I was reading some literature about Boston and it mentioned room and board. We all know that refers to a place to sleep and food to eat, but what was interesting is the board part. In the early days, a family and/or guests would sit on benches along either side of a long wide board used for a dining table. That explains the origin of board. I also found that the father would sit in a chair at the head of the table. Thus we have the title chair man of the board!
