Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

Secretary is MIA


mjhmjh

Recommended Posts

Our second organizational meeting is just a few days away, but sadly our secretary has completely stopped replying to all of our attempts to contact him. As such, no one can retrieve the minutes of the first organizational meeting to approve at the second. Can we skip approving the minutes and just approve them at the meeting following the second organizational meeting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the regular minutes from a meeting are not available, any member (or group of members) can re-construct the minutes from memory as best they can and those minutes can be approved (or approved after corrections).  The secretary isn't the only one who can submit draft minutes.  Any member can do so.   Approving those particular minutes obviously might have to wait until a future meeting.  You approve what you have.  You can't approve what you don't have.

Edited to add:  Can you elect a "new" secretary pro tem?  Sure.  And you should.  RONR says on page 557 that the temporary officers elected at the first organizational meeting serve until  the election of permanent officers.  However, if the temporary secretary has abandoned his duties, it seems you can elect a new secretary pro tem either for the current meeting or perhaps to serve until permanent officers are elected.  At a minimum, you can certainly elect a secretary pro tem to serve at the meeting where the first secretary or any subsequently elected secretary is absent. You can elect a secretary pro tem to serve at ANY meeting at which the regular secretary is absent.

Edited by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have his e-mail address try e-mailing him with the subject written as follows: "IMPORTANT: Next Meeting of the _________ (enter name of organization)" and then in the body of the e-mail include the following statement in capital letters: "PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL WITHIN 48 HOURS TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE."  If no response is forthcoming, then I would doubt he will attend the meeting.

However, to be safe, draw up a draft set of Minutes yourself based on what you remember from the meeting (as the Chairman you should hopefully have some notes yourself.)  Then ask others for their input and then present a hard copy at the next meeting for approval.  Better to have some sort of official Minutes then none at all.  If the Secretary shows up with a draft copy of Minutes, good.  At least everyone else has learned the value of keeping their own notes just in case.  I do, even when not the Secretary.  It makes sure I remember what is going on.  And how do I know someone else's draft Minutes are accurate if I don't remember what happened at the meeting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...