Messages in ICG #boardofdirectors (Slack)           <2019-11-07  2019-11-09>

2019-11-08

 

Betsy R. Marks  7:32 AM
Keeping in mind that an amendment instead of a motion increases the time for voting on this issue and the NoVA Representative's amendment to her motion makes a deadline that occurs before voting on the motion has concluded, and to avoid having to complete this business during the November/December holidays, I move to amend Motion 11-6-2019-1 to read as follows:

 

"Recognizing the need for a Code of Conduct, anti-harassment, and anti discrimination policies, and also the need to involve the greater membership in the legal and fiscal issues involved therein, I move that the ICG Board direct the ICG Finance Committee to solicit no fewer than three (3) quotes (including expected retainers for the work) from lawyers licensed to practice in the state of Maryland to draft language for a Code of Conduct, anti-discrimination policy, and anti-harassment policy applicable to a non-profit international organization, with the intention of adding said policies to our Standing Rules. The deadline for quotes shall be January 31, 2020.  All quotes for services rendered and required retainers shall be presented to the board and the membership for discussion on February 1st, 2020 and voted on by the ICG membership at the ICG Annual meeting in Montreal, March, 2020."

 

Betsy R. Marks
President, SiW
ICG Board Representative

 

[1 reply Last reply 2019-11-08 8:26 AM]

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
This 3rd motion to amend, as proffered by Betsy Marks and seconded by Judy Mitchell is also denied as, per Robert’s Rules only one motion to amend can be considered at a time.  The original motion labeled 11-6-2019-1 discussion period is from 11-6-2019 through 11-21-2019, and voting period ends on 12-6-2019.The 1st motion to amend (2nd paragraph in the original post of this thread) is assigned motion #11-6-2019-1A and it’s discussion period will end on 11/22/2019, and voting period will end on 12/7/2019 unless the original motion fails to pass, it which case the amendment will cease per parliamentary procedure.

 

Judy Mitchell  7:33 AM
I think this phrasing is excellent, Northern Lights seconds the amendment.

 

Betsy R. Marks  8:49 AM
https://www.dummies.com/careers/business-skills/roberts-rules-for-amending-a-motion/In making a motion to amend, be aware of its key characteristics; the motion   

 

- Can’t interrupt a speaker who has the floor.   

- Must be seconded.   

- Is debatable if the motion to which it is applied is debatable. (Permissible debate is restricted to the pros and cons of the amendment, and not to whether the main motion has merit.)   

- Can be amended, but only one amendment to an amendment can be considered at any one time.   

- Requires a majority vote for adoption, even if the main motion requires a different vote for its adoption.   

- Can be reconsidered.

 

Robert's Rules for Amending a Motion - dummies

The motion to amend is perhaps the single most-used of the subsidiary motions allowed by Robert’s Rules. You use this motion when you want to change the wording of the motion under consideration. You can use it to make a good idea better or a bad idea more palatable. Amendments are really at the heart …

 

[1 reply Last reply 2019-11-08 9:05 AM]

 

Betsy R. Marks  2 years ago
@Pierre Pettinger

 

Jacalyn Boggs  8:55 AM
Betsy, it is OK. Clearly I meant for the finance committee to do this and of course use Maryland lawyers. We’ve brought this up and it is in the discussion thread. Let’s just move forward.

 

Pierre Pettinger  9:59 AM
I have been in discussions with Mera and she approves this Parliamentarian message. As Parliamentarian I am asking everyone to suspend any further discussion on any motion on the floor or make any new motions. There has been misunderstandings regarding proper procedures. Later today I will post some information so that everyone understands how motions and amendments are handled.

 

[1 reply Last reply 2019-11-08 10:00 AM]

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
Thank you, Pierre.

 

Pierre Pettinger  10:00 AM
In addition, later today Mera will be posting some additional messages and information regarding current issues. Please read all of her posts completely before commenting.

