National Parliamentarian (Vol. 78, No. 3)

NP

National Parliamentarian Volume 78, No. 3 | Spring 2017

Growing Together Our members make us strong

Biennial Convention NAP 41st Convention Preview

Pages 19-29

Parliamentary Resources at Your Fingertips There is only one place to turn for your parliamentary resources: NAP. Browse our online store for • Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised and In Brief – we offer spiral-bound versions not available anywhere else!

• Parliamentary reference cards • Basic information handouts • Script samples • Leadership primers for officers • Credentialing study guides • Teaching resources • And so much more

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NP

National Parliamentarian Volume 78, No. 3 | Spring 2017

Contents 2015-2017 NAP Officers President Mary L. Randolph, PRP Vice-President James N. Jones, PRP Secretary Teresa Stone, PRP Treasurer Wanda M. Sims, PRP Directors-at-Large Darlene Allen, PRP Ann Rempel, PRP Alison Wallis, PRP District Director Representatives Kevin Connelly, PRP Joyce Brown-Watkins, PRP Parliamentarian Roger Hanshaw, PRP Executive Director Cynthia Launchbaugh

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 President’s Message Things to do – Actions to take . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 FEATURES Parliamentary Law: A Tool for Leadership and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 RONR Parliamentary Law: Credit Course 599 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Dilatory Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 NAP Members Provide Training to National Pan-Hellenic Council Associations . . . . . . . . . 14 NAP Youth Committee…

Working Throughout the Year! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Members and Registered Parliamentarians Examiners Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Nominees for Office: Meet the Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 SPECIAL SECTION 41st Biennial Convention • Convention Preview . . . . . . . . 19 Departments Test Yourself Parliamentary Procedure Vocabulary Builder . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Questions & Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

NAP’s Vision: To provide parliamentary leadership to the world

NAP Connections Remembering Nola Pursiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 New Registered Parliamentarians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 www.parliamentarians.org

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Editor

Martha Womack Haun, PhD, PRP mhaun@uh.edu

Assistant Editor Dana Dickson, RP

Parliamentary Research Committee Jonathan Jacobs, PRP Steve Britton, PRP George Mervosh, III, PRP Roger Hanshaw, PRP

Parliamentary Review Committee Betty Tunstall, PRP Dennis Clark, PRP Beverly Przybylski, PRP

NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARIAN®

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Annual subscription: $30 • Single copy: $8 From the Editor

What an exciting issue of the NP ! In the spirit of spring with nature rejuvenating, so NAP is alive with the potential for the coming months. This is a convention year with the excitement of elections, proposed new goals and opportunities for learning, leading and serving! Read on to learn of some of the excellent things our colleagues are doing to educate others and improve the parliamentary processes of organizations.

Meet the candidates declared at this time and consider where you fit in this picture of plans and dreams.

Martha J. Haun, PhD, PRP 2

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

President’s Message

Things to do – Actions to take For months, plans have been underway for the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) 41st Convention, to be held in Lombard, Illinois, a close-in suburb of Chicago. Chicago—known as the Windy City, Second City, Chi-town—will, from September 8th through the 11th, be nicknamed Parlie-town.

This 2017 Convention House of Delegates will elect the leadership for NAP’s next biennium and provide direction for the Association through addressing proposed bylaw amendments. The proposed bylaw amendments are included in the mailing with this issue of the National Parliamentarian. Read them over carefully; discuss them with your fellow members, and at your unit, association and district meetings.

Come ready to vote on what you feel is the right direction for your Association. Yes, you will determine the future of NAP by your participation in the NAP House. Come, be an active NAP member and make your voice heard.

The convention committees are hard at work to make this a great event and educational session for both beginning and advanced parliamentarians. The session will start on Friday afternoon following the auction/brunch sponsored by the NAP Educational Foundation (NAPEF). The NAPEF is a separate corporation that authorizes grants for specific NAP educational activities. NAPEF will host an auction event on Friday morning. NAP business sessions will be held daily, in addition to a great variety of educational workshops. Along with the proposed amendments, you will find a full schedule of R = Respect our heritage events inside this issue of the I = Integrity of leadership National Parliamentarian.

S = Service to members There is a full schedule of E = Excellence in education events going on in conjunction with the convention. Prior to S = Stewardship of your finances www.parliamentarians.org

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the opening of the formal convention, many activities will take place.

If an individual would like to become a member of NAP, there will be a membership exam opportunity. If a member would like to become credentialed, there will be the opportunity to take the Registered Parliamentarian (RP) exam. If you are an RP, this is an excellent opportunity to take the Professional Qualifying Course (PQC). For those who need to update their Professional Registered Parliamentarian (PRP) credential, you can take the in-person, all-encompassing course from expert instructors.

As members of NAP, a professional volunteer association, we must maintain high educational and membership standards as a professional volunteer association. As previously reported, the NAP Board of Directors has been researching into the need to bring the NAP dues up to current standards. In 2001 the NAP convention adopted a bylaw amendment authorizing the NAP Board of Directors to raise the dues biennially based on the Consumer Price Index-Urban (CPI-U). The reasoning was that this would create an incremental dues increase instead of a periodic larger dues increase. This process has not been followed. This term, the board took cost cutting to the highest level possible without hurting basic services. The time has come when the NAP has fallen behind in its ability to maintain the high level of services you, as members, deserve.

This term, the board made the decision that dues needed to be brought up to current bylaw-authorized levels. The Board wishes to make this as minimal as possible. However, no decision has been made, at this time, by the Board on whether an additional increase will be necessary. The decision, if any, of an additional increase will come to the house for a membership vote. The authorized dues increase will go into effect for the 2018-2019 dues year.

Many volunteer organizations struggle to maintain the level of participation and commitment of members to provide the level of services the membership deserves. NAP is no different. It is up to you, the members, to determine what the Association will look like in the future. It is through the commitment of volunteers that NAP can continue to provide excellent services and education. Let us continue to use RISES (Respect, Integrity, Service, Education, Stewardship) as NAP standards of volunteerism, education, and services for all members.

Mary Randolph, PRP, NAP President 4

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Parliamentary Law A Tool for Leadership and Change Nicole A. Learson, PRP

As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January and Black History month throughout February, it brings to mind a little known civil rights leader and recognized enthusiast of parliamentary procedures: Dr. Gilbert R. Mason, Sr.

To understand his unyielding commitment to parliamentary law, his profound understanding of its significance and how he applied it in the pursuit of equal civil liberties, you must first know his story.

Dr. Mason was a well-educated African-American from Mississippi, who was first introduced to parliamentary procedures by a high school teacher, Professor T.B. Ellis.

Along with studying parliamentary procedures at this early stage in his life, Dr. Mason developed a deep sense of equal civil liberties through his observations of racial disparity and segregation in his community.

As Dr. Mason grew older and continued his education, his appreciation for Robert’s Rules of Order deepened. He became active in Boy Scouting and was the first black Mississippian to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Dr. Mason graduated from high school and entered college at sixteen years. At Tuskegee University, an HBCU (historically black colleges and Universities), he joined the historic fraternal organization of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. As an active member of these organizations, he took the opportunity to continue his study of, and put into practice,

parliamentary law. In 1949 he completed his studies with “high distinction” earning a double degree in chemistry and biology with a minor in math.

Obviously, having a keen mind oriented toward science, Mason decided to pursue a Doctor of Medicine Degree at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He graduated with honors in the spring of 1954.

