Running Smoothly

STEP 5  Meeting Minutes

You joined an investment club, and you were voted Chicken Scratcher, a.k.a. Secretary? What an honor! Pat yourself on the back – your role is vital to the success of your investment club. Remembering what was said and who voted for or against are challenges – wait – opportunities (yeah, that’s better). Your club members will refer to the decisions you summarized in future posts and meetings to come. More importantly, they will use those past decisions as a foundation for new ones. So, let’s get busy, Miss Importante, we’ve got work to do to make you the best Chicken Scratcher in town.

The Chicks have two types of meeting minutes. When we meet online, at least eight times annually, we use a chat room. Our Chicken Scratcher, Chick Jana, is a pro at copying and pasting all of the text into a Microsoft Word document. She sends the attachment to everyone, via e-mail, immediately following the meeting. Then, within two days (your club can establish its own deadline requirement), she sends a follow-up e-mail with a Word document attachment summarizing hot topics, voting outcomes and parking lot items. (Yup, that’s just what it sounds like: items that have been "tabled" or "parked" until later.)

Our second type of meeting minutes, for our twice-annual face-to-face meetings, are more detailed and use the format you’ll see below. Somehow I started taking these minutes while substituting for Chick Jana. I think that happened because she was changing her son, Austin’s, diaper, and I said, "Sure Jana, I’ll take those minutes for ya’!" The rest is history. The moral of the story: Make sure you have a back up, as we have been known to miss some hot topics during potty breaks, wine spills, diaper changes, etc.

OK, if you followed Chick Megan’s advice in her article Agendas… Overrated or a Nest Necessity?, you’ve got half of your meeting minutes’ content right there. Essentially, the agenda should contain all of the topics you’re going to discuss. If the agenda is posted on the board or e-mailed to you before the meeting starts – you guessed it – simply copy and paste the agenda points to your meeting minutes. See, Chicken Scratcher, you’re halfway done. How easy is that?

During the meeting, have your journal ready to take notes; or if you’ve got your laptop handy, open the Meeting Minutes document and jump between the online meeting and your minutes. You be the judge. Some Chicks are whizzes at technology and multi-tasking. Me – I like to handwrite the notes in the journal Chick Susie gave me, and then create the meeting minutes afterwards. Your call – whatever piques your beak!

No matter how you do it, remember, your attendees are a lively crew. Have you ever tried to follow the conversation flow when 10 independent, intelligent, enthusiastic and dynamic women flock together? While in the midst of pandemonium, try to follow these simple rules:

1. Summarize all agenda-focused discussions clearly and consistently, including the name of the person who raised an issue for discussion.
2. Capture the number of votes. Example: 8 ayes and 2 nays.
3. Note who motioned and who seconded the motion for each vote.
4. Capture all items and/or assignments tabled for further decision/discussion

Now that you have all of that information, transfer it into a format that works for your group. We’ve got our format below and will have a template for you to use, hatching soon, right here at this site. You’re impressed, aren’t you?

[Insert Your Club Name Here] Meeting Minutes

Meeting came to order on [insert date here] at [insert time here].

Attendees: List names of those who attended. We use first names only, but you may need to include last names if more than one member has the same first name, or if your group is just getting started.

Treasurer’s Report: Our Egg Carton, a.k.a. Treasurer, sends the report, via e-mail, before the meeting. Sometimes we motion to approve her report, and sometimes we don’t. However, we do make sure that everyone understands the numbers and has no questions. If a discussion, or a vote, ensues, capture here.

First Agenda Item:
Summary of Item and Discussion
Who motioned?
Who seconded the motion?
Discussion? If so, paraphrase here.
Summary of Voting

Second Agenda Item:
Summary of Item and Discussion
Who motioned?
Who seconded the motion?
Discussion? If so, paraphrase here.
Summary of Voting

Items Tabled for Discussion or Next Meeting Assignments:
Issue #1 (insert name of attendee who raised issue)
Issue #2 (insert name of attendee who raised issue)
Assignment #1 (insert attendee name)
Next Meeting Date and Time: (insert date and time)

Meeting Adjourned:
Who motioned?
Who seconded the motion?

That’s it. Not much to it, really. Be objective and impartial. Capture the items as they were raised. Get your minutes completed and distributed on time. If anyone corrects your minutes, add the corrections and redistribute to all attendees. It’s vital that the minutes be accurate. It’s no reflection on your Chicken Scratching ability if you need to do minor revisions. Just try to remember to never forget – Shakespeare had rewrites too. I’m sure of it!