The Florida Volume 35, Number 1
February 2015
Theme:
President’s Message
“REACH OUT”
Shirley J. Brodbeck, RP
Motto “Let all things be
Reaching into the New Year
done decently and in order.” I Corinthians 14:40
As the guns boom and music flows I reflect on our 2014 year-end figures in advancement, flubs, and plans for expansion in 2015. Without those flubs we wouldn’t be doing anything. We aren’t perfect but we sure try to be when it comes to parliamentary procedure.
What’s Inside Presidents Message Dues Reminder Questions & Answers
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Save the Date
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Yearbook Corrections
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District III Conference
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FURP Workshop
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Some of our members declined to renew their membership and two resigned NAP membership by letter. Several provisionals joined our ranks. Daniel Barga, Vanessa Brown, Gustavo Diaz, Dr. Randy Moody, Shelly Paros and Louise Redner became NAP members. Anthony Cilluffo, Phillip Goodman, Theodora Hulse, Tom Kennedy, Holly Van Horsten, Wayne Worthley and Joseph Zaks burned the midnight oil and added Registered Parliamentarian to their resume. FSAP membership stands at 256: 75 provisionals, 139 NAP Members, 20 Registered Parliamentarians, 18 Professional Registered Parliamentarians and 4 Professional Registered Parliamentarians-Retired. A glimmer forms in my eye as I zero in on that beautiful number of 75 provisionals that we should all encourage to take the NAP membership exam. How about those 139 members that were hesitant to take the membership exam? Can ten of you commit to digging deeper into RONR and taking the registered exam? You can do it. What about those 20 registered parliamentarians? Which two of you will join the professional ranks? The RP and PRP members must also keep up to date with NAP requirements to maintain the RP and PRP status. Onward FSAP! Continue on page 2
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NAP has taken giant leaps this past year in bringing professional material to help study in various ways: online, in webinars, in person, on your own, at modules, state and district meetings and NAP conventions and training sessions. FSAP has many RP and PRP members willing to assist or advise you in your studies. Reach out and help members reach their goals. All FSAP members are spreading the word about how to play the game of democracy in ordinary assemblies by using Robert’s Rules. Remember our target condo and homeowner associations. You may be just the person that will clue them in about Robert’s Rules. Keep up the good work and let us know of your successes and ways of helping others. Good News! Daniel Barga, MAL, has been awarded an FSAP Herberta Ann Leonardy Scholarship to take the RP Exam. Good Luck Daniel! FSAP is saddened by the deaths of Katrina Darden of Apollo XI and Robert Synnott of Charlotte County. A request for information tells us that Nancy Dauster, Eugene Coy and Dona Garner, all Charlotte County members, had medical advice to lay on the table (brain tumor and heart issues) and without objection, were taken from the table and expect to fix the time to which to adjourn as the next regular meeting in May or October. All of FSAP said, “Aye!” Plans are in the works to make the FSAP Annual Meeting, May 29 - 31 in Lake Mary, the best in business, fellowship and education. It will only be so if you can attend. FSAP Bylaws allow for the president, outgoing president, first vice president, three elected delegates and two alternates to attend the NAP convention held in Arlington, Virginia, September 4 - 6. Come to the FSAP Annual Meeting and express your desire to be nominated as a delegate to the NAP Convention in September. Continue on page 3
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
Plan now to celebrate Parliamentary Law month in April and Henry M. Robert’s birthday in May. Invite the public to your celebration or to a special time to come and ask questions about Robert’s Rules. Give a gift (Basic Info Sheets or RONR in Brief). Has anyone drawn up a birthday announcement that units can use to advertise the event that can be printed in the next FP? Happy New Year, and may all your meetings be done in order with RONR.
