use of the word assemble for meetings

[Guest vickie vitale]

Recently our organization's board called for a meeting to discuss a project situation that needed a new director or committee to take over running the operations as the current one had resigned, but did not notify the members of this meeting so they could have a say or attend the meeting. The members at that point had more knowledge of the project then the board did and felt slighted not being asked to the meeting to give their take or input on the issue, at first. Later they found out and said they wanted to attend the meeting and did. Can a board of directors assemble in a situation like this w/o notifying it's membership since this was a membership participation project? What is the claification on the word "assemble" or "assembly" in contect of RRules?

[Rob Elsman]

Recently our organization's board called for a meeting to discuss a project situation that needed a new director or committee to take over running the operations as the current one had resigned, but did not notify the members of this meeting so they could have a say or attend the meeting. The members at that point had more knowledge of the project then the board did and felt slighted not being asked to the meeting to give their take or input on the issue, at first. Later they found out and said they wanted to attend the meeting and did. Can a board of directors assemble in a situation like this w/o notifying it's membership since this was a membership participation project? What is the claification on the word "assemble" or "assembly" in contect of RRules?

No rule in RONR entitles non-members of an executive board to attend meetings of the executive board. See RONR (10th ed.), p. 625.

[David A Foulkes]

What is the claification on the word "assemble" or "assembly" in contect of RRules?

See RONR (10th Ed., p.1) for an explanation/definition of what it refers to as a "deliberative assembly." (Too much to quote here since I don't have the CD to copy'n'paste).

As for "assembly", it refers to "the body of people who assemble." Let's take, for instance, the two typical bodies of people found in your regular organization: the general membership, and the Board (of Directors/Trustees/Etc). When either of those two groups holds a meeting, the members of the group are referred to as "the assembly." All the members may not be in attendance, and that matters not. Those there are "the assembly." And only the members of that group are entitled to attend the meeting at which they "assemble." And if enough of them assemble (that is, a quorum is present), they are empowered to conduct business and can make decisions, no matter how pig-headed or ill-informed they be. What can be done about it afterwards is another question.