He completed an internship at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, one of the foremost postgraduate training institutions for African-American physicians. In later years he was proud to earn certification as a Diplomat of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Mason started a family practice in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1955. He became affiliated with the Biloxi Hospital (later known as Howard Memorial) obtaining hospital privileges. However, he was unfairly limited to courtesy status only. From 1955 to 1966 he could not participate fully as a member of the medical staff because of the traditions of segregation. In 1967, he was conferred full staff privileges and would later become a member of both the State Board of Health and the State Board www.parliamentarians.org

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Parliamentary Law continued of Medical Examiners (licensing board), and was selected chairman of the family practice section at Biloxi Regional Hospital. He also practiced at Gulf Coast Medical Center and the Select Specialty Hospital. Dr. Mason also served as a contract physician for the U.S. Public Health Service caring for members of the Merchant Marine for many years. He practiced family medicine until his retirement in 2002 at which time he was honored by city leaders, fellow physicians, patients, and those who walked with him in his struggle for equality.

As recounted in the biography of Dr. Mason’s life: Beaches, Blood, and Ballots: A Black Doctor’s Civil Rights Struggle, in May 1959, he led a nonviolent protest against the “whites only” section of a federally funded Gulf Coast beach. Mason’s group was arrested. Subsequent “wade-ins” ignited some of the bloodiest rioting against blacks in Mississippi history.

These resulted in a successful antidiscrimination lawsuit against the state of Mississippi, the first such case filed in U.S. history. At the same time, Dr. Mason filed the first school desegregation lawsuit in the history of Biloxi, which he also won. Dr. Mason collaborated with other Mississippi NAACP activists, including Winston Hudson, Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry and Medgar Evers. He helped the NAACP join with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to form the Council of Federated 6

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Organizations (COFO). Mason played a role in COFO’s massive black voter registration drive in the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Because of his commitment to community, Dr. Mason became a scout master (Troop 416) serving as a mentor for hundreds of young men who have gone on to achieve various successes inspired by his life.

He became a member of the PTA, Masonic Lodge (33rd Degree), and Elks Lodge. With a great command and impeccable knowledge of Robert’s he demanded proper parliamentary procedures in his civic activities. He employed every tool to establish voting rights as well as voter education programs. His fight for desegregation of the Biloxi Public Schools, founding the Biloxi Branch of the NAACP in 1960 and spearheading the “Beach Wade Ins” were his most legendary accomplishments.

In addition to social justice efforts, Dr. Mason was active in local and state political party affiliation, most notably as both the local and state parliamentarian. He set a high expectation of consistency in the practice of parliamentary law and he led by example. He was well respected for his expertise. During an interview, Dr. Mason once said that knowledge of parliamentary procedures is one of the most important tools a leader can possess. For me, the profound depth of that statement did not immediately sink in. I mean, I’ve always liked learning about Robert’s, but I didn’t fully comprehend what it had to do with leadership.

And while parliamentary procedures may seem dense upon first glance, if you operate within its values—fairness, respect for others and order—you’ll find that it incorporates common sense that’s found at the core within each and every one of us. Like Dr. Mason, I was introduced to parliamentary law in high school, when I joined Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

I went on to join the parliamentary procedures team for my school and began what would become my life-long study of it. I competed successfully at the local and state levels in parliamentary procedures.

Back then, it was more about having fun competing, but the seed of interest had been planted. And as I began to realize how ubiquitous parliamentary procedures were— practiced (in some form or another) in community organizations to which I belonged; at my place of worship during business meetings— I began to pay close attention to how it was being used. My curiosity as to whether it was being used correctly grew. And through that curiosity,

I nurtured that seed of interest as I committed myself to seriously studying Robert’s.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I even realized there was an organization of enthusiasts who encouraged the study of parliamentary law, the National Association of Parliamentarians. I was so excited!

Finally, a place where I could be sure that I would learn all that I can about parliamentary procedures. I met credentialed experts who, like Dr. Mason, value the significance of this knowledge base and understands how it can help shape leadership, especially servant leadership.

And as I grow in my leadership skills, in my career and community activism, I often think of Dr. Gilbert Mason, Sr. and how he employed his knowledge of parliamentary law, not just as an effective leader but as an effective agent for social change and justice. So these days, I proudly continue my study of parliamentary law and at every opportunity, I encourage young people, who have the potential and hope to be leaders someday, to do the same.

Work Cited Mason, Gilbert R., and Smith, James Patterson. Beaches, Blood, and Ballots: A Black Doctor’s Civil Rights Struggle. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007.

Bergeron, Kat, and Pender, Geoff. “Mason Battled For Human Rights.” The Sun Herald, July 2006.

Nicole A. Learson of Baton Rouge, LA is a professional registered parliamentarian. She’s been a judge for the Louisiana FBLA Parliamentary Procedures Competition. She’s a member of the Louisiana Association of Parliamentarians and vice president/program chair of the Baton Rouge Unit.

www.parliamentarians.org

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RONR Parliamentary Law Credit Course 599 Pat Knoll, PRP

In the fall of 2015, I offered to teach a course in parliamentary procedure1 at the Faculty of Law, University of Calgary. It was agreed that the course would be capped at no more than 15 students and that inter-active learning would be the dominant methodology.2 A further condition was that classes would be held in the faculty conference room—a special built space designed primarily for holding meetings.

This article identifies the principle components of the course and the over-all course structure. The objective of the course was that students would learn and acquire basic skills in parliamentary procedure3 through a dynamic performance based learning experience.

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Content and Structure Course 599 is built around seven interrelated tasks and obligations: 1. Acting as parliamentarian (practice); 2. Acting as parliamentarian (graded); 3. Acting as presiding officer (practice); 4. Acting as presiding officer (graded); 5. Seven written assignments (graded); 6. Continuous class participation through motion making and debate (graded); 7. NAP membership exam or course test on RONRIB (graded).

Course 599 offers twice weekly classes (24 x 1.25 hour per class) which are4 structured and scheduled as follows: Class 1:

Introduction to parliamentary procedure;

Class 2-5:

Students as parliamentarian (practice);

Class 6:

Instructor seminar: Consolidation of learning from RONRIB assignments;

Class 7-11: Students as

parliamentarian (graded); Class 12-16: Students as presiding

officer (practice); Class 17-22: Students as presiding

officer (graded); Class 23-24: NAP membership or

599 course T/F test;

final seminar, course

evaluation and survey.

Course evaluation for 599 is by letter grade, applying a twelve band5 grading scale with included components allocated specific weights: • Seven written assignments (7 x 5%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35% • Acting as parliamentarian . . . 15% • Acting as presiding officer . . . 30% • NAP membership or course T/F test . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% • Class participation – motions/debate . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% Assignments The first four assignments, in course 599, focus on eighteen6 of the chapters in RONRIB. A written report is required on each chapter summarizing the key points and learning that can be drawn from that text. This obliges substantial student effort at the outset of the course and sets the stage for role play as early as the beginning of the second class. www.parliamentarians.org

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The additional three7 assignments are due later in the course and have included such topics as: 1. scripting a motion with point of order and appeal included; 2. preparation of an agenda; 3. use of unanimous consent; 4. preparation of a special rules of order set; 5. research, on the RONR Question and Answer Forum; and 6. comparison between RONR and the American Institute Standard Code.

Performance Learning In all but four classes students are engaged in continuous role play.

Each student is obliged to act twice as parliamentarian (instructor in role play as poorly informed chair) and twice as presiding officer. When not in one of these more demanding roles students act as meeting participants proposing all manner of motions and offering related debate. The thirteen ranking motions are constantly in play in these mock scenarios, as are at least eight of the incidental motions, and three of

the bring back.8 The experience so far has been that no fewer than five hundred role plays9 are required to sustain twenty classes of course 599 mock meetings. This obliges that the instructor create, or arrange for, approximately one hundred varied, and increasingly challenging, role play sets.10 However, this form of participatory learning offers immediate reward as positive results are significant and continuous.

