Frequently Asked Questions

We are delighted you want to attend a meeting to learn about Execs! You must have permission to attend, in advance, from a current member or the Executive Director. Please look through our online directory and see if you know a current member whom you could ask to bring you as a guest. If you don’t recognize any of our members, please contact our Executive Director (director@csea.biz) for guidance.

Meetings are held each Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the El Paso Club in downtown Colorado Springs, 30 East Platte Avenue. From 7:00 to 7:40 members network and eat a self-serve buffet breakfast. At 7:40, roll call and announcements are done. The presentation of the week begins at 8:00 and wraps up about 8:25 with Q & A and the door prize drawing. Members may arrive and depart at any time as needed, but please be mindful of others and the presenter, and know that you may be missing out!

Free parking with a parking pass (or your car may be towed) is available on a first-come-first-served basis in three areas: (1) the El Paso Club lot on Boulder Street (behind Tony’s Bar), (2) the El Paso Club alley on the westside of the building (DO NOT PARK at the YMCA or the First Christian Church parking lots.); or (3) the American Legion lot on the SE corner of Platte Avenue and Cascade Avenue. Please print a parking pass and place it on your car dash on Wednesday mornings if you park in any of these locations.

Paid parking meters are available and take coins (nickels, dimes, and quarters), credit cards, or the ParkMobile app. We highly recommend paying with the app so you can monitor and extend the time from your smartphone. Meters must be paid starting at 7:00 a.m.

If a regular meeting is to be cancelled unexpectedly for any reason, the Executive Director and acting President will decide by 4:00 p.m. the Tuesday before the meeting and will email a notification of the cancellation to the membership.

Attendance is not mandatory. However, regardless of attendance you will be billed for every breakfast that month (see billing questions). You will benefit most, as will your fellow Execs, with regular attendance and participation. Per tradition, Execs meets every week, except the weeks of the Colorado Springs Western Street Breakfast (third Wednesday in June) and Thanksgiving (fourth Wednesday in November). This is, of course, subject to change.  Please check the calendar on the website homepage for upcoming meeting information.

Yes! You do not need permission to bring a guest. Anyone may be a guest, whether a potential member, family, friend, or competitor of a current member. A guest is exactly that, a guest. A guest who is a competitor of a current member may be a guest for whatever reason and attendance does not indicate a desire by that guest to join. Members must introduce their guest(s) during roll call. A guest should not self-introduce; however, if the inviting member is not present, then the guest should self-introduce and state the host member. Guests do not fill out lead slips. Guests do not get a copy of the newsletter which is confidential and only for members. Members must put their guest’s name, with business name, if applicable, on the yellow attendance slip. This is how the Executive Director takes attendance, knows whom to charge for the guest as applicable, and gathers information to include in the newsletter.
Execs bills members, in advance, for dues and all breakfasts (currently $24 each) for meetings to be held in the coming month. Unused breakfasts are not accrued and rolled over; it is a use-it-or-lose-it system. Note, Execs actually pays $27 (as of 2/14/2023) per breakfast to the El Paso Club, hence, we subsidize the weekly breakfast cost for members/guests.
If you bring a guest to breakfast, you may or may not be charged for them, depending on how many breakfasts you attend in the month. For example, if there are four meetings in a month, and you come to two meetings and bring a guest to one or both of those meetings, then you would not be billed for any additional breakfasts. However, if you come to all meetings that were billed for that month, then you will be charged, in arrears, for the extra breakfasts you and your guests used that month. If your guest wishes to pay for their own breakfast, the Executive Director accepts cash, check, or credit card payments at the weekly meetings.
If you will have a short-term leave of absence from work (one month or less), then you may be permitted to send a representative, who is not already a member, from your company in your place. Any substitution must be discussed with and approved by the Executive Director in advance. Please note, non-members do not receive the newsletter, so even though you may send a substitute, the substitute will not receive the newsletter. Your substitute may include lead information but will not see it. The best practice is to have an Associate Member for your company attend in your stead when you, as Primary Member, are not able to come. (limited to two per company per the by-laws)
The yellow lead slips are used each week to take attendance and to record leads and other information to be included in the newsletter. You must fill out a yellow lead slip each week with at least your name and the date, regardless of whether you include leads or other information. You will also record your guest(s) so that the information may be included in the newsletter, as well as used for attendance and breakfast billing. Per tradition and the discretion of the Execs then-President, only lead slips with direct leads are eligible for the door prize. Typically, the President will sort the lead slips at the end of each meeting and only include lead slips with direct leads for the door prize drawing. If you want to win a door prize, then include a direct lead or more! Please have your lead slip ready for collection, usually about 8:25 a.m.
Each week you provide information on your yellow lead slip for inclusion in the newsletter. The newsletter has topic segments and is populated with the information from all lead slips as appropriate and determined by the Executive Director. A ‘DIRECT LEAD’ is a lead in which either you do business with another member, or you directly refer someone to do business with another member. For example: “Direct lead to Sasquatch Cookies for thank-you gifts to all my new clients last month.”; or “Referral to Sasquatch Cookies. My neighbor, Jane Doe, wants to change up her corporate gift item. She will be calling you.” If you don’t have any direct leads, then please include any pertinent information that may be helpful to members, e.g., a new business opening and a point of contact if you have one; a thank you; a piece of interesting or helpful business, community, or other information; a comment on the presentation; an ask for something you or your business may need; etc.
At the time you become a member, you will create an online account and profile on the Execs website at csea.biz. The Executive Director sends the newsletter to the email address provided in your profile.
No. The newsletter is confidential and only for members of Execs. Please do not distribute it or the non-public information in it to non-members.
Execs has gift certificates that can be used at current members’ businesses. Often times, members of the week (presenters) will give an Execs gift certificate as the door prize (typically a value of $25). Gift certificates do not expire. Should you have any difficulty using them, please contact the Executive Director, or speak directly to the Execs member at the company where you are trying to use it.” To use a gift certificate, you surrender it to the Exec member at time of payment for goods or services. To redeem a gift certificate, the accepting Exec member tenders it to the Executive Director for reimbursement of the stated value. To purchase a gift certificate, you request the Executive Director issue you one and bill you in arrears for the value. Note: the gift certificates contain usage instructions at the bottom of them.
Per tradition, a new member of Execs must present at a weekly meeting within the first six months of membership. Doing a presentation helps other members get to know you personally, to learn what your business does, and to understand your business’s category within Execs. Throughout your membership it is important to present regularly (at least once a year) to stay in front of members and keep them apprised of what is happening in your company and its industry. Please do not be afraid of presenting. Execs are a welcoming bunch and eager to help you! The Executive Director is happy to help you prepare a presentation if you want/need assistance.
The privilege to reach the entire membership at a meeting is reserved for the presenting member of the week. Only the member of the week may place items on the tables or display goods and services at the meeting. All public business interactions must respect the member of the week.
Within Execs, there can be only one Primary Member per business category or classification. Application for membership in our organization requires sponsorship by an existing member. The first step in the process is for the Board/Executive Director to determine whether a category is able to be opened for membership. If so, then sponsored candidates may apply for membership in that category. Application for membership for a category is competitive and election to membership is by and at the sole discretion of the Board at the monthly meeting following the opening of a category. The process entails completing a membership application and an interview with the Board. It is important that anyone interested in, and applying for, membership attend meetings as a guest prior to and after application.
Per the Bylaws, membership in Execs consists of four classes: Primary, Associate, Retired, and Honorary. Primary Members are owners, managers, officers, or principal executives of the member’s stated business. Associate Members are managers, executive heads, or business representatives of the Primary Member’s business, and are subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. Retired membership may be granted at the discretion of the Board to either a former Primary Member or an Associate Member, as based on past contributions to Execs. Honorary membership is by invitation, at the discretion of the Board, and is typically reserved for notable former members, elected officials, or other important community figures.
To find out if a category is available in Execs, please review the current list of members on the website. If you are unsure, then please contact the Executive Director. Seventy-five percent of a member’s annual income must be derived from the desired category/classification. There is, naturally, crossover with many members, and in such instances, members may not promote their other areas of business if another member holds that category. For example, a member occupying the commercial insurance category (such as general or professional liability coverage) may not promote personal insurance offerings (such as home or auto coverage), if another member holds the category of personal insurance.

