Meeting Handout

Nancy Sylvester, MA, PRP, CPP-T

Team/Leadership Specialist, Professor Emeritus of Speech, Rock Valley College

Professional Registered & Certified Professional Parliamentarian

                              Sample Minutes Template

MINUTES of [Organization name]

Meeting date: ________

Call to order: A ______________ [kind of meeting] meeting of the _________________ [organization name], was held in ____________ [place, city, state] on __________ [date], 20__. The meeting convened at ______ [time], President __________________ [name] presiding, and ______________________ [name], secretary.

[Some small organizations choose to list attendees. This works well for boards of directors.]

Members in attendance: [optional item]

Members not in attendance: [optional item]

Approval of minutes: Motion was made by [name], and seconded to approve the minutes of the ______________ [date] meeting. Motion carried.

Officers' reports:

            President

            Vice president

            Secretary

            Treasurer

Board and committee reports:

Unfinished business:

[Subject title]

            Motion: Moved by [name] that [state motion].

            Motion carried. Motion failed. [leave only one of these]

New business:

[Subject title]

Motion: Moved by [name] that [state motion].

            Motion carried. Motion failed. [leave only one of these]

Announcements:

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at ______________[time].

________________________________                                ___________________

Secretary                                                                                             Date of approval

[Organization Name]

How to Write and Keep Meeting Minutes

DEFINED
Minutes are the official record of an organization.  It is crucial that they are accurate since they are the legal record of the proceedings and actions of the organization 

BASED ON
Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th, 2000 Edition

CONTENT
First paragraph: Kind of meeting (regular, special, etc.); the name of the organization; the date, time and place of the meeting; the name of the presiding officer and secretary; approximate number of members present; establishment of a quorum; and recording of the action taken on the minutes of the previous meeting.

The body should include, with each motion being a separate paragraph,:

• The exact wording of motions, whether passed or failed, and the way they were disposed of, along with the name of the maker
• If the vote was counted, the count should be recorded.  Tellers reports, if there are any, are included.  In roll call votes the record of each person’s vote is included     
• Notices of motions – previous notice is sometimes required e.g. amendments of the bylaws
• Points of order and appeals

Last paragraph: hour of adjournment

NOT INCLUDED

• The opinion or interpretation of the secretary
• Judgmental phrases e.g. “heated debate” “valuable comment”
• Discussion: Minutes are a record of what was done at the meeting, not what was said at the meeting
• Motions that were withdrawn
• Name of seconder is unnecessary

ATTACHMENTS
The official copy of the minutes should have attached to it the original signed copy of:

• Committee Reports
• Officers Reports
• Written Motions
• Tellers Reports
• Correspondence

APPROVAL
If the minutes have been distributed to the members before the next meeting then the approval process can be very short.  The presiding officer simply states “Are there any corrections to the minutes as printed?”  If there are none, or after all corrections have been made, the presiding officer may say  “If there is no objection, the minutes will be approved as printed (or as corrected).”

SIGNATURE
After the minutes have been corrected and approved by the membership, they should be signed by the secretary and can be signed by the president.  The word “approved” and the date of the approval should also be included

MINUTES BOOK
The official copy of the minutes should be entered in the Minutes Book and kept by the secretary.  These are the property of the organization, not the secretary.  If the organization has a headquarters office, the official copy of the minutes should be kept there.

COPIES
If the members receive a copy of the minutes it is not necessary for them to receive all the attachments.  When they do not receive the attachments, the minutes should include a brief summary of the attachments.

ANNUAL MEETINGS/CONVENTION MINUTES
Minutes of an annual meeting or convention should be taken by the secretary with the assistance of the Minutes Approval Committee members.  In advance of the annual meeting or convention, the secretary should prepare a set of skeleton minutes.  In the preparation of this skeleton of the actual minutes the following may be used: agenda, program, previous minutes (as a guide) and the script.  The skeleton minutes are based on what is expected to happen (the script should be of great assistance here).  In preparing the skeleton minutes, be sure to leave many empty spaces for the specifics that may happen during the meeting and any last minute changes.

