BOD's

Question

I live in a co-op apartment. On the wall of the elevator I saw another memo about the BOD's, and I began to understand something that I should have figured out earlier.
Each member of the co-op board is a Board of Director (BOD). I'd heard the term in speech but had made the mental correction and missed the point. If each member is a Board of Director, then together they are the Board of Directors (BOD's). Now even the apostrophe almost makes sense: it's a fairly common way to form plurals of capitalized abbreviations.
The apostrophe still worries me, though, because it suggests possession, although of course that wasn't what was intended. Can a term like "board of directors" have a possessive form? (My guess is that it cannot.)

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I live in a co-op apartment. On the wall of the elevatorI saw another memo about the BOD's, and I ... that wasn't what wasintended. Can a term like "board of directors" have a possessive form?(My guess is that it cannot.)[/nq]
"The board of directors' position is uncertain."
Servo

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]. . . Can a term like "board of directors" have a possessive form? (My guess is that it cannot.)[/nq]
[nq:1]"The board of directors' position is uncertain."[/nq]
Aha! That does look okay. Thanks. I think it works partly by analogy with "The directors' position is unclear," but I don't think it would cause any confusion.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I live in a co-op apartment. On the wall of the elevator I saw another memo about the BOD's, and ... in speech but had made the mental correction and missed the point. If each member is a Board of Director,(snipped)[/nq]
I'm thinking each member is a director, and not a board of director. It's only together that they are a board. No?
Scout

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I live in a co-op apartment. On the wall of ... the point. If each member is a Board of Director,[/nq]
[nq:1](snipped) I'm thinking each member is a director, and not a board of director. It's only together that they are a board. No? Scout[/nq]
Yes. I just can't understand the "Each member of the co-op board is a Board of Director (BOD)" interpretation. Is someone taking the ***, or have I missed something, or is there some humour in this that I don't understand?

Steve Howarth

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2](snipped) I'm thinking each member is a director, and not a board of director. It's only together that they are a board. No? Scout[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes. I just can't understand the "Each member of the co-op board is a Board of Director (BOD)" interpretation. Is someone taking the ***, or have I missed something, or is there some humour in this that I don't understand? Steve Howarth[/nq]
Perhaps it was typed with tongue-in-cheek.
Scout

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Yes. I just can't understand the "Each member of the ... there some humour in this that I don'tunderstand? Steve Howarth[/nq]
[nq:1]Perhaps it was typed with tongue-in-cheek. Scout[/nq]
That's the most likely explanation, I think.
Steve Howarth

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]another It's I understand?[/nq]
[nq:2]Perhaps it was typed with tongue-in-cheek. Scout[/nq]
[nq:1]That's the most likely explanation, I think.[/nq]
I'm the original poster. It's not that I think each member of the board is a Board of Director. I'm just trying to figure out how the term is being used by co-op residents and management. I think they're seeing each board member as a Board of Director and a bunch of them as Board of Directors. This interpretation is supported by utterances like "She's a Board of Director, you know" and is consistent with the memo on the elevator wall about the BOD's studying some problem or another.
I see now, though, that Google gives a lot of hits for "Board of Director" or "Board of Director's," as in "Board of Director's meeting" (maybe a try at the elusive possessive that I asked about), so I don't think what I'm observing is strictly local, and I'm no longer confident that I'm interpreting it correctly. I need more data and probably help from linguists, if I don't get bored of directors first.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I'm the original poster. It's not that I think eachmember of the board is a Board of Director. I'm just ... management.I think they're seeing each board member as a Board ofDirector and a bunch of them as Board of Directors.[/nq]
That would not be normal use, I think. Normally we would refer to an individual as a director, and to the body as "the board" or "board of directors."
[nq:1]This interpretation is supported by utterances like "She's a Board ofDirector, you know" and is consistent with the memo on the elevator wall about the BOD's studying some problem or another.[/nq]
I've never heard that use in the US.
[nq:1]I see now, though, that Google gives a lot of hits for"Board of Director" or "Board of Director's," as in "Board ofDirector's meeting"[/nq]
As I understand it, "board" is plural and would require a plural for directors: "board of directors"
The last forms you use would seem to be incorrect
possessification. The usual possessive would be
"board of directors'" or in some areas, "board
of directors's" (though I despise that form and am loathe to mention it).
Servo

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I'm the original poster. It's not that I think each member of the board is a Board of Director. I'm ... bunch of them as Board of Directors. This interpretation is supported by utterances like "She's a Board of Director, you[/nq]
Wow, I would find this unbelievable were it not for my HOA meetings. They would say, "I motion that we hired that garden service" but I didn't see any hands moving.
Another guy wanted us to put our money in a mutual fund, but when I told him we could lose moneytoo, he said, No, it's insured. When I told him it was only insured against theft by the fund employees, he insisted I was wrong. No one else at the meeting said anything, and I suspect they had no idea.
I don't need a lot of money, but I wish I had made more so I could hang around with better educated people. I'm not thinking they would be smarter, but at lease some things, like money and English, they might do better at.
[nq:1]know" and is consistent with the memo on the elevator wall about the BOD's studying some problem or another.[/nq]
I wouldn't try to understand them anymore.
Actually, with capital letters a simple s makes a good enough plural. BODs. It's with little letters that it's confusing. For example, bods. Sometimes I get tired of capitals and use small letters.
[nq:1]I see now, though, that Google gives a lot of hits for "Board of Director"[/nq]
What would this mean? A board with only one director? I don't think that's legal in the US.

[nq:1]or "Board of Director's," as in "Board of Director's meeting" (maybe a try at the elusive possessive that I asked ... interpreting it correctly. I need more data and probably help from linguists, if I don't get bored of directors first.[/nq]
s/ meirman
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Usenet · Answer

I haven't heard it outside Hawaii, but the Google hits are diverse. Try a search on the term
"a board of director" -directors
One, Alaska-related, is from the US Department of
Education! "He is . . . a Board of Director for the Calista Corporation. . . ."
Is it correct? Well, no, not in my book. Does it occur? Oh, yes. Why does it occur? Arguably because the term "board of directors," although common and precise, is an awkward one that we don't know how to deal with
gracefully. Evidence? Our confusion (yours and mine at least) about what, if any, its possessive form might be.

By the way, I disagree about "board of directors" being plural. It's a collective noun that takes a singular verb in USA and I would guess a plural one in UK.

BOD's

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