Past President

[Guest Pagzz]

Our bylaws state

The Past President: (The outgoing President becomes the Past President for the new Executive Board.)

Is Parliamentarian.

Serves as chair of the bylaws committee

I was elected by the membership as the new President this month. The outgoing President served 7 weeks of her year term, but resigned due to a cross country move coming up in April.

I believe the President whose term ended 2/21/12 (with her resignation and my election) is now the Past President. The previous Past President’s term ended 12/31/11.

I need clarification on this since the Past President is a voting member of the Executive Board

Thanks.

[jstackpo]

Since RONR doesn't discuss the office of Past President at all and leaves all such matter up to you and you bylaws, it is up to your association to figure out what your bylaws mean.

Having said that, I agree with you that under the common (dictionary) meaning of the words, the recently resigned person is the Immediate Past President, and will be able to come to Board meetings (and vote) until she moves away. (She could still come back across country to your board meetings if she wanted to, but I suspect that is a tad unlikely.)

Looks like you will not have a parliamentarian or bylaws chair for the rest of the year, or until you go out of office.

I trust the word "Immediate" is part of your bylaws or it is understood.

Consider this:

In my personal view, setting up an "official" Immediate Past President (IPP) position is not a particularly good idea. The most telling argument is the real possibility of a close and bitter race for the presidency, with the current president running (for a second term) against an "outsider". And the outsider - the "reform candidate", perhaps - wins but is still stuck with the thorn of the IPP on the Board in a position to snipe at the new president. And perhaps attempt to undermine the new president's plans.

If the erstwhile president is a "good guy" the new president can (usually, depending on the bylaws) appoint him to a pre-existing committee - or even have him chair one, which might put him on the Board - as the new president sees fit. That way the IPP's experience and value can be put to good use, when needed, without the danger of setting up an adversarial situation which would require a bylaw amendment to get out of.

Here's some more reasons

1) The President resigns and wants nothing to do with the organization.

2) The President simply doesn't run for election again because he's had enough, and never shows up at a board meeting.

3) The President is booted out of office for being incompetent, or for something more nefarious.

4) The President dies.

5) The President resigns and moves (wants to help but isn't around).

6) Even worse is the bylaw assignment of the IPP to chair a committee - such as nominating. Then he dies/quits/leaves town, &c. You are then stuck with an unfillable (by definition) vacancy.

#5 & #6 exactly describes the position you are finding yourself in.

[Gary Novosielski]

The question is, who was president immediately before the current president became president.