Your annual meeting checklist
Notice windows, quorum thresholds, voting rules, speaking rights, and minute approval can vary. Read the recorded declaration, articles, bylaws, and any state law that applies before setting the meeting rules. If two sources seem to conflict, get local advice rather than guessing.
Run sheet checklist
- Calendar the meeting date and book the venue early
- Send the required notice to everyone entitled to receive it and archive proof of notice
- Prepare an agenda and the ballot materials your rules require
- Confirm quorum: the minimum participation required to conduct business
- Start on time and explain the meeting's speaking rules
- Follow the required ballot-counting process and record the result in the minutes
- Draft formal minutes directly from the meeting record
Set the date early and send notice
Put the date on the calendar the day after the last annual meeting. Good venues book out. So do the officers you need in the room.
Send the required notice to everyone entitled to receive it, using the address or delivery method your records support. Use the notice window that applies to your association. If two sources appear to set different periods, resolve that conflict before sending.
A useful notice clearly names the date, time, place, matters members will vote on, and remote-participation instructions where applicable. Keep a copy of what you sent and when. If someone contests the meeting later, that record helps show what notice the board sent and when.
Build the agenda and run the election
Prepare an agenda that matches the business in the meeting notice. Give it to attendees and follow it so owners can see where the meeting is going.
If directors are elected at this meeting, follow the nomination, ballot, proxy, secrecy, and counting rules that apply to your association. Record the result in the minutes without exposing a ballot that must remain private.
Prepare for low attendance and manage the discussion
Quorum is the minimum participation required before the meeting can conduct business. Know the threshold before the meeting so nobody is guessing in the room. If the count falls short, pause before taking business and follow the adjournment or reconvening rule that applies.
Start on time. Keep each item to its block. Explain the speaking rules at the start and apply them consistently. One person speaks at a time.
Minutes record what was decided and who was elected, not a transcript. Draft them from the meeting record, then route them through the approval process your association uses.
Keep records ready throughout the year
Prepare for the annual meeting throughout the year by keeping dues records, financial reports, notices, and past minutes up to date. Common Parcel gives your board a place to keep these records together.