OIAA Board Meeting Agenda 14 February 2023

OIAA Board Meeting Agenda 14 February 2023

 

Chair’s Opening Remarks 

Standing Committee Reports

•   Unity Committee
•   Cooperation with the Professional Community Committee
•   Public Information Committee
•   Finance Committee
•   Technology Committee
•   Steppers Committee
•   Policy & Admissions Committee

5-Minute Break

Board Reports/Business 

•   Approval of Minutes   – Jeff B., Secretary 
•   Treasurer  – Brian R.
•   Technology Chairperson   –  Mark M.
•   Finance Chairperson  –  Spencer
•   Chairperson – Jane G.
•   Vice Chairperson – Susan R.

 

Guidelines Ad Hoc Update

With the exception of reviewing the Committees in Section 1, the ad hoc committee has completed its first pass through the existing guidelines. After the outlines of the Committees have been drafted, we will make another pass through the recently-adopted Bylaws to be sure the new Guidelines provide everything from them that needs to be detailed.  We did a rapid review of the job officer positions descriptions in order to quickly prepare for the Election Assembly. 

The Committee Section of Guidelines

We are drafting a template for standardizing the contents for the description of each committee. We recognize that there are differences in the need to describe the work of each committee. After all, OIAA has a variety of committees to do the wide range of work necessary to carry the message. 

The variety of standing committees serves AA’s primary purpose — to carry the message to the still suffering alcoholic. The committee description in the guidelines serve to inform all AA members and groups that they are all welcome to participate in the wide variety of OIAA’s 12th Step work. OIAA wants to attract participation in 12th Step work.

OIAA’s Board does have a responsibility to review the committee descriptions in order to be sure they are clarified before they are moved to the assembly for their approval. The clarifications are:

• Ensuring services of not duplicated among the committees; and 
• The committee’s financial needs are known and can be met.

The other parts of Section 1 that are left to review/revise are the Alternate and Appointed positions. The Listkeeper position has been moved under the Technology Committee. That service position description will need to be completed after the directory conversion has been made because the work of that position will change.  

The name of the Historian position has been changed to the more familiar term of Archivist. A revised position description was sent to the steering@aa-intergroup.org for comment. After incorporating the helpful revisions that were received, the document was redistributed and received no further comments. It has been posted on NAATW; and it was also submitted to the Chair of the National AA Archives Workshop with a request to post it to their membership. I have one more place to post it. I have received a message from one interested party.

 

Call for Volunteers

I have made a call for volunteers to that possess several skills for the projects that fall under the Communications Ad Hoc. I can now put better definition to the positions we need along with the skills needed to do the specific work.

Draft of March 18, 2023 Assembly Agenda – Revised on February 14, 2023

OIAA’s Assemblies are scheduled for the 3rd week of the 3rd month of each quarter. 

Some of these items may be removed. We are planning on a 90-minutes session. This particular assembly will be information only. We will not take a quorum.

1.   Minutes – Secretary
2.   Treasurer’s Report – Update on Rotation of Officers & Banking
3.   Chair’s Report – recognition of PAC and Listkeeper -Quarterly Forum, Safety Workshops and Assembly
4.   Finance Chairperson’s report
5.   Website Presentation – Technology Chair & Committee U.S./Canada 
6.   GSC Final Agenda Items – Why is it important to share this information is available?
7.   Unity Committee Report – Learn the dates of the Conferences in other countries. What does the GSO in each country do and not do. Can we connect those who contact the Steppers Committee to the GSOs in their home country?
8.   Servathon – A look at all of OIAA’s 12th Step work and a call for volunteers – List   all OIAA’s need
9.   What’s On Your Mind (Sharing Session)

 

Please announce to your groups  – Volunteers Are Needed!

We have a lot to do in OIAA. Here is a partial list. If you or someone you know wants to serve, please give them my email: chair@aa-intergroup.org. 

Alternate Treasurer
Alternate Secretary
Alternate Chair Finance
Archivist

•       People who are knowledgeable in applying A.A.’s Steps, Traditions, and Concepts
•       Simultaneous (Oral) Interpreters – please tell me your languages
•       Translators for written documents – please tell me your languages
•       Communication Specialists
•       Graphic artists
•       Training designers
•       Videographers
•       Presentation script writers 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Board Policies

As follow-up work to OIAA’s Bylaws, Barry, OIAA’s former Secretary, sent me three templates for board policies that were given to him from Alexandra Kilduff, the attorney from Pro Bono Partnership, who consulted with the  OIAA’s Bylaws Ad Hoc Committee. I will fill in the blanks on the templates and circulate for the signatures of all OIAA officers.

• Whistleblower
• Conflict of Interest
• Records Retention & Destruction

  

Inquiry to OIAA’s Finance Committee

On behalf of the Unity Committee I am are sending a request for payment of travel expenses to a woman in Columbia who has asked to attend three Congresos in that country during 2023.

