President adding "special advisory members"

[Guest Andrew Rokas]

Does the President of an organization have the authority to add special advisory members to the Board. They would have no voting rights. The Constitution does not indicate our meetings to be public, so executive session applies. Also it does not address this subject in any manner.

[jstackpo]

No.  A president has only those powers given to him in the bylaws.  See p. 456.  Do your bylaws grant him that power?

 

Any non-members of the board (i.e., anybody NOT specified as board members in the bylaws) present are there as guests at the sufferance of a majority of the Board, not the president alone.

[Richard Brown]

Does the President of an organization have the authority to add special advisory members to the Board. They would have no voting rights. The Constitution does not indicate our meetings to be public, so executive session applies. Also it does not address this subject in any manner.

Dr. Stackpole answered your question about the president, but I want to comment on something else you said.

 

Just because your constitution does not indicate that your meetings are public does not necessarily mean that they are being held in executive session.  An executive session is a "secret" session, meaning that what is said in a meeting stays in the meeting and members who were present are not allowed to talk about it to others.    A "closed" session, on the other hand, means only that non members may not attend (except by permission or invitation), but the proceedings are not secret.

[George Mervosh]

  A "closed" session, on the other hand, means only that non members may not attend (except by permission or invitation), but the proceedings are not secret.

 

But the book never uses that term.