Student confidence is gained class by class and high achievement is apparent to all. Time in these classes never drags as there is no allowance for technology distraction,11 unconscious drift, nor outright napping.

Course Evaluation and Survey Student course evaluations for the first two offerings of RONA Parliamentary Law have been very positive. As the course is new a survey of students is also being used to identify areas for increased learning, and better over-all course development. 599 has been heavily subscribed so far and will (with adjustments) be offered again in the fall of 2017.

Works Cited Robert, Henry M. 2011. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR 11th ed.). Eds. Henry M. Robert III, Daniel H. Honemann and Thomas J. Balch with the assistance of Daniel Seabold and Schmuel Gerber, Philadelphia: Da Capo Press.

Robert, Henry M. 2011. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief (RONR 11th ed.).

Eds. Henry M. Robert III, Daniel H. Honemann and Thomas J. Balch with the assistance of Daniel Seabold and Schmuel Gerber, Philadelphia: Da Capo Press.

American Institute of Parliamentarians, Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure. 2012.

New York: McGraw Hill Press.

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Endnotes 1. Perhaps the earliest university credit course in parliamentary law was offered by Henry M. Robert, Jr. at Columbia University in the early 1920’s – see, RONR (11th ed.)

XIvi. An online course, C216-M28, Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure is currently available from the University of Wisconsin (14 CEU’s).

2. Two informative articles on teaching parliamentary procedure are “Teaching Parliamentary Procedure Youthfully”, National Parliamentarian 65, (2): 13-15, and, “Breaking Down Barriers”, National Parliamentarian 65, (2): 16-18; see also, Pointers on Parliamentary Procedure (2011-13), and Pointers on Parliamentary Procedure – Workbook (2011-13), available from NAP bookstore; NAP/Body of Knowledge (2015), available on NAP website, and Professional Practices in Parliamentary Procedure (2015), C.V., available from NAP bookstore.

3. Compulsory course materials for 599 are: Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th ed.); Robert’s rules of Order Newly Revised – In Brief (2nd ed.); and the American Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure.

4. Course 599 was offered in both winter and fall terms, 2016.

5. Grade range is from A to F on a 12 band scale.

6. Chapters 17 and 20 of RONRIB were excluded to keep the assignments within a manageable work load for students.

7. Assignments may have more than one part.

8. The eight incidental motions most in use are: point of order; requests; appeal; division of question; division of assembly; ballot vote; and suspend the rules.

Recind, reconsider, and take up from the table are the most often scripted of the bring back motions.

9. A main motion with or without debate, or any secondary motion, with or without debate. Consideration was given to Chart 2 from President’s Message, Vol. 75(4), p. 4, National Parliamentarian, in selecting the motions used in course 599 role play.

10. A role play set in 599 most often consists of a main motion with 4 to 7 secondary motions applied to the main motion. A video of a role play set is available on the NAP website (www.parliamentarians.org), search Professional Registered Parliamentarian and then click on, Video on Presiding.

11. Cell phones and laptop computers are not allowed in 599 classes.

Pat Knoll, PRP, is a Professor Emeritus of law at the University of Calgary. Pat has served numerous organizations as parliamentarian and presiding officer over the last twenty years and achieved PRP status in 2001. He can be contacted at, knoll@ucalgary.ca.

www.parliamentarians.org

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The Dilatory Motion Dennis Clark, PRP

This article examines the concept of the dilatory motion making its appearance after Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 11th ed., has gone through an exhaustive discussion of all motions listed originally in Chapter III, “Description of Motions in All Classifications,” and at which point the reader has probably (including main motions) absorbed as much as conceivably possible. (“Dilatory Motions,” pp. 331-332.)

What is the dilatory motion? Does it have the same effect as a point of order? What are the differences between the two? Under what circumstances can either motion be made?

While the differences are sometimes overlooked and glossed over—and this parliamentarian has seen the application of these two terms used at times interchangeably—it may be fruitful to pursue the highly important but nuanced distinction further.

Let us begin with point of order.

Essentially, a point of order that inhibits the consideration of a motion is anchored in a rule of order or a bylaw rule. This, incidentally, can be applied not only to a motion but to any improper action whether of conduct or speech. Let us say that a member is smoking during a session, and that this violates either an organizational or governmental rule or both.

At this juncture the presiding officer will direct the member to discontinue the action. If the chair neglects his duty, it is appropriate for any member to call it to his attention by rising to a 12

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point of order. The chair has no option but to fulfill his duty and disallow the action, there being no ifs, buts, or maybes about this. The only time there may be an exception is if the rule relied on is so ambiguously stated that it is capable of two or more meanings, in which case an appeal is applicable.

In short, a point of order is of an objective nature rooted in a specific rule, and would elicit the same response and reaction from whoever presides over the meeting, productive of the same effect or consequence, whatever the chair’s temperament or approach.

Now let us go to the concept of the dilatory motion. The characterization of a motion as dilatory is essentially subjective, and involves the chair’s assessment of the parliamentary situation. Let us say that, under new business, a member continuously introduces the same motion concerning a highly dubious and problematic issue, that it has been duly rejected by a large overwhelming majority, that it has been rejected not only once but many times, and that the probability is that it would be rejected again.

Frustration and exasperation in the assembly are palpably manifest.

The chair may then decide: • the motion springs from questionable motives and that the member is excessively focused on his own agenda rather than the organization’s; and • this will be wasteful of the assembly’s limited time, which

could be fruitfully directed to other issues and their resolution.

It is obvious that the action of the chair is subjective, cannot be anchored in or justified by a specific rule, involves a judgment call, and that another presiding chair might have taken a totally different course of action either by waiting for further occasions of similar questionable action on the member’s part, or not taking action at all.

It also should be pointed out that, in contrast to point of order, the assembly has no role in this matter— either by indicating to the chair that the motion is dilatory on its own initiative or overruling the chair when he makes his ruling.

Furthermore the mechanism allowing the chair to inhibit the making of a dilatory motion involves motions only and not other actions whether of speech or conduct where more appropriate safeguards apply.

If an analogy is permitted, the situation can be compared to a business situation, where the proprietor after negotiating with a potential customer must ascertain whether the negotiation is having a positive effect, is truly productive of his time and effort, and involves good faith.

Similarly—after all we use the word “business” in parliamentary parlance referring to the work of the assembly— a deliberative assembly meets to make decisions that will have a positive effect on the welfare of the society as

a whole. Shall dues raised? Shall the designated officerships and committee positions be revised? Shall membership qualifications be changed? These are the important issues that should concern the membership, and consequently it is necessary that all actions taken by individual members proceed in good faith and that safeguards be provided when and if they do not.

During his tenure as parliamentarian, the writer has had very few occasions when the mechanism prohibiting a dilatory motion was used—chairs are normally cautious of overstepping their boundaries— and agreed that when it was used, it was appropriately and constructively done. The chair must always strike a delicate balance between honoring individual rights, which include making a motion, and the rights of the majority in securing the objectives for which the society was founded.

The task is not always easy, and may sometimes result in divergent actions taken by different chairs; but under the proper circumstance the application of the mechanism provided by RONR constitutes a legitimate prerogative and duty of the presiding officer if the business of the assembly and its objectives are to be carried out and fulfilled.

RONR, in enumerating the duties assigned to the presiding officer, states this pithily: “To protect the assembly from obviously frivolous and dilatory motions by refusing to recognize them.” (p. 434, ll. 16-17)

Dennis Clark, PRP, became a member of NAP in 1974 and was credentialed in 1976. He is a twice past president of the Texas State Association of Parliamentarians (1987-88 and 2014-15). He is a retired teacher and paralegal and works full time as a professional parliamentarian, writer, and speaker. www.parliamentarians.org

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NAP Members Provide Training to National Pan-Hellenic Council Associations

Last fall, members of the nine organizations that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council were provided extensive parliamentary training during an event entitled “1 Day Workshop on Parliamentary Procedure.”

