PREPARE AN AGENDA, WELCOME ADDRESS & VOTE OF

THANKS FOR YOUR FAREWELL FUNCTION

INTRODUCTION

An agenda is a list of function activities in the order in which they are to be taken up,
beginning with the call to order and ending with adjournment. It usually includes one or more
specific items of business to be acted upon. It may, but is not required to, include specific
times for one or more activities. An agenda may also be called a docket, schedule, or
calendar.

Agenda is an abbreviation of agenda sunt or agendum est, gerundive forms in plural

and singular respectively of the Latin verb ago, agere, egi, actum "to drive on, set in motion",
for example of cattle. The meaning is "(those things/that thing) which must be driven
forward". What is now known in English as an agenda is a list of individual items which must
be "acted upon" or processed, usually those matters which must be discussed at a business
function. Although the Latin word is in a plural form, as a borrowed word in English, the
word is singular and has a plural of "agendas".

Explanation

An agenda lists the items of business to be taken up during a function or session. It

may also be called a "calendar".A function agenda may be headed with the date, time and
location of the function, followed by a series of points outlining the order in which the
business is to be conducted. Steps on any agenda can include any type of schedule or order
the group wants to follow. Agendas may take different forms depending on the specific
purpose of the group and may include any number of the items.

In business functions of a deliberative assembly, the items on the agenda are also
known as the orders of the day. Optimally, the agenda is distributed to a function's
participants prior to the function, so that they will be aware of the subjects to be discussed,
and are able to prepare for the function accordingly.

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 In a workshop, the sequence of agenda items is important, as later agenda steps may
be dependent upon information derived from or completion of earlier steps in the agenda.

Frequently in standard functions, agenda items may be "time boxed" or fixed so as not
to exceed a predetermined amount of time. In workshops, time boxing may not be effective
because completion of each agenda step may be critical to beginning the next step.

In parliamentary procedure, an agenda is not binding upon an assembly unless its own
rules make it so, or unless it has been adopted as the agenda for the function by majority vote
at the start of the function. Otherwise, it is merely for the guidance of the chair.

If an agenda is binding upon an assembly, and a specific time is listed for an item, that
item cannot be taken up before that time, and must be taken up when that time arrives even if
other business is pending. If it is desired to do otherwise, the rules can be suspended for that
purpose.

Order of business

In parliamentary procedure, an order of business, as the name may suggest, is the

sequence of items that is to be taken up during a function. This sequence may be a standard
order of business or a sequence listed on an agenda that the assembly has agreed to follow.

Standard Order of Business

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) has the following standard order of
business:

1. Reading and approval of minutes

2. Reports of officers, boards and standing committees

3. Reports of special committees

4. Special orders

5. Unfinished business and general orders

6. New business

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 The above standard order of business has been found to be appropriate for functions in
most organizations. The "special orders" and "general orders" refer to items of business that
usually come from a previous function (the word "order" in these two cases do not refer to
"sequence" but instead is more like a "command" in its meaning).

"New business" is where the bulk of the discussion as well as decisions in the function
usually takes place. If a group has not adopted an agenda or an order of business, all of its
business would be considered "new business".

WELCOME ADDRESS

The focus is always the audience and your goal is to make them look forward to
whatever is coming next. You are uniting and bringing them together in the common purpose
at the heart of the occasion.

To strike the right tone in the language you use consider the audience and the event.

Is it fun?
Is it serious?

Think about that common interest everybody shares - their reason from being there. This
will give you clues to guide your language choice.

His essential elements to cover in your opening remarks are:

To specifically acknowledge and welcome any important guests

To generally welcome all the guests, stating the name of the event and host and thank
them for coming
To give a brief introduction of the host
To give a brief introduction of the occasion
To introduce the next speaker if appropriate
To conclude having made everybody feel at ease, eagerly anticipating what is to come

This content forms a basic welcome speech template. Pick, and alter, the elements you
need to suit your occasion.

FAREWELL SPEECH

Farewell speeches mark significant departures. They are much more than a casual "see
you later" and a mumbled "thanks for everything".A planned goodbye speech crystallizes the

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moment of leaving, giving it focus, form, dignity and provides an opportunity to publicly
acknowledge appreciation and gratitude graciously.

They are most frequently expected when leaving a current job to take another and are given
by the person leaving or to that person by a colleague, manager or boss. Other situations
calling for farewell speeches are graduations (leaving a school, a class...), retirements or
perhaps when a long-time member of your club or neighborhood departs. A funeral speech or
eulogy is yet another form of a goodbye or farewell speech.

sincerity - expresses genuinely felt feelings

positivity - dwells on the positive: acknowledges good outcomes, projects and events
without undue exaggeration, expresses hopes for the future
brevity - succinct and concise minus padding or waffle

CONCLUSION

If the situation is very emotional or you are very emotional this may be the safest way
to get everything you want to say out.Using your completed speech outline as a guide write
the whole speech out.When you print your text out be sure to use a large font so that it is
easily read. Double space your lines and number your pages for the same reason.

REFERENCE

http://www.write-out-loud.com/farewell-speeches.html
http://www.indiacelebrating.com/speech/farewell/colleague/
http://www.mrmediatraining.com/2013/09/15/how-to-give-a-memorable-goodbye-
speech/
http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/articles/how-to-give-a-wonderful-
farewell-speech-on-a-colleagues-retirement/