travel funds. These provide important information on event participation, the dress code for onstage participants, housing and photo schedule. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. To receive this financial help, please complete and return the enclosed packet using the return envelope provided. Completed forms and photos must be received by April 30. Please contact your Coordinator with any questions. In mid-May, you will receive an invitation for you and one guest to attend the International Awards Friday afternoon. This is a special event in your honor during which I will present you with your International Award Pin. Please be sure to return the RSVP for with accepts or regrets. Announcement of our International Winners is the highlight of International Recognition Days. Please do not share this information with anyone other than your fellow chapter members, family and TOPS Coordinator and Area Captain. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to receive recognition for your achievement. I look forward to applauding your success Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: IRD Acknowledgement Receipt & packet [includes Request for Funds (IRD-102B), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003), Success Story (L-016), Photo Requirements and postage-paid envelope] December 2015 Page 54 On TOPS Letterhead International Division Winner Acknowledgement Receipt and Checklist Please indicate your choice, then sign and return the entire packet in the return envelope provided. Yes, I accept! I am pleased to be recognized as an International Division Winner and to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province. I realize I must maintain a weight loss no more than five pounds above my last weight of December at time of recognition. I realize that I will not receive funds until I complete and send all parts of the packet as outlined below and that I must refund all money received if I do not attend and participate in IRD 20XX. No. I will not attend IRD. I am declining to receive financial help to attend 20XX-IRD in City, State or Province. I understand that I must still fill out the attached Success Story (L-016) and submit photos by April 30 if I wish to be recognized in TOPS News. Signature _____________________________________________ Date __________________ If you will be participating, please complete all attached forms and indicate how you will be sending your photos. Please do not separate this packet. IRD Registration (IRD-000) and payment. Please check here if you have already registered by mail or online. Leave form blank. Events Entry (IRD-003) Please check here if you do not qualify/do not wish to participate in KOPS or Century Award Recognition or Before-and-After Parade. Leave form blank. Please check here if you have already sent in the events entry form. Leave form blank. Success Story (L-016) Request for Funds form (IRD-102I) Before and after photos that meet the enclosed Photo Guidelines. I am enclosing professionally developed photos that meet the guidelines. I am sending digital photos that meet the guidelines to share@tops.org. December 2015 Page 55 SAMPLE International King, Queen, Runners-Up Name Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code March 15, 20XX Dear: Congratulations to you for earning the honor of: INTERNATIONAL KING, QUEEN AND RUNNERS-UP FOR THE YEAR 20XX. Your weight-loss success is so inspiring! As long as you maintain continuous KOPS status without raising your goal until time of recognition, you are eligible to be recognized at TOPS International Recognition Days to be held in City, State or Province Month days, 20XX, and receive round-trip discounted coach airfare to IRD plus $599.00 to help with lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. You will also receive a $200 Visa gift card after your participation in the TOPS News photo shoot. Airfare must be purchased at least 30 days before International Recognition Days. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. Please plan to arrive by Day, Date, and stay at IRD through noon on Saturday,Date. To help you in planning your trip, you’ll receive a letter and a personalized schedule with your check for travel funds. These provide important information on event participation, the dress code for onstage participants, housing and photo schedule. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. To receive financial help, please complete and return the enclosed packet using the return envelope provided. Completed forms and photos must be received by April 30 or two weeks before your recognition event, whichever is earliest. Please contact your Coordinator with any questions. TOPS Club, Inc. will withdraw this offer if you do not respond by these dates. In mid-May, you will receive an invitation for you and one guest to attend the International Awards Reception Friday afternoon—a special event in your honor during which I will present you with your International Award Pin. Please be sure to return the RSVP with accepts or regrets. Announcement of our International Winners is the highlight of International Recognition Days. Please do not share this information with anyone other than your fellow chapter members, family and TOPS Coordinator and Area Captain. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to receive recognition for your achievement. I look forward to congratulating you in person. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: IRD Acknowledgement Receipt & packet [includes Request for Funds (IRD-102B), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003), Success Story (L-016), Photo Requirements and postage-paid envelope] December 2015 Page 56 On TOPS Letterhead International King, Queen and Runners-up Acknowledgement Receipt and Checklist Please indicate your choice, then sign and return the entire packet in the return envelope provided. Yes, I accept! I am pleased to be recognized as International Royalty and to receive financial help to attend 2015 IRD in Reno, Nevada. I realize I must be maintaining my last 20XX registered goal weight or lower. I realize that I will not receive funds until I complete and send all parts of the packet as outlined below and that I must refund all money received if I do not attend and participate in IRD 20XX. No. I am declining the title of International King, Queen or Runner-up. I will not attend IRD, and I decline to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province I understand that once I have declined, TOPS Club Inc. will immediately contact the next person in line to take my place and that person shall be given the title I am declining and receive all attendant benefits. Signature _____________________________________________ Date __________________ If you will be participating, please complete all attached forms and indicate how you will be sending your photos. Please do not separate this packet. IRD Registration (IRD-000) and payment. Please check here if you have already registered by mail or online. Leave form blank. Events Entry (IRD-003) Please check here if you do not qualify/do not wish to participate in KOPS or Century Award Recognition or Before-and-After Parade. Leave form blank. Please check here if you have already sent in the events entry form. Leave form blank. Success Story (L-016) Request for Funds form (IRD-102I) Before and after photos that meet the enclosed Photo Guidelines. I am enclosing professionally developed photos that meet the guidelines. December 2015 Page 57 SAMPLE Reigning Royalty Maintaining KOPS March 15, 20XX Name Address City/State/Province/Zip Dear: Because you are maintaining KOPS status, you are eligible to participate as Reigning International Royalty at TOPS International Recognition Days to be held City, State or Province Month, days Year, and receive round-trip discounted coach airfare to IRD plus $599.00 to help with lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. Airfare must be purchased at least 30 days before International Recognition Days. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. The enclosed Request for Funds form, along with IRD Registration (IRD-000) and Events Entry (IRD-003) must be received at Headquarters by April 30. TOPS Club, Inc. will withdraw this offer if you do not respond by this date. Funds will be released after all forms are received. After you have confirmed your participation, you will receive a letter with your check for travel funds. It provides important information on event participation, dress code for onstage participants, housing and photo schedule, if any. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. If you should have any questions about this procedure, please contact your Coordinator. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to crown the new TOPS International Royalty. Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: Request for Funds (IRD-102B), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003) December 2015 Page 58 On TOPS Letterhead Reigning Royalty maintaining KOPS Acknowledgement Receipt and Checklist Please indicate your choice, then sign and return the entire packet in the return envelope provided. Yes, I accept! I am pleased to be recognized as Reigning Royalty maintaining KOPS and to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province. I understand that I must maintain my status continuously until IRD to be honored. I realize that I will not receive funds until I complete and send all parts of the packet as outlined below and that I must refund all money received if I do not attend and participate in IRD 20XX. No. I am declining the title of Reigning Royalty maintaining KOPS. I will not attend IRD, and I decline to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province. I understand that once I have declined, TOPS Club Inc. will immediately contact the next person in line to take my place and that person shall be given the title I am declining and receive all attendant benefits. Signature _____________________________________________ Date __________________ If you will be participating, please complete all attached forms and indicate how you will be sending your photos. Please do not separate this packet. IRD Registration (IRD-000) and payment Please check here if you have already registered by mail or online. Leave form blank. Events Entry (IRD-003) Please check here if you do not qualify/do not wish to participate in KOPS or Century Award Recognition or Before-and-After Parade. Leave form blank. Please check here if you have already sent in the events entry form. Leave form blank. Request for Funds form (IRD-102B) December 2015 Page 59 SAMPLE David Fox Memorial March 15, 20XX Name Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code Dear (Name): Congratulations to your chapter for earning the honor of the: DAVID FOX MEMORIAL AWARD of TOPS Club, Inc.® for the year of 20XX. Your chapter has achieved the highest average weight loss per member of any TOPS chapter in 20XX. As long as the chapter remains active, you are eligible to accept this award on behalf of your chapter at TOPS International Recognition Days in City, State or Province, Month, days, Year, and to receive round-trip discounted coach airfare to IRD plus $599.00 to help with lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. Airfare must be purchased at least 30 days before the event. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. To receive this financial help, please complete and return the enclosed packet using the return envelope provided. Completed forms must be received at Headquarters by April 30,. Please contact your Coordinator with any questions. TOPS Club, Inc. will withdraw this offer if you do not respond by these dates. To help you in planning your trip, you’ll receive a letter and a personalized schedule with your check for travel funds. These provide important information on event participation, the dress code for onstage participants, housing, arrival and departure dates and photo schedule, if any. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. In Mid-May, you will also be receiving an invitation for you and one guest to attend the International Awards Reception Friday afternoon—a special event in your honor during which I will present you with your International Award Pin. Please be sure to return the RSVP with accepts or regrets. Announcement of David Fox Memorial Award is one of the highlights of International Recognition Days. Please do not share this information with anyone other than your fellow chapter members, family and TOPS Coordinator and Area Captain. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to receive recognition for your achievement. Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: Request for Funds (IRD-102B), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003) On TOPS Letterhead December 2015 Page 60 David Fox Memorial Acknowledgement Receipt and Checklist Please indicate your choice, then sign and return the entire packet in the return envelope provided. Yes, I accept! I am pleased to have my chapter be recognized as David Fox Memorial Award winner and to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province. I understand that the chapter must remain active to receive the award. I realize that I will not receive funds until I complete and send all parts of the packet as outlined below, and that I must refund all money received if I do not attend and participate in IRD 20XX. No. I am declining the David Fox Memorial Award. I will not attend IRD and I decline to receive financial help to attend 20XX IRD in City, State or Province. I understand that once I have declined, I am declining to receive all attendant benefits. Signature _____________________________________________ Date __________________ If you will be participating, please complete all attached forms. Please do not separate this packet. IRD Registration (IRD-000) and payment. Please check here if you have already registered by mail or online. Leave form blank. Events Entry (IRD-003) Please check here if you do not qualify/do not wish to participate in KOPS or Century Award Recognition or Before-and-After Parade. Leave form blank. Please check here if you have already sent in the events entry form. Leave form blank. Request for Funds form (IRD-102B) December 2015 Page 61 Procedure for 25 and 50 Year KOPS at IRD 1. When a KOPS applies for the 25 and 50 year longevity award, the KOPS Records Associate forwards a copy of form KOPS Longevity Validation (L-051) to the Executive Office. 2. The Executive Assistant will send two letters to KOPS: 3. Letter of congratulations a. KOPS who maintain a ten-pound weight loss are sent a letter that they may receive $599.00 toward expenses to attend IRD to be recognized. A return envelope is enclosed for the KOPS’ convenience. b. KOPS who do not maintain a ten-pound weight loss are sent a different letter. They do not qualify for the $599.00 allowance. However, if they attend IRD, they receive the same recognition as KOPS who have maintained a ten-pound weight loss. A return envelope is enclosed for the KOPS convenience. c. Twenty-five-year KOPS must return these letters to Headquarters and advise which IRD they would like to attend (choices listed below). They have one month to respond. If they do not respond, the offer to help with expenses is withdrawn. 4. These are the KOPS choices to attend IRD: a. If the KOPS Longevity Validation (L-051) is received at Headquarters between April 15 and October 15, KOPS only have the choice of being recognized at the upcoming IRD. b. If the KOPS Longevity Validation (L-051) is received at Headquarters between October 15 and April 15, KOPS have the choice of being recognized at the next two IRDs. c. Upon receipt of the KOPS Longevity Validation (L-051) in the Executive Office, a framed certificate is mailed to the Coordinator to present to the KOPS. Timetable April 15 Cut-off date for congratulatory letters to be mailed. May 15 Acknowledgement receipt must be received at Headquarters. June 10 Headquarters will mail a $599.00 allowance check at the appropriate time to KOPS who qualify for help toward their expenses and have sent the acknowledgement receipt checked “will attend IRD” within 30 days. December 2015 Page 62 SAMPLE 25-Year KOPS Date/Year Name Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code Dear: We wish to send you warmest congratulations on the occasion of your 25 years as a KOPS. You can well be proud of your achievement. Enclosed is further information regarding your options for receiving your award. Please accept our best wishes for your continued success as you Keep Off Pounds Sensibly®. Sincerely, TOPS Club, Inc. Barbara Cady President Enclosure December 2015 Page 63 SAMPLE 25-Year Continuous KOPS 10 or More Pound Loss Date Name Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code Dear, TOPS Club, Inc. congratulates you for maintaining continuous KOPS status for 25 years. As a KOPS who has maintained continuous KOPS status and who is currently maintaining a weight loss of ten or more pounds from your original starting weight, you are eligible to be recognized at IRD. You will receive $599.00 to help with transportation, lodging, meals, IRD registration and other expenses. