resignation

[Guest kim]

We recently had our president resign, and there is no vice president or secretary. We do have a treasurer and a social secretary. What is the correct procedure for filling the president position?

[Richard Brown]

10 minutes ago, Guest kim said:

We recently had our president resign, and there is no vice president or secretary. We do have a treasurer and a social secretary. What is the correct procedure for filling the president position?

What, if anything, do your bylaws say about filling vacancies?  Are they really silent?

If your bylaws are truly silent about filling vacancies, the vacancies will most likely have to be filled by the membership at a special election.  Depending on the power given to your executive board by the bylaws, it MIGHT be possible for the board to fill the vacancies.  

The following language from pages 467-468 of RONR regarding vacancies might be helpful: 
 

"The power to appoint or elect persons to any office or board carries with it the power to accept their resignations, and also the power to fill any vacancy occurring in it, unless the bylaws expressly provide otherwise. In the case of a society whose bylaws confer upon its executive board full power and authority over the society's affairs between meetings of the society's assembly (as in the example on p. 578, ll. 11–15) without reserving to the society itself the exclusive right to fill vacancies, the executive board is empowered to accept resignations and fill vacancies between meetings of the society's assembly. For particular vacancies, see page 457, lines 22–30 [page 468] (president-elect), page 458, lines 7–18, and page 575, lines 6–17 (president and vice-presidents). See also page 177 (vacancies in a committee).
Notice of filling a vacancy in an office (including a vacancy in an executive board or executive committee) must always be given to the members of the body that will elect the person to fill it, unless the bylaws or special rules of order clearly provide otherwise."