NAP Past President Maurice S. Henderson PRP, Dr. Frances Jackson RP, and Georgia State Association of Parliamentarians Carol Johnson-Davis PRP provided training in the various aspects of parliamentary procedure.

More than 225 members of the NPHC traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to receive parliamentary training. The one day workshop consisted of two tracks of instruction with each track consisting of four workshops. The workshops in the novice track, taught

by Dr. Jackson, were Effective Meetings, Bylaws (Basics), and Committees. The workshops in the intermediate track, taught by Past President Henderson, consisted of Rules of Debate, Bylaws (Advanced), and Precedence of Motions. The fourth workshop entitled Conventions was a joint workshop for both tracks taught together by Jackson and Henderson.

Workshop presenters (left to right): Maurice S. Henderson, Carol Johnson-Davis, and Frances Jackson 14

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Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in attendance during the workshop

During the third and fourth workshop session time slot, GSAP President Davis conducted a fast track training and course focused on Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief.

The goal of this workshop was to help individuals become equipped to pass the NAP membership exam and become NAP members. As a result of that training and this event, more than 15 individuals successfully completed the exam and are now NAP members.

This entire event was the vision of Dr. Jackson, who serves as the National Parliamentarian for the NPHC. “After serving as NPHC National Parliamentarian for so long, I realized the need to provide quality training to NPHC members.” Jackson explains, “Parliamentary knowledge benefits everyone and we need to help people have more effective, efficient meetings and conduct business in a correct manner.” Jackson feels that it

will be beneficial for the NPHC to offer an event like this again in the future.

NPHC President Jennifer Jones was ecstatic at the response and participation of the workshop. “When we agreed to hold this workshop, we had no idea that the turn out would be this large. I’m excited that our NPHC members realized that education on parliamentary procedure is beneficial and that they took the time out of their busy lives to attend.”

The National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations • • • • • • • • •

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. www.parliamentarians.org

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NAP Youth Committee…

By Janice Strand, PRP

working throughout the year!

The 2015-2017 NAP Youth Committee began work in September, 2015 by setting goals for the term. Working with a sub-committee of student RP’s and PRP’s, a webinar was offered for student members and the NAP Twitter site was established.

Early in December, the 2016-2017 agreements with the NAP partner Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) were signed by NAP and the organization executives. The CTSO partners are Business Professionals of America (BPA); Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)/ Phi Beta Lambda (PBL); Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA); Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA); and SkillsUSA. Early 2016 meetings of the committee were focused on each committee member working with one of the CTSO’s to coordinate work at the 2016 National Leadership Conference (NLC). The committee members, with little NAP reimbursement, attend the NLC to recruit judges and coordinate the judging of the parliamentary team competition, give a workshop, assist with the business meeting, and conduct an exhibit for NAP. 2016 NLC’s were held in Boston, MA; San Diego, CA; Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; and Orlando, FL. Meetings of February and later focused on conducting the 2016 NAP Youth Day at the NAP National Training Conference in Broomfield, CO. Invitations were extended to high school and college groups in surrounding states.

Attendees represented FFA, 4-H, and SkillsUSA; they traveled from Wyoming, California, and Colorado.

Throughout early 2016, the committee received communications requesting assistance with finding coaches for parliamentary teams, requesting support for team coaches, and requesting assistance in organizing activities for associations and units wishing to reach out to youth.

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

Committee work in the fall of 2016 included offering the webinar on Coaching Parliamentary Teams, presented by Richard Hayes, PRP. Richard has successfully coached teams and gave valuable information including lists of reference materials.

An ongoing goal of the committee has been to encourage NAP state associations to develop youth committees to work with the CTSO state advisers in each state. Emphasis has been that having NAP members judge the competition gives those groups exposure to what NAP has to offer to coaches, teams, and advisers.

Kirk Overbey, PRP, contributed the article, “Youth Judging – Does Your State Association Have a Youth Coordinator?” for the recent NP (Vol. 78, No. 2.) Janice Strand, PRP, contributed an article to the NAP Update that focused on this subject.

The committee work of early 2017 is again focused on continued work with each CTSO to plan toward recruiting judges and completing plans for NLC’s in Anaheim, CA; Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; and Orlando, FL. Having NAP contact persons in each of these states does help with recruiting judges for the competition.

The committee members are also beginning to work on plans for hosting the student parliamentarian of each CTSO at the 2017 NAP Convention in the Chicago area. Arrangements must be made for travel, hotel, and registration for these students.

Work is also beginning on the 2017 Youth Day to be held in connection with the 2017 NAP Convention.

Invitations will be made to high school and college organizations throughout the five state region surrounding the Chicago area.

Communications continue to be received by the committee requesting assistance for NAP units and associations working on reaching out to local youth organizations. If NAP members are interested in serving on the NAP Youth Committee, the committee members are available to communicate the reality and the value of the work!

Janice Strand, PRP Chair, NAP Youth Committee Committee members: Richard Hayes, PRP Laura Meade, PRP Kendra O’Toole Kirk Overbey, PRP.

Janice Strand, PRP, has been a New Mexico State Association of Parliamentarians (NMSAP) member since 2002; she became a PRP in 2005. She has served as NMSAP President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Jan presently serves as Chair of the NAP Youth Committee. She is a charter member of the Santa Fe Parliamentary Unit and an affiliate member of the Albuquerque Parliamentarian Unit. She has presented parliamentary workshops at local, state, and national meetings. www.parliamentarians.org

17

Members and Registered Parliamentarians

Examiners Committee Larry D. Martin, PRP MERPE chairman

This committee may cause some confusion as to its purpose and intent, but it is really quite simple.

The committee oversees the creation, updating, and handling of applicants who seek to take the NAP membership exam, plus the implementation of the Registered Parliamentarian (RP) exams.

The specifics of the RP exams will soon be handed off to the Credentialing Commission when they have completed their preparation and readiness. But for now, let’s examine these two aspects of examining knowledge.

NAP membership exams are fairly simple. When ready, the applicant completes an application to the NAP HQ, including money for their dues, and including a Monitors are those monitor’s information. This information is persons of integrity who are willing to forwarded to the committee chairman, and the oversee the exam exam information is either sent to the monitor process to ensure it is for online exams, or a paper exam copy is sent to completed properly. that same monitor. For membership or RP exams, the monitor can be other NAP members, or persons of honor and integrity outside of NAP circles. Their task is to ensure exams are completed within the rules sent to them by the chairman. Current rules agreed upon by the NAP Board allow for the membership exam to be the In-Brief 40-question exam, or the older RONR 100-question exam.

This has been a successful An RP exam consists of 5-parts, which rotational set-up for can be taken over a nine-month period. gaining new RP members.

The nine-months allow for retaking of the parts not successfully completed without retaking all five parts. Like the NAP membership exam, an applicant can take any or all of the five parts in paper form or online, and completing the application form with this request allows the NAP staff to know your intent.

We hope to have more information in the coming months of the committee’s work in bettering these exams and amending the errors that crop up in the testing process.

18

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

NAP

41st Biennial Convention

September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois Convention Preview Call to Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Chicago – A City Second to None . . . . 21 2017 Pre-Convention Events . . . . . . . 22 2017 Convention Schedule . . . . . . . . . 22 Activities & Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Hotel Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 How to Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sponsorship Opportunities . . . . . . . . . 29

www.parliamentarians.org

19

NAP 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

Call to Convention Join Us for NAP’s 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Lombard, IL We’re Rising Higher Together when NAP goes to Chicago!

