MEETINGS 4.0 MEETINGS The American Association of the Deaf-Blind holds periodic meetings. This section deals with meetings policies and procedures under the following topics: * Meeting related policies * Business meetings of the general membership * Board meetings * Regional meetings * Meeting related procedures 4.1 MEETING POLICIES 4.1.1 Parliamentary Procedure Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised shall be the basis for settling all questions not accounted for in this Policy and Procedures Manual (bylaws). 4.1.2 Policies on Meeting Minutes * In the minutes, each motion will have the symbol *** before it. If there is discussion and/or amendments recorded before the vote is reported, the final form of the motion will be repeated in a new paragraph that starts with the symbol *** and the paragraph will report whether the motion passed. * Electronic motions which pass will be reported in the minutes of the next face-to-face meeting including the names of the people who made and seconded the motion, the motion, and the date it was passed. * Because misunderstandings and interpreter errors can occur during Board meetings, the meetings for AADB Board meetings will be “minutes by consensus,” which means that what is officially recorded in the minutes will be that which the majority of members approve. Section 4.5.1 2 on page 25 below, provides a procedure for recording minutes by consensus. 4.2 BUSINESS MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP From time to time there will be business meetings of the general members. The following policies shall prevail at those meetings: * Dates and places for AADB business meetings shall be published in the national conference program books and announced by the President at the opening ceremony at the national conference (bylaws); * The business meeting will be run by the President; * Quorum at business meetings is a least 50 Active Members (bylaws); * AADB can remove members who are disruptive or abusive from meetings (bylaws). Section 4.5.2 on page 26 below, provides the procedure for removing disruptive members. 4.3 BOARD MEETINGS From time to time there will be Board Meetings. The following policies shall prevail at those meetings: * Board Members shall meet two (2) to four (4) times a year, and shall meet as often as needed during the national conferences (bylaws); * quorum for Board Meetings is at least eight (8) members (bylaws); * travel expenses, hotel and meals are reimbursed for Board Members and their SSPs attending the Board Meeting. Section 5.2.3, below on page 38 , provides the procedure for reimbursement. * a Board Meeting is run using parliamentary procedures unless the President specifies differently and the Board agrees; * Section 4.5.3 on page 26 below, provides the procedure for preparing for a Board Meeting. 4.4 REGIONAL MEETINGS Regional meetings may take place any time between national conferences. The regions shall be responsible for their own program and meeting agenda (bylaws). 4.5 MEETING PROCEDURES 4.5.1 Procedure for Recording Minutes by Consensus > The Secretary will take notes during the meeting and write a draft of the minutes; > As soon as possible after the meeting, (preferably within a week, while people still remember what happened), the Secretary will send a draft of the minutes to all members who were in attendance, asking them to check for accuracy, especially for anything that is reported as being said by them; > Within 2 weeks of receiving the draft of the minutes, members will send, to the Secretary, a list of all statements which they think are inaccurate; > The Secretary will send a copy of all the proposed corrections to the other members who were present, asking if anyone disagrees with any of the corrections; > If there is disagreement about any statement in the minutes, the Secretary will ask the other members to recall what they remember happened, and will accept the consensus of the majority of members who respond; > The Secretary will incorporate the corrections into the draft of the minutes and send the corrected minutes to the Home Office to send to all Board Members in their preferred format. 4.5.2 Procedure for Removing Disruptive Members > If someone disrupts the meeting (for example interrupts constantly, refuses to sit down when the President says “Out of Order”, etc.), the President will warn that he or she will be asked to leave the room if the disruption continues. > If the person continues to be disruptive after the warning, the President will order the person to leave and not come back for the remainder of the meeting. 4.5.3 Procedure for Preparing for a Board Meeting > The President asks Board Members for available dates and chooses a date on which a quorum of Board Members will be able to attend. > The President and Program Manager investigate and choose a meeting site, and the Program Manager makes arrangements for the meeting room, lodging, and meals. > At least thirty (30) days before the scheduled meeting, Board Members inform the Program Manager whether they are coming and whether they require lodging. At least two (2) weeks before the meeting, they inform the Program Manager and the SSP Coordinator whether they are bringing an SSP and tell the Program Manager whether the SSP will need lodging. > The Board Members arrange for transportation to the meeting, and save all documentation including mileage, receipts for air and ground transportation, parking, etc. > Board Members who need SSPs are each encouraged to bring one SSP to serve at the Board Meeting. Section 7.2, below on page 53, details policies regarding SSPs and Board Meetings. The Board Member is responsible to pass on information to the accompanying SSP regarding hotel location, agenda, travel arrangements, reimbursement process, and anything else related to their job as SSP at the Board Meeting. > The President