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past past president


Guest smelchiorre@shaw.ca

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Guest smelchiorre@shaw.ca

Our past president (who was our ex officio member) has come back on the board as our treasurer and we were glad for his help.  Now our past past presdent wants to become the exofficia member

Is this acceptable if the board agrees?  

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38 minutes ago, Guest smelchiorre@shaw.ca said:

Our past president (who was our ex officio member) has come back on the board as our treasurer and we were glad for his help.  Now our past past presdent wants to become the exofficia member

Is this acceptable if the board agrees?  

This will be almost entirely dependent on what your bylaws say.  RONR makes no provision regarding past presidents or immediate past presidents.  We might be able to provide some guidance if you tell us (verbatim) what your bylaws say about this position, but it is ultimately up to your own members to interpret their bylaws.  We cannot do that for you. 

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Usually, the membership of the board is defined in the bylaws. If you want to add a position to the board, then you probably need to amend your bylaws.

Your board can invite guests or observers to attend meetings. The board can suspend the rules at each meeting to allow that person to speak during debate. The rules cannot be suspended to allow the person to vote.

Now, please stay tuned for some posts advising that having a position on the board for the past-president is a bad idea (from the comments on this forum, it's apparently much less common to have the past-president on the board in the US than we have it in Canada).

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21 minutes ago, Atul Kapur said:

Now, please stay tuned for some posts advising that having a position on the board for the past-president is a bad idea 

Well, I certainly don't want to disappoints, so here you go, courtesy of the late Dr. John Stackpole:

Quote

IPP is a Bad Idea:
And here's some reasons why the position is a bad idea:
In my personal view, setting up an "official" Immediate Past President (IPP) position is not a particularly good idea.  The most telling argument is the real possibility of a close and bitter race for the presidency, with the current president running (for a second term) against an "outsider".  And the outsider - the "reform candidate", perhaps - wins but is still stuck with the thorn of the IPP on the Board in a position to snipe at the new president.  And perhaps attempt to undermine the new president's plans.  Not to mention vote against them.
If the erstwhile president is a "good guy" the new president can (usually, depending on the bylaws) appoint him to a pre-existing committee - or even have him chair one, which might put him on the Board - as the new president sees fit.  That way the IPP's experience and value can be put to good use, when needed, without the danger of setting up an adversarial situation which would require a bylaw amendment to get out of.
Here's some more reasons
1) The President resigns and wants nothing to do with the organization.
 
2) The President simply doesn't run for election again because he's had enough, and never shows up at a board meeting.
 
3) The President is booted out of office for being incompetent, or for something more nefarious.
 
4) The President dies.
 
5) The President resigns and moves (wants to help but isn't around).
6) Even worse is the bylaw assignment of the IPP to chair a committee - such as nominating.  Then he dies/quits/leaves town, &c.  You are then stuck with an unfillable (by definition) vacancy.
Note that except for item 4, the IPP may well be part of the quorum requirement for meetings, even though he never shows up.
 
Our suggestion is to amend your bylaws to eliminate the position.

 

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