Are Nominations From The Floor Appropriate

[Guest eem2]

Our Foundation requires that those interested in becoming board members must submit their name to the president no later than November 30th. There are four open positions and only two names have been submitted to be voted upon at the December meeting. The Foundation can function with five to ten directors (there are currently six board members). Our bylaws are silent on the subject of nominations being accepted from the floor. Are we obligated to accept nominations from the floor?

[Chris Harrison]

Without knowing the specific language in the bylaws we can't say for sure (but don't post them here because we aren't allowed to interpret bylaws here). However, generally speaking the Chair must ask for any floor nominations unless the bylaws specifically forbid them (which yours don't seem to do) or the nature of the nominating process in the bylaws makes it unnecessary to elicit floor nominations (such as using nominating ballots or petitions).