Guest dedrake Posted October 17, 2012 at 07:47 PM Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 at 07:47 PM What information should be included in meeting minutes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doggy Posted October 17, 2012 at 07:51 PM Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 at 07:51 PM Minutes should be a record of what was done at the meeting.Read this FAQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest judy Posted October 18, 2012 at 02:40 AM Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 at 02:40 AM My recollection from reading Roberts Rules is that the minutes are NOT exactly a record of what happened at the meeting. They are a record of motions made and votes cast, and if discussion was had on the motion, such should be stated but not detailed. Also, the minutes might contain very brief summaries of reports made (ie, "the Chair of the search committee reported on the committee's findings to date." or "The Chair of the search committee reports having received many resumes, having considered several candidates, and having interviewed four. Of these four, the committee recommends that the board approve hiring candidate x.")From a practical point of view, however, you need to know the culture of the group for which you are taking minutes. If that group's custom is to recite significant points of a discussion, then you should let that guide you.Get yourself a copy of Roberts Rules, and look at past minutes of your group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doggy Posted October 18, 2012 at 10:58 AM Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 at 10:58 AM From a practical point of view, however, you need to know the culture of the group for which you are taking minutes. If that group's custom is to recite significant points of a discussion, then you should let that guide you.Well, that's certainly another way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted October 18, 2012 at 12:51 PM Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 at 12:51 PM Well, that's certainly another way to go. Yes, I suppose it is. The description in RONR of what should be included in minutes is based upon lessons learned from mistakes made over the course of many years. Those who prefer to ignore the lessons of history are free to do so, but we don’t recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted October 18, 2012 at 01:14 PM Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 at 01:14 PM "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade." -- James Loewen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy Ryan Posted October 20, 2012 at 12:13 AM Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 at 12:13 AM As the Secretary for a 501c3 Corporation what do I do when the meeting is closed to all but Trustees? The meeting was called to order, then closed. It happens that we never opened the meeting before we adjourned. A couple of committee chairs gave reports as they would have at an open meeting.Should there be minutes of this closed meeting? If so, should they simply state the start time and the end time? Should they be published? If so, who should receive them? (I do have a list of those attending and those who were absent. If you think they should be published, should those Trustees absent receive them?)Randy in Tucson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Hunt Posted October 20, 2012 at 06:19 PM Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 at 06:19 PM That is a separate question; please start a new topic to avoid confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted October 21, 2012 at 01:58 PM Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 at 01:58 PM Yes, I suppose it is. The description in RONR of what should be included in minutes is based upon lessons learned from mistakes made over the course of many years. Those who prefer to ignore the lessons of history are free to do so, but we don’t recommend it.Amen. As secretary for an organization with traditionally wordy minutes, I've had the experience of following the 'culture of the group' for a while, while trying to be objective in reporting superfluous details about points of discussion. What did this lead to in practice? Extra work, lengthy minutes, plus repeated disagreements among members about what 'message' was being sent by including this or that detail in the minutes. In exasperation I (finally) cut all the extra details out of the draft minutes. Less work; less fodder for fruitless disagreements.[Yes, I knew better, and should have tried to make this change sooner.]Just to be clear, the organization in question had not adopted a rule requiring the additional details in its minutes; this was simply a (bad) habit that had developed over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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