 

The suspension of discussion should last 24 hours. Let us say noon, November 9th, Eastern time. (Yes I know that's only 23 hours, but its a nice round number.)

 

Pierre Pettinger  1:26 PM
I would like to review the process of motions and amendments so the process is clear. If we don’t follow the proper process and keep our discussions civil, we will continue the current pattern of acrimony.
These procedures are largely the same for the physical and the on-line meeting. We have made some adjustments for our on-line meeting for logistical reasons.


The primary tool for an organizations meeting is the motion. A motion can be used to propose or adjust a standing rule, direct the organization to create a committee or close a committee, disburse funds for a specific reason, gather quotes, and so forth.

The first thing I am going to cover is the correct way to make a motion.  In the general, physical meeting any member can make a motion. In the BOD meeting only the BOD members can make motions. For limited purposes subsidiary individuals such as the Parliamentarian, Group Letter Coordinator and such can also make motion, though they cannot vote.


A member should always use the phrase “I move” and then add the substance of the motion. The motion should be precise in its language and what it wants to do. For example (I’m pulling things out of the air here):

“I move that we use the same names for the colors of the first season Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms” would be imprecise. Instead you would say

“I move we create Standing Rule XX which will state “The International Costumers’ Guild recognizes the following colors of the Federation uniforms in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation; the command uniforms will be referred to as scarlet, the operations  uniforms will be referred to as ocher and the sciences uniforms will be referred to as sapphire.”


This is the main motion. At this point someone must second the motion. The chair should call for a second if one is not made before the chair can so call. If no one seconds then the motion fails. (Notation for future action; we currently do not have a time limit for a second in our on-line meeting procedures.)


If a second is made, the motion moves to debate. For the on-line meeting the chair will assign a motion number. Our Standing Rules do not define how that number is to be created, but in general we have been using the form MM-DD-YYY-# where MM is the month the motion is made, DD is the day and YYYY is the year. # is a number starting with 1 and increasing with any additional motions made that day. For this example the Main Motion above is numbered 11-08-2019-1.

Our rules require a minimum 15 days for debate on-line and then 15 days for voting.

 

Pierre Pettinger  1:26 PM
During that 15 days a member decides they do not agree with the colors named. They may make a motion to amend the main motion. This is a secondary motion. The member says:


“I move that we strike the word scarlet in Motion 11-08-2019-1 and substitute the word veridian.”

 

If this secondary motion is seconded the chair will assign it a number. Currently we use the numbering convention MM-DD-YYYY-#l. All but the l are the same as the main motion, regardless to what day the amending motion is made. l is the order of amending motions, beginning with a. So this amending motion would be called 11-08-201-1a.


Now, we get into some of the minutia. The motion to amend should be relevant to the main motion. While it is in order to completely remove the text of the main motion and substitute other language, the new language must be relevant to the topic under discussion. In our example it would be in order to change colors, add other seasons or series in Star Trek and so forth. It would be out of order to change the language to direct the treasurer to purchase copies of the Singers Sewing Library. Even a more modest change, say changing Star Trek to Star Wars could be ruled out of order. (A challenge to the decision of the chair is possible but that is another discussion.)


There should not be more than one secondary motion on the floor at a time. (In a physical meeting we would only have one main motion on the floor as well, but the on-line environment allows more flexibility) The reason for that is simply to prevent confusion.


Secondary motions take priority from main motions. What that means is discussion, and voting, on the main motion may not continue until the secondary motion is resolved; either passing or failing. We begin a new 15/15 day procedure. If, at the end of voting the secondary motion passes, then the main motion is adjusted and continues as amended to further discussion and voting. If it fails then the main motion remains unchanged and continues to further discussion and voting.


