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When Immediate Past President resigns


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On 8/29/2022 at 7:12 PM, Drake Savory said:

Why do I have a feeling the problem will show (yet again) why having the office of "Immediate Past President" is a bad idea.

Probably because most of us who are regulars on this forum have the same feeling and are waiting to hear what the situation is in this particular case.

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It seems that we may not be getting our curiosity satisfied. But if the question is about the IPP resigning from the position of IPP, I will point out that it is logically impossible for that to happen, unless the organization has a very unorthodox definition of IPP.  And if the question is about the IPP resigning from some other position, that may or may not be logically possible, depending on how the other position is defined. In any event, I share my colleagues' suspicion that whether the issue is, it relates to the many reasons why giving the IPP an official position is a bad idea.

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On 8/30/2022 at 11:07 AM, Lorna Eadie Hocking said:

Sorry…didn’t pose my question properly. If the President X resigns, he/she is off the executive…so there is a new President. Who then acts as Immediate Past president? The person who was IPP for President X?

Well, this is ultimately an issue of your organization interpreting it’s own bylaws, but, to me, the common definition of “immediate past president” is the person who was most recently the president, i.e., “the immediate past president.

My own personal opinion is that the current president, if he leaves office for any reason whatsoever other than death, instantly becomes the “immediate past president”. That would be true even if he is removed from office due to malfeasance or other wrongdoing.  Actually, even if he dies, he is probably still the “immediate past president, just not one who happens to be living.

Organizations need to be very very careful about having an official position of “immediate past president“.

Edited by Richard Brown
Edited first sentence
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Following up on my comment immediately above, I think if an organization has a past president, regardless of when he was president, and if the members feel he has much to contribute, he can be appointed (or elected) to some position of authority but there should not be an official position of “immediate past president“ who automatically has any official position or duties or responsibility. 

Edited by Richard Brown
Added the words (or elected)
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On 8/30/2022 at 12:07 PM, Lorna Eadie Hocking said:

If the President X resigns ... Who then acts as Immediate Past president?

Agreeing with Mr. Brown, but specifically to your situation: my interpretation is that X is now your IPP. Your bylaws may say that the person who most recently completed a full term as president becomes the IPP, but most don't say that. 

I have seen a situation where X was president and W was IPP. X resigned over a nasty dispute and became the new IPP, displacing W. Vice president Y became president. X was still on the board and being disruptive, so Y resigned as president and, thereby became the new IPP, displacing X and removing X off the board.

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On 8/30/2022 at 11:07 AM, Lorna Eadie Hocking said:

Sorry…didn’t pose my question properly. If the President X resigns, he/she is off the executive…so there is a new President. Who then acts as Immediate Past president? The person who was IPP for President X?

President X would now be the Immediate Past President, unless there is something in your bylaws which suggests otherwise.

The Immediate Past President, based upon the simple dictionary definition of the words, is the person who was President immediately prior to the current President. The manner in which that person left office is irrelevant. If this person also does not intend to perform his duties as IPP, then I suppose the board will have an empty seat at the table.

This is one of many reasons why most members of this forum advise against providing for an "Immediate Past President" in the bylaw

Edited by Josh Martin
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On 8/30/2022 at 10:19 AM, Weldon Merritt said:

It seems that we may not be getting our curiosity satisfied. But if the question is about the IPP resigning from the position of IPP, I will point out that it is logically impossible for that to happen, unless the organization has a very unorthodox definition of IPP.  And if the question is about the IPP resigning from some other position, that may or may not be logically possible, depending on how the other position is defined. In any event, I share my colleagues' suspicion that whether the issue is, it relates to the many reasons why giving the IPP an official position is a bad idea.

Well it may be something more along the lines of resigning from the office of Immediate Past President without resigning from the reality of being immediate past president.  Technically, it's a request to be excused from the duties of IPP, which does make sense.

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On 8/30/2022 at 7:49 PM, Gary Novosielski said:

Well it may be something more along the lines of resigning from the office of Immediate Past President without resigning from the reality of being immediate past president.  Technically, it's a request to be excused from the duties of IPP, which does make sense.

I agree. 

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