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. To receive this financial help, you must return this letter by (one month). TOPS Club, Inc. will withdraw this offer if you do not respond by that date. In the event you wish to receive financial help to attend IRD to be recognized, please check your IRD preference on the bottom of this letter and a request for funds form will be mailed to you for your completion. This option must be exercised within eighteen months of the date your 25-year KOPS Longevity Award form (L-051) is received at TOPS Headquarters. You are eligible to be recognized in City, State or Province 20XX. (Two selections are offered after October 15.) Your framed certificate will be sent to your Coordinator, ______________, for presentation. Sincerely, TOPS Club, Inc. Barbara Cady President cc: Regional Director: Name Coordinator: Name -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT Yes, I wish to be recognized as a 25-year KOPS at IRD in City, State or Province, in July 20XX. (October 15) No, I do not wish to be recognized as a 25-year KOPS at an upcoming IRD. Signature _____________________________________ Date ______________________ December 2015 Page 64 SAMPLE 25-Year Continuous KOPS Less Then 10 Pound Loss to Goal Date Name Address City/State/Province/Zip/Postal Code Dear, TOPS Club, Inc. congratulates you for maintaining continuous KOPS status for 25 years. If you wish, you may be recognized for this remarkable accomplishment at City, State or Province, 20XX or City, State or Province, 20XX. (Two choices after October 15th, 20XX). Since the loss to goal that you are currently maintaining is less than the ten pounds that is necessary to receive financial help to attend IRD, you will be fully responsible for all expenses, including airfare, lodging, meals, etc. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. Your framed certificate will be sent to your Coordinator, (Name), for presentation. Please state your preference on the BOTTOM of this letter and return it by (one month) in the envelope provided for your convenience. TOPS Club, Inc. Barbara Cady President cc: Regional Director: Name Coordinator: Name -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT Yes, I wish to be recognized as a 25-year KOPS at IRD in City, State or Province, in July 20XX. (October 15) No, I do not wish to be recognized as a 25-year KOPS at an upcoming IRD. Signature _____________________________________ Date ______________________ December 2015 Page 65 SAMPLE – KOPS Sent Out after Receipt of Acknowledgement Received Date Name Address City/State/Province Zip or Postal Code Dear: Because you are currently maintaining KOPS status with a weight loss of ten or more pounds from your starting weight, you are eligible to receive financial help in the amount of $599.00 to help defray expenses to attend TOPS International Recognition Days to be held in City, State or Province, Month and Days, 20XX. You are responsible for your own transportation costs. A PASSPORT is necessary for travel between the USA and Canada. The enclosed registration packet must be received at Headquarters by June 1. TOPS Club, Inc. will withdraw this offer if you do not respond by this date. To help you in planning your trip, you’ll receive a letter and a personalized schedule with your check for travel funds. These provide important information on event participation, the dress code for onstage participants, housing, arrival and departure dates and photo schedule, if any. To avoid conflicts, please refer to this information prior to making travel arrangements or signing up for IRD tours. If you do not attend and participate, you must refund all money received. If you should have any questions about this procedure, please contact your Coordinator, __________. We sincerely hope you will be present at IRD to be honored at the KOPS session on Friday evening. Sincerely yours, Barbara Cady President of TOPS Club, Inc. Enclosures: Request for Funds (IRD-102K), IRD Registration Form (IRD-000), Events Entry (IRD-003) December 2015 Page 66 Founder’s Award for Coordinators The Founder’s Award shall be presented each year at IRD to up to ten Coordinators who meet basic service criteria and who have the most growth in membership compared to the previous year. Weight loss and/or KOPS status will be considered in case of a tie. From Coordinators who meet basic service criteria for the year, each Regional Director submits to the President the list of Coordinators with growth in members from the previous year and the number of the increase. This is to be done every year no later than January 31. From these lists, the President determines the top ten Coordinators. These are placed in rankorder regardless of area. A state or provincial winner may be selected if growth occurs. The top ten Coordinators shall still be announced at IRD and listed in TOPS News. Founder’s Award The Founder’s Award for Coordinators consists of: 1. Specially designed pinette 2. Certificate 3. $50.00 check A congratulatory letter is mailed around March 15 to all Coordinators who qualify for the Founder’s Award. Basic Service Criteria 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Visit 12 chapters or more per year in person or electronically (i.e. Skype) Newsletters – 4 or more per year Meet Deadlines Community Outreach Meet financial obligation at SRD, PRD or ARD Insure workshops and rallies are available for members President’s Award for Area Captains The President’s Award shall be presented each year at IRD to up to ten Area Captains who meet basic service criteria and who have the most growth in membership compared to the previous year. Weight loss and/or KOPS status will be considered in case of a tie. From Area Captains who meet basic service criteria for the year, each Regional Director submits to the President the list of Area Captains with growth in members from the previous December 2015 Page 67 year and the number of the increase. This is to be done every year no later than January 31. From these lists, the President determines the top ten Area Captains. These are placed in rank-order regardless of area. A state or provincial winner may be selected if growth occurs. The top ten Area Captains shall still be announced at IRD and listed in TOPS News. President’s Award The President’s Award presented at IRD consists of: 1. Specially designed pin 2. Certificate 3. $25.00 check 4. Round-trip coach airfare and $599.00 for travel expenses A congratulatory letter is mailed around March 15 to Area Captains who qualify for the President’s Award. Area Captain Basic Service Criteria 1. Visit all public Chapters with AC program in person or electronically (i.e. Skype) 2. Newsletters – 4 or more per year 3. Community Outreach Area Letters of Congratulations and Certificates LETTERS OF CONGRATULATIONS FOR ARD/SRD/PRD Letters of Congratulations from TOPS President are sent to all states, provinces or countries that hold a recognition day (area and state).The date of the recognition event, if it is an ARD/SRD/PRD, the state/province/country and the place where the event is held is emailed to the Executive Assistant at lblada@tops.org. The Letter of Congratulations is sent to the Coordinator in charge of the recognition day celebration. A DVD message from the President will also be available through the Regional Director. The message may also be available by email from Headquarters, the Coordinators Facebook page or by download from the Coordinators Area of the website IRD Dress Code Enforced If Field Staff sit in reserved section, Field Staff must wear business attire (not business casual). If Field Staff participate on stage, Field Staff must adhere to event dress code. December 2015 Page 68 TOPS Website Reference Sheet – Chapter 8 www.tops.org TOPS website is updated and changed on a regular basis. When major changes are made to the website an email will be sent out to the Field Staff describing them. Within the next twelve months an iMIS upgrade will be done to enhance the websites’ mobile capabilities. Member Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website Field Staff should encourage and support chapters and members in their efforts to use all the features of the TOPS website. After activating their membership by entering the membership number and Chapter ID, members sign in using their member number and the first two (2) letters of their first name and the first four (4) letters of their last name (all lower case and no space). Once signed in, they have access to: 1. Healthy Eating & Recipes: Which covers the exchange systems, substitutions, and a 28-day meal plan as well as any food or nutrition-related TOPS resources in the Members Area. From breakfast to appetizers, soups, salads and entrees, you’ll find about 200 recipes with Exchanges and nutrition information, including vegetarian recipes. 2. Getting Active: Workout programs and Fitness Tools to help you get more exercise into your day. 3. TOPS Tools & Apps: TOPS and KOPS pledges, daily inspirations calendars, Super Tracker app ecards and My Day One. 4. TOPS News: Read the latest issue of TOPS News, plus a year of back issues along with online extras 5. Medical Q & A: Whether you have a specific question or are looking for program ideas, Krames Health Care Library is an excellent resource of health care and medication sheets. Also available in Spanish! 6. My Weight Tracker: Try this convenient online method to track your weight. 7. Auditorium & Chatroom: Join in the auditorium and chat room. Online meetings are held in the Chatroom on Mondays and Thursdays, see chatroom for times 8. Self-Care Program: Enjoy this set of 25 slide shows that help members on the way to personal success 9. Video Library: Meet the Retreat Directors, International Kings and Queens and other inspiring members through their videos, and learn from our experts in nutrition, motivation, fitness and more. New videos added regularly. . December 2015 Page 69 10. Forms and Documents: All members have access to the most common TOPS forms, programs, contests, certificates and promotional items for their chapter. Included are My Day One, Chapter Manual and TOPS Rules. 11. Programs & Contests: Selected Chapter Programs and Contest available to all members along with the order form of TOPS complete list of Chapter Programs. 12. Seasonal Meeting Ideas: 12 seasonal chapters programs changed out each quarter along with contest ideals. 13. Certificates & Ceremonies: Printable certificates to honor all your TOPS and KOPS along with the current Award and Tools Brochure and order forms. 14. Chapter Team Tools: The most common forms needed to run your chapter broken down by officer position. Webinar training to Leaders and Co-Leaders, Secretary, Treasures and Weight Recorders. Ads and public service announcements to promote your chapter. 15. TOPS Store: Check out our growing array of award items, books, tracking journals, and many items to show your TOPS support and aid in your weight-loss journey. Leader Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website Encourage new Leaders to use the Leader's Corner. Leader’s sign in just as members do, using their member number and the first two (2) letters of their first name and the first four (4) letters of their last name. If the chapter’s Officers Chart has been received and processed at Headquarters, then the Leaders Corner will automatically show up on the blue ribbon toward the top of the Members landing area after the Leader or Designate logs in. Please be sure to notify Headquarters of mid-year changes in Chapter Leaders so the new Leader is able to access these important resources. Once signed in, Leaders have access to: 1. Leaders Member Search: This allows Leaders to search for information on the members of their chapter. 2. Leaders Membership Reports: A variety of reports with all the chapter members’ information in one place. 3. Leaders Email Groups: Leaders are able to send an email to all chapter members at one time. (Email only goes to members who have an email address on file at Headquarters.) 4. Meeting Ideas: A full year of meeting ideals using the New Leader Outline and more than 150 other TOPS programs, contests and activities. 5. Promoting Your Chapter: Leaders have access to the most common TOPS forms, programs, contests, certificates and promotional items for their chapter. This is the same as Forms and Documents for members. 6. Running Your Chapter: Chapter Manual, EIN instructions, Change of Leader and other forms for Leaders to run their chapter. If a Leader does not have access to the Internet, advise the Leader that he/she may grant another trusted chapter member permission to log in as a Leader by marking that December 2015 Page 70 person down as a Designate on the Officers Chart. This is further explained in the CHAPTER MANUAL. Do not enter an email for a Leader who doesn’t have an email. This only leads to confusion between member records and causes problems with compliance with anti-spam laws. If the Leader has no email, have the Leader add a Designate on the Officers Chart and leave the Leader’s email blank. Coordinators must verify that the chapter’s Designate has an email on record. Remember that Designates have access to confidential weight information for all members in the chapter. Field Staff Access to the Secure Part of TOPS Website Click: Sign in (Upper right-hand corner) Enter Login: FSIDXXXX (FSID is not case sensitive). No space between FSID and your four digit number. Enter Password: Default password is last name in lower case. Click: Sign On You can change your password after signing in by going to Member Area, Manage my Profile and Password. When signed in as an Area Captain you will have complete access to Members Area and Leaders Corner as well as the Area Captain area of the website. When signed in as a Coordinator you will have complete access to Members Area and Leaders Corner, Area Captain Area as well as the Coordinator area of the website. When signed in as a Regional Director, you will have complete access to Members Area and Leaders Corner, Area Captain Area, Coordinator Area and Regional Director Area of the website. Area Captain Secure Part of TOPS Website 1. Area Captain Member Search: This allows Area Captains to search for information on the Leaders and members of their area. 2. Area Captain Membership Reports: A variety of reports with all the chapters, KOPS, Leader information in one place. Available as Excel or PDF version reports and labels for mailings. 3. Area Captains Email Groups: The ability to send an email to all chapter members, Leaders, designates, members and KOPS at one time, provided they have an email address on file. December 2015 Page 71 4. Area Captain Chapter Rank: Ranking of all your chapters to keep chapter referral lists up to date and to see what chapters need a little extra help. 5. Leader Training: Instructions of how to do a Chapter Resume. 6. Leadership Skills: TOPS Leadership Program to help you along the way to build better TOPS Chapters. 7. Outreach-Archived Playbooks, Public Service announcements and letters to increase awareness about TOPS. 8. “We Can” Materials: To build healthy families 9. Press Release: Readymade press releases to help promote TOPS to your local newspapers, radio stations, television stations, or community websites. New releases are added monthly. 10. Publicity Pointers: Tips for promoting TOPS. 11. Area Captains Program: These educational presentations are available for download as PowerPoints, along with the scripts and any handouts. Bring the current year presentation to your chapters and use any past AC program for community presentations at civic groups, parent-teacher organizations, etc. 12. Area Captain Docs: The current Field Staff Source Book in a searchable pdf. 13. Certificates: Certificates to help motivate and reward your chapters Coordinator Secure Part of TOPS Website 1. Coordinator Member Search: This allows Coordinators to search for information on the members, Leaders and Area Captains of their area. 2. Coordinator Membership Reports: a variety of reports, including chapter reports, KOPS reports and Leader information in one place. Available as pdf or Excel versions and also labels for mailings. 