Resignation

[J H Smith]

If one decided not to run for president for an other term and a new president is elected and the latest adopted bylaws by the membership states the immediate past president is a member of the board and you because of health and personal reasons wish not to be a board member would one resign as a board member title only;

or should the resignation state past president board member or some other wording? Which is the more accepted way to word the resignation?

[Rev Ed]

There is no real way to resign from this position as there can only be one person who is the "Immediate Past President" - the person who was acutally the previous President. The By-laws would either have to allow for the person to somehow resign from the position, the By-laws would have to be changed to remove the position, or the person could simply not attend meetings - which could affect quorom.

[hmtcastle]

Which is the more accepted way to word the resignation?

As noted, whoever is the immediate past president will be so until the current president leaves office. It's a simple historical fact.

And few on this forum endorse the idea of giving any automatic (i.e. ex-officio) status to the immediate past president (for reasons including the scenario you describe). Suppose your president is removed from office for embezzling the club's money. Well, he's now the immediate past president and, in your case, a member of the board.

Better to eliminate the position altogether. If the former president is such an asset that you want to keep him around, you can elect him to the board in his own right, or simply invite him to meetings as an observer/advisor.

[Gary Novosielski]

If one decided not to run for president for an other term and a new president is elected and the latest adopted bylaws by the membership states the immediate past president is a member of the board and you because of health and personal reasons wish not to be a board member would one resign as a board member title only;

or should the resignation state past president board member or some other wording? Which is the more accepted way to word the resignation?

There are some interesting questions raised by this.

Technically, you can't resign from being IPP, because you simply are--until someone else becomes president. But of course you would think it would be easy enough to "resign" from, i.e., to "request to be excused from the duties" of being a board member. And that's what you're attempting to do.

But your problem is not so much how to word your resignation--that's easy, "I hereby resign from the board." Your problem is: where to send it?

Specifically, who has the authority to accept it? Now maybe you're lucky and the bylaws have some procedure for resignation of board members and you can follow that. But don't be surprised if it's not there. The default procedure is to submit your resignation to whoever has the power to fill the vacancy that would result. But nobody has that power; because this is an "ex officio" office, the only way to fill it is to create a new IPP--but that's impossible.

In the first place, IPPs aren't elected. They are, if you will excuse the pun, "ex ex-officio" officers. There's no way to fill the vacancy in the office of "Board Member By Virtue of IPP Status" because there is nobody on earth (except you) who holds the qualifications. And there won't be until someone new becomes ex-president.

There's no parliamentary way to make that happen. I assume, of course, that assassination of the current president is off the table. And it wouldn't help anyway. Your problem would be solved, but the organization's would just be beginning--not to mention the new IPP's. He would be left with an even bigger problem: being unable to resign even though he had <ahem> passed on--arguably not his biggest problem at that point, and then again, arguably so.

And the board still has a vacancy that can't be filled.

Now aren't you sorry you started all this upheaval by ever deciding to run for president in the first place? Well, not you, exactly. I mean "one" should be sorry.

Troublemaker.

[jstackpo]

All of what Gary N. points out applies (almost) equally well to a "Life Membership", made possible by an appropriately worded bylaw provision.

The "almost" exception is that one can resign from that position, but who would want to?

[Kim Goldsworthy]

S1. If one decided not to run for president for an other term and a new president is elected

and

S2. the latest adopted bylaws by the membership states the immediate past president is a member of the board

and

S3. you because of health and personal reasons wish not to be a board member ...

Q. ... would one resign as a board member title only;

or should the resignation state past president board member or some other wording?

Clarify:

you, because of [N] reasons, wish not to be a board member ...

"YOU", the noun, refers to the immediate past president?

If the IPP must sit on a board due to a rule in the bylaws defining the board composition as automatically including the IPP, then the IPP, upon deciding not to serve, executes what The Book calls, "A Request To Be Excused From A Duty".

The IPP would write up a resignation either

(a.) from the position of Immediate Past President if the IPP is defined as an office; or,

(b.) from the position of board member if there is not such office as IPP but only the dictionary meaning of (lower case) immediate past president.

That is, you can resign from an office, but you cannot resign from a dictionary definition.

So if you looking for proper wording, then the proper wording will depend on whether the position to be resigned from is defined as an office of some kind, or defined as a state or a status of some kind.