DUES ARE DUE You can renew your NAP 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. 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. 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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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 FIRST QUARTER 2015
Question 16. At a recent meeting of the Student Senate of our university the quorum became a source of consternation. The meeting started with 85 people. 50 people are needed to achieve quorum. 36 were counted in the final vote on passing a significant policy change. When the absence of a quorum was brought up later in the meeting the arguments, shouting, accusations, lies, and spin erupted. One argument was that it was the responsibility of the chair; another argued that any member could have challenged the quorum; another said the policy change had not been adopted for lack of a quorum; another argued that it was too bad, the quorum was not challenged when the vote was taken and it was therefore legit. Amazingly, Robert’s Rules seemed to support every argument or so it was said. How should the lack of a quorum be handled and what is the status of the policy adopted without a quorum being present . . . according to Robert’s Rules which we have adopted? Answer 16. A meeting which has been called to order with a quorum present is presumed to have the presence of a quorum unless the chair or a member notices that a quorum is no longer present (p. 349, ll. 8-11). It is the presiding officer’s duty to announce the fact of the absence of a quorum before taking a vote on a pending question or before stating a new motion. If a member notices that a quorum has been lost he may raise a point of order. Without a quorum, an assembly may set up an adjourned meeting, may adjourn, recess or take steps to obtain a quorum. Robert very specifically states that any business transacted in the absence of a quorum is null and void (p. 347, ll. 22-24). However, once it is noticed that the meeting is without a quorum and because it is likely difficult to ascertain when the quorum was lost, “a point of order relating to the absence of a quorum is generally not permitted to affect prior action; but upon clear and convincing proof, such a point of order can be given effect retrospectively by a ruling of the presiding officer, subject to appeal.” (p. 349, ll. 24-28)
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Continued from page 4 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Concerning the quorum and passing of the policy change in your Student Senate . . . the fact that only 36 votes were cast is not proof positive that a quorum was not present. Unless the senate has a rule that each member is required to vote subject to recusal for conflict of interest, it is not determinable how many members abstained. Therefore, the policy change was adopted and is valid. Question 17. If a secretary pro tem takes and prepares the minutes who should sign the minutes, the secretary pro tem or the secretary? Answer 17. The “minutes should be signed by the secretary . . .” (p. 471, ll. 30-31). Robert does not specifically address the issue of minutes being taken and written by someone other than the secretary. Consider a large organization where a paid staff liaison prepares the minutes or a smaller organization with a professional executive secretary . . . a professional parliamentarian may also be called upon to transform a secretary’s notes into formal minutes. Who should sign if the minutes are prepared by a non-member? All minutes regardless of who actually prepared them—once approved— are the “official record of the proceedings of a deliberative assembly” (p. 468, ll. 14-15) and as such should be signed by the secretary. Question 18. A member who was absent at the meeting the minutes of which are now subject to approval, may make corrections and vote on the approval of those minutes. True or False? I was told in no uncertain terms that even though the correction I suggested was accurate that I was out of order because I was not at the meeting in question. Answer 18. True. “It should be noted that a member’s absence from the meeting for which minutes are being approved does not prevent the member from participating in their correction approval. ( p. 355, ll. 8-11)
FSAP Authors—Tim and Todd Wynn NAP feels like family to us, and FSAP even more so. There's an urge to share good news with friends and family, and now we’d like to share ours. Between our parliamentary jobs and NAP duties, we have been focusing on another love of ours: creative writing. Over the holidays, we have enjoyed a string of fortunate events. We released our first novel, a science-fiction story called "Trespassers," which is now available through Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Amazon. One of our screenplays, "Cupid Kills," was selected as one of the top 12 semifinalist for the 2015 Vail film Festival. And our short story "Peter Crown" was selected to appear on the British website, www.fictionontheweb.co.uk And you can read more of our stories at WynnBrothers.com
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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”