3. Coordinator Email Groups: The ability to send an email to all chapter members, Leaders, designates, members, Area Captains and KOPS at one time, who have an email address. 4. Coordinators Add New Member: Coordinators can and should enter new members into database quickly. 5. Coordinator Chapter Maintenance: An easy way to enter in Chapter Maintenance Funds, then run a report from the Coordinators Membership reports area. 6. Coordinator Chapter Rank: Ranking of all your chapters to keep chapter referral lists up to date and to see what chapters need a little extra help. 7. Operation Documents: Documents, Order Forms, Weekly Report, Certificates and other items you need to run and promote TOPS in your area. 8. TOPS Outlet Mall: Shop TOPS Outlet Mall or Custom Pins for items to promote at your ARDs, SRDs, PRDs, fall rallies and workshops. 9. Approved Vendors: Vendors preapproved by TOPS Club for you promotion needs. 10. Approved Speakers: This speaker list is a power resource for planning TOPS-approved messages for your area events. December 2015 Page 72 Chapter Ranking IMPORTANT NOTE: TOPS Vision is to be the best weight loss support choice for people who want a healthy and active life. TOPS relies solely on Coordinators and Area Captains to rank chapters. Referrals of individuals wishing to join to the best chapters in your area are made based on your rankings. This ranking is a tool to monitor and help improve chapters. TOPS recommends that Field Staff inform and involve chapters in this ranking process by asking them to provide a self-ranking using the eleven areas (Sample provided immediately following.) You are encouraged to award chapter improvement and excellence. Guidelines 1. All chapters start out with a default ranking of 3 in each area. 2. Chapters are ranked from 1 (group has many shortcomings) to 9 (excellent group.) 3. Privileged chapters and virtual chapters are not ranked. 4. Chapter ranking should be completed by the time Chapter Résumés are submitted by the Coordinator to TOPS – by February 1 of each year. 5. Chapter ranking should be reviewed and updated on an annual basis or as circumstances change. 6. If no changes are needed for a chapter, click on Edit, when pop up comes up with ranking numbers just click Save and new date will automatically update to today’s date. 7. Regional Directors are responsible to see that Area Captains and Coordinators update this list in a timely manner each year. Procedure 1. Log into TOPS website at www.tops.org. 2. Go to the Area Captains or Coordinator section, depending on your title. If you are a Coordinator acting as an Area Captain you must do Coordinator and Area Captain ranking. 3. In the lower left, click on the link “My Chapter Ranking”. 4. Click edit on the chapter you wish to change. a. Rank each chapter using questions shown above the chapters. b. This is a sliding scale from 0 to 9 and can you may select numbers between those listed to more accurately represent your ranking. c. Click the “Save” button. 5. Move to next chapter and repeat the steps in #4. 6. The average rank will update automatically. 7. Area Captains may print the page out for their records. 8. Coordinators may go to the Reports area and print the “Chapter Rank Report”. December 2015 Page 73 PLEASE PRINT THIS RANKING CHART FOR EASY REFERENCE WHEN REVIEWING CHAPTERS Area Captain Ranking 1. Use TOPS Chapter Programs/Materials Number of points _____ 3 uses per month 2 uses per month 1 use per month Do not use TOPS programs or materials 2. Awarding Weight Loss Achievements (pick only one) If chapter recognizes weekly for weight loss If chapter recognizes for weight loss only by the quarter If chapter does not recognize members for weight loss 3. Attending Area Events = 9 points = 6 points = 4 points = 0 points Number of points _____ = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points Number of points _____ If chapter took part in two or more area events If chapter took part in one area event If your chapter did not take part in area events 4. Welcome Field Staff Visits to Chapter Always Sometimes Rarely = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points Number of points _____ = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points 5. Has New Member Coaches Number of points _____ Always Never = 9 points = 0 points Coordinator Ranking 1. Invite and Encourage New Members 5 or more new members 1-4 new members Lost members during the year = 9 points = 6 points = 0 points 2. KOPS Members Number of points _____ If at least 20% of chapter members are KOPS If the chapter has at least one KOPS If the chapter has no KOPS 3. Attending Area Events = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points Number of points _____ If chapter took part in two or more area events If chapter took part in one area event If your chapter did not take part in area events 4. Average Loss Per Member in 2014 If average loss per member is over 5 lb. per member If average loss per member is 1-2 lb. per member If average gain per member 5. Number of “No Meetings” in 2014 If chapter has less than 3 “No Meetings” for the year If chapter has 4-5 “No Meetings” for the year If chapter has more than 5 “No Meetings” for the year 6. Sends memberships to Coordinator Immediately Within two weeks Over one month after joining Number of points _____ = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points Number of points _____ = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points Number of points _____ = 9 points = 4 points = 0 points Number of points _____ = 9 points = 5 points = 0 points TOTAL POINTS ______ Chapter Ranking: ________ December 2015 (Divide total points by 11 to determine ranking.) Page 74 Email Sending an email using the TOPS website From the blue ribbon choose your title. The email group icon is on the middle left. Using the check boxes, pick an email group. Add a subject, type your message and/or use the attachment boxes for your message. Send email. If you are sending out an email to more than 400 members, you will receive multiple “blind copies”. The email system will only send out 400 emails at one time. So if you have 1,200 members you are emailing, the system will send the first 400 and send a blind copy to you; the second 400 and send another blind copy to you; and then, the last 400 and send another blind copy to you. Your 1,200 members are only receiving the email once. Please Respond To All Correspondence and Email 1. When answering an email from Headquarters, please reply in a manner that attaches our original email to you along with your response. Also, please sign with your title and first and last name. For example: AC Jane Doe 2. Providing us with the requested information or informing us that a KOPS registration or award will not take place at this time, will help us keep our pending file current. Second notices will be sent to Regional Directors. TOPS has a strict anti-spam policy. You may be surprised to learn that spam is legally defined as sending bulk emails to people who don’t want them or haven’t specifically asked for them. Sending spam violates federal law in the United States and is also illegal in Canada and Europe. Borrowing email lists and making lists from people with whom you don't have a relationship puts TOPS and you at tremendous risk. It is also inconsiderate. Remember: Just because someone is a member or Leader, doesn’t mean you can continue sending email to that person if it’s unwanted. Sending an individual email to someone to ask if he or she would like to be on your list is OK as long as that person hasn’t already indicated that he or she wants to be taken off. Legal consequences aside, if someone classifies your email as spam, then your email address, TOPS email addresses, and the TOPS website can be “blacklisted” by Internet Service Providers (AOL, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.). It is important to remember that the person who receives your email is the one who gets to decide whether or not it is spam. Once you get “blacklisted,” your email and the TOPS domain may be blocked across the Internet, and it is very difficult to get off the blocked list. December 2015 Page 75 Email Best Practices To protect Internet email privacy, when Field Staff send group emails to Leaders or chapter members. 1. Emails should not be sent more frequently than twice a month unless there is a very compelling reason. (This applies to Field Staff, not Chapter Leaders communicating with members.) 2. A current list must be pulled from TOPS database each time Field Staff send such emails. 3. If any member notifies you that s/he does not want to receive any more emails, you must honor the request, remove that email from your contacts, and forward the request to TOPS Club, Inc., to be removed from the database. Inappropriate emails Field Staff should not send or forward certain kinds of email messages through the website email feature or from their Field Staff email address. 1. Political messages and jokes. 2. Religious messages and jokes. 3. Ethnic messages and jokes. 4. Racial messages and jokes. Basic Email Etiquette reminders 1. All CAPS is a form of SHOUTING and should be avoided. 2. Red is ANGRY and should be avoided. 3. Do not forward an email without permission from the sender. 4. Do not alter a forwarded email. TOPS Club Inc. takes violations of email etiquette and anti-spam policies seriously. “Contact Us” Link on the Website The “Contact Us” email link is available for our members and for the inquiring public—people who want to become members. This link is found on each page. Different departments review emails daily and forward to the appropriate person for reply. General Office reviews "General Question”, Communications and Outreach reviews “TOPS News” and “Media Relations”, the IT department reviews “Technical Support” Questions about TOPS Rules and inquiries specific to your area will be forwarded to the Coordinator. All Field Staff are expected to check email daily and respond as soon as possible. This feature is another way to ensure Field Staff are more closely connected with our members and available to respond to their cares and concerns. If you need to research the response, simply reply to the member right away to let him or her know you are looking for the appropriate answer and will respond as soon as you get it. December 2015 Page 76 TOPS Web Store TOPS Web store is available to all members and includes all items found on the Award Order form (L-015), KOPS Awards and Chapter Tools (L-017) and items in TOPS News. At the Store you will also find new items, items not featured in TOPS News, past items featured in TOPS News, special bundles of items, the latest Retreats, web-only specials and our clearance section. Defective Items, Damaged Items or Items Not Received 1. Any questions regarding an order should be sent by the chapter or individual, directly to Headquarters, Attention: Accounting Department. The packing slip or a copy of the original order must be included with all exchanges/returns with a brief explanation of the problem. 2. Chapters should check their orders upon arrival for any discrepancies, such as missing, damaged, defective or wrong items. 3. TOPS will replace items only if complaints are received within 30 days of receipt of the order. 4. If an order is not received within 5 weeks, chapter should contact Headquarters as soon as possible so the order can be checked without further delay. There are no refunds on T-Shirts. However, TOPS will exchange a shirt for another size. The T-Shirt returned to Headquarters must not show signs of being worn or laundered. Approved Vendor List Procedure TOPS Club, Inc. maintains a list of Approved Vendors who have agreed to the TOPS licensing agreement concerning TOPS’ registered service marks. All approved vendors listed on our website have signed and returned the agreement. As we receive more signed agreements, the Approved Vendor list in the Coordinator and Regional Director section at www.tops.org will be updated. If an Approved Vendor has a website, we will provide a direct link to the site for your convenience. This will give you “one-stop shopping”. To accommodate artwork requests from vendors, we have posted the TOPS and KOPS logos on the website in a form that is useable by vendors. Have the vendor click on Media Room at the bottom left then Artwork and Logos”. If you should need other help with artwork, you should contact the Communications and Outreach Director at sluckey@tops.org. Please note that while Headquarters is happy to help, we cannot always accommodate special requests, especially if the turnaround time is less than two weeks. December 2015 Page 77 If, over time, you are not satisfied with the goods and/or services of a vendor on our list, please notify the Executive Assistant lblada@tops.org so that a decision may be made on removing the vendor from the approved vendor list. No company has exclusive rights for promotional items using the TOPS service marks. However, all companies must sign a licensing agreement before using our TOPS® and KOPS® service marks. To keep our service marks, we must use the ® with them. To submit other vendors for consideration, please send contact information to lblada@tops.org. She will send the licensing agreement to the vendor. All companies must have signed this agreement and have it on file at TOPS Club, Inc. before they may produce items using TOPS’ registered service marks. Identity Works is an approved vendor that has a supply of stocked TOPS logo items that may be purchased by members. The website address is: http://www.topsoutletmall.com/index.php. Identity Works also offers a variety of items for the Coordinator or Regional Director to purchase as fund raisers at Recognition Days. Log in to the TOPS website, Coordinator or Regional Director Ribbon and click “Shop TOPS Outlet Mall” link. Custom Pins is an approved vendor that has a supply of stocked TOPS logo items and can design custom pinettes and charms for recognition days, fall rallies and workshops. The link to Custom Pins is available on the Coordinator page. The web address is http://tops.custompins.biz. C.A Short Contact information Shelly Cline at 800-535-5690 ext. 257 Guidelines for Regional and Local Online Communications Criteria for State/Provincial Website Approval to be listed as links at www.tops.org TOPS Club, Inc. has developed criteria for State/Provincial Websites to be listed as links at TOPS Website. TOPS Club, Inc. will link to approved state or provincial websites (links found under Members Area, Find your Regional Director on Our Team. TOPS President reviews site submitted and if approved, notifies IT Manager. Approval is based on certain conditions including, but not limited to: 1. Must include unofficial, unauthorized disclaimer a. This is an unofficial TOPS site and is not monitored or endorsed in any way by TOPS Club, Inc. The following link will take you to the official TOPS® website: Click here to link. b. TOPS®, KOPS®, and Real People. Real Weight Loss.® are registered trademarks of TOPS Club, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. c. This site features area happenings and news. December 2015 Page 78 2. Site must be updated at least once a year. 3. Content cannot be in conflict with TOPS mission and vision or TOPS Rules and cannot contain advertising. 4. Site must list Field Staff, their contact information and area served. 5. TOPS website does not host links to chapter websites. Criteria for Regional and Local Chapter Social Networking Sites (Facebook et. al.) TOPS Club, Inc. has criteria for Regional and Local Chapter Social Networking Sites (Facebook et. al.) Many TOPS Chapters find that having a Facebook page (or a presence on other social networking sites) is a fun and convenient way to inform, encourage and engage its members. To ensure consistency of the TOPS message online, TOPS Club, Inc. has established the following guidelines for regional/local TOPS social networking sites: 1. Must include unofficial, unauthorized disclaimer: a. Suggested Facebook Disclaimer: The purpose of this unofficial fan page, featuring news for and about [insert name of area or chapter], is to help and support each other as we take and keep off pounds sensibly. It is not monitored or endorsed in any way by TOPS Club, Inc. Click here to visit Official TOPS Club, Inc. on Facebook. TOPS® and KOPS® are registered trademarks of TOPS Club, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2. Page should be maintained with regular updates. 