Annual meeting

[Andy Travis]

Could you please explain P. 95 line 2 in RONR..."Minutes of one annual meeting should not be held for action until the next one a year later." What does "held for action" mean?

[Richard Brown]

"Held for action" means "held for approval".   Since an annual meeting, by definition, occurs only once a year, it is not appropriate to wait a full year to approve the minutes.  People's memories of what happened a year ago fade.  The  minutes should be approved at the next regular meeting or, in the alternative, a committee can be appointed at the annual meeting to approve the minutes.  That method is typical when the society meets less often than quarterly.

 

It's explained in the sentence immediately preceding the one you quoted:  "The minutes of the previous regular meeting are read and approved as usual at the annual meeting, and the [page 95] minutes of the annual meeting are read and approved at the next regular meeting."  The next sentence is the one you quoted:  "Minutes of one annual meeting should not be held for action until the next one a year later."

 

I believe the meaning is clear when you read the two sentences together.

[Steven Britton]

Could you please explain P. 95 line 2 in RONR..."Minutes of one annual meeting should not be held for action until the next one a year later." What does "held for action" mean?

 

In the case of an annual meeting, in many organizations, the membership only meets once each year - at the organization's annual meeting.

 

In such an instance the following citation offers further explanation: 

 

"When the next regular business session will not be held within a quarterly time interval (see pp. 89–90), and the session does not last longer than one day, or in an organization in which there will be a change or replacement of a portion of the membership, the executive board or a committee appointed for the purpose should be authorized to approve the minutes. The fact that the minutes are not then read for approval at the next meeting does not prevent a member from having a relevant excerpt read for information; nor does it prevent the assembly in such a case from making additional corrections, treating the minutes as having been previously approved (see third paragraph below)."

 

[RONR, p. 474 (line 31) - p. 475 (line 7).]

[Andy Travis]

"Held for action" means "held for approval".   Since an annual meeting, by definition, occurs only once a year, it is not appropriate to wait a full year to approve the minutes.  People's memories of what happened a year ago fade.  The  minutes should be approved at the next regular meeting or, in the alternative, a committee can be appointed at the annual meeting to approve the minutes.  That method is typical when the society meets less often than quarterly.

 

It's explained in the sentence immediately preceding the one you quoted:  "The minutes of the previous regular meeting are read and approved as usual at the annual meeting, and the [page 95] minutes of the annual meeting are read and approved at the next regular meeting."  The next sentence is the one you quoted:  "Minutes of one annual meeting should not be held for action until the next one a year later."

 

I believe the meaning is clear when you read the two sentences together.

Thanks Richard for explaining that. Sometimes language can be a barrier in understanding RONR.

[Guest Neil Johnson]

On February 19, 2015 at 11:44 PM, Andy Travis said:

Thanks Richard for explaining that. Sometimes language can be a barrier in understanding RONR.

I agree with Andy Travis, thanks Richard for explaining what "held for action" means.   Now if the editors would just change "held for action" to "held for approval" in the next edition, we would all be better off!!

[g40]

Note that if the Bylaws of the organization provide for approval of the minutes of the previous annual meeting, then I believe such a provision in the Bylaws would override RONR. I am a member of such an organization.

[Gary Novosielski]

1 hour ago, g40 said:

Note that if the Bylaws of the organization provide for approval of the minutes of the previous annual meeting, then I believe such a provision in the Bylaws would override RONR. I am a member of such an organization.

Surely it would.  

I just hope it doesn't say that it has to wait a year.