Members of the Question’s Committee have their work cut out today. Why? Ninety questions have been submitted - 90! Do the math, depending upon the number of nominees, each answering every question thoughtfully. The committee has to pare down the questions whilst keeping those who submitted them happy. You can imagine the discussion that ensued. Kind of like a Corps Council I once chaired, but let’s not go there.
A recess was required until the committee completed its impossible task.
Fast work. After lunch, we reconvened and the committee presented its result. Not so fast. More discussion. More questions. More meandering. More squirming, until the president finally brought it to a conclusion, satisfied or not.
The nominations begin at precisely 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11, 1999. The mechanics of running a HC have obviously been in the forefront of our thinking. We know the analytical side of potential nominees, but still little about their vision and passions, making an informed nomination difficult. It is suggested that a time for this be considered in preparation for the next HC.
The ballot box sits in the center of the chamber oval. Each name is called according to protocol order. It is very quiet and solemn, no member moving simultaneously. At precisely 3:34 p.m., #74 places his nomination in the box.
We continue quietly and prayerfully as the tellers take the ballot-filled box into another room for tallying. At 4:00 p.m. they return, and the President announces the result in alphabetical order: Shaw Clifton, Douglas Davis, David Edwards, Israel Gaither, John Gowans, John Larsson, Earl Maxwell, Robert Watson.
The HC is adjourned for the day. This gives time for the President to meet with each nominee individually and share the number of nominations they received. That number is never revealed to other members of the HC. Each nominee will now prayerfully consider his decision on whether or not to stand for election, that decision to be announced on the following morning.
(To be continued)
0 comments:
Post a Comment