Florida Parliamentarian December 2014

The Florida Volume 34, Number 4

December 2014

Theme:

President’s Message

“REACH OUT”

Shirley J. Brodbeck, RP

Motto “Let all things be

Technology is all over NAP  especially at the Leadership Training and National Training Conferences held in September in Oklahoma City. Some FSAP members attended and everyone at the training and conference had to register online, download a schedule app and could opt for a flash drive of all the handouts. Check out NAP www.parliamentarians.org/ and FSAP www.flparliamentarian.com to see the many ways you can use technology and learn in the parliamentary realm.

done decently and in order.”

I Corinthians 14:40

What’s Inside Presidents Message

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Education Outreach

3

Questions & Answers

4-5

Bylaw Changes

6

Education Report

7-8

This summer ended on a fall note with 31 member and non-members attending the Henry M. Robert’s Day in Ft. Lauderdale. The day began with a special meeting that adopted amendments to the bylaws using a consent calendar.

Education Chairman Barbara Proctor held 30 minute workshops on the basics for “Preventing Meeting Disasters.” The Advanced Session found those studying for the RP test reviewing the most commonly missed questions from the bank of 1,200 questions. Good luck people, we expect to see RP behind your name shortly.

Attorney Russell M. Robbins and George Barriere, CAM and Regional Director of First Service Residential, Inc., a condo management firm, helped FSAP members understand the differences in Condo and Homeowner governance. They stated that parliamentarians are sorely needed in these groups. Can anyone living in these communities arrange an opportunity for FSAP members to present meetings to their boards, association members or women’s group?

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Congratulations new FSAP members, Shelley A. Paros, of Lake Wales, Vannesssa Brown of Titusville, Dr. Randy Moody of Alva and Tom Kennedy, Registered Parliamentarian of Venice. Shelley will make the jaunt to the Florida Alpha meetings in Tampa and Tom credits Dona Garner and Nancy Dauster for “pounding the information into my thick skull”.

Bradenton welcomed two new provisional members, Helen Kross and Judy Pijanowski, as a result of the FSAP Booth at the CAI Event in Bradenton this past winter.

Betti Cogswell, Tim and Todd Wynn, Pat Rosenthal and Karen Price manned another booth in Orlando.

Oh Henry! candy bars were handed out and copies of RONR In Brief were raffled. Results take time but the same comments were heard: “We didn’t know there was such an organization as NAP or parliamentarians.” Keep talking it up folks. Make parliamentary procedure known.

It isn’t too soon to be thinking of the NAP Convention, September 4-7, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia.

It isn’t cheap, so start saving now. Everyone should attend at least one NAP Convention to receive outstanding education, exchange ideas with fellow parliamentarians and see them in action at the membership meeting. Remember, the NAP President, Ann Guiberson, PRP is an FSAP member. Let’s make this the convention to attend on our side of the country.

Speaking of scholarships…are you in need of a financial boost to gain your NAP membership, RP or PRP credentials? Write to Carol Austin at CarolAustinPRP@cs.com for an FSAP, Herberta Ann Leonardy Scholarship application.

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The Florida Parliamentarian is the official publication of the Florida State Association of Parliamentarians, published four times a year; February, April, September, December.

Subscription rate: $20 per year. © 2005 Florida State Association of Parliamentarians

DEADLINES FOR COPY February issue > > > > Dec 31st April issue > > > > > Mar. 1st September issue > > > > July 31st December issue > > > > Oct 31st

Shirley Brodbeck, RP, Editor-in Chief

941-722-2281 Email: sjbrodbeck@frontier.com Karen Price, Editor 941-697-8000 E-mail: craftyksp@gmail.com

SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO: Shirley Brodbeck 318 Peace Manor Palmetto, FL 34221-4512

Patricia McDougle, PRP, Associate Editor 954-791-5957 Email: patmcdougle@att.net

FSAP WEBSITE http://www.flparliamentarian.com

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President’s Message, Continued from page 2

Looking ahead, the FSAP Annual Meeting is May 29 – 31, 2015, at the Homewood Suites in Lake Mary. Your attendance is needed to elect new officers.

Attention Unit Treasurers: Provisional member’s state dues, of $25.00, are now to be sent to the treasurer, David Gruman, 3818 San Lorenzo Drive, Punta Gorda, FL 33950.

We are sorry to learn of the resignation of Nancy Dauster as District 3 Director due to health issues.

Nancy will remain a member of the Charlotte County Unit and FSAP but on a limited basis. FSAP rises for a group privilege and wishes Nancy strength and courage for renewed health.

Till next time … keep reaching out with your telephone, talk, texting and teaching.

Education Outreach Committee This year the Educational Outreach Committee has been working on some advertising skills by having an exhibit at various Community Association Trade Shows. In September the Florida Community Association Professionals, LLC had an “Expo” with educational workshops and booths for community mangers, management firms and HOA/Condo board members. On behalf of FSAP the Apollo XI and Central Florida units staffed the exhibit booth for the one day event. FSAP members that worked the exhibit were Betti Cogswell, Pat Rosenthal, Tim and Todd Wynn and Karen Price.

