Are there any special rules regarding changing board members position names

[Guest Janet Crock]

We currently have an Executive Committee made up of a president, president-elect, immediate past president, 9 vice presidents, 2 at-large VPs, and one Chairman of our Foundation Division. We are going to make a proposal to amend our bylaws making the Chairman a regular VP and do away with the division and the vote will be taken in February 2015. Are there any special rules we need to know? Also, there is a Chair-Elect that was voted to become the next Chairman of our Foundation Division. Since this change will occur at the time she would normally be installed, should be just transition her into the position, or hole another election. Just want to be sure we handle this correctly.

[Chris Harrison]

Are there any special rules we need to know?

Follow whatever procedures your bylaws provide for in order to amend them.

 

Also, there is a Chair-Elect that was voted to become the next Chairman of our Foundation Division. Since this change will occur at the time she would normally be installed, should be just transition her into the position, or hole another election.

Do the bylaws say that she becomes Chairman upon her installation or is there a specific date she takes the office and the installation is merely ceremonial?

[Edgar Guest]

We currently have an Executive Committee made up of a president, president-elect, immediate past president, 9 vice presidents, 2 at-large VPs, and one Chairman of our Foundation Division. 

 

That's a pretty large Executive Committee. Do you also have a board? (the executive committee is typically a sub-set of the board).

 

You also might want to consider removing your immediate past president. What if he's removed from office for stealing from petty cash. What if he was simply a rotten president. There's usually a good reason he's a past president. Why keep him around?

[Guest Janet Crock]

The chair-elect is installed and officially becomes Chairman at the installation ceremony, not at the time of the election.

[Guest Guest]

We are a state non-profit education association and our bylaws were based on our national association's bylaws over 50 years ago. They were not called a "board", but an "executive committee". The members are not "board members" but "vice-presidents" and then the other officers. The vice-presidents serve regions of the state with 2 at-large and then this special division that was formed when we added another group to ours. I admit, it is a large group. In a way the president, president-elect and immediate past president serve as a smaller governing group since they chair some of the main committees and the association's paid/hired executive director (who is not elected) works closely with them.

 

 

[jstackpo]

The chair-elect is installed and officially becomes Chairman at the installation ceremony, not at the time of the election.

If there is an appreciable span of time between the election and the installation, be sure to include some (contingency) rules in your new bylaws about what to do if your chair-elect dies, leaves town, or quits by some other (less dramatic, perhaps) means, leaving a "vacancy".  What would you do when installation time comes around?

 

RONR has no proposals for this problem as the book assumes you take office just as soon as elected.