Copies of the skeletal minutes are needed for the secretary, parliamentarian and members of the Minutes Approval Committee.  During the meeting, the members of the committee and the secretary follow the skeletal minutes and fill in any additional information.  Immediately after each business meeting the committee and the secretary meet and work together on an agreed upon set of minutes for that meeting.  After the last business meeting of the convention, the secretary prepares the final copy of the minutes based upon what is agreed upon by the committee.  This final copy is reviewed by all committee members.  When they all agree, they sign the original copy and the job of approving the minutes is completed.

If there is a transcript of the meeting, it is the secretary’s job to review the transcript making sure all the minutes are accurate.  If it is necessary to change the minutes, all members of the Minutes Approval Committee must agree upon the changes.

 

 

Call to Order:  A regular meeting of the Board of Directors, ABC, was held in [place, city, state] on [date], 200.  The meeting convened at  :00 A.M. on the first day, Chairman _______ presiding, ___________, Secretary.  Members of the Board in attendance were [names].  Members not in attendance were [names].

Approval of Minutes:  Minutes of the ______________________ meeting of the ABC Board of Directors were approved as printed and distributed to the members of the board. 

Officers  Reports:

           

             

Other reports :  [committee reports belong here]

Unfinished Business:

              Section title

Motion: Moved by [name] and seconded that [state motion].

            Motion carried.  Motion failed.

New Business:

 

Section title

Motion: Moved by [name] and seconded that [state motion].

            Motion carried.  Motion failed.

Announcements:

Adjournment:   [Date] and the [place, city, state], were fixed as the time and place of the next regular meeting and the [date] meeting was adjourned at [time].

________________________________                                _____________________________

Secretary                                                                    

            Date of Approval

Meeting Minutes Format

These days, many of us find ourselves in the position of taking meeting minutes without a clue of how to go about it. The following is a guide for making this task easier:

• Make sure that all of the essential elements are noted, such as type of meeting, name of the organization, date and time, name of the chair or facilitator, main topics and the time of adjournment. For formal and corporate meetings include approval of previous minutes, and all resolutions.
• Prepare an outline based on the agenda ahead of time, and leave plenty of white space for notes. By having the topics already written down, you can jump right on to a new topic without pause.
• Prepare a list of expected attendees and check off the names as people enter the room. Or, you can pass around an attendance sheet for everyone to sign as the meeting starts.
• To be sure about who said what, make a map of the seating arrangement, and make sure to ask for introductions of unfamiliar people.
• Don't make the mistake of recording every single comment, but concentrate on getting the gist of the discussion and taking enough notes to summarize it later. Remember that minutes are the official record of what happened, not what was said, at a meeting.
• Use whatever device is comfortable for you, a notepad, a laptop computer, a tape recorder, a steno pad, shorthand. Many people routinely record important meetings as a backup to their notes.
• Be prepared! Study the issues to be discussed and ask a lot of questions ahead of time. If you have to fumble for understanding while you are making your notes, they won't make any sense to you later.
• Don't wait too long to type up the minutes, and be sure to have them approved by the chair or facilitator before distributing them to the attendees.
• Don't be intimidated, you may be called upon many times to write meeting minutes, and the ability to produce concise, coherent minutes is widely admired and valued.
• Example of Minutes Format

Name of Organization: Purpose of Meeting: Date/Time: Chair:
Topic	Discussion	Action	Person Responsible
1.

How to Prepare Meeting Minutes

Instructions

·  Distribute a sign in sheet so you have a record of who attended. The sign in sheet should ask the people to print their names so you have the correct spelling and it's a good idea to include contact information in case there are questions about what may have been said during the meeting.

  2

Prepare an agenda prior to meeting and use that document to take your notes.

  3

If, in the course of the meeting there are action or follow up items, place an X next to those items on the paper.

  4

You don't need to write down every comment or remark. Note only the key points that are being made and who said them.

  5

At the close of meeting summarize, to the group, the key points you have in your notes and ask if they agree.

  6

After this is done summarize all the action or follow up items indicated with the X. Those items should be at the bottom of the Meeting Minutes.

  7

Send out a draft of minutes to all who attended to see if they agree.

  8

After the draft comments have been incorporated send out the final version of the Meeting Minutes.