Technically, by Roberts Rules a motion may be made to amend the amending or secondary motion. While this is possible, I seriously recommend against it for clarity’s sake. Such an adjustment can be made as another secondary motion after the current one is resolved. However, it is legal land would follow the same procedure. The numbering would be MM-DD-YYY-#ll, the second l beginning with a. Again, such a motion would take priority over the secondary motion and must be resolved before discussion and voting can continue on the secondary motion.


This all seems very technical, but the process is important. It provides structure for the discussion and helps to minimize dissent. Debate on any of these motions should always be impersonal, should address only the pros and cons of the proposal, and be civil in tone.
If anyone has any questions, please ask me.

 

[4 replies Last reply 2019-11-08 8:19 PM]

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
The #motions channel has been created to announce motions as they have been appropriately made and seconded with their dates as assigned to ensure that business on the floor can be found quickly without having to dig through discussions in the BoD and general channels.  This is an announcement channel only and is a resource to follow what motions have been made, seconded, and assigned numbers, along with the dates for their discussion and voting periods. All actual discussions, and motions presented and their seconds must occur in the BoD channel, and not in the #motionschannel.  Only the president, corresponding Secretary, recording secretary, and parliamentarian may post in the #motions channel.  It is for tracking motions and amendments by all ICG members and the BoD only.

 

Judy Mitchell  2 years ago
Clarification question: if a secondary motion is seconded and therefore must be handled, what does that do to the 15day discussion period of the primary motion? Does it extend the discussion period until the secondary is cleared, or does the clock keep ticking?

2

 

kevin.p.roche  2 years ago
quoting Pierre: "discussion, and voting, on the main motion may not continue until the secondary motion is resolved; either passing or failing. We begin a new 15/15 day procedure. If, at the end of voting the secondary motion passes, then the main motion is adjusted and continues as amended to further discussion and voting. If it fails then the main motion remains unchanged and continues to further discussion and voting."
This means the clock on the main motion is paused.

 

Judy Mitchell  2 years ago
Thank you.

 

Jeanine Swick  1:51 PM
Jacalyn just added Tanglyst de Holloway to the BoD. She is not not found on the  ICG membership list. If the name is an alais  it needs to be posted here for verification status along with the chapter. Non ICG members do not belong on the BoD list.She in not the corresponding secretary that is Vicky A.

 

[14 replies Last reply 2019-11-08 4:16 PM]

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
I didn’t realize the former secretary was on the bod user group and it happened when I see the user group to automatically add members to bod specific channels. The name has now been removed.

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
The user group needs to be only the elected officers and chapter representatives. The matter has been taken care of.

 

Jeanine Swick  2 years ago
That is what one gets when one imports blindly from a list that does not require ICG membership.  The person in question had been removed from the BoD Yahoo group.Membership status needs to be confirmed, don't just blindly add people.

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
No the problem was she was on the list already. I didn’t realize she was remaining there.

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
Again, it has been taken care of.  Please calm down and remember that we were told to hold things until tomorrow at noon.

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
Technology is temperamental.  This is a work in progress.  Patience must be the order of the day.  All names are being verified against the membership list.  If one slips through and isn’t remedied in a matter of 48 hours, please let a member of the tech committee know so they can resolve it, or Jeanine may also remove those who are not ICG members lurking in the BoD channel.This matter is now resolved.  End of discussion.

 

Elaine  2 years ago
Observation (not argument) While I do see the need for people to use screen or stage names, and don't see any requirement to have them change their handle, There should be a mechanism to correlate username to legal name.  This can even be between the corresponding secretary & treasurer, if necessary, not something that necessarily needs to be publicly addressed.

 

Jeanine Swick  2 years ago
There is a place on the profile to have both names.

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
Both very good points.  Thank you.

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
So just as an example I edited my profile for people to see.  I think this is the way to do it.  It can be really confusing since some people don’t know someone’s real name or whatever. Thanks for bringing this up, Elaine.

 

Elaine  2 years ago
Yeah,  exactly,  @Jacalyn Boggs perfect example!

