Veterans’ organizations—and membership groups in general—thrive on active participation, especially when it comes to business meetings. After all, it’s the members who hold the power of the purse.
Leaders have heard all the reasons why someone might not be able to attend in person:
* Illness, whether it’s a mild cold or something more serious like recovering from chemotherapy
* Business or leisure travel at that time
* A preference to avoid driving at night
* Snowbirds—Florida’s part-time residents—being out of town for several months
Thanks to modern technology, none of these reasons have to be barriers anymore. Enter Hybrid Meetings—a format that brings together both:
* The members joining remotely via platforms like Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet
* The members who are already attending in person
The magic of hybrid meetings is simple: everyone can participate equally.
* Internet attendees can hear what’s being said and see be heard when they want to talk.
* Internet attendees can see what’s going on in the room, and be seen by people in the room.
And, most importantly, both audiences count towards a quorum to start the meeting. And, they can vote.
I want to take a moment to talk about voting. It’s easy to to hear the “ayes’ and “nays” voiced in the room. It is just as easy to scan for “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” for the Internet audience who have their camera turned on.
We’ve been working with the Safety Harbor VFW since January of 2023. The American Legion started their Hybrid meetings that Fall. Online participation for Veterans’ groups has run from zero to fifteen. From our perspective, it’s worth the effort if only a single veteran shows up online.
We’ve also been doing Hybrid homeowner meetings since the pandemic began in 2020. It started when the Board of Directors had directors who were unable to join. One side benefit is that members can also observe the meeting online, and speak up when called upon. Online attendance for HOAs has run from two to fifty.
Hybrid Meetings can be easy if one person is dedicated to the Internet.