We spoke to over 80 people. Five won the raffle for a copy of “Robert’s Rules in Brief.” Over 40 invitations to workshops in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando were handed out. We tried to make it clear what parliamentarians can do for clubs, associations and boards. To date, the committee has attended three such conventions, manning our display booth and raffling off copies of “Robert’s Rules in Brief” to five to ten people each time. Exhibits have been in Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Bradenton.

Thank you to Dave Gruman, Helen Popovich, Roger Smith, Beth Bond, Shirley Brodbeck, Pat McDougle, Barbara Proctor, and those mentioned above, for all their hard work manning these booths.

Now the committee is looking for results from our presence during these events. Have you had any calls about attending workshops or your unit meetings? We are asking FSAP Unit Presidents to let us know if they have received any new members as a result of the three exhibits. We know the Bradenton unit did.

Picture above is Pat Rosenthal at our exhibit.

Betti Cogswell Chair, Educational Outreach Committee Florida State Association of Parliamentarians

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Questions and Answers Associate Editor All page numbers are references to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th edition unless otherwise noted. Send your questions to the Associate Editor: Patricia McDougle, PRP , Email: patmcdougle@att.net Q&A

Disclaimer: The questions answered in this column are answers to questions on parliamentary procedure. If you are a member of a Florida condominium association, homeowner’s association, etc. the answers might not be applicable because of the Florida Statutes, or the bylaws of the home owners association. Florida statutes, bylaws of the association and in the case of governmental bodies have rules which have precedence over Robert’s Rules of Order

FLORIDA PARLIAMENTARIAN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR FOURTH QUARTER 2014 Question 13.

I have two questions: 1) Are minutes still called minutes if there was not a quorum at a meeting? and if so 2) Are the minutes approved the same as with any other set of minutes?

Answer 13.

The answer to both questions is yes. Even though no business is transacted in the absence of a quorum, the motions allowed are—Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn, Recess, Adjourn, or a motion for steps to obtain a quorum (pp. 347, ll. 30-32) which if made when nothing else is pending are incidental main motion and would be recorded in the minutes (p. 469, l. 13). If an attendance record is required, the minutes may reflect those members present and absent. The minutes are also a record that the meeting was called or convened in accordance with the bylaws or other governing documents or notice given.

Question 14.

Some motions require a two-thirds vote, a majority vote with notice, or a vote of a majority of the membership. How does that work out in a small board of five or seven?

Answer 14.

Interestingly!

In a five member board based on all members being present and voting: majority - 3, two thirds - 4, and majority of entire membership - 3 In a seven member board: majority - 4, two thirds - 5, and majority of entire membership - 4

In both cases, the majority vote and a majority of the entire membership is the same number which makes a two thirds vote irrelevant. What is the answer if the small board wants to require a vote greater than a majority to adopt those motions where a majority of the entire membership is applicable? The board would adopt a special rule of order requiring a four fifths or a five sevenths vote (p. 402, ll. 22-24) . . . but it would be simpler to state the rule in terms of the entire membership. For example: Any motion or action which requires more than a majority vote shall require the affirmative vote of one [or two] less than the entire membership.

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Continued from page 4 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Refer to RONR tinted page 44-45 for a list of motions which require a two-thirds vote. The list identifies those motions which may be adopted by a majority of the entire membership.

Question 15.

At our recent election of new officers, the chairman of the tellers committee announced the results of the election reporting the names of the winners only. When asked to give the number of votes for each candidate, the tellers refused. Was this correct?

Answer 15.

No. The tellers should report the total number of votes cast, the number required for election and the number of votes received by each candidate. Robert specifically says that the chairman of the tellers “reads the tellers’ report, and hands it to the chair without declaring the result.” (p. 417, ll.

19-21) The chair reads the tellers’ report again and declares the election of each officer. (p. 418, ll. 23-24) For the record, the complete tellers’ report is entered in the minutes. (p. 418, l. 26)

SAVE THESE DATES CITRUS COUNTY UNIT OF PARLIAMENTARIANS WORKSHOPS February 6, 2015 – Topic “ The Conduct of Business in a deliberative assembly” March 6, 2015

–Topic “ Assignment of the floor; debate”

Another Registered Parliamentarian for FSAP Thomas Kennedy, RP with the Charlotte County Parliamentary Unit

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FSAP bylaws were amended 10-18-14 , as noticed, except for Article IV, Section 1, Unit amendment which was further amended by striking Article IV Section 5 after bylaws.

Article III – Members Section 1. The Class of members shall be: A. Primary 1. A primary member is an NAP member and an FSAP member (unit members and members-at-large) who is counted in FSAP as of March 1 of the convention year for determining the number of delegates to which FSAP is entitled at NAP convention.

D. Provisional 2. A provisional member shall not be counted in determining representation to meetings of NAP 3. A provisional member attending FSAP meetings may be permitted the privileges of the floor.

Article IV – Structure Section 1. Unit A unit is a division of NAP. Its rights and responsibilities are specified in the NAP bylaws Section 2. FSAP Study Club A. An FSAP study club shall consist of not less than five (5) provisionals organized to study parliamentary procedure and to prepare for NAP membership.