 

Jacalyn Boggs  2 years ago
Note: I changed my display name. I hope this helps! I will leave this for a bit so you can show my profile as an example. Since I have a pseudonym it was pretty easy

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
Got it.  Thanks for showing us that.

 

Jeanine Swick  2 years ago
@Mera Rose    You can not do a verification of current memberships. The reporting for November  just closed yesterday and the new list takes precident over any previous list. Plus I am the only one who can verify dues have been paid.

 

 

Mera Rose  5:20 PM
The next few posts contain quite a bit of information and may be upsetting to some.  I apologize that I have to make these posts, and hope that you will read them carefully to understand the content of each one.  Please do not mischaracterize any information being conveyed.  There are procedures that must be followed that are set forth in our articles of incorporation, bylaws, standing rules, laws of the State of Maryland, parliamentary procedure, and that help to ensure clarity, transparency, cohesive transfer of fiduciary duties and administrative responsibilities, and protect our organization, it’s members, board of directors, and officers from issues that could arise from not completing these business matters appropriately.

 

You, as BoD reps, are asked to read the following posts carefully and discuss the content with your members in your chapter forums before responding.

 

[3 replies Last reply 2019-11-08 4:22 PM]

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
I have spoken with Paddy Morton, general counsel with Maryland Non-Profits through a free consultation, on the transition to new officers and current issues facing the board.  These issues must be done in a procedural manner to ensure fiduciary and administrative responsibilities are appropriately transferred in accordance with all applicable Articles of Incorporation, ByLaws, Standing Rules, and laws of the State of Maryland and other governances or best practices that may apply to protect the corporation, and so she has advised me to do the following:

 

To protect the corporation and in accordance with the fiduciary and administrative responsibilities of the position of Vice President to which I was elected, I hereby withdraw my resignation and will continue as Acting President at this time. The Presiding Officer appointment and upcoming election for president are now terminated as they are out of order.  I know that we are all very grateful for Kevin and Ron’s willingness to serve in this difficult time, and would like to extend my personal gratitude to them.

 

The election for Vice President, however, is in order as the position is currently vacant and can continue by resolution of the board with an appropriate motion and second, which has already occurred.  As Jan Price accepted the nomination on 11/7/2019, the discussion/nomination period for Vice Presidential candidates will remain open until 11/22/2019, with the voting period to run from 11/22/2019 to 12/7/2019.

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
As proper procedure for my resignation to be formally accepted did not previously occur, that must be rectified.  Please accept this as my resignation as Acting President, (formerly Vice President), effective 12/22/2019 to give time for transition to the new Acting President (the soon-to-be elected Vice President) who may choose to preside until the next annual meeting.  

 

In order for my resignation as Acting President, (formerly Vice President), to be official there must be a motion, second, and vote of the Board of Directors to accept my resignation.  If the board votes to accept my resignation then the newly elected Vice President (determined on 12/7/2019) will become the Acting President and can decide whether to hold elections for President and then return to the Vice President’s position or remain as acting President until the annual meeting at CostumeCon

 

If the board rejects my resignation, then I would continue as Acting President, and the elected VP would be VP until the annual meeting.  As a side note for the future, apparently Presiding Officers should only be appointed to oversee specific motions and not all business of the corporation.

 

I serve at the pleasure of the board.  If you decide to have me remain until the annual meeting, I will do so.  If not, I will happily aid in the transition to new leadership.

 

Mera Rose  2 years ago
As there were posts made by a BoD rep after I tendered my initial resignation that impugned my character (which could impact some individual’s decisions on whether I should remain), I have provided evidence with regard to those allegations to Sarah Richardson (Dragan Rose), Kevin Roche, Pierre Pettinger, and Jacalyn Boggs.  Any member with questions regarding those allegations or wishing to see the evidence and documentation surrounding those allegations may contact any of those persons listed above, or me, to obtain a copy of that evidence and documentation.