2000 Business meeting Minutes: Introductory Comments

Introductory Comments

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Business Meeting at Chicon 2000, the 58th World Science Fiction Convention, consisted of one preliminary meeting and two main meetings. Meetings were held at various locations as indicated in the text in the Fairmont and Hyatt Regency Hotels, Chicago, Illinois, USA. The podium staff for all meetings were: Donald E. Eastlake III, Presiding Officer; Kevin Standlee, Parliamentarian and Deputy Presiding Officer; Cheryl Morgan, Secretary; and 'Zanne Labonville, Timekeeper.

Votes by show of hands were not counted; they were used in place of voice votes. When a counted vote was necessary, the "serpentine" method was used. Using this method, all people voting on one side stand, then count off across each row and back down the next row in a back-and-forth fashion. After all of the people voting on one side have voted, then the other side's voters stand and the process repeats. This method allows everyone to see who is voting and tends to assure a faster and more accurate count than other methods of counting heads.