Two individuals have primary responsibility in making sure the meeting goes smoothly. The President is responsible for running the business portion of the meeting. The Vice President is responsible for liaison with the speaker and the Room Arrangements Committee.
A well run meeting begins with advance preparation. Once program dates have been set at the beginning of the academic year, the Vice President should obtain room reservations for each date even though all the topics have not been finalized.
Well in advance of the meeting the Vice President should have made phone contact with the prospective speaker and received an affirmative indication that he/she will be available. Assume that potential speakers need 4 to 8 weeks notice to schedule your meeting. Once the speakers have made a verbal commitment, send them a letter of invitation confirming the date, time, place and topic. In general, it is prudent to suggest that the speakers limit their remarks to 30 minutes and allow 10 minutes for questions. Provide directions for those unfamiliar with your campus and/or meeting place. Ask for the title of the presentation and visual or audio aids required and extend a invitation to meet for lunch or dinner (time place, etc.). Thank him/her for accepting and ask for confirmation of the date. Ask for a biographical sketch for introductory purposes. If the speaker is from out-of-town, ask if motel accommodations are required. Provide alternate phone numbers the speaker may call if an emergency arises. Be sure the budget has allowed for expenses if the speaker is unwilling to assume the costs. An invitation to a meal implies that the Chapter is willing to pay for it.
Immediately upon confirmation by the speaker, notify the Meeting Arrangements Committee and the Publicity Committee so they can begin preparations.
On the meeting date, arrange to personally meet the speaker at the building entrance and escort them to the meeting room.
The President should prepare a detailed meeting agenda and advise those who are expected to report that they are on the agenda.
To begin, the President of the Student Chapter calls the meeting to order, commencing with a personal introduction and welcoming Chapter members and guests. The Chapter Advisor and other professors and practitioners are next welcomed.
The first agenda item is officer reports. These should be brief and informative. No officer should speak more than three minutes. If an officer has nothing to report they should not be called to say "no report." The Secretary reports on activities of concern since the previous Chapter meeting. The Treasurer reports on the account balances, and the Vice President may discuss upcoming programs.
The second agenda item is committee reports. Like the officer reports, these should be brief and informative. Volunteers for special projects or committees from the Chapter membership may be solicited or appointed during this time.
The third agenda item is motions for action. These may be formal or informal. The objective is to obtain input from the Chapter membership as to a course of action. A brief summary of the background of the action item should be presented. Items requiring a long discussion should be referred to a committee of concerned individuals with an officer designated to act as moderator. The will of the members should be ascertained by a simple "hands up" vote.
The fourth agenda item is remarks from the Faculty Advisor.
The fifth agenda item is the speaker. The Vice President should perform the introduction using the biographical sketch.
After the speaker has spoken, if he/she has not asked for questions, the Vice President should open the meeting for questions from the floor. When the questions have ended or the meeting time has been reached, the Vice President should thank the speaker and lead a round of applause.
The President should close by reminding the members of important upcoming dates and reminding them to help clean up the meeting room. The President then adjourns the meeting.
NOTES: It is up to the President to set a time schedule for the meeting, and stick to it. In general, the business portion of the meeting should be limited to 15 to 20 minutes. Details not of interest to the general Chapter membership may be covered at interim officer planning meetings and/or referred to committee. The whole meeting should not last beyond 1 hour.
The Secretary sends a thank you letter to the speaker and drafts a summary of the important events of the meeting.
The Historian collects the sign-in roster and provides a copy to the Membership Committee for follow-up with potential new members. The Historian obtains a copy of the correspondence, biographical sketch and topic of presentation for preservation in the official files.
At the next Board meeting a short "after action" discussion of the pros and cons of the meeting should be held. These should be noted in the files for future Board's to consider. Special attention should be given to the reception of the speaker. This will avoid inviting bad speakers again.