If it is an officership:

If the IPP (upper case, a defined officer position) sits ex officio as a board member, then to resign as IPP is to simultaneously to resign from the board.

If it is not an officership:

If the ipp (lower case, not an officer) sits ex officio as board, then you cannot resign as ipp, as there is no such office, but the ipp can resign from the body the ipp sits on. -- To use a double negative, "You cannot NOT be the ipp, in the dictionary sense of the phrase."

Any more than you can resign from being six feet tall, or resign from having blue eyes. -- The dictionary meaning of those attributes cannot be resigned from.

But an officership can be resigned from. It is possible to be IPP today, and resign, and be only an ipp tomorrow.

You are out of office; but still you are a past president, and you are the past president who most immediately served.

[Josh Martin]

If one decided not to run for president for an other term and a new president is elected and the latest adopted bylaws by the membership states the immediate past president is a member of the board and you because of health and personal reasons wish not to be a board member would one resign as a board member title only;

or should the resignation state past president board member or some other wording? Which is the more accepted way to word the resignation?

The member should request to resign from the board, and the resignation should be accepted by whoever has the authority to fill vacancies in board positions. Due to the particular circumstances, however, this vacancy cannot be filled and will remain vacant until the current President leaves office (for whatever reason). In the long run, it would probably be best to do away with providing any ex-officio status for the Immediate Past President altogether, due to the numerous problems associated with this practice.

See this thread for a previous discussion on this question.

[Rev Ed]

I still am of the opinion that the IPP cannot resign from the Board as the position is essentially an ex-officio member of the Board - as the IPP is not elected to the position and the person cannot only be changed by replacing the President.

I would recommend that the By-laws be amended either to remove the position of IPP from the Board, or to make it clear that the IPP is an ex-officio member of the Board specifically without the responsibilities and that the position will not be counted towards quorom. That way the IPP need not be involved if he/she chooses not to or cannot do so (i.e. for medical reasons.)

[Bruce Lages]

I would recommend that the By-laws be amended either to remove the position of IPP from the Board, or to make it clear that the IPP is an ex-officio member of the Board...

I believe if, as the original poster stated, the bylaws state specifically that the IPP ( i.e., the office) is a member of the board, then the position is automatically an ex officio one.

[Gary Novosielski]

I still am of the opinion that the IPP cannot resign from the Board as the position is essentially an ex-officio member of the Board - as the IPP is not elected to the position and the person cannot only be changed by replacing the President.

The IPP is not only essentially, but actually, an ex-officio member. But what rule restricts someone from resigning merely because the office does not result from election? Besides, resignation from office is not the only kind of resignation there is. Any position, elected, appointed, volunteer, honorary, or otherwise, can be resigned from, except as the bylaws may otherwise provide.

In fact, even for duties set forth in the bylaws, although a member may not have the right to refuse, he or she can request to be excused, and the request can be granted by the assembly, unless the bylaws specify that it cannot. (See the first paragraph of §32)

The question of whom the resignation should be submitted to appears to be answered in that paragraph as well.

[hmtcastle]

The IPP is not only essentially, but actually, an ex-officio member. But what rule restricts someone from resigning merely because the office does not result from election? Besides, resignation from office is not the only kind of resignation there is. Any position, elected, appointed, volunteer, honorary, or otherwise, can be resigned from, except as the bylaws may otherwise provide.

Well, the IPP is not so much an office as it is a state of being; one that, in this case, gives one membership on the board. And it's a state of being from which one cannot remove oneself.

[Gary Novosielski]

Well, the IPP is not so much an office as it is a state of being; one that, in this case, gives one membership on the board. And it's a state of being from which one cannot remove oneself.

I agree that one cannot stop being the IPP (or i.p.p.), but one can request to be excused from the duties which are imposed upon the IPP by the bylaws. Specifically, in spite of my earlier doubts, I believe one can resign from the board.

And I think the term ex officio is appropriate because the board membership does arises out of an office held by the individual, albeit in the past.

[hmtcastle]

I agree that one cannot stop being the IPP (or i.p.p.), but one can request to be excused from the duties which are imposed upon the IPP by the bylaws. Specifically, in spite of my earlier doubts, I believe one can resign from the board.

And I think the term ex officio is appropriate because the board membership does arises out of an office held by the individual, albeit in the past.

