You are most welcome. I'm glad to help when and where I can. Most people on the board are helpful, even us [img]smile.gif[/img] , dare I say it, PTA people! [img]smile.gif[/img]
(( Not an invitation to argue...just a joke! ))

Thank you so much. You are terrific! I had a feeling PTO parents would be helpful (they always are!).

Really both are great ideas, let me try and give you something you can take with you-
*Got by-laws? make sure you know the ins and outs of them or better yet keep 'em handy if there are questions (most likely there won't be BUT...)
*Keep yourself on track, have written what you want to talk about (an adgenda- the positive kind ) and use it! It helps if your Seretary has a copy too for taking the minutes and keeping YOU on track.
*Don't be afraid to take control of a conversation when you need to. I mean when it's been 25 minutes of two Moms upset over a hole in the pavement and there is nothing you can do about it to fix the issue that night but ask the ladies to leave you their names to direct them to the right people as we have other PTO business to talk about. You CAN do that! I hate doing it to BUT I have realized how much I would rather be home than....you see my point.
* While the "Book" is nice to have (I've actually used it to help others here) you can live without it as long as you just keep yourself organized and the rest of your team helps you keep the meeting organized. A sample agenda would be close to a outline like you would use when writing a paper.

I honestly have a book because in college I was elected Parliamentarian to DECA and have been hooked! I am now on my third book - it's like a weird intrest [img]smile.gif[/img] or goofy hobby! I drive our President nuts! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

....I have read the whole book...twice!

[ 09-21-2003, 12:13 AM: Message edited by: mykidsmom ]

Michelle B's reference is probably all you need, but if, going forward, you want something a little more detailed, but still don't want to attempt to read the whole Robert's Rules (and who does??), try this book: "Robert's Rules in Plain English" by Doris P. Zimmerman.

Roberts rules are designed to run an efficient meeting. Do groups deviate? Sure. It depends how large of a group you are talking about. If it's a small group (we're not talking about a room full of 100 people are we?) than you could loosely run the meeting and maybe just touch on a few rules- call to order, minutes and agenda- approve, treasurer-approve, old business, new business, adjourn.
You can visit cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/apo/robert.html for a little cliffnote version.

I have to run a PTO meeting in two days. DO I have to read the Roberts Rules of Order book, or is there some simple lesson out there that I can use? It can't be that complicated, but I don't have time to get through the book. I appreciate any help!