Robert’s Rules and Keeping Order
Joy Steele
Many Board members of all experience levels occasionally find themselves wondering, “Who is this Robert dude, and why should we care about his rules?” The answer to why is easy: without an adopted procedure on how to run meetings, there is the risk that gatherings of the association can devolve into a Jerry Springer Show.
The answer to ‘who’ Robert is goes further back in our nation’s history. While presiding over a church meeting, U.S. Army Major Henry Martyn Robert became embarrassed and frustrated when he realized that the delegates in attendance could not even agree on how to conduct the meeting.
Modeled after the process used by the U.S. House of Representatives, the original version of Robert’s Rules of Order was published in 1876 as a means to create a uniform procedure for meeting conduct in all kinds of organizational assemblies.
An Internet search of ‘Robert’s Rules of Order’ will produce over 7.5 million results and the information available ranges from PDFs of procedural tips to flash cards to books ready for next day delivery. The Roberts Rules guide itself is approximately 700 pages in length and has been revised through the years to the current 11th Edition; serving as a clear and comprehensive manual on the democratic process for organizational meetings. While it may sound intimidating,
it isn’t necessary for an 24 Community Associations Journal | October 2018
HOA Board to be certified Parliamentarians to hold successful meetings. The benefit of using Parliamentary Procedure in meetings is reinforced with general understanding of the following concepts:
• Quorum
The minimum number of the members in attendance required to conduct the business of the Association.
• Minutes
The written record of the meeting. The contents of this record should include the date, time, location and members present. Motions, seconds and the results of the vote are chronicled, but not the discussion leading up to the vote. Minutes are considered a draft version until approved at the next meeting.
• Making a Motion o A member rises and addresses the chair
o When recognized, the member states the motion “I move that…”
o Another member seconds the motion. (Without a second, the motion dies without further discussion.)
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