3. Must link to www.tops.org 4. Must “like” Official TOPS Club, Inc. Facebook page 5. Content cannot be in conflict with TOPS mission and vision. Official Social Media Sites The Communications and Outreach Team at Headquarters maintains an official presence on the following social networking sites. Field Staff are encouraged to “like,” “subscribe,” “connect” or “link “to these pages/posts/pins and to spread the word about these additional forms of support to the membership. Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/TOPSClub YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/TOPSclubinc LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/company/TOPS-club-inc Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/TOPSweightloss December 2015 Page 79 Creating and Updating A LinkedIn Profile LinkedIn is an important part of the TOPS in the Workplace strategy and a great way to establish your credibility and the credibility of TOPS when you are reaching out to local businesses and senior centers to gauge their interest in starting a chapter. To create a consistent online image for TOPS, we are providing this template for accurately and succinctly describing TOPS. BASIC Name: [Your name] Professional "Headline": [Your Field Staff Title] for TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Country: USA Zip: 53207 Location: Greater Milwaukee Industry: Health, Wellness, Fitness POSITION Company: [Leave blank or use LLC title] Title: [Field Staff Title] Area served: [Your area (i.e. southern West Virginia / metro Milwaukee / Dade County, Florida] Description: Independent Health and Wellness advocate for TOPS, the original nonprofit weight-loss support organization with thousands of chapters across the United States and Canada. Supporting volunteers and members of TOPS chapters in [insert your state, county or metro area here] as they work to reach their goal to take off and keep off pounds sensibly. Promoting the TOPS program of healthy, lasting lifestyle changes in nutrition, activity and behaviors among the membership and in the local community. December 2015 Page 80 TOPS Field Staff - Chapter 9 TOPS Field Staff Records General Office (GO) maintains records on TOPS Field Staff, their chapters, and their service areas. 1. Personal Field Staff information includes mailing address, TOPS and home phone numbers (including area codes), fax numbers and email addresses. It is important to contact HQ immediately if there are any changes. Send them to Chapter/Field Staff/ Records Associate at cthiede@tops.org. It is important to have correct information on the Find a Meeting page on TOPS website. 2. Report immediately any changes in Coordinator/Area Captain status (promotions, resignations) or territory to General Office. It is important that Field Staff keep their membership current. If membership lapses, email addresses are omitted from our address book and could cause you to miss important email messages from Headquarters and your Regional Director. Name, email and TOPS phone number of Coordinator is displayed in “Find A Chapter” on the website. If an Area Captain also serves the area, his/her name, email and TOPS phone number is displayed as well. Coordinator phone number and email is also displayed on the membership card found on the back cover of each issue of TOPS News. Items for New Area Captains and Coordinators New Area Captains and Coordinators will receive: 1. Chapter Programs L-048 and L-049 2. Award Order U.S. and Canada (L-015) 3. Award Items Brochure (L-022 and L-022A) 4. KOPS Awards and Chapter Tools Order (L-017) 5. Open House Guide / Promoting Your Chapter (PI-081) 6. Voting Letter (T-224) outlining weigh in requirements is sent out in January of each year. 7. Real Life: The Hands-on Pounds-off Guide. 8. Making Your Chapter Great Chapter Manual. 9. TOPS Rules. New Area Captains will also receive the following items: 1. Field Staff Source Book (Chapters 1-10) sent electronically by Headquarters. If unable to receive electronically, request copy from your Coordinator. 2. Democratic Rules of Order December 2015 Page 81 3. Current Year’s Area Captain Program (if any are still available). Area Captain Programs are archived on the website in the Area Captain section and available to print out or to use as PowerPoint presentations. New Coordinators will also receive the following items: 1. Field Staff Source Book (Chapters 1-11) sent electronically by Headquarters. 2. All brochures and promotional materials listed on the Special Promotion Order Blank (S038). 3. KOPS Graduation Ceremonies. Quarterly Mailings Coordinators Headquarters will send Coordinators a supply of My Day One and TOPS Rules quarterly, based on the number of new members received from your area in the previous quarter. The TOPS Rules will be inserted in the booklet. Coordinators are responsible for replenishing each chapter’s supply after they receive new membership forms and fees. Coordinator Mailing Information for My Day One and TOPS Rules United States The United States Post Office has two mailing options for sending My Day One. 1. FIRST CLASS FLAT with an expected delivery time of 1-3 days. You should always write the words FIRST CLASS FLAT on the outside of the envelope. 2. MEDIA MAIL with an expected delivery time of 2 –9 days. You should always write the words MEDIA MAIL on the outside of the envelope. When sending 1, 2, 3 or 4 copies of My Day One, it is best to send via FIRST CLASS FLAT mail. Five copies of My Day One is over the 13-oz. limit for FIRST CLASS FLAT, so that mailing will fall into the PRIORITY MAIL category. However, when sending quantities of 5 or more, the less expensive postage rate will be MEDIA MAIL. Depending on what postal zip code area you are sending to and the weight of your package, the postage difference could be substantial. Please see the chart below based on current pricing as of January 27, 2013. Qty. MY DAY ONE 1 2 3 4 5 Priority Mail 6 7-14 December 2015 First Class Flat 1.42 1.64 2.30 2.74 flat rate 6.10 5.95 – 13.50 Media Mail 2.72 2.72 2.72 2.72 2.72 2.72 3.22 Page 82 Canada Canada Post mailing options: When sending MY DAY ONE, choose either Regular Letter mail or Regular Parcel Mail. The method used and postage costs will be determined by the origin, weight and destination of your package. Letter Mail can be used up to 500g or approximately eight MY DAY ONE booklets. Parcel Mail will be used for packages weighing more than 500g. Mailings by Month with Return Deadlines 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. JANUARY Chapter Résumés (L-010): Coordinator Deadline to RD: January 31 KOPS eligible for royalty must be registered at HQ by January 31. Coordinator contacts all chapters who have not submitted year-end reports by January 8 deadline. Coordinator reviews completed Chapter Resume (L-010) and weight charts to determine Royalty and Division Winners, then completes forms Annual Royalty Recognition (S-033) and Division Winner Recognition (S-034). Coordinator combines area/state or provincial reports and mails to Regional Director along with winners’ charts by January 31. Field Staff and Voting Members Reminder letter (T-224) that Field Staff and voting members are required to have at least 20 weigh-ins per year sent by email. Any staff or voting member charts and letters of exception must be sent to Regional Director immediately upon receipt. Regional Director reviews and forwards those needing further review to Executive Office for action by the Board. KOPS 15 Weigh-ins per Year Reminder letter (T-324) that KOPS all year are required to have at least 15 weigh-ins per year are sent to all Coordinators, Regional Directors and Board Members. Coordinator sends any KOPS Charts and letters of exception to Regional Director immediately upon receipt. Regional Director reviews and forwards those needing further review to Executive Office for action by the Board. Form sent by email. FEBRUARY Chapter Résumés (L-010): General Office Deadline March 1 or Earlier Regional Director Deadline ASAP but no later than February 20 Regional Director prepares, verifies and sends forms Annual Royalty Recognition (S-033) and Division Winner Recognition (S-034) to Headquarters. General Office processes résumés as received by Regional Director. Headquarters verifies KOPS registered by January 31 and validates membership. December 2015 Page 83 5. General Office generates state/provincial certificates and mails to Regional Director. Late résumés will delay the list of winners. MARCH KOPS Weight Chart (L-027K) Coordinator Deadline: ASAP 1. Coordinator affixes label and sends to Regional Director no later than February 15. 2. KOPS Charts are required for archiving and validating award requests. APRIL Success Story with photos (L-016) Deadline: ASAP but no later than April 30 1. All stories and photos plus IRD registration and events entry forms included in IRD winner packets must be received at Headquarters before IRD travel funds are released. 2. L-016 and photos for state, provincial and Overseas kings and queens must be submitted two weeks before regional recognition event or by April 30, whichever is earlier. 3. International winners (division winners and the International King and Queen and Runners-up), L-016 and photos must be submitted whether or not attending IRD. (No Runners-up except for International King Runner-up and Queen Runner-up.) Only one story necessary if winner is in more than one category. MAY IRD Recognition Registration Deadline: May 1 1. Coordinators should remind members in chapter newsletters to submit Event Entry before this deadline to HQ so that their names appear in the IRD program. 2. Registrations received after May 1 will not be included in the IRD program booklet, but those members may still register and participate in events at IRD. JUNE L-001: Officers Chart, Coordinator Deadline: July/ASAP 1. Mailed in June Chapter mailing 2. Fax as received to 414-482-1655. Do not hold if officers’ membership(s) lapsed or if signature is missing. Do not retype or use script font for signature. 3. Headquarters updates as received. AUGUST Welcome New Leader Letter (T-275) sent in Chapter mailing to Active Leaders 1. Chapter mailing is only sent to chapters who have sent in Officers Chart (L-001) 2. There will be only one supplemental mailing to chapters at the end of August for Officers Charts sent after August 1. 3. All chapters that have not sent in their L-001 will not receive any materials. December 2015 Page 84 NOVEMBER Chapter Resume (L-010) and Weight Charts (L-027T, TR and K) 1. Mailed in November chapter mailing 2. Mailed only to chapters with active Leaders DECEMBER KOPS Weight Chart Labels Mailed to Coordinators second week in December 1. Labels are printed for active KOPS. 2. Coordinator affixes label to the L-027K and submits to Regional Director on or before the February 15 deadline. S-009 Final Remittance for the year 1. Due at Headquarters by the last business day of the year. Any remittances RECEIVED after that date will be counted as the next year’s business. 2. If these remittances are received late, they will be renumbered, and you will be notified of these changes. Special Event Insurance, Meeting Insurance Application (L-031) 1. Complete form L-031 if the site you are using requires proof of insurance. 2. Special events are considered one of the following: ARD, SRD, PRD, Rally or Retreat. The cost is $100.00 per day (same for U.S. and Canada). 3. Coverage for small events such as health fairs, parades, walks, etc. will be covered at a cost of $40.00 per day (same for U.S. and Canada). TOPS insurance is not available for activities at city, county and state fairs and at festivals. 4. The insurance company forwards copies of the certificate to the event site and to TOPS Accounting Department. A copy will also be sent to the Coordinator in the mail (For Special Events only, not chapter insurance.) 5. If event is in Canada and requires additional insurance endorsement, the event shall pay the full cost of the insurance. Please Note: Insurance coverage depends on the circumstances of any one claim and is determined by our insurance company upon investigation. Headquarters Staff and Field Staff are not able to make any determination on coverage. When an accident is brought to your attention, collect as much pertinent information as possible and send it to your Regional Director immediately in case it may be needed later. December 2015 Page 85 General Coordinator Information 1. Coordinators and Area Captains are mailed two copies of each TOPS News. Please use one to promote TOPS Club, Inc. 2. When a member contacts Headquarters, the member’s information and questions are forwarded to the Coordinator for follow up. 3. If Headquarters is contacted by member regarding not receiving TOPS News, we will research and correct the problem. 4. If a member contacts Headquarters regarding paid membership that has not been processed, we will verify that Headquarters has not received their renewal. Then the member is instructed to follow up with their chapter and their Coordinator. Headquarters will also advise Coordinator. TOPS Forms The TOPS Communications and Outreach Department serves the Field Staff by providing the forms and means with which you will communicate to your Chapter Leaders and members, to Regional Directors and Field Staff, to the Headquarters Office, and to the public on a national, regional or local level. This behind-the-scenes staff consists of experienced professionals who work as a team in all aspects of communications. Field Staff should address questions and correspondence for the Communications Department to the Communications and Outreach Director or Wellness Manager or who will evaluate requests on a departmental priority basis. Please note, the Communications and Outreach Department may not be able to fill every request, especially those received with less than two weeks to complete. Ordering Supplies Coordinators are expected to order supplies no more frequently than once a quarter using Materials Requisition Sheet for Field Staff (S-012). Please make every effort not to submit partial orders. Coordinators should use www.tops.org to print off forms when only one or two copies are needed. These supplies are for your use as well as filling supply orders from the Chapters in your area. Fill out form Materials Requisition Sheet for Field Staff (S-012) and send to your Regional Director for review and approval. Sending directly to Headquarters will delay processing the Coordinator’s order. When ordering supplies, we ask that orders be placed in increments of 25. 1. Note: Officers Chart (L-001) and Chapter Resume (L-010) are annual forms sent to each chapter from Headquarters. Only a few extra should be needed for new chapters after the mailing date and to replace those lost in the mail or illegible. December 2015 Page 86 Health Fair/Expo Supplies If you are planning to attend a special event, such as a health fair, ask your Regional Director to send in a Special Event Order Blank (S-038) for you. The Special Event Order Blank contains a list of promotional and informational brochures for this purpose. Fill in the event name, place, date and expected number of attendees before sending the order to your Regional Director. Estimate quantities of materials on no more than 25% of expected attendance. So, if 100 people are expected to attend the event, only order 25 brochures. Most people are too shy to say no if they don’t really want a brochure, so they will smile, take the brochure and promptly throw it away. For this reason, it’s not helpful or efficient to give a brochure to everyone who walks by. Area Captain Supplies Coordinators may order supplies for their Area Captains twice a year. These supplies are also ordered on Materials Requisition Sheet for Field Staff (S-012). Enter the Area Captain’s name legibly where it asks for Field Staff name; put your last name next to it in parenthesis. Do not use nicknames. Enter the Area Captain’s membership number in the space provided. Send to your Regional Director for review and approval. Do not blanket order items for each Area Captain. Consider the number of Chapters in each area and how many supplies they still have on hand. You may have them complete form S-012 and send them to you for review before you forward it to your Regional Director. Chapter Supplies Leader orders are filled by Area Captains or Coordinators. If TOPS Headquarters receives requests for supplies from the Leaders stating that they are unable to contact their Area Captain or Coordinator, Headquarters must send these orders to the Coordinator. Regional Directors are notified if this occurs. Remember that many of the forms on the Materials Requisition Sheet for Field Staff (S-012) are available in the Coordinator Area of TOPS at www.tops.org and can be downloaded and printed out for your immediate use if you should run out. Use Current Forms We ask that you use current forms, especially Form Materials Requisition Sheet for Field Staff (S-012). Many forms have changed or have been eliminated. Backordered forms are shipped as soon as printing is completed. When a form is known by TOPS Headquarters to be in the process of being revised, we will send you a note stating that the form is unavailable at this time and that you will have to reorder when available. Write-in entries on Form S-012 should always include a valid form number. Only authorized items will be shipped. “Headquarters-only” forms are not available for use in the field. “Web-only” forms are not available from Headquarters as hard copies. December 2015 Page 87 TOPS Policy for Revised Forms 1. When a form is revised, a PDF and/or Excel file will be sent to all Board Members, Regional Directors and Coordinators who are responsible to save in electronic version or as a paper copy in a “Forms” folder. 