Community and volunteering
Summarize a community meeting for people who missed it
Members who missed the meeting want to know what was decided, what is still open, and whom to contact. Paste your actual notes into the conversation so the summary reflects what happened at your meeting.
A text to start with
Summarize these notes from our neighborhood association meeting on [date] for members who weren't there. Separate confirmed decisions from items still under discussion. Keep the tone neutral. Do not include the names of residents who spoke; write 'a resident' instead. Flag anything in the notes that looks unresolved so I can clarify it before sending. [Paste notes here.]
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.What to check before distributing
Check each confirmed decision in the draft against your notes. If your notes are ambiguous, the assistant may present a tentative decision as settled, and that is the costliest mistake in a summary like this. Make sure unresolved items are still marked unresolved. Then read for private details, such as a home address mentioned in passing, that survived the anonymizing step.
Sending it out
Ask someone else who attended to read the draft before it goes out. If a section is still unclear after revision, add a sentence inviting members to send questions.