Q- What about annual meetings and election of board members and officers?

A- AFHAV has chosen to cancel our annual meeting and the current officers and board members will carry on for another year. Our Parliamentarian has provided the following to help you:

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What AFHAV would suggest is that your Bylaws Committee meet, this can be done by phone, Zoom, Webex, etc.  If your hospital would allow the members of the Bylaws Committee to meet in the hospital that would be great. They can recommend to the Nominating Committee to retain the current Officers in their positions until your next Annual Election.

 

Your Nominating Committee can then act on their recommendation and refer the revised slate to the Auxiliary Executive Board.  The Executive Board can then act without vote of the membership because the recommendation came out of Committee.

 

All current officers should be contacted by the Nominating Committee to make sure they are in agreement to remain in office.  If someone is not willing or cannot, then once everything is approved by the Executive Committee, the President can appoint someone to fill a position.

 

If anyone questions or "well our Bylaws say", there is no Bylaw in the Land that covers this current situation.  The above suggestions are covered in Robert’s Rules, 11th Edition and have been used by many large organizations. We have to do all we can to stay safe.

 

I hope this information has been helpful.  If you or your group have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Marge Clericuzio, PP

Parliamentarian AFHAV

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Q- What options are there for elections?

A- Follow your Bylaws and the above recommendations from our Parliamentarian. Some options we have heard being used are slates being mailed to membership and votes being done by mail or by drop off ballots.

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Q- When do volunteers come back to the hospitals?

A-  This is a decision that should be made by hospital administration. Many hospitals have still not allowed volunteers to be in the hospital. However, there are some hospitals that are allowing volunteers to return if they wish, using the same requirements as hospital staff members; wearing masks, temps taken upon arrival, hand washing, etc.. This decision is up to the hospital administration.

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Q- Do auxiliaries require volunteers to sign releases if they come back to work?

A- First the decision when volunteers come back is with hospital administration, not the auxiliaries. AFHAV is not aware of any releases being used or required.

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Q. Can we use electronic meetings if our Bylaws do not address it?

A. Yes.  If your Auxiliary Bylaws mention using Robert’s Rules, you may use electronic meetings as mentioned before.  I refer you to Robert’s Rules pages:

Notices      Page 89 line 20

Meetings    Pages 97-99

Executive Comm. page 485,line 20

Voting        Page 419, lines 10-23

This is from Robert’s Rules 11th Edition