Moderator's Quick Guide to Presiding Using Robert's Rules of Order

By R Richard Tribble, Jr

Finally a digital reference for the presiding officer to use in preparing for the meeting as well as a quick reference during the meeting when questions arise. The information is straight from Robert's Rules of Order and indexed in an easy to use format that allows the experienced, or novice moderator to quickly identify the procedures needed at the time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R Richard Tribble, Jr
• Release date: Nov 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310593031

R Richard Tribble, Jr

was born in Springfield, Illinois, and educated in the United States and Europe earning the following degrees:Associate of Science in Human Relations from the University of New York;Bachelor of Arts in Human Behavior from Newport University;Master of Arts in Religion from Newport University; andDoctorate of Theology from Christian Bible College(based in large part on work completed at the International Bible College andSeminary, Rucschlicon, Switzerland.In addition he has pursued post doctoral studies at the University of Darmstadt(Germany), the International Bible College and Seminary, Rucschlicon, Switzerland, and the University of Illinois at Springfield, IL.He married to his childhood sweetheart (Dot) and they have been married for almost 48 years.Dr. Tribble's experiences are varied:Parliamentarian. He began studying Robert's Rules of Order in 1962 as a high school sophomore and served as a parliamentarian through out his military and ministerial service. He has been a practicing as a professional parliamentarian in 1974 and in 2013 he was certified as a Professional Registered Parliamentarian (the highest certification granted by the National Association of Parliamentarians).Military Service. He retired from the US Army after more than 20 years of active service (having served three combat tours in Viet Nam).Ordained Minister. He pastored churches in Europe and the US and assisted churches in the Middle East, Turkey, Egypt, Sierra Leone, and Jamaica for more than 40 years.Educator. He was an adjunct professor with City Colleges of Chicago, European Division for 2 years.Corporate Executive. He served as President of Lightning Broadcasting Company for 5 years prior to selling his interest.Author. Over the years he has written numerous magazine articles on church growth; wrote and published 11 books for the US Army, self-published over 43 books on Abraham Lincoln and Christian related subjects and Robert's Rules of Order.Small Business Owner. He retired from the active pastorate in 2014 and is serving as the President of DORICO Ministries focusing on "Making Robert's Rules of Order Understandable" for local churches and not-for-profit organizations specializing in bylaw review and revision, serving as organizational parliamentarian, and providing instruction in Robert's Rules.

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Introduction

Whether this is your first time or your hundredth time serving as the moderator (chair) of a meeting the process can be daunting. After more than 40 years moderating meetings and serving as the parliamentarian I still spend a lot of time preparing for each meeting and I’m a professional parliamentarian.

As I sat in numerous meetings and saw the Chair stymied as to what to do next or how to handle a situation that had risen, it became apparent to me that in this digital age a quick reference guide for the presiding officer would be very useful. As a result I developed this Moderator’s Quick Guide to Presiding using Robert’s Rules of Order.

It is based totally on Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th ed.) (RONR), which I heartily recommend you have your own copy. It is formatted and contains information a presiding officer requires to make quick and correct decisions.

As you will quickly realize, this digital book is different than any other parliamentary procedure book on the market today.

It is Convenient because of its digital composition that makes it useable on your tablet, smart phone, computer, or all three.

It is Accurate because its contents are gleaned directly from RONR and though summarized or rephrased the appropriate RONR page and line numbers are provided for quick reference.

It is Fast through the use of hyperlinks allowing the user to move quickly from the Table of Contents to the desired topic and back again or to various subjects within the book when they are referenced in other parts. (No print book can do this!)

It is a companion of the Quick Guide to Getting Things Done using Robert’s Rules of Order which is designed for meeting participants and is available through your favorite ebook provider.

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Using Hyperlinks. If you are new to digital books the hyperlink allows you to move instantly to the referenced material in the book and back again to the Table of Contents. You simply select the topic desired and by tapping on it (or clicking on it) you will be taken to that section in the book.

For your convenience this book is divided into an introduction, four (4) sections with a total of 29 chapters and an appendix.

Section I is comprised of 12 chapters focusing on what the presiding officer needs to do in preparation for the meeting.

Section II is comprised of five (5) chapters focusing on what the presiding officer needs to know and do as he progresses through the meeting.

Section III is comprised of 10 chapters focusing on the different classes of motions that may be offered during a meeting and provides the information essential to dealing with each one.

Section IV is comprised of two (2) chapters focusing on dealing with disruptive individuals.

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Section I- Preparing for the Meeting

Above all else the Chair must possess and project assurance in his ability to preside over the meeting for the good of the organization. I’m not talking about arrogance here; I’m talking about personal assurance that is based on a thorough understanding of and the ability to utilize parliamentary procedures effectively and impartially.

As the Chair you should know more about parliamentary law than any member of the organization. Anyone can learn to be an effective moderator if they possess the desire and willingness to learn. The Moderator’s Quick Guide to Presiding using Robert’s Rules of Order is designed to help you be proficient and to quickly learn where to go and how to apply everything you may need to be an effective presiding officer.

Being the presiding officer is not an ego position where one seeks to rule but rather, it is a ‘servant" position where one seeks to utilize his position, knowledge and abilities to serve the members of the organization in such a way that the best interest of the organization is achieved through constructive debate and majority decision.

