BOD Executive Sessions (Mollie)

Sometimes boards enter into executive sessions to discuss sensitive matters that the members don’t want heard by a larger populace — either by visitors to the board meeting or through meeting minutes.

At the Board of Directors meeting in swanky Palm Springs this past November, the board entered into executive session five times:

Executive Session I: “After bringing the discussion to an end, Chairman Muchow welcomed the members of the Commission on Constitutional Matters to the next portion of joint meeting, and introduced the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance, Robert Greene. A motion “to move into executive session to receive the task force presentation” was introduced by board members and carried.”

Executive Session II: “As Synod legal counsel Sherri Strand of Thompson Coburn LLC prepared to provide her report, a motion “to move into executive session to receive the legal report” was introduced and carried.”

Executive Session III: “As the KFUO Committee prepared to give its report, a motion “to move into executive session to hear the report from the KFUO Committee” was introduced and carried.”

Executive Session IIIb: “Later in the meeting, a motion “to move into executive session to continue discussion of the KFUO Committee report” was introduced and carried.”

Executive Session IV: The BOD authorized the formation of a Vietnam corporation for the purpose of operating a school in Hanoi, to be owned by LCMS Holdings Limited as recommended by the Board for
Mission Services. “Following the action, a motion “to move into executive session to discuss a related matter” was introduced and carried.”

While Executive Sessions can certainly be overused, it’s impossible to know whether that’s the case from the outside. If a majority of the board so desires, the entire meeting can basically be conducted in privacy. Still, I’m wondering what they were discussing with KFUO, legal and particularly the Blue Ribbon Task Force matters. I mean, what could possibly need to be kept secret about the Blue Ribbon Task Force?

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