There’s always something new to learn, new people to meet, new experiences to share, that’s what makes the NAP biennial convention a must-attend event. This year we’re heading to Chicagoland— Lombard, IL to be exact.

All NAP members, unit provisional members, partner organization members, and guests are invited to take advantage of all the convention offers, including: • More than 35 educational offerings designed to help you be a better parliamentarian, regardless of your experience level.

• NAP’s biennial business meeting, where you’ll experience parliamentary procedure in action as nearly 400 delegates debate bylaws amendments, elect a new board, and set the course of the organization.

• Professional parliamentarian credentialing and renewal courses • NAP Leadership Conference to prepare you for leadership roles in your units, clubs, and state associations.

• Network building, because your interactions outside the meetings and presentations are just as important as what you learn inside.

Plan to arrive early and enjoy all the sights, sounds, food, and fun of Chicago. The Westin is offering the special NAP rates September 3 through September 15. At the very least, come in early enough to go on the Navy Pier Tour that the Illinois State Association of Parliamentarians has organized for us.

Come join us, you’ll be glad you did!

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

Chicago – A City Second to None How well do you know Chicago? Sure, you know it has Broadway-quality theater, world-class museums and art exhibits, unbelievable food, awesome shopping, top-ranked sports teams, the beautiful Millennial Park, Navy Pier, four of the country’s tallest buildings, and 26 miles of white sandy beach.

But did you know…

• The famous Route 66 started in front of Chicago’s Art Institute in 1926.

• Wrigley Field was named Weeghman Park until renamed in 1926.

• You can see Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin from the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) Skydeck.

• Chicago’s Field Museum is home to Sue, the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

• Chicago is home of the first skyscrapers, built following the devastating Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

• A Bavarian sausage maker created introduced the hot dog at the 1893 World Fair.

• The first Ferris Wheel debuted at the Chicago World’s Fair, as well.

• The Twinkie was born in Chicago in 1930.

Check out www.chicagotraveler.com and www.choosechicago.com to help you plan your time in this exciting city. www.parliamentarians.org

21

NAP 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

2017 Pre-Convention Events (Tentative as of March 1, 2017 – Schedule is subject to change)

NAP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES Wednesday, September 6, 2017 2 p.m.-8 p.m.

2 p.m.-8 p.m.

PRP Qualifying Course (PQC) PRP Renewal Course (PRC)

Thursday, September 7, 2017 8 a.m.-10 p.m.

8 a.m.-10 p.m.

PRP Qualifying Course (PQC) PRP Renewal Course (PRC)

NAP LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Thursday, September 7, 2017 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

NAP Leadership Conference

NAP EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Friday, September 8, 2017 8:30 a.m.-9:15 a.m.

9:30 a.m.-Noon

NAP Educational Foundation Board of Trustees Annual Meeting NAP Educational Foundation Fundraiser Brunch

2017 Convention Schedule (Tentative as of March 1, 2017 – Schedule is subject to change)

Thursday, September 7, 2017 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

1 p.m.-6 p.m.

1 p.m.-6 p.m.

5 p.m.-10 p.m.

22

NAP Board of Directors Meeting Open Lunch with NAP Board Members Registration & Voting Credentials Open NAP Bookstore Open Trip to Navy Pier (Downtown Chicago)

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

Friday, September 8, 2017 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

8 a.m.-Noon 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

8 p.m.-10 p.m.

Registration & Voting Credentials Open NAP Bookstore Open RP/Membership Exam Opening NAP Biennial Business Meeting Bylaws Forum District/Committee Meetings

Saturday, September 9, 2017 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

8:30 a.m.-Noon 12:15 p.m.-2 p.m.

2 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

2 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

3:45 p.m.-5 p.m.

7 p.m.-10 p.m.

Registration & Voting Credentials Open NAP Biennial Business Meeting (cont.)

Membership & Youth Recognition Lunch Registration Open NAP Bookstore Open Educational Workshops Educational Workshops Silver & Blue Gala: An Evening of Celebration (evening attire)

Sunday, September 10, 2017 7 a.m.-8 a.m.

7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

8:30 a.m.-Noon 12:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.

1:30 p.m.-6 p.m.

2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.

3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.

Inspirational Service (nondenominational) Registration & Voting Credentials Open NAP Biennial Business Meeting (cont.)

Past Presidents Lunch NAP Bookstore Open Educational Workshops Educational Workshops 2017-2019 Board of Directors Meeting

Monday, September 11, 2017 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.

8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.

10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

11:30 a.m.-Noon

Commission on Credentialing Plenary Session Educational Workshops New Administration Introduction Closing Session

Tuesday, September 12, 2017 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

2017-2019 Board of Directors Meeting www.parliamentarians.org

23

NAP 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

Activities & Highlights The following are some of the special activities planned for before and during the convention. Please note that some require separate registration.

Professional Development Courses September 6-7, 2017 Whether you are going for your Professional Registered Parliamentarian® credential or renewing it, you can do it all in one of the two-day courses on September 6 and 7. Both the Professional Qualifying Course (PQC), for those seeking their credential, and the Professional Renewal Course (PRC), for those renewing, will meet Wednesday, September 6, 2 p.m.-8 p.m.; and Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.

Separate registration is required.

Pre-course assignments will be distributed about 30 days prior to the course.

NAP Annual Leadership Conference September 7, 2017 “Preparation for Leadership: A New Perspective” is the theme of the 2017 NAP Leadership Conference.

It will be a leadership opportunity of growth, renewal, and self-analysis.

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

Don’t miss the opportunity to be a viable part of this interactive workshop on Thursday, September 7, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

It will help prepare you for leadership roles in units, clubs, state associations, NAP, and other organizations.

The workshop will • Assess your leadership style and beliefs • Discuss and illustrate the latest leadership trends and issues of today’s society • Discuss and demonstrate RONR concepts, as well as training techniques for RONR 11th edition • Demonstrate the practice of presiding When you leave this event, you will be prepared to lead with grace and passion!

Separate registration is required.

Navy Pier Excursion September 7, 2017 The Illinois State Association invites you to spend several hours enjoying the many sights, shops, and activities of Chicago’s famous Navy Pier. Your $50 ticket includes roundtrip transportation and a ride on the Centennial Wheel, modeled after the first Ferris Wheel that debuted at the Chicago 1893 World’s Fair. Navy Pier is home to the beautiful Crystal Gardens, a food court, restaurants, a board walk, and boat tours. A great time is sure to be had by all.

NAP Onsite Bookstore September 7-10, 2017 Check out what’s new and stock up on your favorite study and teaching tools in the onsite NAP bookstore and save shipping fees.

Remember to shop early as we never know what the hottest sellers are going to be.

See the convention schedule for the bookstore’s hours.

Membership and RP Exam Session September 8, 2017 On Friday, September 8, from 8 a.m. until noon, you may take up to three parts of the Registered Parliamentarian® exam. Larry Martin, PRP, chairman of NAP’s Membership and Registered

Examiners Committee, will be the monitor. Which parts you take is up to you.

Anyone wishing to join NAP onsite can take the membership exam at this time as well. The exam is based on the Robert’s Rules of Order, In Brief (2nd Edition). A free downloadable study guide is available in the NAP Online store at www.parliamentarians.org.

A membership application must be submitted separately.

Applicant and fees for these exams should be sent to NAP separately from your convention registration.

The applications are available online.

NAP Educational Foundation Breakfast, Auction, and Annual Meeting September 8, 2017 The NAP Educational Foundation (NAPEF) is a supporting organization that plays an important role in furthering the education of parliamentarians through grants to NAP and other organizations. Find out what NAPEF is doing by joining them for breakfast and other fun activities on Friday, September 8, 8:30 a.m.-Noon.

