SPECIAL MEETING

[potemm]

We are a small Club of 700 members. We have found it necessary to call a special meeting to change some bylaws. Everything has been done per the present bylaws. We are governed by a volunteer board of Directors and a management committee. The question is; Since this meeting was called by a group of members and not the Board, does the group calling the special meeting have the right to chair the meeting and not the chairman of our board? If the Board Chairman insists on chairing the meeting can we vote not to let him?

Richard M. Borys

[David A Foulkes]

We are a small Club of 700 members. We have found it necessary to call a special meeting to change some bylaws. Everything has been done per the present bylaws. We are governed by a volunteer board of Directors and a management committee. The question is; Since this meeting was called by a group of members and not the Board, does the group calling the special meeting have the right to chair the meeting and not the chairman of our board? If the Board Chairman insists on chairing the meeting can we vote not to let him?

Richard M. Borys

A group doesn't chair the meeting, a person does. The bylaws will likely include the detail that the President chairs all meetings (board, membership, special meetings of both, annual, you name it, he chairs it). It's irrelevent who "called the meeting" as regards who chairs it. But I believe that by a 2/3 vote, the assembly can adopt a motion to Suspend The Rules, allowing the assembly to elect a Chair Pro Tem for the meeting. Stay tuned.

[Sean Hunt]

We are a small Club of 700 members. We have found it necessary to call a special meeting to change some bylaws. Everything has been done per the present bylaws. We are governed by a volunteer board of Directors and a management committee. The question is; Since this meeting was called by a group of members and not the Board, does the group calling the special meeting have the right to chair the meeting and not the chairman of our board? If the Board Chairman insists on chairing the meeting can we vote not to let him?

Richard M. Borys

First, make sure you do have the power to call a special meeting. I'll assume you do, since you say it's been done according to the book.

Now, the person to chair the meeting should be the person defined in the bylaws as the chair (if there is no such person, then the President). If you want to change the chair, this is done by a motion to Suspend the Rules (requiring a two-thirds vote, of course). If this is ruled out of order, be prepared to make a Point of Order (and likely an Appeal) concerning the motion's validity. In the unlikely and unfortunate event that the chair still won't accept it, then someone should stand and put the motion to Suspend the Rules to vote themselves - bearing in mind that this is a last resort approach.

[Josh Martin]

If this is ruled out of order, be prepared to make a Point of Order (and likely an Appeal) concerning the motion's validity.

If it is ruled out of order, the members can skip straight to Appeal. A Point of Order is used to call for a ruling, so it isn't of much use when the chair has already made a ruling at his own initiative - most likely, he'll just make the same ruling again.