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CPC Committee Minutes – July 2026

OIAA Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC)

Committee Meeting Minutes

July 5, 2026

Member Attendees

  • Leila B. – Chair
  • Pato – Alternate Chair
  • Andresa N. – Language Support
  • Bartolo
  • Mauricio
  • Fernando

Also Attending

  • Susan R. – OIAA Board Chair
  • Jan B. – OIAA Alternate Chair
  • Carol G. – Communications Committee Chair
  • Mark – OIAA Technology Chair (first time attending a CPC meeting)
  • Yael – Interpreter (live Spanish interpretation)

Call to Order

The meeting was held at approximately 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time via Zoom. Leila chaired the meeting and opened with a moment of silence followed by the “we” version of the Serenity Prayer, with Spanish speakers invited to join in Spanish. Live interpretation was available and will be available at every meeting.

Leila reviewed the CPC purpose: to inform professionals and future professionals about AA — what we are, where we are, what we can do, and what we cannot do — and to establish better communication between AAs and professionals, finding simple, effective ways of cooperating without affiliating. She reminded members of available resources, including the AAWS CPC Workbook, the committee’s CPC charter, and the CPC kit, and that all committee work stays aligned with the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts.

All attendees introduced themselves, including new CPC participants Bartolo, Mauricio, and Fernando. Carol introduced herself as the Communications Committee Chair and offered communications support to CPC, including copywriting, editing, video production, and print communications.

Announcements

  • Everything AA app: AAWS recently acquired the Everything AA app, a member-built app containing AA literature and resources. Over time it is expected to align increasingly with conference-approved material. Professionals may find the app useful to share; a link is in the agenda.
  • Updated CPC presentation: AAWS released an updated, modifiable CPC presentation template, “Let’s Be Friendly with Our Friends.” Training on presentations will be provided at future meetings; a link is in the agenda.

Service Updates

  • Andresa shared her outreach to a therapist, and the committee provided resources to share. If the therapist’s professional group is interested in a presentation, the committee would be glad to make a future panel an upcoming initiative.
  • A nursing director expressed interest in AA meetings for students; a version of that inquiry was used as a sample during training.
  • Response templates have been created and added to the committee’s Google Drive based on professional interactions received over the past few months.

New Business

CPC Mailboxes and Routing Training: The committee reviewed the two Google Groups on a screenshare, as well as the incoming inquiry flow. Website contact-form submissions are delivered to the OIAA CPC Committee group, while the Ask CPC group serves as the internal committee mailbox. The committee agreed this naming is counterintuitive and may revisit it. Inquiries may also be received by forwarded messages from other committees (e.g., Public Information).

AskCPC Mailbox Coverage: The mailboxes are currently monitored by only two members, so responses have sometimes been delayed several days. Leila proposed a rotating schedule in which trained volunteers each take responsibility for one or two designated days per week (estimated 5–15 minutes per day), with the next day’s volunteer catching anything missed. The committee agreed to focus on doing one thing well first: other new initiatives are on hold until mailbox coverage is consistent, with the goal of launching additional initiatives next month.

Google Groups Training: Mark demonstrated how to access Google Groups, manage email subscription settings (each email, no email, or digest), and manage messages as tickets — assigning a message to yourself, marking it complete, and using labels, with examples from other committees. He explained that committee business should be conducted through official OIAA email accounts. Mark also helped new members resolve access and permission issues, and Mauricio’s correct Gmail address was added during the meeting.

Correspondence Templates Training: Leila shared the committee’s draft templates in the Templates folder in the shared Drive. Templates are a starting point: responses should directly answer the specific question asked, remain concise, be modified to fit the situation, and stay consistent with OIAA standards, the Traditions and Concepts, and CPC service material. Volunteers are needed to translate the templates into Spanish.

Practice Responses and Translation: The group worked through a sample inquiry that was ambiguous about whether the sender wanted paid employment or to volunteer as an AA member, using the “need clarification” template. The group also worked through the sample inquiry from a professor asking whether students may attend AA meetings, using the template on attending meetings as a non-alcoholic professional (its title was shortened during the meeting at the request of a member); the response answers the question directly, briefly explains the difference between open and closed meetings, and offers a panel for the students. Google Translate was used to translate responses into Spanish, with the understanding that translations should be reviewed for accuracy and appropriate CPC messaging before sending. Pato, Andresa, Bartolo, and Mauricio participated in the guided practice, and Fernando, who was welcomed mid-meeting, was invited to follow along.

Onboarding Process: Because some members experienced difficulty accessing and navigating the system, the committee discussed continuing to build the structured onboarding process that assumes no prior background with Google workspace, and that could possibly include a short training video, live one-on-one walkthroughs, and/or a dedicated onboarding role on the committee. Jan noted that Mary has written materials that could be translated into other languages with help from the Communications Committee.

Interim Practice Session: Bartolo proposed an online working session before the next meeting so members can practice together; Pato agreed to help lead it.

Committee Agreements and Follow-Up Items

  • New members will continue reviewing the Google Groups, templates, and mailbox procedures before taking responsibility for live inquiries.
  • The committee will revisit the rotating mailbox-monitoring schedule after members complete additional training and confirm their willingness to participate.
  • Other new initiatives will begin once consistent mailbox coverage is in place, targeted for next month.
  • Responses to inquiries should directly answer the question asked, remain concise, and use the CPC templates and approved AA/CPC information as guidance.

Discussion and Motion Summary

Discussion: The committee discussed mailbox routing and access, training on Google Groups and ticket management, template use and translation, mailbox coverage, and improvements to onboarding, as summarized above.

Motion: No formal motions were made or voted on during the meeting.

Next Steps / Action Items

Leila (Chair):

  • Work with the committee to continue building the onboarding process, which may include a video, written instructions, and/or one-on-one training support.
  • Confirm that Mauricio’s correct Gmail address is added to the appropriate Google Groups and that he has access.

Mark (OIAA Technology Chair):

  • Help resolve any remaining Google Groups access issues for new members.

Pato (Alternate Chair):

  • Coordinate an interim online practice session with Bartolo and other interested members.

Bartolo, Mauricio, Andresa, and Fernando:

  • Access both Google Groups and become familiar with the templates and the process for responding to inquiries.

Committee Members Participating in Training:

  • After completing training, decide whether to help monitor and respond to CPC mailbox inquiries on a rotating schedule.
  • Volunteer(s) needed to translate the response templates into Spanish.

Closing

The meeting concluded with appreciation for members’ patience and willingness to learn the CPC mailbox system and support timely responses to professional inquiries. Remaining training activities were deferred to the next meeting so members can review the materials and receive additional help with access and navigation.

Prepared by: Naterena P-C, Secretary, CPC Committee (prepared from the meeting recording and transcript) and edited by Leila

Next Meeting: The next CPC Committee meeting will be held on the first Sunday of the month, August 2, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time via Zoom.


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