This is a ticketed event; $15 of the ticket price is tax deductible.

All proceeds will support NAPEF’s grant program. www.parliamentarians.org

25

NAP 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

Bylaws Forum: A Preview of What’s to Come September 8, 2017 Friday, September 8, 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Bylaws Committee Chair Weldon Merritt, PRP, will be available to answer any of your questions about the proposed bylaws amendments to be considered during the business meetings. Bring your bylaws booklet and questions.

District Meetings September 8, 2017 Connect with others from your area during the district meetings on Friday, September 8, 8 p.m.-10 p.m.

National Youth Day September 9, 2017 NAP’s Youth Committee will focus on youth and young adults studying parliamentary procedure in the 4th National Youth Day program during the convention on Saturday, September 9. Attendees will include the national student parliamentarians of each of the six Career and Technical Student Organization partners of NAP. Youth (and advisors) attending Youth Day will find it interesting to observe the Saturday morning convention business meeting with parliamentarians actively…and sometimes dramatically…carrying out “all of the motions in the book.” Afternoon workshops will

26

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

offer opportunities to participate in discussions and activities with parliamentarians.

This special program is funded in part by a grant from the NAP Educational Foundation.

Separate registration is required and includes the Membership and Youth Recognition Lunch, a perfect opportunity to network.

Silver & Blue Gala: An Evening of Celebration September 9, 2017 Join us for an evening of music, dancing, and celebration at this new feature of the NAP biennial convention. This special event is a great time to celebrate the outgoing board of directors and welcome in the new board, which will take office at the close of the convention on Monday, September 11. Bring your dancing shoes and get ready for a special evening. (Be sure to pack your evening attire.)

CANCELLATION POLICY Requests for refund of convention fees must be received in writing by NAP Headquarters no later than August 15, 2017. A $75 cancellation fee will apply. No refunds will be issued for no-shows or cancellations received after August 15, 2017.

A $30 handling fee will be assessed for all returned checks.

Hotel Highlights Westin Lombard Yorktown Center 70 Yorktown Shopping Center Lombard, IL 60148 www.westinlombard.com

The Westin Yorktown Center in the village of Lombard, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), is the site of the 41st Biennial Convention. It’s situated right across from Yorktown Center, an indoor shopping center with shopping and restaurants galore.

The hotel is located about 15 miles from both Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport. NAP has arranged for special discount rates from Windy City Transportation for ROOM RATES car service to and from the airport. (See NAP for 2017 website for link.)

Convention are: You can make your reservation online at www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/ $134 (plus taxes) res?id=1609151329&key=24797C08 or by

single/double calling the Westin at 888-627-9301. $149 (plus taxes) Be sure to say you are with the NAP

triple 41st Biennial Convention to get the discounted $164 (plus taxes) rates, which are effective Sunday, September 3,

quad through Friday, September 15. The reservation deadline is 5 p.m. CT, August 15, 2017.

www.parliamentarians.org

27

NAP 41st Biennial Convention September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

How to Register Registering for the 41st Biennial Convention is easy. Choose one of these convenient, secure options: • Register online or by phone with your MasterCard, Visa, or Discover card.

• Mail or fax the registration form included with this issue and return it to NAP Headquarters with your credit card information or check (payable to NAP) Registration & Activity Fees Convention registration fees include admission to daily business meetings; all educational workshops and a flash drive containing speaker handouts; President’s Welcome Reception (Friday), and daily refreshment breaks; and souvenir journal.

Primary Registration Fees Full Convention Early Bird (by July 15) Regular (July 16-Aug. 15) (After Aug. 15) Two-Day Early Bird (by July 15) Regular (July 1-Aug. 15) (After Aug. 15)

Member

Nonmember

Student

$275 $310 $330

$330 $360 $390

$130 $150 $160

$185 $200 $235

$235 $255 $275

$85 $100 $110

ADDITIONAL FEES Printed Workshop Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15/copy Navy Pier Excursion (hosted by Illinois State Association) . . . . . . . . . . $50/person A LA CARTE MEALS (Available to all registrants.)

Board and Leadership Luncheon (Thursday, Sept. 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45 Educational Foundation Breakfast & Auction (Friday, Sept. 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65 Membership & Youth Recognition Luncheon (Saturday, Sept. 9) . . . . . . . . . . . $45 Silver & Blue Gala (Saturday, Sept. 9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85 Past Presidents Luncheon (Sunday, Sept. 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50

Cancellation Policy – See page 26 28

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

NAP

41st Biennial Convention

September 8-11, 2017 • Chicago, Illinois

Make this convention even more memorable Show your support for NAP and its programs with an advertisement in the convention souvenir journal.

Choose from one of these options: Back Cover (Color)

$650

Inside Front Cover (Color)

$500

Inside Back (Color)

$500

Full Page – 7” x 9”

$100 (B/W)

$125 (C)

Half Page – 7” x 4.5”

$75 (B/W)

$100 (C)

Business Card 3.5” x 2”

$25 (B/W only)

Details are available online in the NAP Bookstore or by contacting Judith Reynolds at journal@nap2.org. www.parliamentarians.org

29

Nominees for Office

Meet the Candidates

P resident James “Jim” Jones PRP, CPP-T James “Jim” Jones PRP, CPP-T is the current Vice President of the National Association of Parliamentarians. He is a credentialed parliamentarian and certified mediator serving numerous non-profit associations, corporate organizations, and governmental agencies across North and South America and Europe. He is a senior partner with BGE Enterprises focusing on governance support and conflict resolution. A member at large of the Illinois Association of Parliamentarians and an affiliate member of the DC Association of Parliamentarians, Jim has served NAP in many capacities including serving on the NAP Board of Directors, Communications Committee, Bylaws Committee, and Membership Extension and Retention Committee. Jim has facilitated numerous workshops at NAP conventions and national training conferences. Jim is also a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians where he is a Certified Professional Parliamentarian-Teacher and the past national president.

Jim’s goals as NAP President would be to advocate for: • strengthening NAP’s mission focus by bolstering its educational offerings; • increasing membership by expanding the breadth of NAP’s outreach efforts; • augmenting NAP’s finances by developing new sources of revenues through mission related activities and new partnerships; • stronger support for state associations and local units through the expansion of educational and leadership development opportunities.

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

V ice - P resident Darlene T. Allen, PRP A member of the National Association of ParliamentariansÂŽ (NAP) since 1998, Darlene T. Allen, PRP, is a practicing professional registered parliamentarian currently serving as an NAP Director-at-Large.

She also serves as Chairman of the NAP Professional Development Committee.

Darlene is a past president of the District of Columbia Association of Parliamentarians, the Sartwell—Tunstall Unit, and the District of Columbia Registered Parliamentarians Unit.

Darlene has presented workshops at past NAP biennial conventions and training conferences, district conferences, and association and unit meetings. She also is an instructor for the Professional Qualifying Course, the Professional Renewal Course and webinars.

Outside of NAP, Darlene has held various board and leadership positions in several community, state, and national organizations and associations. She is a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians.

Darlene believes that the current board’s focus to work with and for the members has helped NAP begin to increase its membership. She is asking for your support to continue to be a part of a board that promotes integrity, transparency, and financial stability while embracing the members, potential members, and partners to keep NAP relevant and solvent.

www.parliamentarians.org

31

Nominees for Office

continued

T reasurer Wanda M. Sims, PRP A member of the NAP since 2008, Wanda M. Sims, PRP, is a practicing professional registered parliamentarian currently serving as the NAP Treasurer, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, chair of the Pricing Committee and a member of the Personnel Committee.

