And frankly, I was appalled.
Now, as I see it, meetings have two functions: to disseminate information and to make decisions (organize, plan, decide, vote, whatever, usually after some committee has worked on and then presented an issue if the meeting group is a large one).
But if less than 10% of your population shows up, is a meeting really an effective way to do either?
For two hours, we a). received information that they said they would then send out via email and newsletter anyway (and in this case advance notice held no advantage, really) and b). didn't make any decisions, despite needing to approve the budget, which came up for a vote, with lots of discussion, then a motion and a second (after one of the officers said we should try Robert's Rules and then no one in charge knew how), but then everyone got too distracted AND FORGOT TO ACTUALLY HOLD THE VOTE!!!
There was a ton of other discussion--all of which should have taken place in committee or one-on-one or in email--with Maria getting a great fundraising idea but then Ann noting that she had already researched and found it untenable (and why was that, could Ann explain?) and then Lucia wondering why we aren't doing something the way we did last year because she liked last year when she ran it and didn't like the new idea but wasn't going to help out and Tasha asking Susie why she hadn't received the email about the field trip that was cancelled (and why was that, exactly?). Yadda yadda yadda. Ad infinitem et ad nauseum. Forgive my internalized misogyny, but it all sounded like a disorganized hen house.
And I was starting to feel wolfish.
When the conversation veered into a discussion about one or another meeting that may or may not have been held five or so years ago on some topic or another, totally unrelated to the business at hand, I finally raised my hand, "I'm sorry but I'm new and I'm lost. Are we even following the agenda?"
ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
No wonder, as the officers will tell you themselves, that the first meeting is the longest and best attended . . . . AND NO ONE COMES TO ANY OTHER MEETINGS.
