Annual Meeting Minutes

[Guest Mina]

The WI Ayrshire Breeders' Association recently had their Annual Meeting. In the By-Laws it states that..."A report of the Annual Meeting and action taken shall be published or distributed to the membership prior to the next membership meeting." This was not done. When our membership got to the Annual Meeting we learned that the minutes from the previous year had been lost. They talked a little bit about what they should do, but nothing was done and the 2011 Annual Meeting went on as planned. Does the membership have to ask the board to amend the minutes from the previous Annual Meeting? If so, should this be done in a membership meeting instead of a board meeting? I also believe that the board knew of this situation ahead of time and could notified the members in the newsletter that was published about the missing minutes.

[hmtcastle]

Does the membership have to ask the board to amend the minutes from the previous Annual Meeting?

The minutes are the official record of what was done so I see no reason to "amend" (change) them (especially since they no longer exist).

What you need to do is re-create them as best you can. Perhaps by appointing a committee to do this.

If the general membership meets only once a year (or less than quarterly) it should authorize the board or a committee to approve the minutes (since a year is too long to wait).

But don't assume that your board has any more authority or responsibility than it has. In general, board meetings and general membership meetings are apples and oranges.

Further, don't confuse "a report of the meeting" (as apparently required by your bylaws) with the minutes of a meeting. And don't think that failure to publish such a report, or even failure to approve minutes, has any effect on the legitimacy of any actions taken.