chain of command Robert's Rules of Order for 4-H Club if Executive Officer is Absent

[Guest Michele]

This question pertains to holding a 4-H meeting, and I have not been able to get a definite answer.  There are four (4) executive (senior) officers - president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary (sometimes divided to recording and corresponding.  We have had discussions on who steps up when an executive member is absent a regular meeting.  We also have junior officers.  There is one (1) meeting per year in which the junior officers preside. 

Example:  If the president is absent, the vice president steps in.  Who then steps in for the vice president or what if the vice president is also absent?  The junior president or junior vice president?

We have both senior and junior officers for each position listed below:

President
Vice President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary (junior officer only Secretary - not split into two (2) offices)
Corresponding Secretary
Parliamentarian
Historian
Reporter
Photographer
Song Leader
Recreation Leader

I know this may seem logical to many, but it has been a source of contention at times.  I am actually looking for a chain of command with our two (2) sets of officers.  Can anyone fill me in?  This is something that should technically be in our By-Laws, I would think, so there is no question when the situation arises, and we are redoing our By-Laws at this time.  I am on the committee for redoing our By-Laws.

Thank you, in advance, for any help you can give, and I apologize for the length of the question!!

[Atul Kapur]

Generally, during a meeting, the only officers necessary are the presiding officer and the secretary. As you noted, if the president is absent, the vice-president fills in. (Temporary Occupants of the Chair RONR 11th ed., pages 452-54)

Why do you need a vice-president during the meeting? In other words, What particular duties does the vice-president have during the meeting that need to be done? If any particular officer does have duties during the meeting, then yes, you should include in your bylaws or special rules of order who will perform those duties in their absence.

Normally, if the secretary is absent, the meeting should elect a secretary pro tem for that meeting (RONR 11th ed., p. 459-60)

Edited January 21, 2020 at 07:46 AM by Atul Kapur
Insertion as indicated

[Richard Brown]

Unless you have a rule to the contrary, per the rules in RONR, whenever the president is not available, the vice president calls the meeting to order and presides.  If both the president and vice president are absent, and there are no other vice presidents (i.e., 2nd VP, etc), then the secretary calls the meeting to order.  Immediately upon calling the meeting to order, the first order of business is to elect a chairman pro-tem to preside for the remainder of the meeting.  This is often done by unanimous consent and an actual election is not necessary.  But, if more than one person is nominated, then an election must be held for the chairman pro tem.

According to RONR, there is no need for any other officers to be present.  If your rules provide otherwise, it is up to your membership to interpret those rules and to decide how to deal with it.

If the secretary is absent, then the first order of business should be to elect a secretary pro-tem for that meeting.

[Josh Martin]

2 hours ago, Guest Michele said:

Example:  If the president is absent, the vice president steps in.  Who then steps in for the vice president or what if the vice president is also absent?  The junior president or junior vice president?

So far as RONR is concerned, the only duty of the Vice President is to serve as presiding officer in the President’s absence and to become President in the event of a vacancy. As a result, if the Vice President “steps in” for the President, there is no need for anyone to “step in” for the Vice President, because the Vice President doesn’t have anything to do anyway.

In the event that the President and Vice President are both absent, the assembly elects a Chairman Pro Tempore to serve as presiding officer for the duration of the meeting.

If the Recording Secretary is absent, the assembly elects a Secretary Pro Tempore to serve for the duration of the meeting.

If any other officer is absent, then so far as RONR is concerned, the assembly makes do without, as RONR does not assign critical meeting functions to any other officers. If your other officers perform critical duties during meetings, then the organization may need to adopt its own rules regarding what happens in their absence.