Conference using Zoom Video

[Mark Apodaca, PRP]

Tonight I will be attending a conference committee meeting through Zoom.  There will be three members plus myself as parliamentarian.  Discussion will be not having a physical conference this summer and to replace it with a virtual conference through Zoom.  You are talking about perhaps 200 delegates attending.

I do not support virtual conference because it is not listed in the National Association of the Deaf's bylaws. Here is what the bylaws say:

ARTICLE V. Meetings

V. 1. Biennial Meetings The Association shall meet in biennial national conference during each even numbered year.

V. 1. 1. Conference Site. The site selection process for biennial national conferences shall be governed by the Board of Directors. Such sites shall rotate among established geographical regions.

V. 1. 2. Call to Conference. The President of the Board of Directors shall issue an official call to the biennial national conference at least six (6) months in advance.

V. 1. 3. Conference Format. The biennial national conference format and duration shall be determined by the Board of Directors at least nine (9) months in advance.

V. 1. 4. Forums. Individual members and organizational affiliate representatives registered at the biennial national conference shall have the opportunity to participate in and vote at Forums.

V. 1. 5. Council of Representatives. Delegates to the Council of Representatives shall conduct official business during the biennial national conference. The Council of Representative shall be composed of the following:

V. 1. 5. i. State Association Representatives. Proportionate Council of Representatives representation by State Association Affiliates shall be determined as follows: 20-199 members—up to two (2) delegates 200-399 members—up to three (3) delegates 400-599 members—up to four (4) delegates 600-799 members—up to five (5) delegates At least 800 members—up to six (6) delegates. State Association Affiliates shall provide a membership count for purposes of determining number of delegates; said membership count will be conducted through a tally of members registered with State Association Affiliates during the following time period between Biennial National Conference(s), by March 15th of the even numbered years.

V. 1. 5. ii. College Student Affiliate Representatives. The Council of Representatives shall include one (1) delegate from each College Student Affiliate of the Association.

V. 1. 5. iii. Non Profit Organizational Affiliate Representatives. The Council of Representatives shall include one (1) delegate from each bona fide local, state, and national Non Profit Organizational Affiliate of the Association, which meets eligibility criteria set forth by the Board of Directors. Further, Non-Profit Organizational Affiliates which meet eligibility criteria set forth by the Board of Directors shall have proportionate representation in the same manner as provided for State Association Representatives.

V. 1. 5. iv. Section Representatives. The Council of Representatives shall include one (1) delegate from each Section of the Association.

V. 1. 5. v. Order of Georges and Georgettes Representatives. Twenty five (25) or more members of the Order of Georges and Georgettes (OGG) attending the biennial national conference may organize themselves for the purpose of electing delegates to the Council of Representatives. The number of delegates elected to attend the Council of Representatives shall be based on the number of all NAD members qualifying to be part of the Order of Georges and Georgettes, in essence all individuals (not only those present at the Conference) who have been members of the NAD for at least three years. On that basis, the number of OGG delegates shall be based on the same proportion as the number of delegates for State Associations and Non-Profit Organizational Affiliates.

V. 1. 5. vi. Junior NAD Representatives. The Council of Representatives shall include two (2) delegates from the Junior NAD.

V. 1. 6. Regional Caucuses. Regional caucuses may convene at will during the biennial national conference. Caucuses shall be composed of state delegates and other delegates within the respective regions.

V. 1. 7. Privileges. The Board of Directors and Past Presidents of the Association shall have the privileges of the Council of Representatives except voting.

As you can see, this type of conference is not allowed unless the bylaws permit it.  My other concerns is that it defeats the purpose of an assembly meeting of the delegates.  Not all delegates will have equal access (problems with internet, visual capabilities where screen is 13 inches and the boxes are small for example), minority will have difficult expressing their opinion when debating, 

Am I missing anything?  I know RONR does not support this kind of conferences.

Mark

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Mark Apodaca said:

As you can see, this type of conference is not allowed unless the bylaws permit it.  My other concerns is that it defeats the purpose of an assembly meeting of the delegates.  Not all delegates will have equal access (problems with internet, visual capabilities where screen is 13 inches and the boxes are small for example), minority will have difficult expressing their opinion when debating, 

Am I missing anything?  I know RONR does not support this kind of conferences.

As you note, electronic meetings are not permitted unless so authorized in the bylaws. Additionally,  even if it were possible to amend the bylaws and to adopt additional rules governing such meetings, holding such meetings for larger assemblies (such as a meeting of 200 delegates) is often simply impractical due to limitations of the technology and other issues. Many meeting software options, for example, simply do not support such a large number of attendees, and even for those that do, there will be technical limitations due to the members' network connections, the capabilities of their computer, what video equipment they have available, and so on.

Edited April 8, 2020 at 11:43 PM by Josh Martin

[Mark Apodaca, PRP]

Thanks Josh, I totally agree.  This is something they never experienced.

 

Mark

[Joshua Katz]

3 hours ago, Josh Martin said:

Many meeting software options, for example, simply do not support such a large number of attendees, and even for those that do, there will be technical limitations due to the members' network connections, the capabilities of their computer, what video equipment they have available, and so on.

And their ability to hear!