Here are five simple ways for newly elected/appointed officers to prepare for the coming year:
For most officer positions, a single meeting will be enough to discuss what the role involves and to explain any tricks of the trade. For positions like grand knight, it may take several meetings to completely discuss all that's involved. At this meeting, anything that needs to be handed over (such as the recorder's minute book; checkbooks for the treasurer; access/passwords to the council's email account, Facebook or website) should be given to the newly elected officers.
Each officer should meet with the newly elected grand knight to discuss his role during the upcoming year. Ask what goals he has in mind for you and the council. Also talk about a special event or focus that you'd like to work on in the upcoming year. There's always flexibility to expand and define the officer role, so make sure you take the time now to discuss this with your grand knight and plan for the year ahead.
Other Catholic organizations on campus have also selected leaders for the coming year. Start out collaborating with these groups by meeting their leaders. To reduce the burden on the grand knight, each officer can serve as a liaison for one group.
Schedule business and officers' meetings and plan a recruitment drive for early September. Begin filling in service projects, faith programs and social events. Successful college councils typically hold two non-meeting events per week. For councils not up to this activity level, start by holding three non-meeting events a month -- one service, one faith and one social. From there, begin to schedule events more frequently, eventually to the level of two per week.
Having a robust prayer life is an extremely important aspect of being a Knight and especially important for officers. By maintaining your focus on God you can best serve your council and campus community.