Ann Macfarlane
Laura Morgan, a Black Parliamentarian from Chicago’s South Shore, kicks off this webinar by sharing her story of how she became a Professional Registered Parliamentarian. Then we go on to present 4 guidelines that allow every voice to be heard and all opinions to be considered. Social justice meetings deal with important issues that generate…
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Guest post by Craig Freshley. We are big fans of Craig’s wisdom and are delighted to share this post with our readers. Visit Craig’s website for more superb tips on meetings and leadership. In principle, failure is an option. In fact, it is only through failure – the timeless evolutionary principle of trial and error…
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The History City News in Missouri published an account of a commission meeting that got Robert’s Rules of Order wrong: Under Roberts Rules of Order, Commissioner Henry Dean could not offer a motion during the County Commission meeting yesterday to mandate the wearing of face masks in the county since it failed last week.…
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A citizen rang me up in some concern about the way his city council had processed a big motion the night before. The land-use proposal was introduced and seconded, a member was recognized to debate, and that member immediately said, “I call the question.” Five of the seven members on the council voted in…
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Guest post by Laura Rabb Morgan, a Black Professional Registered Parliamentarian. Thank you Laura for sharing this important message with us. Laura tells her story on video in our free webinar, “Better Meetings Advance Social Justice.” Dear Fellow Parliamentarians: As people around the world continue to come together to protest and demand an end to…
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Several readers have written to me recently with questions about their authority as president of a nonprofit organization. It seems that Jurassic Parliament has been almost too successful at expounding the principle that during the meeting, the chair is the servant of the group, and the group is the final authority. These readers drew…
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The motion “To Lay on the Table” is commonly shortened to “Table.” This is a motion that is often misused. The correct use of this motion is to put a Main Motion aside for a short while because some other more urgent business has arisen. It can only be made once a Main Motion…
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Nonprofit membership organizations sometimes are plagued with members who create difficulties at meetings. What can you do about that? Can you kick a member out of a membership meeting? And if so, how? Our article, Dealing with difficult members, lays the groundwork for this post. Download PDF Rights and responsibilities Attending membership meetings is one…
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When I served on the board of the American Translators Association, a fellow board member drove me crazy. His blithe assumption of superiority and his ego were insufferable. Of course, it is a truism of psychology that a strong emotional reaction like that is linked to unresolved inner issues. When I looked at the…
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There are 3 lists that every secretary of a nonprofit board should maintain in the organization’s official record book: A running list of the dates of board meetings. A list of officers elected or appointed and their terms, including dates when they resign or are removed from office if such occurs. A list of…
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