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Chapter 1 - Governing Documents

It is imperative that the presiding officer know what Federal, State, and local laws, the Organization’s Charter or Articles of Incorporation, and Bylaws Allow and don’t Allow, to include what they Require.

1. Federal, State and Local Laws are the highest authority and cannot be suspended, amended or overlooked by any organization without dire consequences. It is imperative that the Chair have in his possession a copy of the pertinent laws, ordinances, and statutes that relate to the organization in order to insure everything is done in accordance with them. They are the organization’s highest authority. It is essential you know what laws apply, what they allow, what they do not allow and what they require. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

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2. The organization’s charter or Articles of Incorporation are the second highest authority.

a. If your organization is subordinate to a national or state organization that has issued a certificate granting the right to form a particular local or subordinate organization (unit, chapter, etc.) it supersedes any rules the subordinate body may adopt because it carries with it the requirement that the subordinate organization adopt no rules that conflict with those of the grantor. (RONR 11th ed.) p.12fn)

b. Unless there is a higher organization that has granted your organization the right to form your organization's Charter or Articles of Incorporation is the highest authority following federal, state or local law. It is at this point that some organizations experience problems: they incorporate and over the years amend their bylaws in such a way that they conflict with their Charter or Articles of Incorporation.

(1) Two (2) of the most common problems I’ve encountered over the years are when the organization’s name and/or purpose statement are not the same on all documents. The name MUST BE the exact same in the Charter or Articles of Incorporation and the bylaws or the bylaws are invalid. The purpose statement in the Articles of Incorporation should be general in nature so that they may be expanded as needed in the bylaws, but the purpose statement in the bylaws can not be in conflict with that which is enumerated in the Charter or Articles of Incorporation.

(2) Any such problem can be corrected by complying with your state’s laws for amending your Charter or Articles of Incorporation, but if overlooked they can create confusion, legal action and financial expense.

b. As the presiding officer, it is essential you know what documents say, what they allow, what they do not allow, what they require and that they are in agreement in every detail. Ignorance is no excuse.

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3. The Organization’s bylaws (formerly constitution and bylaws) are like rails of a railroad line which enable and direct the movement of the train toward a designated end. If for any reason a train leaves the rails it will crash. The same is true with an organization that disregards its bylaws and parliamentary authority. Sooner or later it will crash and burn.

a. Any and all authority you have as the presiding officer flows from the bylaws.

b. If you abuse your authority, if you act contrary to the bylaws or if you disregard any portion or all of the bylaws you can be censured, disciplined and even legally held liable for your actions and the actions of the organization.

All too common I’ve witnessed presiding officers knowingly acting in violation of the bylaws because the bylaws dictated something they disagreed with.

Let me illustrate two (2) such incidents I personally witnessed and the ramifications.

Several years ago I attended a church business meeting, as a guest, where the nominating committee presented its report. At least one of the individuals being nominated was not a member of the church and a member raised a point of order stating that the individual was not qualified to serve in the position since they were not a member. The position in question was ‘instrumentalist’. The pastor, who was moderating, said, Now Mary (not her real name), we’re not paying any attention to the bylaws. We’re here to have the best qualified person serve. No one said another word during the meeting but a lot was said after the meeting. The problem was that the pastor and the members had no real grasp of parliamentary procedures. As a result many members left the church over this issue and in the end the pastor was terminated within six (6) months because of repeated abuse of his position.

This problem could have been alleviated by the church leaders placing before the membership a motion to amend the bylaws by striking the membership requirement to serve as an ‘instrumentalist’ so that the church could place the best qualified person in that position or just striking ‘instrumentalist’ from that section of the bylaws. In all likelihood the majority of the membership would have agreed and there would have been no problem because there was no doctrinal issue involved.

In another case, a member made a motion, in a not-for-profit (501c.(4)) organization, that a new election for the office of president be held immediately (this was in the middle of the president's two (2) year term. The president, serving as moderator, ruled the motion out of order and the member appealed to the assembly (membership) and the president ruled the appeal out of order and announced the next item of business but the membership erupted in protest until president relented and allowed the appeal to be considered by the assembly.

The Chair lost the appeal and a new election was held and a new individual was elected as president and assumed the chair continuing the meeting.

The ousted president sought legal advice and initialed a civil suit against the organization for a violation of the bylaws which allowed only for the election of president at the annual meeting. Through negotiations the ousted president was reinstated and all actions of the organization during the interim were ruled null-and-void.

It is important to note that when the moderator, or the assembly, is allowed to act contrary to its bylaws it opens itself up to legal actions that can be extremely expensive.

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Chapter 2 - Parliamentary Authority

As the presiding officer it is imperative you know more about Parliamentary Law and procedures from RONR than any member in the organization. (This is where your parliamentarian becomes an invaluable asset; choose wisely and you will benefit immensely from his knowledge and expertise.)

1. Authority. As the Chair you have been entrusted by your organization with the authority to insure that every member, as well as yourself, abide by the parliamentary procedures adopted by your organization in its bylaws. The most productive Chair possesses the willingness to:

a. Listen to and follow the advice and counsel of your parliamentarian; and

b. Provide impartial guidance to all participants in debating topics and reaching a majority decision even when you may disagree with the course of action being considered.

Having said that, we need to consider:

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