Agendae
The meetings of the Board of Directors of The Augustan Society, Inc., will be guided by an Agenda sent out ahead of the meeting. While new items may be introduced at the meeting, it should be understood that Agenda items will have first priority for the Board's time.
The Agenda should be organized into the following sections:
Contents
Opening Matters
This includes confirmation of due notice, roll call, proxy notation, and such.
Consent Calendar
The Consent Calendar includes only those items that the Assistant Secretary judges to be without controversy. Approval of minutes, notation of appointments, registration of arms, and recognition of Orders, titles, and chivalric memberships are typical of these.
If any Director takes exception to the recommended action, or would like discussion on an item, they should ask that it be pulled from the Consent Calendar. This done, the matter will be taken up at the end of New Business.
It is preferable for Directors with questions to contact staff before the meeting, rather than lengthen the meeting to have minor questions resolved.
Reports
Reports are received automatically, they do not need special action unless some other response is desired. Those which are received become part of the minutes, if separate from the Agenda. Oral reports generally are not made part of the Minutes, and the notation will be in the form "A report on X was heard from Y." Because most meetings are held via teleconference, it is not possible to present a written report at the meetings.
Accepting reports is not the same as approving the recommendations they may contain, it just means the Board has officially "heard" the report.
If a report (received in advance) recommends action, the Assistant Secretary will generally prepare a motion to effect the action. These will be listed under New Business and reported there in the Minutes. That said, it is not uncommon for chairmen to take such issues out of order so that the motion is considered immediately following the report, barring objections.
Unfinished Business
This section is usually small, as it should properly contain only motions raised at a previous meeting and tabled. Rarely these are reports that were rejected for being incomplete or inadequate; usually they are motions for some action which were not ready, such as budgets when not presented.
Installation and Election of Officers
This section is normally used only at the first meeting after the Annual Membership Meeting. While it could be used to fill vacancies mid-year, such mid-term elections are generally placed under New Business. An exception is where a large number of Directors or Officers are to be elected.
New Business
Motions should first appear here. They may be Approved, Withdrawn, Rejected, Committed (referred to a committee), Tabled (meaning they show up on the next regular meeting Agenda), or Tabled to a date specific (meaning they show up in whatever month is specified).
Motions may be amended. It's also permitted to offer a "Substitute Motion" rather than an amendment, as this is often a more efficient approach.
Closing Matters
Notices of upcoming meetings, reminders, and changes of date of future meeting are handled here.