 

Requests for Board Approval of Committees:

Communication Ad Hoc Committee

•   Assembly Planning – Development of technical script
•   Assembly Communication
•   Assembly Survey
•   Translation Services

–   Written – Documents (Could be Special Workers)

–   Oral – Special Workers

•   Volunteer Coordination

–   Written – Documents (Could be Special Workers)

–   Open service positions

•   Increasing Group Participation

 

New Group Orientation

1. 12th Step service work offered to all AA members by OIAA standing committees
2.   Whom to contact within OIAA and for what.
3.   Review Welcome Letter for content of New Group Orientation

 

IGR Orientation – Before each Assembly

1. What is OIAA?
2.   What is the Role of an IGR?

 

Change of Chair to the Guidelines Ad Hoc Committee

With the board’s approval, I have asked Susan, Vice Chair, to step into chair this committee. I began chairing the committee when I served as Vice Chair. I now need to free me time to attend to many other matters.

  

Grapevine/LaVina Magazine Working Group

GV Podcast Episode on OIAA

 

Consideration of Committee Chair

Convention Committee Chair – Jeff

  

OLD BUSINESS

 

None that is known

   

Vice Chair Board Report to the Board 14 Feb 2023 

Good afternoon, my name is Susan, and I am an alcoholic.  Since I did not stand in the December Assembly with my service resume, I thought I would first share some of it.  My sobriety date is December 7, 1987: I have a homegroup in Newark, Delaware, Area 12. It is, of course, the greatest homegroup in the world and it went online during Covid.  It takes two sponsors, one for recovery and one for service to keep help me on the beam.  We are frequently in touch.  I sponsor others both as recovery and service sponsor. 

I started in service in my group as door opener and then chair.  Outside of the group, I started as GSR, DCM, Area 12 Secretary, Alternate Delegate, Panel 66 Delegate, serving on the Conference Corrections Committee. I followed this up by becoming area chair.  In Area 12, delegates service on the corporate board for 8 years.  During that time, I served one panel as board chair, during which time we updated our bylaws.  In the last year, I served as Ad Hoc Chair for the formation on an online district, which we voted to approve in February.

Covid largely stopped our in-person meetings in Area 12, but I discovered the exciting new frontier of online recovery and service.  With another homegroup member, we founded an online meeting of the group taking each step through the group conscience.  The homegroup continued to meet daily in-person until the facility closed its doors In December 2020, splitting the group:  Half formed daily online meetings; half left the state continuing to meet in-person in a car dealership outside of legal regulations, voting to  separate completely shortly thereafter.  When the facility reopened in June 2021, most of the regulars returned to a live meeting.  The few remaining online people agreed to list the group on OIAA when the real challenges began.  I felt like I had led a whole new group of largely newcomers through the valley of the shadow of death hounded by disruptions to the message of hope we were trying to convey.   Every few days, I asked them if they wanted to delist.  But they understood the concept of inclusivity, rose to the challenges, developed a sense of themselves as a group and stepped readily in service, primarily as security.  When the question came up as to sobriety requirements to serve in our first election, people stood with under a year. Leadership begins here!  I scooped a couple of them up as service sponsor and these Zoom babies are coming up on two years!  Service facilitates recovery.

So, that’s 35 years in under 5 minutes.  Listing on OIAA brought me here, into this brave new world, this new frontier.  I came to any listed workshops, watched as nonvoting member.  As I believe in leading by example, I stood for IGrep at the group level.  I participated in the first real time assembly when we passed the bylaws. I watched OIAA blossom.   I was not planning on standing for office in the December Assembly.  But Gwen M’s last chair’s report haunted me Saturday night after the election.  She wrote:  ” My prayer on any given day often includes ‘Lead me where you need me’.” Could it be. like Gwen,” I was needed right here, right now?” She said, “Today we need you, your talents, your abilities, your vision, and passion!  I encourage you to consider standing for office.” Sunday morning, I listened to the call.  I sent Gwen an email with my resume and willingness to serve.  I was appointed by the board and almost immediately asked to serve on the Ad Hoc Guidelines Committee, where I was welcomed into a new circle of service with dedicated and talented people, representing far wider horizons than the 1982 square miles of Area 12 Delaware. We are currently building the structure, a spaceship, if you will, that will carry us into this new frontier, helping groups around the globe carry the message of experience, strength, and hope, to the still sick and suffering.   This brings you up to date with my experience and the 5 weeks of work I have started here.  I am reenergized by this commitment to continue to serve an organization that saved my life.     I have a little experience and I hope I can continue to serve with you on the Starship, Enterprise, into the future of AA.  Together, we will beam the message of hope around the globe.