The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [110]
4. Officers’ reports
“The next business in order will be the reports of the officers.” (Call on those officers you know to have reports.)
5. Treasurer’s report
“The treasurer, [call by name], will give her report.” After the report is read: “Are there any questions? There being no questions, the report will be filed for audit.”
6. Committee reports
“The next business in order will be the reports of committees.” After reports have been made: “Thank you. The report will be filed with the minutes of this meeting.”
7. Special orders
This is any business previously designated for consideration at this meeting.
8. Unfinished business
Only announce this if there is business that has been postponed from the last meeting to the current meeting. “The next business in order will be the [whatever the unfinished business is] that was postponed to this meeting.”
9. New business
“The next business in order will be new business. Is there any new business to come before the group?”
10. Announcements or program
If there are announcements to be made but no program at the meeting: “If there is no further new business to come before the group, the secretary will read the announcements.”
If there is a program at the meeting: “If there is no further business to come before the group, [the program chair] will introduce today’s speaker.”
11. Adjournment
“If there is no further business and there is no objection, the meeting will be adjourned. There being no objection, the meeting is adjourned.”
BEING THE SECRETARY
* * *
The secretary of your group is responsible for several things: sending out notices of upcoming meetings; maintaining the organization’s records, including the membership list, lists of all committees and their members, and an up-to-date version of the group’s bylaws; and, most importantly, writing the minutes of the organization. The minutes should be written as concisely and precisely as possible, as they constitute the official record of everything that takes place within your group.
The format for writing the minutes is as follows:
FIRST PARAGRAPH
Include the kind of meeting (whether it’s regular or a special meeting), the name of your organization, date and place of meeting, presence of the president and secretary or the names of substitutes, presence of a quorum, time the meeting was called to order, and whether the minutes of the previous meeting were approved or corrected.
BODY
List the reports given, including the name of the reporter and any action taken; all motions; all points of order or appeal; important announcements; if there is a program, the name of the speaker and the topic of the program.
FINAL PARAGRAPH
Record the adjournment and the time of adjournment, and sign and date the document.
When writing minutes, be sure to record all adopted and defeated motions, the name of the person who makes any motion, names of all members who report, names of anyone elected or appointed, and the number of votes on each side in a ballot or counted vote. Do not write down your personal opinion of any discussion, motions that are withdrawn, or entire reports that are given at a meeting. (Instead of transcribing the report, write: “[Person’s name and title] reported on [topic]. The report is attached to the original of these minutes.”)
After writing the minutes (which you should do as promptly as possible), sign and date them and send a copy to the president of your organization, making sure to alert her to any items of unfinished business. When making corrections, do not erase or obliterate the original. Instead, make any corrections in red ink and note the date of the correction.
BEING THE TREASURER
* * *
The treasurer is the person responsible for the money of an organization. Her job is to receive and disburse monies according to the organization’s rules, and to bill for and collect any annual dues. She maintains a permanent record of all money received and paid out; any corrections made are clearly indicated in red, just