Delegate's Handbook
Preparation for a Meeting
Meeting documents (agenda, previous minutes, reports, etc) will be posted on the Meetings page prior to each meeting. If you are a new delegate you are strongly encouraged to review the minutes from meetings over the last few years to help you understand meeting discussion and participate in a more meaningful way. You will find these on the Minutes page.
Motions / Debate / Voting
The following was condensed from the Robert's Rules of Order and includes typical rules to manage a board meeting. Readers wanting the last official version should see Robert's Rule of Order Newly Revised, published by Scott, Foresman (known as NONR). This is the 9th Edition of Robert's book.
PROBLEM. Unorganized, meandering discussions that extend on with little or no resolution of the matter at hand.
To read more click on Roberts Rules of Order Quick Reference
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Delegates & Officers learn and implement Robert's Rules of Order. Chairpersons utilize these in their reports were necessary; e.g., the mus chairperson makes a "main motion" to make NABO tournament games to 30 points instead of forty. The main motion now must be seconded by another delegate and if seconded, the debate begins. To pass this motion, 50% + one must vote in favor. See below.
- All motions must be seconded and adopted by a majority (50+%) vote unless otherwise noted.
- All motions may be debated unless otherwise noted.
About Motions | Purpose of Motion | To Enact Motion | ||
Main Motion | to take action on behalf of the body | debatable; requires majority vote | ||
Adjourn | end the meeting | not debatable; immediately voted upon and requires majority vote | ||
Call for Orders of the Day | asks to stick to the agenda | not debatable; requires 1/3 majority to sustain | ||
Call to Question | closes debate and forces vote | not debatable; requires 2/3's majority vote | ||
Motion to Limit or Extend Debate | limits or extends debate | not debatable; requires 2/3's majority vote | ||
Point of Order | a question about the process or a particular motion | automatic if granted by President | ||
Point of Information | to ask about the process or particular motion | automatic | ||
Motion to Rescind | to change the results of a vote | requires 2/3's majority vote to reverse results of earlier vote | ||
Motion to Suspend the Rules | suspend formal process for a short period | debatable and requires 2/3's majority vote |
About Debate
Each motion that is debated receives up to an initial ten minutes of debate. The member initiating the motion speaks first. The Chair asks for a rebuttal. All members wishing to speak about the motion receive the opportunity to speak before any one member speaks for a second time.
About Voting
There is a simple majority: requires one vote more than half the delegates
Overwhelming majority: requires a 2/3s vote
Election of Officers
The officers of NABO are elected at the annual meeting also known as the NABO convention, which is usually scheduled during the summer months. Nominations must be done in advance of the annual meeting as nominations from the floor of the annual meeting are not allowed.
The NABO secretary will send a reminder to the NABO delegates three months prior to the annual meeting that nominations for NABO officers are due two months prior to the NABO annual meeting. Nominations for NABO officers are due to the secretary two months prior to the annual meeting and must include biographical information on the candidate with details on their involvement with NABO and their vision and goals for the organization and for promotion of Basque culture. The secretary will then send out all the information on the nominees for the NABO officers to the NABO delegates. [Minutes - 2/13/2016]
Hosting a NABO meeting
Since its inception in 1973, NABO has held three meetings a year. These meetings in practice have broken down this way:
- Winter meeting: usually in February or March
- Convention meeting: summer in conjunction with a club's festival
- Fall meeting: usually in October or November
The meeting begins at 8am and usually the host provides a light breakfast of donuts, coffee, juice, etc. Sometimes it is necessary to continue the meeting after lunch, but every effort is made to conclude the meeting before lunch so that delegates are not burned out. Additional work as necessary is then done in focus (advisory) groups. If the host is able, a lunch is provided the delegates.
Attendance varies. Each NABO member club/organization has two voting delegates that are asked to attend these tri-annual meetings.
If your NABO club/organization would like to consider hosting one of NABO's meetings the following are required:
- A well lighted room with seating & tables for approximately 60 people that is relatively quiet
- Morning snacks; e.g., donuts & coffee, fruit, etc.
- Two months before sending out accommodation information for local hotels and directions to the meeting place
What would be nice but not essential would be:
- for the host to provide the lunch for delegates and no-host bar
- perhaps an event that evening that the club is having
Hosting a NABO Convention
Beginning in 1979 clubs have hosted an annual NABO Convention in conjunction with their festival/picnic. We pick a spot once a year and make this the place to huddle to visit with old friends and make new ones, gather our various dance groups & klikas, etc. It also represents an opportunity to celebrate our collective Basque-American community.
The meeting requirements were posted above. In addition to that, NABO would like to suggest the following to host clubs:
- Prepare a report to the delegates for at least one meeting before (preferrably two meetings prior) your Convention event
- NABO suffers from an identity crisis of sorts; i.e., most Basques do not know of its existence and if they do they know little or nothing about what NABO does. Consequently, it is requested that each host club set aside some time in a prominent setting to announce about NABO.
- Generally all the dance groups, choirs & klikas of member clubs are extended an automatic invitation with the understanding that each group must pay its own transportation and lodging. Some clubs have tried to at least provide the performers with complimentary entrance passes (if applicable) and meal tickets.
Meeting Agenda
The NABO Secretary sends out the agenda for the next meeting one month prior. Generally, the meeting runs according to that agenda but expect some last minute adjustments.
The morning session will be primarily for committee reports, at which time the chairperson can take questions on the previous report sent out to delegates.
The post-lunch session is primarily for committee work.
Chairperson reports
At the triannual NABO meetings, a chairperson from each will present a succinct report that covers the following three areas:
- What the committee accomplished/what was done since the last meeting
- What the committee aims to accomplish by the next meeting
- What (if any) motions need to be raised and voted upon by the delegates
A committee report should be made available to the NABO Secretary who will then forward it to everyone on her NABO email list. The meeting is not the first opportunity that delegates will have to hear about these matters.