The Office-Bearers — The Chairman

The managing committee acts as a body, but many functions have to be performed by particular individuals holding particular offices. These individuals are the office-bearers of the society, the principal ones being the chairman (also called the president), the secretary, and the treasurer. They are elected or appointed by the managing committee from among its members (subject to the Act and bye-laws) and hold office at the committee's pleasure and for the term laid down. Each office-bearer has his own distinct role, and together they give the committee's decisions practical shape.

The chairman is the head of the society and the leader of the managing committee. His most visible function is to preside over meetings — he presides over the meetings of the managing committee and over the general meetings of the society, conducts the proceedings in an orderly way according to the agenda, maintains discipline and decorum, and puts resolutions to the vote. In the case of an equality of votes on a question, the chairman ordinarily has a casting (second) vote, by which the matter is decided, where the bye-laws so provide. He signs the minutes of the meetings once they are confirmed, and often signs important documents, cheques, and correspondence on behalf of the society jointly with the secretary or treasurer as the bye-laws require. …