I have no problem with the term ex-officio and I agree that one can ask to be excused from duties. But one can't stop being the ipp and, as ipp, one can't stop being a member, albeit an excused member, of the board.

Though I also think it can be argued that the board has no authority to excuse one of its members from his duties. The most that can be done is to impose no disciplinary sanctions on a member who chooses not to act like a member.

[Josh Martin]

Though I also think it can be argued that the board has no authority to excuse one of its members from his duties. The most that can be done is to impose no disciplinary sanctions on a member who chooses not to act like a member.

If the board has the authority to accept the resignation of a board member (which is a particular form of a Request to be Excused from a Duty), then it seems reasonable that the board may also excuse an ex-officio board member from the duty of serving on the board, as for all intents and purposes, it's the same thing. If the board does not have the authority to fill vacancies in its membership, and therefore does not have the authority to accept resignations, then I believe only the general membership of the society could excuse the IPP from his duties.

[hmtcastle]

If the board has the authority to accept the resignation of a board member (which is a particular form of a Request to be Excused from a Duty), then it seems reasonable that the board may also excuse an ex-officio board member from the duty of serving on the board, as for all intents and purposes, it's the same thing.

I'll agree that the ipp member can be excused from serving (which is just another way of saying nothing will be done about his failure to do so) but he remains a member until he's no longer the ipp.

I think the only substantive question is whether his absence affects the quorum requirement.

[Rev Ed]

But even if his resignation is accepted, he is still the IPP. A resignation will not change this. How can someone resign when he/she will still be in the position regardless. The IPP is the IPP until the current President becomes the IPP.

[Josh Martin]

But even if his resignation is accepted, he is still the IPP. A resignation will not change this. How can someone resign when he/she will still be in the position regardless. The IPP is the IPP until the current President becomes the IPP.

I am by no means suggesting that the individual may resign from being the IPP. This is a matter of historical fact. He may, however, request to be excused from the duty of serving on the board. Section 32 clarifies that a member may Request to be Excused from a Duty imposed upon him by the Bylaws, and that certainly seems applicable to this circumstance.

[Gary Novosielski]

But even if his resignation is accepted, he is still the IPP. A resignation will not change this. How can someone resign when he/she will still be in the position regardless. The IPP is the IPP until the current President becomes the IPP.

No, if his resignation is accepted, he is still IPP, but no longer a member of the board. The quorum requirement may or may not change, depending on whether it's a hard number, or a percentage of members.

[Gary Novosielski]

I'll agree that the ipp member can be excused from serving (which is just another way of saying nothing will be done about his failure to do so) but he remains a member until he's no longer the ipp.

As I read §32, if his resignation is accepted, he is excused from all the rights and duties of board membership, not merely attendance. So he is no longer a "member" of the board. He does not retain the right to vote or even to show up at board meetings any more. If there were anyone else on the planet who's qualified, they could have his now vacant seat, but there isn't.

But since it is truly vacant, it does not count against a quorum requirement, if the bylaws are phrased as a percentage of "members"

[Rev Ed]

No, if his resignation is accepted, he is still IPP, but no longer a member of the board. The quorum requirement may or may not change, depending on whether it's a hard number, or a percentage of members.

This is also one of my concerns - if quorom will not change then would it not be better to have the person remain on the Board officially even if he/she can only attend part time? Part time as in not most of the meeting.

[hmtcastle]

As I read §32, if his resignation is accepted, he is excused from all the rights and duties of board membership, not merely attendance. So he is no longer a "member" of the board. He does not retain the right to vote or even to show up at board meetings any more.

Well, just to beat this poor horse one more time, it seems you're approaching this from a strictly RONR perspective (perfectly appropriate for this forum) while I'm approaching it from a purely logical perspective: "If A is X then A is Y". If Joe is the immediate past president then Joe is a member of the board. The only way Joe can stop being Y is to stop being X.

I guess I'm saying that it doesn't matter what X and Y are and you're saying that if Y is "a member", then RONR supersedes logic.

[Josh Martin]

This is also one of my concerns - if quorom will not change then would it not be better to have the person remain on the Board officially even if he/she can only attend part time? Part time as in not most of the meeting.

That's up to the assembly authorized to accept the resignation, but I think it's a moot point in this case. I don't think this IPP will be attending much at all.