[16624] in APO-L
Re: Sgt@arms question
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Thomas W. Strong Jr.)
Fri Apr 18 13:46:15 1997
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 13:44:49 -0400
Reply-To: "Thomas W. Strong Jr." <strong@DEMENTIA.ORG>
From: "Thomas W. Strong Jr." <strong@DEMENTIA.ORG>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
In-Reply-To: <199704181700.NAA18119@alycia.dementia.org>
On Fri, 18 Apr 1997, Jennifer E Carroll wrote:
> I need some information from any and all of you concerning your
> Sarge@Arms. What is the position as outlined in your constitution? What
> is the positon unofficially? What duties does the Sarge@Arms have? What
> powers? What authority over inforcing requirements? How long is the term
> of office? What are the powers/authority that the Sarge@Arms has over the
> constitution?
The "usual" duties of a Sergeant at Arms are generally to act as an
assistant to the chairman at meetings, (timekeeping, assisting with
ballots, etc.) keeping track of the chapter's property (someone has to do
it, and unless you elect a quartermaster...), and various ceremonial
duties such as introducing guests at meetings, formally delivering
notices, and certain other tasks which I won't discuss here.
Term of office varies by chapter, but it often coincides with the term of
other officers. Sometimes the SAA is appointed, sometimes elected, again
varying by chapter.
Likewise, the authority to enforce requirements varies by chapter. If
the chapter bylaws says that the SAA keeps track of attendance, then they
do so, bu that's more commonly given to the secretary or a membership
VP. Some chapters will state that the SAA is in charge of keeping order
at the meetings, but doing so is generally improper. The chairman is in
charge of keeping order, and if necessary may ask others (typically the
SAA, but not necessarrily) to assist as needed. A specific statement
that the SAA will keep order in the absence of such a request doesn't do
much other than lead to later disagreements if the chairman and SAA
disagree.
I'm not sure what you meant by "power over the onstitution". Usually,
only the chapter as a whole can amend the chapter bylaws (the Articles of
Association are the chapters' constitution). The SAA might be the person
tasked with keeping an up-to-date copy of the bylaws, and with providing
copies as needed, but no individual should have sufficient authority to
modify them alone.
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Thomas W. Strong Jr. strong@dementia.org
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