CALL TO ORDER PARLIMENTARIAN SERVICE - Key Persons
Daniel Webster's "Reply to Hayne" speech in the U.S. Senate. The Webster-Hayne debate provided a glimpse into the North- South views of the Constitution: Union or Compact of sovereign states.
Dr. William Gillmeister (Bylaw Bill Gillmeister as he's come to be known) is a Professional Registered Parliamentarian and has a 15-year history of participating in and presiding over meetings of both private organizations and public assemblies. He has served on and worked with the federal-regional body known as the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact which existed from 1997 through 2001. The Compact consisted of state delegations from each of the six northern most New England states. The Compact derived its authority to regulate regional milk prices from the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution and functioned much like the Second Continental Congress in that each state delegation had one vote. In his experience with the Compact, Dr. Gillmeister supplied critical analysis of the Bylaws of the Compact to develop strategies and white papers to achieve the objectives of the Massachusetts delegation.
He served as the appointed member to the Dairy Farm Revitalization Task Force in 2007. This 17-member Task Force consisted of six state legislators, members of the dairy industry and key state government officials. In that capacity, Dr. Gillmeister served as secretary and coordinator of meeting arrangements as well as playing a key role in strategy development to accomplish the goals of the Commonwealth. The results of the stiff schedule of seven meetings in four months, included a 135 page report and the passage in 2008 of the Dairy Farm Preservation Act that established some key programs to assist the dairy industry and other agricultural sectors of the Commonwealth including the Dairy Farm Tax Credit Program which offers a tax break for dairy farmers.
Additionally, Dr. Gillmeister is the legislative liaison for the Department and reviews town bylaws and regulations that towns of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopt on a regular basis.
In his private capacity, Dr. Gillmeister served on Brookfield Elementary School Committee from 2001 through 2007. As a member of the school committee, he served as Secretary and Chairman as well as the Brookfield Representative to the 18 member Tantasqua Regional School Committee from 2005 through 2007. While on the Regional School Committee, he served on the Bylaws and Policy Subcommittee and chaired the Building and Grounds Subcommittee. He provided key strategic planning to provide the students of Brookfield and the 5-town region with an objective education. In the spring of 2010, he ran for and won another term on Regional School Committee. Once again, he serves on the Bylaws and Policy subcommittee.
Currently, Dr. Gillmeister serves as Moderator of the East Brookfield Baptist Church. The Moderator conducts or presides over all meetings of the 200-member church and its 12-member Church Board which acts as the board of directors for the church. Here, he is affectionately known as Bylaw Bill because, as Moderator, Dr. Gillmeister has provided key analysis of bylaw provisions to guide and direct the Church in its business meetings.
Dr. Gillmeister has a Ph.D in agricultural economics from the Pennsylvania State University. He has also written extensively in newspapers, journals, and other print and electronic media and has appeared both on television and radio.