2. Area Captains will be supplied forms if specified by the Forms Committee. Method of Shipment Supplies are shipped the most economical way. This could be either UPS Ground Residential or Parcel Services via the United States Postal Service. Canadian orders are sent through a shipping agent and deposited directly into Canada Post. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery when ordering supplies. Retreat Information 1. TOPS shall give a “Free Retreat for Field Staff” coupon to each new Field Staff member on completion of one year’s service after receiving approval. The “Free Retreat “ coupon along with Field Staff pin is to be sent to your Regional Director for presentation. Also, this coupon may be used as a partial credit toward the cost of a TOPS Retreat Cruise. Amount to be determined each time there is a cruise. Contact Accounting and Employee Benefits Director for the dollar amount. 2. Any member who has earned a free retreat as Field Staff may redeem the coupon even if no longer Field Staff within five years of ending Field Staff agreement in good standing unless TOPS Executive Assistant is notified to the contrary by Regional Director. 3. If Field Staff is terminated for cause before using free retreat coupon, the coupon is void. Retreat Registrar must be notified immediately by Regional Director of termination for cause. 4. Field Staff should provide Retreat Site Evaluation Check List when a member is contacting a possible facility for a retreat. December 2015 Page 88 Potential Retreat Site Evaluation It is important that a reliable person inspects the site and submits this checklist for it. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 1. Weeklong a. ARRIVE SUNDAY BY 4 PM b. DEPART FRIDAY BY 2 PM. 2. Weekend a. ARRIVE FRIDAY BY 4 PM b. DEPART SUNDAY BY 2 PM. 3. MUST COOK RECIPES PROVIDED BY RETREAT DIRECTOR. 4. ADULT SLEEPING FACILITIES: FEMALES____ MALES____ or COED____ (It is not necessary that facilities have everything. This is only to help determine what is available.) 1. TOTAL CAPACITY (no upper bunks, one person per bed)___________________________ 2. COST PER PERSON (including meals, linens): $__________________________________ 3. BREAKOUT ROOMS FOR SMALL MEETINGS (2-3)?_____________________________ 4. ROOM FOR CRAFTS (tables & chairs needed)?__________________________________ 5. WILL FACILITY INSURANCE COVER OUR FUNCTIONS?________________________ 6. IS FACILITY EASILY REACHED?______________________________________________ 7. WILL OTHER GROUPS SHARE FACILITY WITH US?_____________________________ 8. IS THERE A PHONE AVAILABLE FOR EMERGENCIES?___________________________ 9. HOW FAR AWAY IS NEAREST HOSPITAL?______________________________________ 10. ARE THE FOLLOWING AVAILABLE FOR OUR USE: a. Blackboard/chalk/whiteboard/markers? ____ d. CD/DVD player? ____ b. Digital or balance beam scales? ____ e. Recreation Equipment? ____ c. PA System? ____ f. Flipchart? ____ 11. WILL OUR GROUP BE REQUIRED TO PERFORM "CHORES"?____ (If "yes", please list.)_________________________________________________________ 12. IS SMOKING RESTRICTED?____ (if "yes", to which areas?)________________________ 13. AVAILABLE DATES: ________________________________________________________ 14. SITE CONTACT PERSON: ___________________________________________________ 15. NAME/ADDRESS/PHONE OF SITE: (please enclose a brochure if available) ____________ __________________________________________________________________________ 16. YOUR MILEAGE (round-trip):______________ Your Name_______________________________ Phone Number___________________ Address_________________________________________________________________ Please mail, email or fax completed form to: Gina Brueske, PO Box 219, Elmer City, WA 99124-0219, Fax: 509-633-0256, email: ginabrueske@hotmail.com December 2015 Page 89 Coordinator/Area Captain Payments Coordinators receive $8.00 of the Full-Price Membership Fee and $3.00 of the Half Price Fee. From the amount received, the Coordinator provides each Area Captain 50 cents per member joining or renewing in the area served by the Area Captain. The Coordinator may also provide other funds to help the Area Captain in serving the area. In addition, from the amount received, the Coordinator must cover all cost of doing business which may include: Mileage and other travel expenses Postage Printing Taxes Insurance Phone and Internet Service Paper and other office supplies Licensing fees for LLC as independent contractor Coordinator Incentive Bonus Incentive Bonus of $3.00 per member growth at end of year shall be determined by Regional Directors. Regional Director shall send a list of Coordinators with number of members increase from previous year and amount of the incentive for each. Headquarters will send this total to the Regional Director for distribution. 1. Growth determined year to year. 2. Membership growth is to be determined by using the Coordinator Membership ReportNew and Renewal from December of current and preceding year. a. Amount per member increase is $1.00 to a maximum of $1,000.00 is awarded by the Regional Director from excess Area Captain Incentive Fund at year end. b. Headquarters shall contribute $2.00 per member increase from Field Staff Fund 3. Change in area during current year disqualifies Coordinator. Area Captain Incentive Bonus Incentive Bonus of $3.00 per member growth at end of year shall be determined by Regional Directors. Regional Director shall send a list of Area Captains with number of members increase from previous year and amount of the incentive for each. Headquarters will send this total to the Regional Director for distribution. 1. Growth determined year to year. 2. Membership growth is to be determined using the total AC Incentives paid by Coordinator for the year. December 2015 Page 90 a. Amount per member increase is $3.00 to a maximum of $1,000.00 is awarded by the Regional Director from excess Area Captain Incentive Fund at year end. 3. Change in area during current year disqualifies Area Captain. Area Captain and Coordinator Incentives from Headquarters Fifty cents per full price and half price memberships are placed in a special fund for incentives to be used for Area Captain and Coordinator incentives from Headquarters. December 2015 Page 91 Online Chapter Members – Chapter 10 New Members Joining Online When new members joins using the TOPS website, they are given the choice of attending a local TOPS Chapter or joining the Online Chapter. Members who elect to join the Online Chapter are placed in the Online chapter. Members who elect to join a local chapter are placed in a holding chapter until the Coordinator directs Headquarters to move them to a local chapter. Coordinators can see which members have elected to join a local chapter by running the report “Online Members Looking for a Chapter Excel” from the Coordinator Reports area of the website. Coordinators will receive their $8.00 membership fee provided members are moved into a traditional chapter within 60 days. Online Members Visiting Chapter Online members are allowed to visit traditional chapters. These members are visiting for support and motivation. o They don’t have official weigh ins, so a weigh-in is not required. o They may not vote. o Online members participating must pay chapter dues to the chapter they visit. Members in Online Chapter vs Local Chapter December 2015 Page 92 TOPS WEIGHT-LOSS SUPPORT MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS Choose the option that's right for you, and enjoy these benefits for a whole year. Your first visit to any chapter is free—there's no obligation to join. You can always change chapters, start your own chapter or convert your membership from chapter to online or from online to chapter. For fastest access to all your TOPS benefits, pay your membership fee online for chapter or online program. Attend Online Membership Benefit Meetings Program TOPS News member magazine (6 issues bimonthly) My Day One quick-start guide for weight loss P P (You wi l l recei ve a t cha pter meeti ng or by ma i l for onl i ne members ) P P Online Tools: * 28-day meal plan P P Printable food diary sheets P P 25-week Self-care program P P Weight Tracker P P Videos to educate and motivate P P Electronic versions of My Day One and TOPS News P P Worksheets and activities to complete on your own P P Education Library covering thousands of medical conditions and RxP P Recipes and more P P 10 weeks of new member coaching emails (must opt in to receive after Jan. 6, 2014) P P Opportunity to purchase TOPS tools and materials P P Opportunity to attend International Recognition Days (extra fee) P P Change from chapter to online member or from online to chapter member P P Weekly online member email P Weekly online chatroom meetings P Accountability at weekly confidential weigh-in P In person support at weekly chapter meetings P Opportunity to Attend workshops, rallies and events (extra fee) Receive recognition for your weight loss during chapter, regional, and international events P Participate in contests P Win awards for your weight-loss progress ( Pa rti ci pa ti on va ri es by cha pter.) P P Become a KOPS member (after you meet your goal weight) P Pay local chapter dues (averages $5 per month, varies by chapter) P Change chapters at no cost if you move, change jobs, etc. P * Requi res crea ti on of free onl i ne a ccount. Benefi ts ma y be cha nged a t a ny ti me wi thout pri or noti ce. December 2015 P Last updated 12-20-2013 Page 93 Coordinator Section – Chapter 11 Remitting Your Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) 1. If you are a Coordinator all year, a total of at least 52 remittances must be submitted by the end of the year. Unless you are servicing an area with less than 100 members, then you may send in a remit only when you have activity for that area. 2. Coordinators are allowed four blank remits per year in addition to a blank remittance for the last week of December. a. Coordinators shall file a travel notice with the appropriate number of blank remittances if going on vacation/holiday to TOPS Club, Inc. and the Regional Director. b. The message needs to contain the following: i. Date of departure and date of return. ii. Purpose of the trip: TOPS business or vacation. iii. Contact information (phone/ email) while away. If you will not be reachable, please state so in the message. iv. Name and contact information of the person who is serving the area in the coordinator’s absence. c. All chapters served should be notified and alternate contact information provided for support. d. All new memberships, renewals and KOPS registrations received during this period must be processed and sent to Headquarters with the next remittance. e. Date received by the chapter as listed on the application for the new membership or renewal applies. 3. If a Coordinator has not filed a travel notice and is two or more weeks late with remittances, the Accounting Department shall notify the Regional Director of the arrears and also copy TOPS President. a. Regional Director shall contact the Coordinator for the reason for the delay and inform both Accounting Director and TOPS President. b. Coordinator shall be given two weeks to bring all remittances current. c. If Coordinator does not bring remittances current by this time, the Coordinator’s agreement is terminated. d. If any renewal is received late as a result of the Coordinator being unavailable, it shall be approved and initialed by the Coordinator after checking if application should be backdated or treated as a lapsed member. 4. If Coordinator submits a check for insufficient funds for a remittance or other TOPS transaction, the Accounting Department shall notify the Regional Director immediately to ascertain reason and notify Accounting Director and TOPS President. December 2015 Page 94 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. a. Regional Director shall contact Coordinator immediately to ascertain reason and notify Accounting Director and TOPS President. b. Coordinator shall send funds by money order to TOPS Club, Inc., for amount of check and any penalties immediately. c. If a second insufficient funds check is received, Coordinator agreement shall be terminated immediately. If exceptional circumstances are involved regarding 3 or 4, Regional Director may request an exception be made one time only. Send the original Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) to Headquarters and a copy to your Regional Director. Keep a copy for your records. Make sure your check payable to TOPS Club, Inc. is signed and dollar amount to be paid agrees with the amount listed on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S009). Do not use staples or tape on your work. A credit on the previous monthly statement should be deducted under the “Payment Summary” portion of the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). A shortage on the previous monthly statement should be paid under the “Payment Summary” portion of the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). PayPal Credits are reflected as a credit on your month end statement and should be shown in the payment summary section like any other credit. Memberships- Line 1 1. Membership blanks sent with the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) should be separated into ten categories, as they appear on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). At the beginning of each group, place memberships that include the purchase of Real Life. If a full-price spouse is included in the same remit as a half- price spouse, place the full-price spouse remit in its group after the memberships that include the purchase of Real Life. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Adult and teens/preteens with news: New Adult and teens/preteens with news: Renewal Website Renewals Credit Memo number On-line memberships (OLM’s) transfer to chapter (within 60 days of joining) Teens/preteens without news: New Teens/preteens without news: Renewal ½-Price spouses: New ½ -Price spouses: Renewal ½ -Price Blind Memberships—No charge: List free membership coupons 2. Additional Instruction Website Renewals C/M # (Line 1 C) December 2015 Page 95 a. On your very next Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009), enter the credit memo number. In the No. column, enter the amount of members from your credit memo. In the CHARGES column (column B), enter your credit dollar amount as it appears on the credit memo. If you are using the Excel spreadsheet, this amount will be entered automatically when you enter the amount of members. The formula on Side B will also add the website renewals to the renewal count. Credit memos will expire after 60 days and the money will be donated to the Field Staff Fund. Please use your credit memos as soon as they are received. Real Life Purchased with membership - Line 2 1. Enter the number of books purchased with membership forms submitted with your Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). No service fee is to be deducted. KOPS Registrations - Line 3 1. The cost is $5.00 per registration. 2. The amount in Column B should be $3.00 per registration. 3. Service charge is $2.00 per registration. 