Offering a discount to Execs members is not a requirement. However, many Execs do extend a discount to fellow members. You can include discount information in your online profile in the section created specifically for this purpose (once logged in, click ‘Update Profile’ and scroll down to the ‘Discounts for Members’ field). Let members what the discount/offer is and how to make use it when they do business with you.

The Executive Director (director@csea.biz) can assist you with this upon request. Please complete and update your account and profile as needed! This is important, because the home page of the Execs website features members on a rotating basis and the display is populated from your profile. If your account is blank or incomplete, then your featured profile will be as well . Be sure to put your best foot forward to the public and the membership which includes uploading a current professional photo!
Elections Per the Bylaws of Execs, the Board is elected by the Primary members. Board terms are staggered, and elections are held twice per year in June and December at which four Directors are elected. The four Directors elected in June will serve July through June. The four Directors elected in December will serve January through December. Per the Bylaws, the director election slate must consist of eight candidates, even though only the top four vote-garnering candidates will be elected.

Directors. There are nine Directors on the Board which comprises no more than two Associate Members and the Past President. A Director serves a term of 12 months. The Board regularly meets the second Wednesday of every month, unless otherwise noted, and Board meetings start immediately after the weekly breakfast meeting and are held at the same venue. Directors are expected to attend all monthly Board meetings, unless excused in advance. At the July and January Board meetings, all then-incoming and then-outgoing Directors are expected to attend and assist with the transition.

Officers. Of the Directors, four are appointed by the Board to serve in the Officer positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Each Officer serves a term of six months, with the exception of the Treasurer who serves a term of 12 months. The day-to-day duties of the Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer are nominal, because the Executive Director assists with fulfilling the same by maintaining the corporate records, keeping minutes, bookkeeping, preparing financial reports, and running the monthly Board meeting as needed. Per tradition, not the Bylaws, the Vice President usually becomes the next President. The greatest requirements of the President are to attend and host the weekly meetings, and to run the monthly Board meeting. Additionally, the out-going President automatically assumes the position of Past President Officer and ninth Director and serves for another six months on the Board.

Benefits of Service. It is an honor not only to run for the board (regardless of being elected), but to serve on the board. Most members eventually will be asked by the nominating committee to run for the Board. Serving on the Board is an excellent way to connect with members and learn the inner workings of the association. Every Primary and Associate Member is strongly urged to consider serving on the Board. For more information, the Bylaws are posted on the website.
Please contact the Executive Director (director@csea.biz) to have any other questions answered.