President Declaring The Meeting Is Over

[Guest Don Carney]

We had a rowdy executive board meeting last night. The president was being given a hard time by a member who was trying to clarify a point in the meeting minutes. The president banged the gavel and declared the meeting over. Can a president arbitrarily declare an executive board meeting over? Does the remainder of the executive board have the right to continue the meeting without the president?

[Edgar Guest]

Can a president arbitrarily declare an executive board meeting over?

Yes, if there's imminent danger (e.g. earthquake, fire, flood) to those present.

 

Does the remainder of the executive board have the right to continue the meeting without the president?

Yes. As long as a quorum is present the board can continue to conduct the business of the board.

 

Edited to add: An experienced president wouldn't have let the meeting get out of hand in the first place. And he should certainly not let one member bring the meeting to a screeching halt. Especially since the meeting had just begun (presumably, since the minutes of the previous meeting were being considered).