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Trouble filling officer opening


Aliboop

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We just elected our officers for the new fiscal year. No one wants to accept the Secretary position. It is vacant. We do have a management company that will take the minutes and they keep all of our records. Our by-laws state we will have four elective officers, President, VP, Treasurer & Secretary. If we can not fill the position, what do we do? Does a Board have to have a Secretary if the management company takes the minutes?

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We just elected our officers for the new fiscal year. No one wants to accept the Secretary position. It is vacant. We do have a management company that will take the minutes and they keep all of our records. Our by-laws state we will have four elective officers, President, VP, Treasurer & Secretary. If we can not fill the position, what do we do? Does a Board have to have a Secretary if the management company takes the minutes?

You have to have a secretary because your bylaws say so.

Also, each meeting of a deliberative assembly needs a secretary. If the secretary is not present in a meeting (or if one has not been elected), the assembly must select a secretary pro tem to act as secretary for that meeting. The assembly could choose a nonmember (perhaps a representative from the management company) to serve as secretary pro tem, but you need somebody to fill that position. There is more to the position of secretary than taking the minutes.

Why are members reluctant to serve as secretary?

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I suggest determining why nobody will accept the position, and addressing those issues.

These are some possibilities:

1. The organization has too much detail in the minutes, and folks do not want to do the minutes because of that. RONR says the minutes should reflect what was done and not what was said. Many times, the minutes can be taken and prepared by using a standard template type of recording what wqas done.

2. There are varied responsibilities that are too much for one person. If this is the case, perhaps a Secretary and Asst. Secretary to split the duties of to fill in. Some organizations have a recording secretary and corresponding secretary, for example.

3. Can you combine offices? For example, a common procedure is that one person is the Secretary/Treasurer.

4. Some organizations have either a "custom" or more formal process that involves a progression from secretary, to treasurer, to Vice-Chairman to Chairman (or president). That works in some organizations, while not a good fit for others.

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