sherimb Posted December 20, 2013 at 11:37 PM Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 at 11:37 PM In August 2013, our Vice President resigned from the Exec. Board and organization, leaving only the Pres., Sect., and Treas., along with the immediate Past Pres. on our Executive Committee. At our regular meeting earlier this month after the installation of our 2014 officers, our current Pres. announced he was resigning from our organization. The Secretary presided over the October and November meetings in his absence. We did not replace the VP as in September the nomination committee would be selecting candidates for the next election to be held in November. Our By-Laws state "If at any time during the year the President is unable to fulfill their duties, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the office of President". Since there is not a provision for the absence of the Vice-President, we turned to Robert's Rules as our By-Laws state "'Robert's Rules of Order, Revised' shall govern the Association in all cases in which they are applicable and when not inconsistent with the By-Laws of this Association". So, on page 459 of RRoO 11th Edition, the Secretary duties are: "In the absence of the president and vice-president, to call the meeting to order and preside....". So, now my question is, since we no longer have a past president or a past vice-president, does this mean, the past secretary, can assume the duties of being an ex-officio advisor to the Executive Committee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted December 21, 2013 at 12:03 AM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 12:03 AM So, on page 459 of RRoO 11th Edition, the Secretary duties are: "In the absence of the president and vice-president, to call the meeting to order and preside....". Well, you left off a significant part of that sentence. The only presiding the secretary does is to (briefly) preside over the election of a temporary presiding officer (a chair pro tem). Apart from that, the secretary does not preside. As for your "ex officio" question, I wonder if you might not be misunderstanding what that term means. It does not refer to a former officeholder (e.g. ex-president or ex-secretary). See FAQ #2 (paying particular attention to the first paragraph). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Ed Posted December 21, 2013 at 06:09 AM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 06:09 AM Apart from that, the secretary does not preside. Unless the assembly elects the Secretary as Chair pro tem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:06 PM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:06 PM Unless the assembly elects the Secretary as Chair pro tem. I think most here will agree that, in all but the very smallest of assemblies, the secretary has enough to do without taking on the additional role of presiding officer (and vice versa).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherimb Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:32 PM Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:32 PM All - our organization is a very small group. At the two meetings the secretary presided over at the request of the president there were 16 and 21 in attendance. We did not elect a Chairman pro tem in either case. The secretary recorded the meetings so she could prepare the minutes later. Last year the secretary began recording the minutes as there were problems with a lot of people saying they said things when they actually did not say things and people not hearing things being agreed upon, etc. So, it was agreed to record the meetings to keep this from happening. But that could be a totally different subject altogether. Back to the original question - we no longer have a past president and past vice president. Can the secretary step in and fill the place of the immediate past president as ex-officio officer on the executive board? Or would this go to the next past president since she now becomes the immediate past president? Or do we not have an immediate past president serve on the executive board this year at all and the board is made of current elected officers only? Please answer these questions. What we did in the past is not the point. We are headed in the future and would like someone from the old executive board to be involved with the new board since they are all "green-horns. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:52 PM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 01:52 PM The answer to your original question is no, what is said on page 459, lines 29-31, does not mean that your past secretary can "assume the duties of being an ex-officio advisor to the Executive Committee." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted December 21, 2013 at 03:30 PM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 03:30 PM we no longer have a past president and past vice president. Unless they're dead you'll always have an (immediate) past president and vice-president, even if the offices of president and vice-president are currently vacant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Ed Posted December 21, 2013 at 04:36 PM Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 04:36 PM The Secretary could handle both her duties plus Chairing the meeting. However, it is not necessarily practical. The two positions have some things in common - like making sure that Motions are properly written (the Chairman should write down the motion, or insist that the mover does so for him so that he knows what the motion is, and for the Secretary so that the Minutes are accurate.) It also sounds like you are putting too much information into the Minutes. Decisions, not discussion, should be in the Minutes. Debate/discussion has no place in the Minutes. Also the Secretary can only be an 'ex-officio officer' if the By-laws allow for it. Otherwise the Secretary is only a member of the Executive Board if the position is a member of the Board according to the By-laws. However, if the Secretary is not a member of the Board, she could simply be invited to meetings. No rights of membership would be attached, but that is another issue. The organization really needs to elect a President, soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherimb Posted December 21, 2013 at 04:38 PM Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 at 04:38 PM Thanks Dan for the answer. We were afraid of that but wanted to make sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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