Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 12:37 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 12:37 PM "...in an organized society the president should not appoint this committee or be a member of it—ex officio or otherwise. The bylaws may provide that "the President shall appoint all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ." and that "the President shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ."; The date stipulated to name the Chair of our Nominating Committee has come and gone. Our President, whose power it is to name the Chair, does not want to name the Chair of that committee without the help of incoming President. There is no incoming President because last year the Nominating Committee failed to line up an Executive Vice President willing to step up. Our President wants the person, who does comes forward to take position, to be able to give input to Nominating Committee on selections for Executive Committee and Board. I believe that his idea is... that picking the Chair together with the person willing to step up as President will give this person the opportunity to have dialogue with Chair and input on list of nominees. If RONR and our Bylaws state that "the President shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ."; does this not mean that President should not be working with committee in any capacity? What is the philosophy behind the idea that the President shouldn't be ex officio a member of this committee? Our President feels that it is a disservice to the President, not to be able to make suggestions, as he/she may have insight into combinations of personalities and attributes that would allow a board to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted July 29, 2015 at 12:50 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 12:50 PM If RONR and our Bylaws state that "the President shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ."; does this not mean that President should not be working with committee in any capacity? It means the President should not be working with the committee in any capacity.... at least as far as influencing who is on it and who it nominates. I'm not sure whether to answer the double negative ". . . does this not mean that the president should not. . . ." with a "no" or "yes". I'm still on my first cup of coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:02 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:02 PM It means the President should not be working with the committee in any capacity.... at least as far as influencing who is on it and who it nominates. I'm not sure whether to answer the double negative ". . . does this not mean that the president should not. . . ." with a "no" or "yes". I'm still on my first cup of coffee.Ok..I'll wait for you to have your second cup of coffee so that you can perhaps explain the philosophy behind this rule and maybe also comment on President's feeling of injustice.Sorry about the double negative, , I was trying to 'emphasize'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transpower Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:04 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:04 PM It's worthwhile explaining the reasoning behind this prohibition: to avoid the formation of cliques. I've seen too many organizations in which a clique keeps control of an organization by control of the nominating committee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:35 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:35 PM It's worthwhile explaining the reasoning behind this prohibition: to avoid the formation of cliques. I've seen too many organizations in which a clique keeps control of an organization by control of the nominating committee....And if we have an altruistic President who feels that this is a disservice because the nominating committee may not have enough info and doesn't want to leave incoming President in the lurch? Nominating members may not have good up to date info on inner workings of Board. Bylaws currently state that Nominating Committee is comprised of one member from each arm of organization(not necessarily from Board), two at lodge members not on Board picked by lottery, plus the Chair picked by President. Any thoughts on the validity of President's feeling? Obviously amending Bylaws, in the future, to allow a different makeup of Nominating Committee is an option...but still keeping intact the rule to limit President's involvement to selection of Chair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:38 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:38 PM Our President feels that it is a disservice to the President, not to be able to make suggestions, as he/she may have insight into combinations of personalities and attributes that would allow a board to work well. Anyone can make suggestions. I can make suggestions. Also keep in mind that the selections of the nominating committee are just the first step in the electoral process, not the last word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:52 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:52 PM ...And if we have an altruistic President who feels that this is a disservice because the nominating committee may not have enough info and doesn't want to leave incoming President in the lurch? Nominating members may not have good up to date info on inner workings of Board. Bylaws currently state that Nominating Committee is comprised of one member from each arm of organization(not necessarily from Board), two at lodge members not on Board picked by lottery, plus the Chair picked by President. Any thoughts on the validity of President's feeling? Obviously amending Bylaws, in the future, to allow a different makeup of Nominating Committee is an option...but still keeping intact the rule to limit President's involvement to selection of Chair.As previously noted, RONR recommends that the President should not be an ex officio member of the committee (or a member at all, for that matter) and that he should not have the authority to appoint anyone to the committee. The rationale behind this is that giving too much power to the President in this regard will mean that the nominating committee will only nominate members who support the status quo. With that said, I don't think anything in RONR prevents the President, or anyone, from making recommendations to the Nominating Committee.If your organization disagrees with RONR, and wishes for the President to have some authority in selecting the members of the nominating committee (or even for him to be a member), it is free to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:54 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:54 PM Anyone can make suggestions. I can make suggestions. Also keep in mind that the selections of the nominating committee are just the first step in the electoral process, not the last word.I guess the word suggestions is 'soft'. I think the President feels the need to build a team. Our list of nominees is always a shoo-in as everyone listed is unopposed. So although the membership can always write in another candidate, etc., this rarely happens. Nominating Committee members who are really informed would take Presidents 'suggestions' as an imperative as he/she is THE PRESIDENT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:56 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:56 PM Anyone can make suggestions. I can make suggestions. Also keep in mind that the selections of the nominating committee are just the first step in the electoral process, not the last word.I agree. Others may disagree, but I do not see anything inappropriate about the president making her feelings known or providing information about possible nominees... such as her experience in working with them. The members of the committee are free to give whatever weight they desire to her suggestions. I note that RONR doesn't actually prohibit any and all input by the president, but says simply that the president should not appoint the members of the committee or be a member of it. From page 433: "Designation of the Nominating Committee. The nominating committee should be elected by the organization wherever possible, or else by its executive board. Although in organizing a new society it may be feasible for the chair to appoint the nominating committee, in an organized society the president should not appoint this committee or be a member of it—ex officio or otherwise. The bylaws may provide that "the President shall appoint all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ." and that "the President shall be ex officio a member of all committees except the Nominating Committee . . ."; the exception should not be omitted in either case." Your bylaws take precedence over RONR, however, so if your bylaws say the president appoints the chairman, then you should continue to do it that way unless and until the bylaws are changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:57 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 01:57 PM Nominating Committee members who are really informed would take Presidents 'suggestions' as an imperative as he/she is THE PRESIDENT.That's exactly the sort of thing we want to avoid. Perhaps the President should sit this out, or the society should select committee members with more backbone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:19 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:19 PM I guess the word suggestions is 'soft'. I think the President feels the need to build a team. Our list of nominees is always a shoo-in as everyone listed is unopposed. So although the membership can always write in another candidate, etc., this rarely happens. Nominating Committee members who are really informed would take Presidents 'suggestions' as an imperative as he/she is THE PRESIDENT. The members of your organization would do well to listen to President Obama's recent remarks to the African Union. "Speaking in Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall, named for the South African freedom fighter turned president, Mr. Obama said Mr. Mandela, like George Washington, understood that leaving office and handing over control peacefully was a powerful legacy." If the President of the United States realizes that he's only the President I think your president should realize he's not THE PRESIDENT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:27 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:27 PM Nominating Committee members who are really informed would take Presidents 'suggestions' as an imperative as he/she is THE PRESIDENT. Did you mean to say "Nominating Committee members who aren't really informed"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:51 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:51 PM That's exactly the sort of thing we want to avoid. Perhaps the President should sit this out, or the society should select committee members with more backbone.*Ah..that should have read uninformed. They are uninformed and think the President has this power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda J Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:52 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 02:52 PM Did you mean to say "Nominating Committee members who aren't really informed"?Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted July 29, 2015 at 05:04 PM Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 at 05:04 PM If the President of the United States realizes that he's only the President .... Wouldn't that be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.