B. An application for recognition as an FSAP study club shall be submitted for approval to the executive board.

C. FSAP study club shall elect officers, and write their own bylaws provided these bylaws do not conflict with NAP or FSAP bylaws and submit them to the FSAP bylaws committee for approval.

D. FSAP study club bylaws shall contain a dissolution clause in compliance with federal and state laws.

E. Members of FSAP study clubs who attend FSAP meetings shall have the privileges of the floor.

Article V – Finances Section 1. Annual Dues D. Units and study clubs with provisional members shall remit per capita dues to the FSAP treasurer by January 1.

E. FSAP dues for affiliate members shall be paid by such affiliate members to the FSAP treasurer by January 1.

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Report of Education Chairman Preventing Meeting Disasters The 2014 Henry M. Robert’s Day program sponsored by the Florida State Association of Parliamentarians at the Courtyard by Marriott, Fort Lauderdale North was very well received.

Following the theme of “Reaching Out” George Barriere and Russell M. Robbins, Esq., introduced parliamentarians to the various types of community associations, explained the difference between condominium associations and homeowner associations, and emphasized the areas where parliamentarians are needed in the community association industry.

FSAP members preparing to take the NAP registered parliamentarian exam met with Julie Palm, PRP, and Patricia McDougle, PRP to review the 29 most missed questions in Part II. Shirley Brodbeck, RP and Karen Price assisted Barbara Proctor, PRP, in leading participants through the individual steps parliamentarians follow in helping to prevent meeting disasters: a review of governing documents to determine who decides what; a discussion of the different types of meetings where things get done; a review of meeting pre-planning to show where we start; the actual preparation of an agenda to organize the meeting; and the preparation of a script for better meetings; then we shared the secret to success which is the eight steps in handling a motion; we converted hours into minutes, and finished with the best use of resources using committees and their reports.

These 30-minute lessons can be used for education programs at unit meetings because they include the basics as well as advanced material.

As FSAP education chairman, I was impressed with the knowledge demonstrated by the participants – who seemed to know the verbiage as well as the answers to the questions.

I believe many more FSAP members are ready to start the journey to prepare for the RP exam.

NAP President, Ann Guiberson, PRP, shared with us the news that NAP is offering a free list of the 1200 Questions organized by chapter for members who pay their dues on line prior to December 15th. The material in this format enables members to focus on one topic at a time by reading a chapter then answering questions pertaining to that chapter. Members may want to highlight the answers in RONR using a bible marker as they find the answers in each chapter.

The education program for the FSAP meeting on May 29 th in Lake Mary will focus on preventing convention disasters. The individual sessions will include pre-convention planning, steps the parliamentarian takes in preparing for a convention, action taken during a convention, and post-convention follow-up. We believe the hands-on experience teaches members how to apply what they have been learning.

Barbara Proctor, PRP

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Special “Thanks” to the following individuals who volunteered their time to help make the 2014 FSAP Henry M. Robert Day a success!

George Barrier, Vice President and Regional Director at First Service Residental, is a member of the Plantation Unit of Parliamentarians who believes parliamentary procedure can help make positive changes in the residential property management industry. They believe in delivering value-added programs and committed customer service that continually set the standards for service delivery, professionalism and quality.

Russell M. Robbins, Esq. is the managing partner of Mirza, Basulto & Robbins, P.A, a law firm that serves more than 100 communities in the Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. They recognize that many individuals play a vital role in a community and work to address the specific needs of the property managers, board members and homeowners. Russell was one of 16 lawyers whom Community Association Institute appointed to serve a two (2) year term on the CAI Amicus Committee.

James Colson – an NAP member of the Miami Unit, became interested and researched Henry’s life in Oswego where Jim’s family lived as well. A copy of material Jim collected was distributed during the afternoon session.

Karen Price – President of the Charlotte County Unit presented the lessons on a review of meeting pre-planning to show where we start and the actual preparation of an agenda to organize the meeting.

Shirley Brodbeck, RP – F.S.A.P. President volunteered at the last minute to share the secret to success (the eight steps in handling a motion) which included a practice session that was well received.

DUES ARE DUE You can renew your membership in one of three ways: 1. Renew online [the link is: http://bit.ly/nap-renew] (just login and click on "Pay Open Orders"); 2. Call NAP Headquarters at 888-627-2929 with your credit card; or 3. Send your payment via mail to NAP Headquarters. NAP members pay their FSAP dues directly to NAP. Provisional members pay their FSAP dues to their Unit, MAL members pay their dues directly to FSAP. There is an incentive for members to renew prior to December 15, 2014: If you renew online [the link is: http://bit.ly/nap-renew] before December 15, 2014, NAP will send you an exclusive, new electronic resource based on the 1200 questions from the Registration Exam study guide with the questions arranged in the order the subject appears in RONR. Please feel free to contact NAP HQ if you have any other questions or if we can be of any assistance in getting the word out to our members about renewing their NAP membership.

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