Charlotte County Parliamentary Unit By Karen Price Below is a “Letter to the Editor” sent to the Sun Herald, a Charlotte County newspaper. In your area it could be called a Mailbag Comment. This is a free article that can be written by a member to announce an upcoming class you may be having. It has been working for Charlotte County for the last few years, and believe it or not people do read these letters and we get at least one or two people to sign up for our class. Article done by Eugene Coy, PRP of the Charlotte County Parliamentary Unit Dear Editor: The best kept secret in Charlotte County is the Charlotte County Parliamentarians Unit, a 501 (C) 3 a Not for Profit Corporation “that provides a Public Service to the community”. Charlotte County Parliamentarians are a Unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians and have been chartered since 1982. They have taught over 1,100 people the proper use of parliamentary procedure according to “Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised current Edition.” They have classes in Jan.-Feb time frame every year. These classes are at the Fraternal Order of Police Hall, 23300 Harper Avenue, Charlotte Harbor, FL 33980 and the classes will prepare students to participate to their fullest in clubs, associations or organizations. The course is excellent for club officers and members who want to know the rules and how they apply to their organization. The Charlotte County Parliamentarians Unit’s regular meetings are open to the public and are held on the 2nd Thursday of the odd months at 9:30 am-11:30am with a class on Parliamentary Procedure after the business meeting. For further information contact: Karen Price Phone 941-697-8000. Email craftyksp@gmail.com
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Yearbook Corrections in Alphabetical List: Change Eric H Sierra to Eric H. Shaw Change Leticia Shaw to Leticia Sierra Delete Katrina Darden Delete Robert W. Synnott Add “M” after Beverly Solomon Email corrections to Shirley Brodbeck, sjbrodbeck@frontier.com
District III Conference Registration! The District III Conference, will be held in conjunction with the North Association of Parliamentarians’ Annual Convention on Saturday, March 28, 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Hilton North Raliegh/Midtown hotel. The fee for registration and lunch is $28.00. All registrations must be paid in advance and received on or before Friday, March 13, 2015. There will be no onsite registration and no refunds. Checks are to be made payable to NCAP and mailed to: Dr. Gwen Simmons, Secretary/Treasurer, NCAP 867 Castleberry Court Vass, NC 28394 The District Meeting will begin at 10:00am Eastern Time and end by 3:00pm. Attendees may fly into Raleigh-Durham airport. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle; however, it is an approximate 30 minute ride. A block of rooms is being held at $99 plus taxes per night. Attendees need to make their own reservations by calling 1-919-8722323, the group code is NCAP. Use the link below for an easier reservation process. Simply change the arrival date to reflect your event dates and finish the reservation with a few simple steps. https:// secure3.hilton.com/en_US/hi/reservation/book.htm?execution=e1s1
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Learning and Teaching Parliamentary Procedure Seminar Sponsored by The Florida Unit of Registered Parliamentarians (FURP) Date: February 21-22, 2015 Location:
Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk Hotel 1515 Prudential Drive Jacksonville, Florida 32207 1-904-396-5100
Group rate: $85 per night (plus taxes) rate guaranteed until 2/6/2015 Group rate code: Florida Unit of Registered Parliamentarians
Presenters: M. Eugene Bierbaum - Dr. Bierbaum received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri, and was awarded the title Professor of Communication Studies Emeritus by the State University of New York in 1992. He is fully credentialed by both the American Institute of Parliamentarians (CPP-T) and the National Association of Parliamentarians (PRP). In addition to his skills as a parliamentarian, Dr. Bierbaum utilizes his background in communication theory, group dynamics, and organizational communication to offer training sessions for officers, boards of directors, and members. His participatory workshops highlight real-life situations. Ann Rempel - Mrs. Rempel is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where she majored in pharmacy. She is fully credentialed by both the American institute of Parliamentarians (CPP-T) and the National Association of Parliamentarians (PRP). Ms. Rempel has served as educational chairman for both organizations coordinating convention workshops for NAP and serving as director of the AIP West Coast Practicum curriculum for several years. She has served in numerous leadership roles with NAP and AIP. She is currently serving as the secretary for NAP.
Who will benefit from attending? Instructors, Advisors, Students and Parliamentarians Training Sessions: Saturday, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m. until Noon For additional information contact: Henry Lawton hcljr@bellsouth.ne(904-446-6141) Julie Palm, PRP hpalm@bellsouth.ne(305-947-2099) Barbara Proctor, PRP at AskaPRP@yahoo.co (561-756-0570) -------------------------- REGISTRATION FORM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Registration $150 (includes lunch Saturday & breakfast Sunday $200 if postmarked after February 6, 2015 Make check payable to: F.U.R.P. Mail to: Barbara Proctor, PRP, 3630 NE 97 Street Road, Anthony, FL 32617 Name: __________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ Email: _____________________________________________________________________ Mailing address: _____________________________________________________________ Organization: ________________________________________________________________ Title/positions: _______________________________________________________________ 8