4. If the registration is for a teen or preteen on a growth allowance, please indicate it as such on the registration card. There is no fee for this. Charter Changes or Replacements - Line 4 1. Please include a separate sheet of paper with the Chapter Number that is requesting new charter. The charter will be sent to the Leader unless specified otherwise. 2. The cost is $1.00 per charter change. 3. Please indicate Chapter Number on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S009). KOPS Replacement Items/Medallions - Line 5 Use Form KOPS Replacement Prices (S-051R) posted on TOPS Website in the Coordinators Area. Donations - Line 6 1. Indicate to which fund the money should go. List total amount donated under the correct fund on line 6 of the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). Money not designated to a fund will go into the General Fund. 2. All donations must be accompanied by Contribution Form (L-019). 3. Any contribution of $20.00 or more shall be listed in TOPS News and small token appreciation sent to the contributor. Balance of Treasury of Disbanded Chapters - Line 7 December 2015 Page 96 1. After submitting an accounting and current bank statement to the Regional Director, Coordinators may retain disbanded chapter funds as well as funds from sale of chapter scale and any other chapter assets up to a maximum of $500.00 for use in the area. Any additional funds shall be submitted to TOPS Club, Inc. 2. Disbanded chapters’ treasury returned to TOPS is put in the General Fund. If the disbanded chapter chooses, it may designate another TOPS fund. Mark the donation on the appropriate fund (Line 6) and include a Contribution Form (L-019) with the remit. 3. Please indicate disbanded chapter number on Side B of S-009. Other Miscellaneous Items - Line 8 Members who signed up online and are joining a chapter 61 days or later of signing up online go here. Coordinators do not receive the Service fee on these members. L-003 must always be sent to HQ. Other S-009 Notes 1. Retain Copies of items remitted with Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009) for a period of at least one year. 2. Items such as insurance, T-shirts or any other TOPS News promotion should not be placed on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). Checks for these items should be forwarded directly to the Accounting Department along with the order form. The check is made payable to TOPS Club, Inc. If the check is made payable to the Coordinator, either sign the back of the check and make it payable to TOPS Club, Inc. or deposit the check into your bank account and send TOPS a Coordinator check for the amount. 3. There is a $2.00 fee for each replacement copy of TOPS Making Your Chapter Great Chapter Manual. They should be ordered on the L-017: Award Order Form as any other award item. Coordinator Statements 1. All Coordinators receive a statement of their account each month. 2. Check your statement carefully for accuracy. 3. Computerized copies of corrections from your Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S009) will be sent via email as done so you can reconcile the balance shown. 4. Deduct any credit (shown as a minus sign (-) on your statement) on the line marked “Credit due from monthly statement” on the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S009). (Under the “Payment Summary” portion of the S-009). 5. Pay any shortage on the line marked “Shortage paid from monthly statement”. (Under the “Payment Summary” portion of the S-009). 6. All credits and shortages on your account are to be settled monthly, on the first remittance following the receipt of your statement. December 2015 Page 97 7. The statements will show your activity from January 1 through the end of June. The statements starting July 1 will not reflect any previous activity; however, the balance will be carried forward. You must keep your June statement as a summary of the first 6 months activity. You must keep your December statement as a summary of the second 6 months activity. 8. You will receive a monthly credit memo for members that have renewed online. Your credit memo will appear as #99 and have a negative amount. Use this credit memo on the Website Renewal C/M line, don’t forget to write the CM number on your remit. Credit memos must be used in full, no partial credits allowed. When you use that credit memo, it will appear as #98 and have a positive amount. The credit memos will always be posted on the last day of the month. 9. If you are unsure of your true ending balance when you have a credit memo, look at the line directly above the credit memo and enter that amount in the “payment summary” portion of the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet (S-009). How to read you S-9 Statements 1st Attachment is an S-9 with changes. Note A-The number of remits was changed from 40 to 42 for renewals. The writing is the actual process HQ uses when changes are made. Note B- When a member renews online you receive a Credit Memo, make sure to list the credit memo number so HQ knows which one (s) to use. Note C-These are members that have joined online and chosen “I plan to join a local chapter”. A report of the members for your area can be in found in the Coordination Membership Reports, “Online Members looking for a Chapter-Excel”. You have 60 days from the join date to claim this credit and you must include an L-003 form along with a copy of the online payment receipt. The report is state or province specific so if there is more than one coordinator in the area you may see members that are not in your area. If over 60 days from join date list in #8 other with wording “not eligible”. Note D- Special Coupons. These are special coupons for full price memberships that have been purchased in advance. Not all Coordinators have coupons in their area. If you have full price membership coupons, write Coupons and the number under Items, number of coupons times $8.00 as a POSITVE in Column A. Then write the same number as NEGATIVE in Column B 2nd Attachment is a Weekly Report and Remit Adjustment Sheet. When an S-9 is incorrect we will email you this sheet to show what has been changed at HQ. We try to write a comments to make clear what was changed and why. If you have questions on the changes you should contact HQ immediately for more clarification. December 2015 Page 98 3rd Attachment is a month end statement. TOPS has many different remit number groups to cover different items. Depending on your specific area you may see one or more of these different remit numbers. The different remit types are described on Attachment 3. December 2015 Page 99 December 2015 Page 100 Attachment 2 December 2015 Page 101 December 2015 Page 102 Chapter Maintenance Procedure 1. Maintenance Form in paper form or in Excel are available to Coordinators to use for collection of the maintenance fees from their Regional Directors. This form is not available from Headquarters or the website. 2. The Coordinator receives maintenance from each chapter except closed Workplace Chapters and retains 50% of this amount. Workplace Chapter Maintenance is collected by Headquarters and a credit memo is given to Coordinator to use on their Weekly Remit (S009) 3. The Coordinator writes a monthly check for the remaining 50% of the maintenance received that month to TOPS Club, Inc. and forwards it along with a recap of the chapter maintenance that has been paid to the Regional Director who will record chapter amounts received and forward the check to TOPS. 4. It is the responsibility of the Coordinator to review those chapters that have not paid maintenance. A notice should be made to the chapter after December 31 each year that they will be disbanded if payment for prior year is not received by March 1. The chapters that have not paid their maintenance by December 31 of current year may be disbanded. Maintenance Fee Payment Amounts for Chapters Maintenance Fee U.S. fees in USD (U.S. Dollar) Canadian fees in CAD (Canadian Dollar) Number of TOTAL Coordinator Portion Headquarters Portion Members # months x Annual # months x Annual # months x Annual 1-10 $1.00 $ 12.00 $0.50 $6.00 $0.50 $6.00 11-20 $2.00 $ 24.00 $1.00 $12.00 $1.00 $12.00 21-30 $3.00 $ 36.00 $1.50 $18.00 $1.50 $18.00 31-40 $4.00 $ 48.00 $2.00 $24.00 $2.00 $24.00 41-60 $5.00 $ 60.00 $2.50 $30.00 $2.50 $30.00 61-80 $6.00 $ 72.00 $3.00 $36.00 $3.00 $36.00 81-100 $7.00 $ 84.00 $3.50 $42.00 $3.50 $42.00 100-Over $8.00 $ 96.00 $4.00 $48.00 $4.00 $48.00 December 2015 Page 103 Coordinator Procedure for Recording Maintenance on the website Sign into www.tops.org using your FSID# and password. Coordinators Chapter Maintenance Program is found in the Coordinator section, middle left, Coordinators Chapter Maintenance. Click on the button and a list of your chapter will display. Click the chapters number shown in blue and the chapter will come up with prior years and a place to add current year. Enter year, member count and dues total click add. The list will refresh with the data you added. Select Return to Chapter List, repeat steps for each chapter. If changes are needed to prior maintenance you can adjust this by choosing the chapter, when the list displays, click edit on the year to change, change the data, and click update. Maintenance Report Maintenance Reports can be found under both the Coordinator and Regional Directors Reports. The Chapter Maintenance Report lists all of your chapters along with dues paid and member count for two previous years and the current year. As you input activity, the report will automatically be updated. If you wish to have a permanent record at the end of the year, you should print out this report by December 31. On January 1 of the new year, the oldest year will automatically drop off in order for the new year to be added. The Chapter Maintenance Report is available in Excel and PDF format. Transferring Maintenance Funds from previous to new Coordinator When a Coordinator resigns, the Regional Director requests an audit of maintenance received for the current and following year. The Regional Director prorates the maintenance funds according to months left in the year and number of chapters. The Regional Director then requests that resigning Coordinator send the new Coordinator a check for amount owed. December 2015 Page 104 Logging Surgery for Weight Loss Information in iMIS To enter information for a member who had surgery for weight loss Log into the website and click on your field staff area Do a Member Search for the member Click on the member’s name to display the member’s TOPS History Scroll down to the bottom of the page to SURGERY (below Field Staff Notes) Click on the plus symbol (+) on the right Enter information in the popup window Click on Save and Close The Surgery Performed category under Personal Information pane on the left will not update immediately but will update when the database updated overnight. Weight-Loss Surgery No Longer Effective—Compete For Royalty 1. Members who were in Division 9 but not registered as KOPS while surgery was in effect to compete for royalty after surgery is ineffective. 2. Member brings in a statement that the surgery is no longer effective on official letterhead or prescription blank, signed and dated by a licensed healthcare professional and presents it to the weight recorder. On date the statement is given to the weight recorder, weight recorder circles member's weight on chart. 3. Statement of ineffectiveness is stapled to weight chart and forwarded at year end with all other weight charts and resume to the Coordinator. 4. Coordinator clearly writes the member’s membership number and weight at time statement was presented to weight recorder on the statement and forwards to Headquarters. 5. On the website, in the Coordinators area, do a member search. In the member record, at the bottom of the page, in the surgery section click on the plus sign. Insert the ineffective date and in comments enter the weight. Once you have enter the information click "Save and Close: 6. Coordinators are responsible for accuracy of all surgery information on the website. 7. Coordinator must remember to check the surgery field for members listed as royalty when preparing the Annual Royalty Recognition(S-034) to forward to the Regional Director at the end of the year. Weight Charts with Insufficient Weigh-ins Procedure 1. KOPS with less than 15 weigh-ins a. Weight Charts of KOPS all year that show fewer than 15 weigh-ins, and which have a letter of explanation attached, must be sent by the Coordinator to the Regional Director upon receipt, but no later than February 1. Letters of exceptional circumstances must be written by the member, a chapter officer, Field Staff or the member’s licensed healthcare provider. 2. Voting Members with fewer than 20 weigh-ins December 2015 Page 105 a. Weight Charts of VOTING MEMBERS all year that show fewer than 20 weigh-ins and which have a letter of explanation attached must be sent by the Coordinator to the Regional Director upon receipt but no later than February 1. Letters of exceptional circumstances must be written by the member, a chapter officer, Field Staff or the member’s licensed health care provider. 3. Field Staff with fewer than 20 weigh-ins a. Weight Charts of FIELD STAFF all year that show less than 20 weigh-ins and which have a letter of explanation attached must be sent by the Coordinator to the Regional Director upon receipt, but no later than February 1. Letters of exceptional circumstances must be written by the member, a chapter officer, Field Staff or the member’s licensed health care provider. December 2015 Page 106 ARD/PRD/SRD General Information Regional Director must review, approve and confirm all contracts for event and dates for ARD/PRD/SRD before signing. Approval of appropriateness and cost, speakers and entertainment are included in this area. ARD/PRD/SRD may not be held prior to the last weekend of March in any year. All details of a recognition event are to be reviewed and approved by the Regional Director prior to finalizing plans. Should a question arise, Regional Director shall contact the President for advice. Coordinator in charge of State and Provincial Recognition Days must notify their Regional Director by email of the following information as soon as arrangements are finalized: State/Province Event Date(s)Start & End Time Venue Address w/City Coordinator Email New in 2016 The Regional Director is responsible for posting all events to the Events Page of the TOPS website. This information must be shared for posting on the website no later than November 1. Regional Director Attending ARD/PRD/SRD 1. Provide the Regional Director with the following information: a. Arrival and departure dates. b. Name of hotel, address, city and phone number. c. City and name of meeting place if different from headquarters hotel. d. Airport for arrival and departure. e. Provide list of restaurants within walking distance of hotel. 2. Arrange in advance for transportation to and from the airport. Provide the Regional Director with contact information (cell phone number of someone he/she can contact if there is an issue with the flight, etc.) 3. Arrange transportation to the convention center if not located in or adjacent to the hotel. 4. Provide a basic agenda, program and script thirty (30) days in advance of the event. 5. Provide room accommodations either private or with a Coordinator. 6. Regional Director is required by TOPS Club, Inc. to hold a workshop for all Field Staff, and present a workshop or talk to all attendees at the recognition event. Allow sufficient time to do these and advise Regional Director of day, times, location of each. 7. Advise Regional Director of appropriate attire for sessions. 8. Advise what level of participation is desired of Regional Director (workshops, speech, awards, ceremonies, etc.) December 2015 Page 107 9. Advise Regional Director of audio equipment and setup for sessions to ensure needs are met for her presentation. (i.e. power point equipment, projector, sound system, etc.) Expenses: If funds are available 1. Airfare or mileage (submit receipt.) 2. Room accommodations. 3. Per Diem – same as Coordinator. 4. If help is needed to meet expenses in one state/province, the Regional Director may ask other states/provinces in the area to assist. Thank-you Gift Regional Director may receive up to $300.00 for participation in event and presentation of required Field Staff workshop and workshop or talk for all attendees only if funds remain after all expenses, other thank-you gifts to Central Committee and Coordinator are presented as well as obligations to TOPS Club, Inc., Field Staff Fund, and Area’s Royalty Fund. Recommendations: 1. The Regional Director would enjoy being included in meals and spending time with the Committee and Field Staff. 