Wanda is the immediate past president of the McCaskill Unit, where she previously served as the vice president and historian. While president of the McCaskill unit, she established the Peola McCaskill Legacy Scholarship Fund for Teaching Excellence in Parliamentary Procedure. She served as treasurer for the District of Columbia Association, Conference Coordinator for the District Two (2012 and 2014), Assistant Workshop Coordinator for the 2015 Biennial Convention, and a workshop presenter at the 2016 Training Conference. Since becoming credentialed in 2011, Wanda has been active in training and bringing in new NAP members.

Wanda retired in 2016 from the Federal Communications Commission where she served in various management positions including Deputy CIO and Associate Managing Director for Administrative Operations, with annual budgets ranging from $33M to $60M. As NAP Treasurer, Wanda has worked collaboratively, creatively, and tirelessly with the board and staff in analyzing NAP’s finances and identifying ways to improve the association’s financial posture.

In addition to her work with NAP, Wanda is a member of several national and professional organizations where she serves in various leadership positions.

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

D irector -At- L arge James H. Stewart, PRP CSAP President 1999-2000 & 2009-2011 NAP Director at Large 2005-2007 & 2013-2015 Chair – NAP Special Committee on Education and Credentialing 2014-2015 Consultant to Commission on Credentialing 2016-present I embrace change, thrive on change, and see change as an opportunity for improvement, personally, professionally and for NAP. To make these changes work, we must engage our members in the change process, getting input via surveys, web meetings and conference sessions, then present the plans that accomplish the needed change. We must improve our social networking and we must find ways to make our association and its work more visible to the world.

• I will work to protect and empower our most valuable asset, our staff.

• I will seek to use our building to its utmost value.

• I will seek to update of our strategic plan and improve its relevance. Keeping NAP strong requires good planning while maintaining flexibility.

You need leaders that can make that change work for you and use that change to strengthen NAP and its members.

I am that person!

www.parliamentarians.org

33

Nominees for Office

continued

D irector -At- L arge Alison Wallis, PRP In 2005, Alison became a Registered and Professional Registered Parliamentarian. She has been to all NAP national events since 2005, as well as to unit, association, and district events. Alison served as President of the Louisiana Association from 2007 to 2009. She has served on various NAP committees in different bienniums. She was District 6 Director (2011 to 2013). A committed believer in parliamentary education, Alison is a Life Member of the NAP Educational Foundation. Alison has enjoyed teaching Professional Qualifying Course and modules for continuing education for PRPs. Alison is honored to have been elected three times as President of the American Institute of Parliamentarians.

She is currently Vice President for the American College of Parliamentary Lawyers and Secretary for the Dahms Foundation. She is serving now as a Director at Large on the NAP board.

Alison works as an attorney and is a practicing parliamentarian, working with a wide variety of clients, including governmental bodies, labor unions, home owner associations, volunteer groups, and professional associations. Alison is a frequent presenter at unit, association, district, and NAP Conventions and Training Conferences. She has judged and trained youth in parliamentary procedure contests.

NAP has much to offer its members. Alison will continue to work to for NAP’s growth and success. Please re-elect her to the Board of Directors.

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

D irector -At- L arge Joyce Watkins, PRP During the current biennium, Joyce served on the NAP Board of Directors as an elected district director representative. This experience helped her develop a better understanding of our association and its purpose. Having gained new perspectives and using the knowledge she has gained during this current biennium, she is even more equipped to continue serving NAP at the national level.

Through serving on the board as a director-at-large, Joyce would have the opportunity to continue to help us achieve the goals and carry out the mission of NAP. She is determined to help us grow by increasing membership and assisting in promoting our credentialing process. Her desire is to bring out the best in all our members, potential members, and the leaders throughout our association. Joyce is passionate about parliamentary procedure as demonstrated through her elaborate work teaching parliamentary procedure within various communities and student organizations.

As District Four director, Joyce has gained extensive knowledge as a member of the NAP Board of Directors and the Membership Extension and Retention Committee.

Joyce asks for your support to serve as a director-at-large so she may share her expertise and continue to give back to our association.

www.parliamentarians.org

35

Test Yourself

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

Vocabulary Builder

Use the underlined letters, the definition and the RONR glossary to complete the word. Write the answer in the blank provided.

EXAMPLE: men

A motion used to change the wording of another motion.

amend ____________________

1. ary motions

2. mous sent

3. pec meeting

4. ret 5. aws

6. on 7. cus

8. lat motion

9. ary qui

10. one def

A class of motions that help dispose of a main motion.

Adoption, without objection, of a motion without voting on it.

A meeting called for a particular purpose that is stated when the meeting is called.

The recorder of the minutes.

Specific rules related to the structure and administration that an organization adopts for itself.

Against; on the negative side.

An informal meeting to decide action towards a motion or event.

A motion made for the purpose of delaying or obstructing the business of a meeting or confusing a meeting’s objectives.

An incidental motion directed at the presiding officer to determine the proper course of action as it relates to parliamentary procedure or the rules of the organization.

The lowest ranking subsidiary motion that is used to reject or kill a main motion for the remainder of the session.

____________________ __________ __________ two words

____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________

__________ __________ two words

__________ __________ two words

Answers on page 39

Shane D. Dunbar, MEd, PRP, PAP has conducted over 540 parliamentary procedure workshops nationwide.

He has over 16 copyrights dealing with parliamentary procedure instructional materials (including 15 vocabulary builder worksheets) that can be reviewed on www.northwest.net/parli-pro.

36

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

&

Test Yourself

Questions Answers The intent of this column is to provide general answers or advice (not formal, official opinions) about the questions asked. The answers are based on RONR (11th ed.), unless otherwise indicated, and do not take into account such governing authorities as statutes, bylaws, or adopted special rules of order.

Questions should be mailed to NP Q&A Editor, 213 South Main Street, Independence, MO 64050, or emailed to npeditor@nap2.org.

Q

Question 46: The parent body meets in convention once every two years and selects a small board of twelve. The board has the power to fill vacancies, “except in the office of President.” All officers are required to be board members. The president passed away rather unexpectedly. The vice president resigned rather than becoming president. The vote on filling the vacancy was divided between two candidates with five votes each. How should we resolve this?

Answer: In life, timing is everything, or at the very least crucial!

If the president elected at the convention passes “rather” unexpectedly, this committee assumes his/her passing occurred prior to the former vice-president resignation occurring. In this scenario, this committee assumes the board did not subsequently have an opportunity to accept the vice-president’s resignation before he/she became president. RONR (11th ed.), p. 291, ll. 1-13.

Thus, it was too late for the officer to resign as vice-president; he/she is already the new occupant of the office of president upon his/her predecessor’s death. Further, if RONR controls, the resulting vacancy is always in the office of vice-president, or in the office of the lowest ranking vice-president—if there are multiple vice-presidents. RONR (11th ed.), p. 458, ll. 8-15.

Hence, the board should continue voting until a majority vote decides the question on filling the resulting vacancy in the office of vice-president.

However, it should also be noted that there are occasions the acceptance of a resignation is not controlled by the parliamentary authority, but by statute or other legal means. Depending on these other factors—outside of RONR—legal counsel should also be consulted. www.parliamentarians.org

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Question 47: Our bylaws require us to elect officers by ballot. We would like to end the requirement that the results of elections by ballot votes, i.e. how many votes each candidate received, be announced and recorded in the minutes. Is it necessary to amend the bylaws to do so?

Answer: A rule that the vote totals be announced clearly meets the definition of a rule of order, as it relates “to the orderly transaction of business in meetings and to the duties of the officers in that connection.”

