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Opening and closing cermonies


Guest Jared Smith

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3 hours ago, Guest Jared Smith said:

When opening and closing ceremonies are suspended, is it possible to unsuspend them in a way that is on par with Robert's Rules of Order?

I don’t fully understand what is meant by “suspending” or “unsuspending” the opening and closing ceremonies.

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This is for my local Future Farmers of America chapter. 

 

In the begining of our meetings, one might say, "I move to suspend opening and closing cerominies."

(That's where we say

President: “The __________ (meeting room, banquet hall, etc.) will come to order. We are now holding a meeting of the __________ (chapter name, district name, etc.) FFA __________ (chapter, district, etc.) Mr./ Mdm. Vice President, are all officers at their stations?”

Vice President: (Rising and facing the president) “I shall call the roll of officers, determine if they are at their stations and report back to you, Mr./Mdm. President.”,

etc.

I am trying to find a way to stop these ceromonies for being suspended, if any way is possible.

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6 minutes ago, Guest Jared Smith said:

I am trying to find a way to stop these ceromonies for being suspended, if any way is possible.

Well, of course, you can vote no on that motion.  If the question is whether you can move to reverse the decision immediately after it has been made, I guess I'm curious why you think that would be successful.

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54 minutes ago, Guest Jared Smith said:

This is for my local Future Farmers of America chapter. 

In the begining of our meetings, one might say, "I move to suspend opening and closing cerominies."

(That's where we say

President: “The __________ (meeting room, banquet hall, etc.) will come to order. We are now holding a meeting of the __________ (chapter name, district name, etc.) FFA __________ (chapter, district, etc.) Mr./ Mdm. Vice President, are all officers at their stations?”

Vice President: (Rising and facing the president) “I shall call the roll of officers, determine if they are at their stations and report back to you, Mr./Mdm. President.”,

etc.

I am trying to find a way to stop these ceromonies for being suspended, if any way is possible.

So in other words, the goal is to skip the ceremonies for the meeting. I concur with Mr. Katz that the best way to stop that is to vote against the motion. There is no rule which says that ceremonies cannot be skipped, if that is what you were hoping to find.

I would note that the President’s statement that the meeting shall come to order is not a part of the opening ceremonies and there is no way to vote to skip it, since the Call to Order marks the start of the meeting. But skipping the rest of it is fine.

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If that is the normal process for opening a meeting, I don't quite see where the opportunity to move to suspend it would present itself.  It would seem that it would not be possible for anyone to obtain the floor for the purpose of making such a motion until that process had been completed.

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19 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

If that is the normal process for opening a meeting, I don't quite see where the opportunity to move to suspend it would present itself.  It would seem that it would not be possible for anyone to obtain the floor for the purpose of making such a motion until that process had been completed.

I suppose you are basing this on the grounds that a motion to Suspend the Rules cannot interrupt the speaker.

I think one could argue that the rule against interruptions is intended only to apply to the business portions of a meeting, such as speeches in debate or reports, and that it does not prevent making a motion to Suspend the Rules for making a motion to dispense with opening ceremonies.

Or perhaps the officers are in favor of dispensing with the opening ceremonies, and they will stop talking to permit a motion to Suspend the Rules to be made, so that no speaker is interrupted.

Of course, if the society really doesn't like these ceremonies, it would be preferable to make a motion during new business to do away with them permanently.

Edited by Josh Martin
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This posting involves the standard opening for FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) and is used at all level of meetings--local, area, state, and national. The use of an opening ceremonies has been a part of the association for over 85 years.  A unit/chapter could adopt a practice of not using the opening ceremonies for some or even all their meetings. There is no requirement to use opening or closing ceremonies in either the National Constitution or Bylaws so a unit could act on the matter.  As to the statement about being surprised the group has not dropped the use of ceremonies would simply reply that it is a very strong tradition and likely to remain so just as many other organizations that have standard ceremonies be it opening or closing or induction of members, etc... 

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