SAMPLE OF
CHAPTER BOARD MEETING MINUTES
XXXXXX Chapter Board of Directors
MEETING NOTES
“DRAFT #1” [in first draft] … “APPROVED MINUTES” [in final draft]
1/1/2011
SGMP Headquarters (Conference Room)
Alexandria, VA
Members Present (a quorum was present)
Aaron Aardvark
Jane Doe, CMP (Chair)
Joe Lunchbucket
John Q. Public, CGMP
Zachary Zombie
Members Absent
N/A
Others Present
Steve Salesperson (Downtown Inn)
I. Doe called the meeting to order at 12:01pm Eastern time.
II. Decisions Made
1- The board agreed to move the location of the May meeting.
2- The board agreed to support volunteer leaders’ time toward developing a possible special event in April.
3- The board agreed to a contract with the Downtown Inn in Alexandria for the August fundraising event.
4- The board agreed to participate in a membership blitz campaign this month, as organized by the membership committee chair.
5- The board agreed to adjourn at 12:59pm Eastern time.
III. Action Items / Delegated Tasks
1- Doe would contact a CVB representative by 1/7/11 to confirm options for May meeting locations.
2- Public would send new member prospect contact list with 5-10 names each and a template membership script to each board member by 1/7/11.
3- Lunchbucket would create a draft budget for an April commemorative event and distribute it to the board by 1/15/11.
4- Aardvark would discuss fundraising event details with Salesperson by 1/30/11 and report back to chapter board at February board meeting.
5- Each board member would contact the names on their member prospect list and report back to Public by 1/30/11.
IV. Reports / Announcements / Discussion
1- While no decision was made by the board, there was discussion about creating a website revision task force.
2- Doe confirmed that her schedule will allow her to represent the chapter at the upcoming ABC conference in Alexandria.
3- Aardvark noted that the format for the meeting minutes has resulted in effective accountability and productive follow-up.
4- While no funds were approved for use, there was discussion about selling t-shirts to raise money for the
scholarship fund.
(Minutes prepared by Zachary Zombie)
GUIDELINES FOR
CHAPTER BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Meeting minutes are a summary of decisions made and actions to be taken. Minutes, therefore, should mainly contain a record of what was done at the meeting, not a play-by-play account of what was said by each member. A transcription of what was said at a meeting is called “proceedings” and is quite different from minutes.
Here are some guidelines for you to follow in the creation and use of your chapter board or chapter committee meeting minutes:
· Distribute minutes while the iron is hot (and while the memory is strong). Draft minutes should be distributed to board/committee members within one week of the end of the meeting. Suggested revisions to the minutes should occur within one week of the distribution of the draft minutes.
· The board secretary/committee vice chair is responsible for creating and distributing the minutes. It is customary for the presiding officer of the meeting to be afforded a review prior to their distribution to board/committee members.
· The approval of the draft minutes can be done prior to the next meeting or, at the very latest, at the start of the next meeting. Minutes are approved by majority vote. Draft minutes can generally be considered operational after a revised version is distributed immediately following the initial one-week review period.
· The heading of draft minutes should be updated every time a revision has been made (with “Draft 1” becoming “Draft #2,” for example). Upon formal approval, the heading of the final minutes should be updated either as “Approved as Submitted” or “Approved as Corrected.”
· Names should never be included with motions or votes. Decisions made are board/committee decisions and, as such, need not individual names attributed to them.
· Vote counts should never be included with motions or votes. Decisions made are board/committee decisions and, as such, need not vote counts attributed to them. Similarly, no special mention should be made of the chair voting or of voters being out of the room at the time of the vote. Abstentions should not be noted, unless specifically requested by that member.
· No action/vote is required to be taken on the Treasurer’s Report after it has been presented.
· There is nothing more important to note or useful to review than the actual votes taken/decisions made. The “Decisions Made” section notes all votes taken or agreements made at the meeting. This itemized section is always placed at the top of the minutes. Conversely, it is also critical to clearly note important items discussed for which no decision was made.
· Accountability for board tasks is maintained by always using names and always including deadlines. The “Action Items/Delegated Tasks” section serves as the follow-up action list. For every decision made, there is normally at least one task and all tasks should include the who, the what, and the by when. It is helpful if the name(s) of the person(s) responsible. It is helpful if the items in that section are listed in chronological order by each items deadline. This section may be maintained and monitored separately from the meeting minutes.
· The “Reports/Announcements/Discussion” section notes other items from the meeting that did not result in a decision or a task. There is more flexibility in this section than the others. You may use “[specific name] noted” or “it was noted” here. The name and subject of a guest speaker should be included here, but no effort should be made to summarize those remarks. This section is not to be used as a chronological and attributed account of all discussions.
· Meeting minutes are a priority management tool for all chapter leaders. Minutes are an extremely effective tool to keep board/committee action in sequence, to keep board/committee members on task, and to avoid repeated revisiting of completed or dispensed issues. Minutes are also an extremely effective tool to create subsequent agendas and to develop periodic or annual reports or summaries.