selects an SSP Coordinator to arrange for and coordinate SSPs and interpreters for the Board Meeting. The SSP Coordinator is usually local to the meeting site. > The SSP Coordinator contacts Board Members who explain their communication needs and whether they will bring an SSP for the meeting. > The President develops a tentative agenda in cooperation with the Vice President and arranges to have it sent or e-mailed to the Board Members in their preferred formats at least two (2) weeks prior to the Board Meeting. At the same time, any available reports and documents which the Board will review at the meeting are sent or e-mailed to the Board Members in their preferred formats. > The Board Members review the agenda and prepare accordingly, and contact the President if they need to add anything to the agenda. > The Board Members, Committee Chairs, Program Manager, and others who have reports or documents for the Board to review must send them to the Program Manager at least one week in advance of the meeting. The Program Manager will provide copies of each report and document at the meeting in the appropriate format for each Board Member. > The President, in cooperation with the Vice President, develops a revised agenda which is provided to the Board Members in their preferred format upon their arrival at the hotel or at the meeting. > The Program Manager makes arrangements for the meeting room to be set up to facilitate maximum communication. This includes: * covering the front table and wall behind the front table with black; * setting up enough chairs for Board Members and SSPs; * setting up any tables and equipment needed by the Board Members for communication including FM systems, refreshable Braille or large print TTY displays, microphones, etc; > When the meeting begins, the Board will review the agenda, make revisions as needed, and approve the final agenda before the meeting proceeds. > The Program Manager will provide the Board Members and SSPs with reimbursement information and instructions. Section 5.2.3 below on page 38, provides the normal procedures for reimbursement. > The President may conduct official electronic Board Meetings at any time if all Board Members agree to it and have access to computers (bylaws). 4.5.4 Procedure for Passing Motions Between Board Members > Board Members (including the President) may submit formal motions at any time by sending the motion in a private message to the President with a copy to the Secretary. > If several motions are submitted, the President shall prioritize them according to complexities and urgencies, and post one motion at a time. > Before posting the motion, the President shall work out the language of the motion, with approval of the person who made the motion. > The President shall then post the motion to all Board Members in an e-mail message with the subject “AADB Motion”. > Within ten (10) days of posting the motion, the motion must be formally seconded and a quorum must be reached or the motion will be declared dead and no vote may be taken on the motion. > Second: Any Board Member (other than the maker of the motion) can second the motion by sending a message to that effect to the President, with copies going to all other Board Members. > Quorum: When the President posts the motion, all Board Members shall notify the President that they have seen the motion. In order to meet the quorum, eight (8) Board Members are required to notify that they have seen the motion. > As soon as a second and a quorum are both made (if they are done within ten (10) days of posting the motion), the President shall announce the beginning of a fourteen (14) day discussion period to discuss the motion, beginning immediately. No one is allowed to move to close discussion of the motion before the end of this discussion period (however, the motion can be expedited if needed, as explained below on page 32). > Amendments: During the period of discussion, friendly amendments can be added to a motion only if they are accepted by the Board Members who made and seconded the motion. Due to time constraints, no amendments can be added to e-mail motions unless they are friendly amendments. > At the end of the 14-day discussion period, Board Members may vote on the motion. Votes may be submitted any time within 7 days after the end of the discussion period. Members direct their vote to the President with copies to all Board Members. > At least eight (8) Board Members must vote on the motion within the seven (7) day voting period or it will be considered dead. If a majority of those who vote are in favor of the motion, the motion will be approved (passed). > If the motion is approved, the President shall send a message to all Board Members announcing that the motion has passed, and the Secretary shall record the motion and its date of approval in the minutes of the next face-to-face Board Meeting. > Special Attention: At times it may be desirable to expedite the electronic voting procedure because either the motion has no conflict, or a decision must be made fast. This can be done if at least ten (10) Board Members send to the President a special message. Board Members may send this special message at any time after the motion is announced. This special message must indicate the following three (3) things: * I have seen the motion to (state the motion). * I hereby waive the fourteen (14) day required discussion period for this motion. * I vote “yes” (or “no”) on the motion. > If the president or the person who made the motion feels that the motion is time urgent, this can be indicated to the Board Members when the motion is sent by inserting the word “urgent” into the title (“Urgent AADB Motion”); explaining in the message that the motion is urgent and why; explaining how the Board Members can waive the discussion period; and, explaining that they are not required to do so.