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entertain a motion

A request, usually from the presiding officer, for a formal motion on the subject under discussion.

executive board

A term usually synonymous with board of directors or board of trustees.

executive committee

An executive committee is to the board of directors what the board of directors is to the membership. It is a smaller group, usually the officers, who are given specific authority in the bylaws. They have only the specific authority that is given to them in the bylaws, even though some executive committees assume a lot of authority. Like the board, their meetings are open only to members of the executive committee and their invitees and are held in executive session.

executive session

A meeting or a portion of a meeting in which the proceedings are secret and the only attendees are members and invited guests. Deliberations of an executive session are secret and all attendees are honor-bound to maintain confidentiality. You may have already figured out that this may be an incredibly useful tool in a controversial issue and/or when you want the members to feel free to say things without worry of what they have said being repeated outside of the meeting.

ex-officio

A person is a member by virtue of an office held. An ex-officio member has full voting and speaking rights, unless otherwise indicated in the bylaws.

expunge from the minutes

Upon the adoption of the motion to Rescind and Expunge From the Minutes, the secretary draws a line through the portion of the minutes covered in the motion and writes the words “Rescinded and Ordered Expunged” with the date and her signature. This should be used rarely as a method of expressing strong disapproval of the action taken.