RONR (11th ed.), p. 15, ll. 9-11. As such, this requirement may be superseded by a special rule of order; likewise, the rule requiring vote totals be announced could be suspended.

This committee recognizes that there are certain rights associated with voting by a secret, as opposed to a signed, ballot. No motion can be made that forces the disclosure of how any member voted. RONR (11th ed.), p. 413, ll. 1-4. In elections by ballot, members retain the right to cast a write-in vote unless the bylaws limit this right. RONR (11th ed.), pp. 441-2. In the case of elections, where a (secret) ballot is required by the bylaws, each member has a basic right to secrecy in voting and to cast write-in votes, and these rights could not be superseded by a special rule. There is no corresponding right, however, for members to know the exact count of the vote.

RONR strongly encourages that the results be announced, to the point of saying, “under no circumstances should this be omitted in an election or vote on a critical motion out of a mistaken deference to the feelings of unsuccessful candidates or members of the losing side.” RONR (11th ed.), p. 418, ll. 28-31. We agree that it is not advisable to adopt a special rule that would supersede this clause.

While inadvisable, adopting such a rule is not out of order. The preface of the 10th edition of RONR (2000), notes that “…rules of parliamentary procedure are concerned with the process by which a deliberative assembly arrives at a decision, and not with the wisdom, or even the legality, of the decision itself.” RONR (11th ed.), p. XXI. Adopting RONR does not prevent the assembly from properly taking action that lacks wisdom, provided the process used to take that action is within the rules.

While the committee feels that adopting a special rule eliminating the announcement of the vote totals is unwise, and would recommend against its adoption, we must concede that the assembly, nonetheless, has the ability to adopt such a rule and may adopt it if it so chooses.

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Question 48: Our bylaws read, “The Board shall not authorize the expenditure of more than five-hundred dollars unless previous notice of the expenditure has been given in the call of the meeting.” At our last meeting, with all nine members of our Board present, we voted to spend eighteen hundred dollars, but no notice was given. The motion to spend this money was adopted by a vote of seven to two. One of the members that voted no says that he will raise a point of order at the next meeting due to the lack of notice. If he does, how should the chair rule?

Answer: The chair should rule the point of order not well taken.

RONR (11th ed.), p. 263, l. 29 to p. 264, l. 5, states: “Rules protecting absentees cannot be suspended, even by unanimous consent or an actual unanimous vote, because the absentees do not consent to such a suspension.

For example, the rules requiring the presence of a quorum, restricting business transacted at a special meeting to that mentioned in the call of the meeting, and requiring previous notice of a proposed amendment to bylaws protect absentees, if there are any, and cannot be suspended when any member is absent.” Emphasis added.

In the facts presented, there were no absentees; therefore, the rule requiring previous notice to adopt the motion in question is suspendable.

Questions & Answers Research Team

Jonathan M. Jacobs, PRP, CPP

Steve Britton, PRP

Roger Hanshaw, PRP

George Mervosh, III, PRP

Answer Key Vocabulary Builder from page 36 6. con 1. subsidiary 7. caucus 2. unanimous, consent 8. dilatory 3. special 9. parliamentary inquiry 4. secretary 10. postpone indefinitely 5. bylaws www.parliamentarians.org

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NAP Connections

Remembering Nola Pursiful NAP Past President, 2003-2005 We are sorry to announce the passing of NAP Past President Nola Pursiful on February 8, 2017. Nola served as president from 2003 to 2005.

Her theme was “Professionalism: The Key to Parliamentary Success.”

Nola started her parliamentary journey in fall 1978 when a group of Highland Park (Michigan) Community High School students asked her, their accounting teacher, to serve as their parliamentary procedure coach for the Business and Office Education Club—later renamed Business Professionals of America— team competitions that were to begin competing in February 1979. These students were among the school’s top students and she was thrilled to be chosen—even though she didn’t have a clue what she was getting into. In fact, she didn’t know what parliamentary procedure was all about; although, she had some vague knowledge of Robert’s Rules of Order.

The school librarian suggested that she read Robert’s Rules of Order, which she did. She began reading and studying during the Thanksgiving holiday. Three months later, after numerous competitions, Nola was definitely hooked on parliamentary procedure and was determined that the Highland Park teams would be recognized as “the team to beat” in the years to come. Twenty years later, the Highland Park teams had won every regional competition, 19 state 40

National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017

championships, and 9 national championships.

Nola joined NAP in 1984 through the Detroit Unit. Attending the unit’s monthly meetings provided invaluable experiences for learning how to implement the principles of parliamentary law. Shortly thereafter she was appointed corresponding secretary for the Michigan State Association of Parliamentarians (MSAP).

Beginning in 1986, she was elected to numerous offices in the MSAP, culminating in her election as president. She became a Registered Parliamentarian® in 1987, and shortly thereafter, a Professional Registered Parliamentarian®.

Nola’s service at the national level began in 1993 when she was appointed to NAP’s Education Committee

NAP Connections

chaired by Past-President Carrie-Mae Blount. During this time Nola authored Nola’s Daily Doses to aid those wishing to study for the registration exam.

This resource continues to be widely known and used throughout NAP. Also serving on that committee was Past-President Jimmie Stickeler.

Nola credits Carrie-Mae and Jimmie with helping her achieve national recognition. In 1995 she was elected NAP secretary and served as the assistant coordinator of the biennial convention in Detroit. Thereafter she was elected to each of the vice presidencies and finally president in 2003.

NAP celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2005 in Seattle. Nola entered the convention hall by walking along a yellow brick road dressed as Dorothy (red shoes and all) and accompanied by her board, who were dressed as “Wizard of Oz” characters. Nola was a delight and had fun in everything she did.

Nola held a master’s degree in business education and taught school in both Kentucky and Michigan during her career, the last 16 years of which she also served as vocational coordinator. She retired in 1995.

Nola married her high school sweetheart, Darrell, in 1956. Together they had a son, Darrell J. In 2010, Nola and her husband moved from Michigan to Macon, Georgia, to be near their son and his wife Connie, and the joy of their life, granddaughter Rebecca.

NAP will greatly miss Nola. She will be fondly remembered by all those whose lives she touched.

In Memoriam NP commemorates the following members who have passed from our midst; may they rest in peace: • Willie T. Bourlet, Washington • Georgia A. Briley, California • Alice Mae Clark, Kansas • Eugene K. Coy, PRP, Florida • James Earl Danieley, RP, North Carolina • Berlin Hollingsworth, Delaware • Joan E. Horrigan, PRP-R, New England • Ernestine Murray, California • Robert Phillips, Colorado • Regina Powell, Illinois • Nola Pursiful, PRP-R, Georgia • Louis O. Springsteen, New Jersey • Nathan A. Tarler, Florida • Joyce L. Teter, RP, Colorado • Louise H. Wing, Texas • Mildred Woerndel, Texas • Valerie J. Woods, Delaware New Registered Parliamentarians NP congratulates the following individuals for attaining the status of Registered Parliamentarian: • Phillip J. Du Plessix, Alberta • Patricia (Tricia) Dykers-Koenig, Ohio • Christina Lynn Emmert, Illinois • Roxanne Hubbard, Missouri • Elizabeth Sapp James, Texas • Josette Kawana, Hawaii • Carol A. Roberson, Missouri • William Seamon, New York • Vicki L. Walter, California • Pengfei Wen, China • Debi A. Wilcox, Ontario • Rita Womack, Missouri • Hui Xie, China www.parliamentarians.org

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Members busy in breakout session.

Daniel Foster, Lorenzo Cuesta, and Victoria Cohen in small group discussion.

Nicole Learson, Alison Wallis, NAP President Mary Randolph, and Suzanne Blanchard Chambliss

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National Parliamentarian • Spring 2017