Appointing a past president to the new board

[Guest Patrick Gabris]

In our bylaws no mention of appointing a past president. I understand that person can be appointed for a 2 year term,. Do they have a vote at meetings, and should our bylaws be changed to permit this appointment

[Atul Kapur]

Unless your governing documents have a provision for it, a past president has no rights beyond that of any other member. 

There is nothing in RONR that provides for a past president to be appointed to anything.

Generally, if a person is appointed to a body, they are considered full members with all rights of membership on that body.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 11/26/2022 at 3:52 PM, Guest Patrick Gabris said:

In our bylaws no mention of appointing a past president. I understand that person can be appointed for a 2 year term,. Do they have a vote at meetings, and should our bylaws be changed to permit this appointment

You understand from where?  There is no such rule in RONR.

A person who is no longer president has no special status unless your bylaws say so.  They have a vote like any other member, presuming they are a member.

I suspect most knowledgeable parliamentarians would avise against such a change to your bylaws, but I have not asked them all.

[Richard Brown]

Guest Patrick, agreeing with my colleagues, you can have a provision in your bylaws permitting the appointment or automatic membership of a past president to serve on the board with whatever rights and privileges you want him to have. For example, he can be a voting or a non-voting member. However, as one or two colleagues have pointed out, this is not always a good idea and most of us recommend against the practice.

A past president can always be consulted for his advice and can always be invited to attend and participate in a board meeting on occasion when his input is desired.

[Weldon Merritt]

On 11/27/2022 at 1:39 PM, Richard Brown said:

A past president can always be consulted for his advice and can always be invited to attend and participate in a board meeting on occasion when his input is desired.

And could be appointed to a position the same as any other member could be. The important thing, in the opinion of must of he regulars here, is that it not be automatic.