[19356] in APO-L
Meetings
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register)
Tue Oct 13 06:47:08 1998
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 06:46:25 -0400
Reply-To: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register Rep. on Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
From: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register Rep. on Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
These are my opinions of meetings, and the way they should run, not
intended as a representation of the way APO at Buffalo (Epsilon Sigma)
runs:
1. Everyone should have a working knowledge of Robert's Rules of Order.
I don't mean that they have to know the book through and through, but
they should understand what the most common points are, and how to use
them.
2. The Parliamentarian must not only know the book, but must be trusted
with the book to make fair and intelligent parliamentary rulings when
asked by the meeting's chair. Sometimes, Parliamentarians are
specifically chosen because they know the book, can put one over on the
"sheep" of the fraternity, and can give the president what he or she
wants. This is a very dangerous situation.
3. Meetings are run with Robert's Rules as a guide for parliamentary
debate, but really they are run by the chair with the various bylaws and
Standard Operating Procedures that work best for the fraternity. The
simple ways to do it are:
1. The President runs the meeting, and who speaks is dictated by
him/her.
2. There is an agenda, so people can understand what is going on. It
should be written on the board before the meeting.
3. Questions should not be free for all. Prevent 10 minutes for
questions by having the chair set a time limit for questions. Don't let
points get repeated needlessly.
4. Limit the time, reasonably, for debate on one issue. Don't let
blowhards speak forever.
5. Always make sure the president brings about an air of respect for all
people.
6. Have VPs or Chairs prepare reports to bring to the chapter. Tell what
you did in the previous week, the upcoming week's projects, and major
projects that require forethought and planning.
7. Have the secretary take clear and intelligent minutes. Style is not
so important as substance. Make sure the minutes can be reviewed.
Sometimes, a secretary gets behind, so make sure he/she also has at
least has theoriginal handwritten copy until something gets down on
computer.
Sorry for the length, these are, as always, my opinons,
Richard Quodomine
