Chairing the Board

It is a good idea for the Board to rotate leadership positions. The trustee serving as the Board chairperson facilitates the Board meetings with the help of the director. Before the scheduled meeting, the chairperson and director should prepare an agenda and schedule adequate time for the items listed. This agenda, along with related materials, should be mailed to the trustees to give them time to prepare for the meeting. The agenda and the meeting date, time and place should also be posted or published.

To get the meeting under way, the chairperson should:

Start on time with roll call.

Introduce visitors and/or new Board members.

Review the agenda, revising the order if necessary.

Establish time limits.

During the meeting, the chairperson should make sure that participants:

Focus on issues at hand.

Follow the agenda and procedures stated in the bylaws.

Establish action items: who, what and when.

At the end of the meeting, the chairperson should:

Review and summarize for the minutes the meeting's progress, decisions and assignments.

Announce next meeting date.

Adjourn the meeting.

After the meeting, the chairperson and director work together to make sure that the meeting minutes are sent to all Board members.