How does the Executive Meeting work?

[Brine]

I am unclear as to how the Executive meeting works. Is it even called that?
I think there are four executive positions and ten Chair positions, according to the link to the Executive on the home page.
Do all the positions have voting privileges?
Do we have a set quorum? i.e. do 51% (or some other number) have to attend for a meeting to be officially recognized?
How many people are usually present?
Where are the meetings held?
How many were present at the meeting where this last classified change was discussed and voted on?
Can regular members attend the meeting?
Can regular members address the meeting?
Is there a way for the general member to be more involved?
For instance are the minutes published?
Is the budget published?


My concern here is that if only 3 or 4 people attend the meeting and one of them is upset about a particular issue it wouldn't take much to pass a motion that might not benefit the club.

[Fishnut]

Yes, the exec meetings are called exec meetings

Yes, all positions have voting power

We do have a set quorum...can't remember what it is off the top of my head though...something like 1/2 the executive positions and 1/2 the chairs...not 100% sure.

We have a majority of people show up...there have been a few meetings where we have had to just discuss things and not vote because too many people were not able to make it.  Drives me nuts, but life comes before volunteer work.

The meetings have been held at my office for convenience sake for a while but the people who leave their office and go to mine are sick of being in an office so we recently switched to having them in each other's homes with a pot-luck dinner.

There were only 3 missing at the meeting for the classifieds...or was it just 2.  I can't remember now.  All were chairs. Since some of the incoming execs weren't due to start their positions until Sept, they offered to step in to temporary fill in the vacant positions on the 2011/2012 exec committee so that we could start working together sooner than later.

Regular member can attend and address the executive at our meetings.  Regular members who attend meetings are there to say their piece/presentation/idea and nothing more.  No participating in our debates or anything.  Just present and listen...maybe answer questions if we have any.  I did this a few times before I joined the committee.  I can't speak for the others but I am not comfortable having exec meeting locations posted for the purposes of ANYONE dropping in, since we have them at our houses.  If you want to attend, PM one of us.

General members can volunteer to help the execs in whatever capacity they can...volunteer at meetings, events, etc.  Offer to help some of us follow-up on things, do some of the errand running, etc.  If you have an idea, research it, plan it a bit and present it to us as a fully thought through idea.  If you don't want to waste time doing something we aren't going to like, run it by us..."I have an idea, what do you think?  Should I look into it further?"  Basically if you think of a way you can help the club, let us know.

Minutes and budget posting...issues that are going to be rectified very soon.  It has not been done properly in the past and I have no idea why.  I can not speak for Sylvie who is our new secretary but I have already implemented LOTS of internal changes to the treasurer position and the way things are handled.  Stay tuned.

[ajm1961]

I had started to reply as well, so here are my answers to the questions asked...

Here are some answers, based on the OVAS constitution and executive rules:

I think there are four executive positions and ten Chair positions, according to the link to the Executive on the home page. There are 9 active chairs - the Past President is listed, but I'm not aware that they ever exercised a vote at meetings.
Do all the positions have voting privileges? yes
Do we have a set quorum? i.e. do 51% (or some other number) have to attend for a meeting to be officially recognized? Yes - 50% of the exec (2 of 4) and 5 of 9 chairs must be present
How many people are usually present? Varies from meeting to meeting - In my experience we had quorum about 80% of the time
Where are the meetings held? Various places, as agreed to by the exec members
How many were present at the meeting where this last classified change was discussed and voted on?
All 4 execs and 6 of 9 chairs - therefore quorum was obtained
Can regular members attend the meeting? yes, according to the constitution
Can regular members address the meeting? I believe only at a scheduled time in the meeting, as per the agenda or as agreed by the exec during the meeting
Is there a way for the general member to be more involved? We regularly send out requests for help: articles for the newsletter, help with auctions, show and tell at meetings, help with membership drive, and of course the annual call for volunteers for executive positions
For instance are the minutes published? We have posted some last year, and they can be published on demand
Is the budget published? It should be, but we had much difficulty getting it finalized last year due to the treasurer's limited availability

My concern here is that if only 3 or 4 people attend the meeting and one of them is upset about a particular issue it wouldn't take much to pass a motion that might not benefit the club. As you can see, this is not the case

[Brine]

awesome...thanks for the quick replies and the detailed answers