2. Arrange for a small goodie basket, which might include water, fruit, breakfast bars, yogurt, cheese, crackers, etc. 3. If gifts are given to the Regional Director, please keep in mind that if she or he is flying to your event, the gift should fit in a suitcase. 4. If the Regional Director is asked to participate in a skit, please provide her or him with a costume, script, etc. and anything else the RD may need. President Attending ARD/PRD/SRD Do not offer any ARD, SRD or PRD dates to the President that do not have a confirmed contract. 1. By January, provide the following information to the President: a. Arrival and departure dates. b. Name of hotel, address, city and phone number. c. City and name of meeting place if different from headquarters hotel. d. Airport for arrival and departure. e. Provide list of restaurants within walking distance of hotel. 2. Arrange in advance, transportation to and from the airport. Provide the President with contact information (cell phone number of someone she can contact if there is an issue with her flight, etc.) 3. Arrange transportation to the convention center if not located in or adjacent to the hotel. 4. Provide a basic agenda or schedule showing events, time and location. December 2015 Page 108 5. Provide room accommodations either private or with Regional Director or Coordinator, keeping in mind that she has low tolerance to fragrance (including smoke, perfume, hair sprays, etc.) 6. Allow sufficient time to address the attendees (20-40 minutes) preferably when the majority of attendees are present (at one of the general sessions would be best). 7. Advise President of the appropriate attire for sessions. 8. Advise what level of participation is desired of the President (workshops, speech, awards, ceremonies, etc.) 9. Advise President of audio equipment and setup for sessions to ensure needs are met for her presentation. (i.e., PowerPoint equipment, projector, sound system, etc.) Expenses: 1. Airfare or travel expense is paid by the event. 2. Room accommodations are paid by the event. 3. Per Diem – same as RD and Coordinator. 4. Gift – she may accept up to $ 75.00. Recommendations: 1. The President would enjoy being included in meals and spending time with the Committee and Field Staff – this goes for the Regional Director also. 2. Arrange for a small goodie basket which might include: water, fruit, breakfast bars, yogurt, cheese, crackers, etc. Some of her favorites are Diet Coke, chocolate—and believe this—artichokes. She is extremely allergic to strawberries. 3. If gifts are given to the President, please keep in mind if she is flying to your event that the gift will need to fit in her suitcase—or arrange to ship it to her home. So, please avoid bulky gifts if possible. President may not accept tokens of appreciation over $75.00. 4. If the President is asked to participate in a skit, please provide her with a costume, script, etc. and anything else she may need. 5. A meet and greet after one of the sessions would give the members a wonderful opportunity to meet the President. 6. If you have any questions, please contact the Regional Director. Special Event Financial Report-ARD/SRD/PRD (S-097) 1. Special Event Financial Reports (S-097) are found in the Coordinator Area, under Operations Docs. Depending on the size of the event, either a 10-page ExpenseIncome sheet or a 20-page Expense-Income sheet is available for downloading to Excel. Download a new version of the Special Event Financial Reports(S-097) each year. 2. Coordinators have 45 days after the event to complete and send to their Regional Director the completed Special Event Financial Report (S-097) for all fund raising December 2015 Page 109 events in his/her area. Beginning and ending bank statements must be included. Other documentation may also be requested by the Regional Director. 3. An electronic copy of the Special Event Financial Report (S-097) is to be emailed to the Regional Director prior to mailing. If event does not provide this, the Regional Director is responsible for preparing and saving an electronic version. Regional Director shall complete the Special Event Financial Report (S-097) by listing distribution of any excess funds, making any necessary corrections after reviewing all materials sent and saving it for future reference in case (S-097) is selected for full audit. 4. Each Year, three (3) Special Event Financial Reports (S-097) will be selected at random for audit by the Board of Directors Auditing Committee. When selected, copies of all canceled checks, deposit slips, bank statements and receipts will need to be submitted, along with an Excel version of Special Event Financial Report (S-097). Electronic version of the Special Event Financial Report (S-097) shall be sent to the auditor immediately upon notification the event has been selected for audit. 5. Any Special Event Financial Report (S-097) of a State or Provincial Recognition Days received after September 30 will be audited for the current and following years. Surplus Funds on Special Event Financial Report (S-097) for ARD, SRD or PRD events are distributed as follows: The Regional Director shall determine the amount for each category. 1. Royalty Fund – to maximum of $10,000.00 for each State/Province. a. King, Queen or Runners-up: $599.00 plus round trip coach airfare. b. 25-year longevity winners with loss to goal of ten or more pounds: $599.00 International Winners: $599.00 plus round trip coach airfare. 2. Field Staff Fund – $1,900.00 minimum for each Coordinator. Items supported by this fund include: a. Coordinator, Regional Director, Board, former Regional Director of ten years or more IRD travel expense. b. IRD Registration for Area Captains. c. Free retreat for all Field Staff after completion of one year. d. Coordinator orientation expenses with Regional Director. e. Growth incentive payments. f. Awards for President, Founder and Board of Directors awards. g. President’s Award Winner $599.00 plus round trip coach airfare. h. Field Staff orientation at Headquarters. i. 25 year Field Staff Award 3. Advance for next year’s event. 4. Publicity Fund – per schedule: No more than 50 or fewer chapters $ 2,000.00 51 – 100 chapters $ 3,000.00 December 2015 Page 110 101 – 200 chapters $ 4,000.00 201 – 300 chapters $ 5,000.00 301 – 400 chapters $ 6,000.00 401 – 500 chapters $ 7,000.00 501 – 600 chapters $ 8,000.00 601 – 700 chapters $ 9,000.00 701 or more chapters $10,000.00 5. If funds remain, Regional Director may approve an amount not to exceed $300.00 per gift. 1. Discretionary Gift divided among Central Committee 2. Discretionary Gift for Coordinator in Charge 3. Discretionary Gift for Regional Director 6. Any remaining surplus funds are sent to TOPS Club, Inc. and if specified may go to the Esther Manz Memorial Garden, Heritage Society or Medical Fund. If not specified surplus funds will go to the Field Staff Fund 7. If funds are insufficient, excess funds from Fally Rally/ Inspiration events may be donated to meet required amounts. a. Fally Rally Inspiration events with a balance remaining of more than $500.00 must submit an S-097 for the event to the Regional Director. b. Any surplus remaining may be allotted as in 6. Workshop Funds Workshop Funds may be collected from chapters. The Regional Director and Coordinator(s) of each state and province decide how the money is collected and the amount of the Workshop Fund requested from each chapter. Coordinators may not use workshop funds for personal expenses, such as travel, lodging and expenses. They must fund their own expenses since these expenses can be written off on taxes. Room rental fee, printing and postage may be taken from the workshop fund. Area Captain’s travel, lodging and food may be paid from workshop fund, if funds are available. Fund is to be audited at end of calendar year and submitted to RD with ending bank statement and list of disbursements and deposits. Additional records may also be requested. December 2015 Page 111 Sample Workshop Fund Letter WORKSHOP FUND Workshop fee for each chapter to help defray expenses for these events may be requested but not required. This is an annual fee. There will be no assessments or registration fees required of members to attend workshops. Up to 15 members - $15.00 16 - 30 members - $20.00 31 members or more - $25.00 (Suggestions only) Please forward your chapter check (with two officer’s signatures on the check) no later than January 1, (year) to: (Coordinator name, address) Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, Coordinator (Cut Here) TOPS postal code chapter number city # of members …………………. Workshop fee enclosed… $ Deadline – January (Year). December 2015 Page 112 Sample Workshop Fund Audit Date: Event INCOME EXPENSE Balance brought forward: Chapter funds received: Promotional Items Sold: Misc. Income: Postage: Printing: Meeting Room Rental: Supplies: Awards: Phone: Speaker: Area Captain: Travel: Room: Meals: TOTALs: BALANCE: (Income minus Expense) Coordinator Signature Area Captain Signature December 2015 Page 113 Matching Funds for Larger Health Fairs and Conferences 1. TOPS Club, Inc. will provide matching funds for Health Fairs and Conferences with expected attendance of 1,000 or more and expected total cost of more than $250.00 up to a maximum matching amount of no more than $750.00 2. Request for Matching Funds (S-030), found on the www.tops.org under the Coordinators Area of the website, must be completed, approved by Regional Director and sent to TOPS Headquarters. (Regional Director submits receipts for the matching funds.) Coordinator Support Items 1. Headquarters maintains a supply of recognition items needed by Coordinators for ARD’s, PRD’s, and SRD’s. 2. Download TOPS Recognition Days Stock Items (S-064) order blank from Coordinators section of website. 3. The order is to be sent with a check in U.S. dollars to Headquarters to the attention of Mary Neuburg, mneuburg@tops.org. This needs to be a separate check separate from the check sent with the Weekly Report and Remittance Sheet(S-009). Award Display Items 1. Coordinators may order items for display at cost, one time only. 2. As items are added or changed in the line, these too may be ordered at cost. 3. Accounting Director will send an email once a year to offer these items, along with an order blank. December 2015 Page 114 U.S. Coordinators & Regional Directors Only- Limited Liability Company Set up LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION FOR Depending on Your State Requirements, You May Need to Know: 1. Name: The proposed name of the new limited liability company. This may be your name followed by the initials LLC. Ideally, it would not be your full name. Preferably, it would be (your last name) Support Services, LLC. 2. Business/Office Address: This is the mailing address of your LLC. 3. Agent for Service of Process/Registered Agent: The name and the address of the person you designated to accept legal papers. This would normally be your name and address. Usually the address would be the same as the business/office address. 4. Type of Management: You are a “Member” of your LLC. An LLC may be managed by its Members or by a Manager. As the sole Member of your LLC, your LLC would normally be Member Managed not Manager Managed. 5. Term: This is the time your LLC will be in operation. Normally this would be for an indefinite period not for a term of years. This is sometimes referred to being an “at-will company”. 6. Debts: All debts, obligations and liabilities incurred in running your LLC will be the debts of your LLC and not your personal debts, provided you keep your personal bank accounts and affairs separate from your LLC bank accounts and affairs. 7. Purpose: Normally this would be for any lawful purpose. If your state requires a specific purpose, the business activities for forming your LLC would be Support Services. 8. Organizers: The names and complete addresses of each person having authority to sign for your LLC. This would normally be your name and address unless you authorize someone else to sign on behalf of your LLC. December 2015 Page 115 9. Drafter: The drafter is the person who prepares your Articles of Organization forming your LLC. This would be your name unless you hire someone else to prepare your forms. 10. Signature: Your Articles of Organization for your LLC must be signed by one or more organizers. 11. Contact: The name, address, email address, and phone number of the contact person for your forms. This is the person who your State should contact if they have any questions. Normally, this would be you, unless you hire someone else to prepare your forms. 12. Payment: If you pay online, you need a credit card to pay the filing fee. You need to determine what credit cards your State accepts. Some States do not accept Debit Cards. If paying by mail, you need a check. 13. Fees: Filing fees differ by State and may differ if paying online or by mail. (Just like the airlines, some states are cheaper online.) 14. Effective Date: Unless specified differently in your Articles of Organization, your LLC will be effective upon receipt by your State of your forms. 15. Business License: Your State may require that you obtain a business license from your State Taxing Authority. Your State will usually send you this information after receipt of your Articles of Organization. Your State may require you to pay fees for these Licenses. 16. Employer Identification Number (EIN): You are NOT required to obtain an EIN for Federal purposes for your LLC. You can continue to use your Social Security Number. Some States may require that you obtain a Federal EIN for their State purposes. 17. Federal Income Taxes: As long as you are the only member of your LLC, you can continue to file Schedule C of IRS Form 1040. 18. State Income Taxes: Some States may impose a separate income tax on an LLC. Your individual State needs to be checked to determine what taxes, if any, it may impose on a single member LLC. 19. Operating Agreement: Your Limited Liability Company needs to have an Operating Agreement. An Operating Agreement is similar to the bylaws of a Corporation. It defines how a business will operate. A one-member LLC can have a very simple Operating Agreement. December 2015 Page 116 Hiring a New Area Captain Area Captain Attributes and Functions and Agreements Area Captains Expectations Area Captains will need a phone, an answering machine/voice mail, regular use of a computer and email service, familiarity with, availability and use of WORD and EXCEL. They will need to maintain and post regular office hours, to drive or have transportation available and be willing to travel. Area Captains will need to notify the Coordinator if they will not be available during posted office hours for more than two business days. If you are choosing to offer your current Area Captains a new agreement to continue in the position in 2015, below is the procedure to follow. Agreement Procedure Coordinators are responsible to obtain signed Attribute/Functions sheets and agreements from all of their Area Captains. The Area Captain agreement is between the Coordinator, his/her Regional Director and the Area Captain. Headquarters is not involved in this process. First, after discussion with Regional Director, Coordinator sends an Attributes and Functions Sheet to the candidate. A deadline for return should be stated. Copies of all documents may be sent electronically. The Attributes and Functions are reviewed by the candidate, signed, dated and returned to the Coordinator. Second, after the Area Captain returns the signed Attributes/Functions sheet, Coordinator shall offer an Area Captain Independent Contractor Agreement to the candidate. No alterations of any kind may be made to the wording of the agreement. Deadline for returning signed agreement is stated in instructions that accompany the Agreement. The Coordinator will follow up with the Area Captains to be certain that he/she received the letter and Attributes/Functions sheet if not returned by the stated deadline. Verify with the candidate that he/she is considered as an independent contractor. Third, Regional Director reviews the area assigned by the Coordinator, Form RD-014: New Field Staff is completed for the Area Captain. The Regional Director sends this form to the Chapter and Field Staff Records Associate at TOPS Club, Inc. Regional Director signs agreement and sends copies to Coordinator and Area Captain and for their records. December 2015 Page 117 Finally, on receipt of a copy of the signed agreement from the Regional Director, the Coordinator, at his/her own