new constiution

[Guest bridgetramp]

our bridge club has been operating without the old constitution for many years. we now have one ready to be approved at the january AGM. i have put the new constitution second last on our agenda and lastly the yearly election since the board positions will change to alternate years.

is there anything wrong with that placement on the agenda at the agm?

[jstackpo]

Seems reasonable to me.

You will have to sorta guess at what the amendment requirements contained in your "old" (now lost) constitution are, but I think you will be on safe ground if all your (purported) members get a notice of the "Constitution Meeting" and you adopt the new document, after possible amendments, by a 2/3 vote.

I said "purported" above because without the old document in hand you can't be absolutely sure who is a member, since membership is defined in the constitution.

(And for "constitution" you can also read "bylaws".)

[hmtcastle]

our bridge club has been operating without the old constitution for many years.

You'll first need to reconstruct the current ("old") constitution. Or at least the article dealing with amending it. Look in the minutes. That's where you'll find the official record of the motions that adopted your constitution (and any changes that were made along the way).

When you say you "lost" your constitution, do you mean you lost a copy of it, or you lost the minutes book, the official record of all the business that your organization conducted since it was formed?

[David A Foulkes]

our bridge club has been operating without the old constitution for many years. we now have one ready to be approved at the january AGM. i have put the new constitution second last on our agenda and lastly the yearly election since the board positions will change to alternate years.

is there anything wrong with that placement on the agenda at the agm?

I'll chime in that RONR recommends putting the election early enough in the agenda to allow time for any drawn out revoting due to ties, or someone not receiving a majority vote. Leaving it until last could either A) keep you at the meeting late voting over, or 2) create issues if enough members decide to call it a day and go home, leaving you without a quorum to complete the election. But perhaps you know your club well enough that it won't be an issue.

[Tim Wynn]

our bridge club has been operating without the old constitution for many years. we now have one ready to be approved at the january AGM. i have put the new constitution second last on our agenda and lastly the yearly election since the board positions will change to alternate years.

is there anything wrong with that placement on the agenda at the agm?

The assembly will have to decide. The agenda you prepared is not the official agenda until adopted by the assembly.

Also, you'll need to check to see if the current (what you're calling "old") constitution requires any notice requirements or other obstacles, and make sure those are met.

[Tim Wynn]

I'll chime in that RONR recommends putting the election early enough in the agenda to allow time for any drawn out revoting due to ties, or someone not receiving a majority vote. Leaving it until last could either A) keep you at the meeting late voting over, or 2) create issues if enough members decide to call it a day and go home, leaving you without a quorum to complete the election. But perhaps you know your club well enough that it won't be an issue.

A reference to this can be found on RONR(10th ed.), p. 425, l. 11-14.

[Trina]

our bridge club has been operating without the old constitution for many years. we now have one ready to be approved at the january AGM. i have put the new constitution second last on our agenda and lastly the yearly election since the board positions will change to alternate years.

is there anything wrong with that placement on the agenda at the agm?

I'll chime in that RONR recommends putting the election early enough in the agenda to allow time for any drawn out revoting due to ties, or someone not receiving a majority vote. Leaving it until last could either A) keep you at the meeting late voting over, or 2) create issues if enough members decide to call it a day and go home, leaving you without a quorum to complete the election. But perhaps you know your club well enough that it won't be an issue.

Since bridgetramp's post suggests that the new constitution, if adopted, will change the terms of office from current practice, it does seem that the vote on the constitution should come before the election, if possible. That seems like the more logical progression.

[Guest bridgetramp]

thanks for the input but let me clarify. i have belonged to this club for 7 years and only went on the board a year ago. as far as i know there has never been a consitution or bylaws that could be found during that time. each year at the agm they elect a board and have a meeting and the board goes off and has yearly meetings to run the club. there may be minutes that could be found from those 7 year and for sure the last 5 but there is nothing unusual in any of the minutes.

so the new constitution and bylaws (sorry i failed to put the word bylaws in my original question) has been announced for two months now and posted on our new website. hard copies were given to those members without computors. memberhip is a $1 a year and unless we have visitors pretty well everyone is a member.

at the agm i put the new constitution and bylaws last because the AGM runs 45 mins before our usual bridge game and if i put it first on the agenda there would not be enough people present to represent the membership. i put the constitution and bylaws almost last so there would be no question that the majority of those people present would have final input and a vote. ( i have had lots of input from those interested and dont anticipate any more changes at the meeting but u never know)

again since there is nothing out of the ordinary being voted on we thought we would conduct our business as usual until most of the people are present. after the new constitution and bylaws are passed all future amendments would require votes from 2/3 of the membership and 2/3 of the majority present respectively.

i asked you about this because a member declared that we had to pass the consitution first. since we have been operating without one for the 7 years that i have been i couldnt imagine why the constitution couldnt be second last on the agenda and the election last. before i march up and tell her >>>>>>>>>>>SOMETHING NASTY>>>>>> i though i should ask the experts.

thanks again..........i love this web site. i am going to remain chair of the new board ( no one wants these position btw )so i may return.

[hmtcastle]

there may be minutes that could be found from those 7 year and for sure the last 5 but there is nothing unusual in any of the minutes.

What you'll find in the minutes is your constitution (whether it's unusual or not).

Don't confuse a (lost) copy of your constitution with the constitution itself. The map is not the territory.

[jstackpo]

To One No Trump:

You might also consider consolidating your const and bylaws into one document -- "Bylaws".

That way thre will be one less document to lose!

http://robertsrules.forumflash.com/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

[jstackpo]

To One No Trump:

You might also consider consolidating your const and bylaws into one document -- "Bylaws".

That way there will be one less document to lose!

;-)