Page:Robert's Parliamentary Practice.djvu/137

Rh many societies the president has duties as an administrative or executive officer. When this is desired, the by-laws should clearly set forth these duties, since they are outside of his duties as presiding officer of the assembly. He should always in his reports refer to himself as *'the [or your] President," never as "the chair" as this term applies only to the presiding officer as such.

Vice President. In many societies a vice president is chosen who presides in the absence of the president. Some societies have several vice presidents each of whom has charge of a special department of work. In case of the death or resignation of the president, the first vice president becomes president automatically unless the by-laws provide differently. In this case the second becomes the first, the third the second, and so on, unless the by-laws provide for filling the vacancy. In case the presiding officer has any other title than president, his alternate's title is changed to correspond, thus Vice Commander, Vice Chairman, etc. When a vice president is in the chair he is addressed as "Mr. President."

Secretary. The secretary should keep a record of the proceedings, the character of which depends upon the kind of meeting. This record in a deliberative assembly is called the "minutes" and should contain the following: