2024 Ohio State Grange Favorable Resolutions
RESOLUTIONS
HINTS ON WRITING RESOLUTIONS
When writing resolutions, there are some steps which, if taken, can enable the committee to work much better with them. Here are four steps to seriously consider when writing resolutions.
1). The statement contained in the “Therefore be it resolved—-” needs to be a complete statement within itself that fully contains the entire meaning of the resolution. Nothing contained within any “Whereas —-” can be assumed to be a part of the “Therefore be it resolved—-”. It has to be actually stated in the “Therefore be it resolved —-”! For example, something like “Therefore be it resolved that the Ohio State Grange support this position, “doesn’t mean a thing because “this position” is totally unclear! It needs to be written to include what “this” (as was probably stated somewhere within a “Whereas —-”) actually means. It should read something like “Therefore be it resolved that the Ohio State Grange support the intent of the Ohio House bill #1234. That clarifies the resolution completely!
2.) Another problem area is excessive language used after the “Therefore be it resolved —” is stated. The “Therefore be it resolved —-” statement should be a BREIF, concise, and complete sentence which states the entire intent of the resolution, and nothing else! Any wordy phrases written toward the end of a good “therefore it resolved —” are usually superfluous and should either be eliminated from the “Therefore be it resolved —” part of the resolution or be properly rewritten above in a “Whereas —-”. For example, in case like “Therefore be it resolved that the Ohio State Grange support the intent of Ohio Senate Bill #2468 because that would be much better in the interest of family farms, etc., etc., “the part stating, “that would be much better in the interest of family farms, etc., etc.,,”should not be part of the “Therefore be it resolved —-” If you feel that wording needs to be stated somewhere, put it into a “Whereas —-” earlier in the resolution.
3.) Make sure you don’t put several different “Whereas—-” thoughts all lumped into one. Keep each supporting thought within its own “Whereas —-”. This enables the committee to determine the individual supporting ideas in order to deal with each individual thought. If the members of a committee feel a certain “Whereas —-” statement weakens the resolution because of not being valid, it’s much simpler to simply delete that “Whereas —- “ statement.
4.) PLEASE, attach factual supporting information, references, and statements to your resolution. This helps the committee better understand the full meaning of the resolution. While all committees have a laptop and all hotels have wireless internet access available the more valid supporting information you provide with your resolutions, the better it is for the committees, as it saves their time for discussion, rather that using it for researching.
Utilizing these four steps will certainly give resolutions with good intent and purpose, and better chance to survive.
Click on to view “ Outline for Resolutions”