expense, prepares and sends a letter to all area Field Staff and chapters advising of new Area Captain’s contact information and starting date. The Regional Director reviews this letter before it is sent. Notification of Change in Area Served A letter or email is sent to the Regional Director to approve and send to TOPS Headquarters advising the changes being made. The Coordinator sends a letter to the chapters advising them of their new Area Captain agreement information and starting date. A copy is sent to the Regional Director. Notification of Resignation/Termination When an Area Captain resigns or when the Area Captain agreement is terminated, the Coordinator sends a letter, at her expense, to all chapters advising of the resignation of the Area Captain. Coordinator may request funds for the resigning Area Captain from the chapters. A copy is sent to the Regional Director. December 2015 Page 118 EMAIL TO AREA CAPTAIN FROM COORDINATOR DATE: TO: Please read carefully the attached Area Captain Attributes and Functions Sheet. Be sure that you fully understand that having the stated attributes is vital in order to perform the listed functions. Possession of these attributes and implementation of these functions are necessary as an Area Captain. By printing out, reading, signing, dating and sending a copy of the Area Captain Attributes and Functions Sheet to me, you indicate that you understand and agree to what is stated. Please make a copy of the Area Captain Attributes and Functions Sheet for yourself as a reference. The deadline for your response is two weeks from date of this memo. An Area Captain’s agreement will be offered to you after receipt of the signed copy of Area Captain Attributes and Functions. December 2015 Page 119 AREA CAPTAIN ATTRIBUTES Area Captain must be committed, passionate and dedicated to help members take and keep off pounds sensibly and must focus their efforts on making TOPS the best weight-loss support choice for people who want to live a healthy lifestyle. Area Captains must have Internet access and a computer available for communication purposes. Area Captain must be able to communicate effectively using various electronic mediums such as email, social networks and website tools used by TOPS: Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, chat rooms, and group emails. Area Captains are independent contractors. Since you are an independent contractor, your Coordinator and Regional Director do not provide workers compensation insurance, general liability insurance or automobile insurance for you. AREA CAPTAIN FUNCTIONS Area Captain shall exercise his or her independent judgment in performing the following: Communicate Mission 1. AREA CAPTAIN shall exemplify TOPS mission to help and support our members take off and keep off pounds sensibly. They shall be supportive, reachable and approachable and promptly respond to all requests and inquiries; they shall be knowledgeable and keep current with TOPS Rules, policies, procedures, and resources for Area Captains, chapters, volunteers, and members. AREA CAPTAIN shall continue to make progress toward or maintain KOPS status. Support chapters 2. Work closely with TOPS chapters to ensure they reflect TOPS vision to be the best weight-loss support choice for people who want to live a healthy lifestyle. Communicate regularly with Chapter Leaders and volunteers to offer support and guidance and to familiarize chapters with all aspects of TOPS. Visit each chapter at least once a year to present the Area Captain program provided by TOPS Club Inc. Evaluate chapters annually and mentor Leaders and officers to work toward continuous improvement as measured by the TOPS 9-point scale in five areas. Offer chapter incentives. Plan and execute events in assigned area to build fellowship, exchange ideas, celebrate success and raise awareness of TOPS programs and resources available to members and chapters. Be visible and involved at TOPS functions. Recruit Members 3. Recruit TOPS members; Follow up on inquiries from prospective members. Establish and assist new chapters. Direct members of dissolved chapters to other chapters or to online membership; Promote TOPS through encouraging chapters to obtain free listings in local news media and distribution of free materials and appointing competent publicity volunteers to speak at civic groups, reach out to media, staff health fairs, and otherwise promote TOPS. December 2015 Page 120 Administration 4. Process and document all required TOPS materials and reports; prepare a monthly service report and submit to Regional Director and Coordinator; monitor the area for growth; require support of TOPS mission, vision, rules and tools. Communicate regularly with Regional Directors, Coordinators, other Area Captains monitor and communicate opportunities to promote TOPS to Coordinator and Regional Director. Signature _____________________________ Date: ___________________ Keep a copy of the sheet for your records and forward the original to your Coordinator (Rev 9/14) December 2015 Page 121 SAMPLE TO: AREA CAPTAIN (Used for email and regular mail) FROM: COORDINATOR DATE: DATE SUBJECT: AREA CAPTAIN AGREEMENT Attached is your agreement between you, your Regional Director and me. This agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of your service as an Area Captain, as well as your status as an independent contractor and not as an employee of your Coordinator or Regional Director. NEW DIRECTIONS: 1. Please print out agreement. 2. Read agreement, sign and date it. 3. Please return signed agreement to me within 2 weeks from date of this letter. 4. I will sign the agreement and forward it to the Regional Director. 5. The Regional Director will sign the agreement, make a copy for her records and return it to me. 6. When I receive the signed agreement, I will forward a copy to you for your records. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. December 2015 Page 122 AREA CAPTAIN AGREEMENT THIS WRITTEN AGREEMENT made and entered into by and between __________________________, hereinafter called AREA CAPTAIN, __________________________, hereinafter called COORDINATOR and __________________________, hereinafter called REGIONAL DIRECTOR. 1. Area Captain. COORDINATOR and REGIONAL DIRECTOR shall retain AREA CAPTAIN and AREA CAPTAIN shall serve COORDINATOR and REGIONAL DIRECTOR as a TOPS Club, Inc. AREA CAPTAIN in the area assigned by COORDINATOR and REGIONAL DIRECTOR upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. 2. Term. AREA CAPTAIN shall serve in this capacity until any party upon written notice to the other parties terminates this Agreement. 3. Responsibilities. AREA CAPTAIN shall use his or her judgment to direct and monitor TOPS Club, Inc. (“TOPS”) programs; shall exercise his or her talent and artistic judgment to promote TOPS, shall establish, assist and visit TOPS Chapters, shall recruit and support TOPS volunteers and shall recruit TOPS members. AREA CAPTAIN shall obtain and process all required TOPS materials and reports. AREA CAPTAIN shall administer TOPS policies, procedures and rules. 4. Extent of Services. AREA CAPTAIN shall devote her or his best efforts and such time as shall be necessary to perform her or his responsibilities. AREA CAPTAIN will control the aggregate number of hours worked, the scheduling of the hours worked, where the hours are worked and how the work is done. 5. Compensation. In consideration of AREA CAPTAIN’s performance of her or his responsibilities hereunder, AREA CAPTAIN will receive from COORDINATOR a service fee of fifty (50) cents per TOPS new and renewal membership fee and per teen/preteen without TOPS NEWS membership fee received by COORDINATOR from AREA CAPTAIN’S area during the preceding month. Such compensation is payable monthly in COORDINATOR’S local currency. Additionally, REGIONAL DIRECTOR shall pay to AREA CAPTAIN for each chapter that AREA CAPTAIN visits and presents the TOPS Area Captain’s Program, one-half of that chapter’s maintenance collected annually by COORDINATOR. This amount may only be received for one visit per chapter annually. Such compensation is payable semi-annually in REGIONAL DIRECTOR’S local currency as of each June 30th and December 31st. AREA CAPTAIN shall also be eligible for, but not guaranteed, additional performance-based income distribution at the sole discretion of the REGIONAL DIRECTOR. 6. Independent Contractor and Taxes. (a) AREA CAPTAIN is retained as an independent contractor and will not be treated as an employee with respect to such service provided under this Agreement for purposes of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the Social Security Act, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, Workers Compensation Insurance, and income tax withholding. Furthermore, AREA CAPTAIN will not be treated as an employee December 2015 Page 123 with respect to such service for purposes of employee benefits nor any other fringe benefits of TOPS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR or COORDINATOR. (b) AREA CAPTAIN understands that he or she is solely responsible for payment of all taxes due on the compensation paid under this Agreement, including but not limited to federal selfemployment tax and federal and state or provincial income taxes. REGIONAL DIRECTOR and COORDINATOR will report the aggregate amount of such compensation as required by the code, regulations and forms prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service. 7. Expenses. Except as authorized, all expenses incurred by AREA CAPTAIN will be paid by AREA CAPTAIN and will not be reimbursed by REGIONAL DIRECTOR or COORDINATOR. 8. Working Facilities. AREA CAPTAIN shall furnish his or her own office, office equipment and furniture, telephone with answering machine/voicemail, computer with Internet service and email, software, stenographic help, automobile, automobile and general liability insurance, and such other equipment, facilities and services necessary for the performance of her responsibilities hereunder. 9. Personnel. All personnel employed by AREA CAPTAIN are his or her employees and are not REGIONAL DIRECTOR employees or COORDINATOR employees. 10. Contracts. AREA CAPTAIN has no power or authority to enter into any agreement on behalf of TOPS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR or COORDINATOR, or which would legally bind TOPS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR or COORDINATOR. 11. Disclosure of Information. The list of TOPS members as it may exist from time to time, is a valuable, special, and unique asset of TOPS. AREA CAPTAIN will not, during or after the term of this Agreement, disclose the list of TOPS members or any part thereof to any person, firm, corporation, association, or other entity for any reason or purpose whatsoever. In the event of a breach or threatened breach by AREA CAPTAIN of the provisions of this paragraph, TOPS shall be entitled to an injunction restraining him or her from disclosing, in whole or in part, the list of TOPS members, or from rendering any services to any person, firm, corporation, association, or other entity to whom such list, in whole or in part, has been disclosed or is threatened to be disclosed. Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting TOPS from pursuing any other remedies available to TOPS for such breach, including the recovery of damages from AREA CAPTAIN. 12. Proprietary Rights. (a) TOPS shall own the entire right, title and interest in and to all material written or supplied pursuant to this Agreement, including trademarks and copyrights and AREA CAPTAIN shall retain no ownership rights in such material or in their trademark or copyright. (b) TOPS may make any changes in, deletions from or additions to such material written or supplied by AREA CAPTAIN which TOPS in its sole discretion may consider necessary or desirable for its purposes. December 2015 Page 124 (c) TOPS shall have the right as owner of such materials to obtain copyrights, renewals and other protection therefore and AREA CAPTAIN will execute and deliver such assignments and documents as TOPS shall deem necessary or advisable to evidence, establish, maintain or defend TOPS rights in or to such materials. (d) Upon the termination of this Agreement by either party, AREA CAPTAIN will immediately discontinue the use of all trademarks, copyrights and forms of publicity indicative of TOPS. 13. Non-Competition. AREA CAPTAIN agrees to refrain from directly or indirectly engaging in or assisting others in the following activities during the term of this Agreement and following the termination (voluntary or involuntary) of this Agreement: (a) During the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four (24) months, calling, contacting, soliciting, or diverting any of TOPS former, or prospective members in a manner that harms TOPS or assists an entity that is competitive to TOPS. (b) During the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four (24) months, forming, participating or engaging in any trade or business, either alone or jointly with others, that competes with TOPS. (c) During the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four months, assisting, consulting, or promoting any individual, corporation, organization or other entity which competes with TOPS. (d) During the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four months, hiring, soliciting, recruiting or attempting to recruit any TOPS employee, independent contractor or advisor, or identifying or providing information to any third party for purposes of facilitating the hire, solicitation or recruitment of any TOPS employee, independent contractor or advisor for work that is competitive to TOPS or may harm TOPS. 14. Non-Disparagement. AREA CAPTAIN agrees during the term of this Agreement and for a period of twenty-four months following the termination (voluntary or involuntary) of this Agreement to refrain from directly or indirectly engaging in or assisting others in engaging in any conduct or communications that disparages or harms the activities and affairs of TOPS, its members, employees, advisors or independent contractors. 15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. The parties agree to be governed by Wisconsin law and subject to its jurisdiction. 16. Consent to Personal Jurisdiction. The parties hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, for any lawsuit filed therein arising from this Agreement. AREA CAPTAINS, COORDINATOR and REGIONAL DIRECTOR agree not to bring any action or proceeding arising out of this Agreement in any other court. 17. Severability. If any word, sentence, section, or provision of this Agreement is adjudged to be invalid or unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the validity of the December 2015 Page 125 other words, sentences, sections, or provisions of the Agreement. If any part of this Agreement is interpreted in such a way as to create an employer – employee relationship, that part of the contract is void. 18. Entire Agreement, Assignment. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties and supersedes all oral or written prior agreements and understandings between the Parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. The TOPS rights and obligations under this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of its successors or assigns. AREA CAPTAIN may not assign any rights or obligations under this Agreement as this Agreement is personal to AREA CAPTAIN. 19. Arm’s Length Negotiations. AREA CAPTAIN expressly represents and warrants that before executing this Agreement, AREA CAPTAIN carefully read the Agreement, become informed of the terms, conditions, and effects of this Agreement, and had the opportunity to seek and obtain counsel; and that in executing this Agreement, AREA CAPTAIN acted voluntarily without duress as a result of arm’s length negotiations between the Parties. 20. Amendments and Waivers. AREA CAPTAIN agrees that any modification to this Agreement shall be made only in writing and pursuant to the signature of all Parties. Also, a waiver of any of AREA CAPTAIN’s obligations under this Agreement shall be ineffective unless expressly set forth in writing and signed by all parties. AREA CAPTAIN DATE REGIONAL DIRECTOR DATE COORDINATOR DATE (Rev 10/14) December 2015 Page 126 Regional Director Section - Revised December 2014 Regional Directors are to direct questions concerning Board policies to the President for discussion, action or clarification. TOPS Headquarters does not make policy decisions. TOPS Headquarters develop procedures to implement the Board’s decisions as directed. December 2015 Page 127
