Club Information

Welcome to the Great Plain Squares Club page. Our club is organized and managed so seamlessly that you might never even think about what goes on behind the scenes. And you might not realize that there are many volunteer opportunities, both big and small, in which you can participate. This page describes our organization. 

The Club
Board of Directors
Board of Director Positions and Responsibilities​
Volunteer Opportunities

Great Plain Squares was founded in 1972, incorporated as Great Plain Squares Square Dance Club. As a corporation, it has a formal Constitution and Bylaws that govern its management and activities.

• Club season runs from September through May

• Weekly dances, which include Mainstream instruction, are held on Wednesday evenings  from 7pm to 10pm

• Each session starts with two FREE Fun Nights where those interested in square dancing can learn the basic calls and start dancing.​

Please click on the following links to view the Club’s Constitution and Bylaws.

The current club Board of Directors is as follows:

Board members attend monthly Board of Directors meetings at which they can vote to implement changes to the club.

Board member responsibilities are summarized  below. The formal descriptions of these positions can be found in the Great Plain Squares Bylaws.

President: Coordinates the general operations of the club, ensuring that the club maintains a fun atmosphere for all the dancers and keeping the caller and the cuer happy. The president is charged with expanding the club with new dancers which includes planning and organizing our bi-annual Fun Nights. Other operational responsibilities include running monthly board meetings, organizing volunteers, opening and closing the dance hall for each event and sending weekly communications to the club. The president also determines if events should be called off due to weather.

1st Vice President: Books the Callers and Cuers for our (4) Saturday dances the club hosts each season as well as for the club’s weekly Wednesday dances. The 1st Vice President also fills in for the president when needed. 

2nd Vice President a.k.a. Class Coordinator: Helps the Caller run the weekly Mainstream class. Sends out emails to class members to encourage them to come to dances. The Class Coordinator and the President try to retain graduates of the classes.

Treasurer: Collects money at weekly and monthly dances, makes deposits and pays the club’s bills and expenses. The treasurer also compiles financial reports to the Board of Directors, to the state of Massachusetts, and to the club’s annual meeting. Click here for full details on the responsibilities of the Treasurer.

Recording Secretary: Records the minutes at all club meetings and distributes and presents these meeting minutes for Board review and approval.

Corresponding Secretary a.k.a. Publicity: Responsible for coordinating the development of recruiting flyers for Fun Nights and Saturday dances and the appropriate and timely distribution of the flyers. Duties also include providing input on the content and design of the club website, working closely with the club webmaster.

Members at Large: Three members at large positions on the Board provide additional voices and ideas at the Board meetings and act as an additional representation of the club’s members.

Great Plain Squares hosts four Saturday night dances during the course of our season where the dance is publicized and guests from other clubs are invited to attend.

• Halloween Dance (October)

• Snowflake Ball (January)

• Tulip Twirl (March)

• End of Season Dance (May)

These dances are traditionally held on the third Saturday of the month.

Each of these Saturday dance events are led by club members who volunteer to coordinate all the necessary tasks including planning and execution of a successful dance. ​

Dance Chair(s)

The dance chair coordinates the preparation of the dance hall for Saturday dances and provides the hospitality role of our club dances. This includes:

• setup of tables and chairs

• decorating the hall

• making welcome the dancers that come to our dances.

A key task is to join the Wednesday weekly announcements to remind the club of our upcoming-dance and request volunteers to help by coming early to set up the hall, distribute decorations and the greeting of our guests. Volunteers make this job easy and the tasks go quickly.

The role of chairing a Saturday dance can be a team of two club members. For details click Dance Chair Roles and Responsibilities.

Food Chair

The food chair works  with the dance chair to set up the food tables and make sure in advance that there is a sufficient supply of small plates, eating utensils, napkins and toothpicks at the ready for the food that club members bring to the Saturday dance.

The food chair is also responsible for setting up and maintaining the drinks table at the back of the dance hall, providing water, ice, cups, etc. 

For details click Food Chair Roles and Responsibilities,