Minutes from the OIAA 16 December 2023 Assembly

Mark M., the OIAA Technology chair. Made several opening announcements and introduced the Zoom Technology team. He asked all voting members to fill out the quorum form.

The Assembly was opened by the OIAA Chair, Susan R., at 2:03 pm EST (11:03 am PT, 7:03 pm UK/Portugal). She welcomed the attendees and led the assembly in the Serenity prayer. Susan reviewed the agenda for the Assembly.

Review of 9/16 Assembly Minutes – Jeff B., Secretary

Jeff described the process for establishing a quorum. He explained that at last year’s annual poll there were 182 responses and that the quorum is 25% of that number which is rounded up to 46. Once we have 46 members registered, we will be able to conduct business.
Mark M, Technology Chair, announced that was now a quorum so that business can be conducted.
Jeff announced who was able to vote at the Assembly.
Jeff stated that he has been tracking the growth statistics for OIAA for the past year. He mentioned that at the start of the year there were 514 online member groups and 6,417 meetings worldwide. As of 12/15, we added 143 groups and 1,334 meetings which is a growth rate of 27.8% growth in our groups and 20.8% growth in our meetings.
Jeff reviewed the meeting minutes from the September 16th Assembly and requested any corrections.
Jeff asked for a motion to approve the September 16th minutes. Randy C., the IGR from the Online Recovery group, made a motion to accept the September 16th minutes as presented which was seconded by Catherine, the IGR from the Online Bridge to Sobriety group. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 54 – 0.

OIAA Elections – Jeff B., Secretary

Jeff reviewed the 3^rd Legacy process for electing Officers and Trustees with the Assembly attendees.
There was a question about whether the alternate Treasurer has a vote. Jeff responded that it depends. The alternate Treasurer only has a vote if the Treasurer is not present and they can vote in their stead.
Jeff read the eligibility requirements for OIAA officers from the Bylaws.
Jeff started the election for the first OIAA officer, the OIAA Chair. Jeff read the requirements for the Chair position from the Bylaws. Jeff mentioned that one resume from Susan R., our current Chair, was received for OIAA Chair and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for OIAA Chair, There were no additional candidates and Susan R, was invited to share her service resume with the Assembly. A vote was taken and Susan received 94.6% of the vote which represented substantial unanimity. Jeff congratulated Susan on her election as the OIAA Chair.
Jeff started the election for the next OIAA officer, the OIAA Vice chair. Jeff read the requirements for the Vice chair position from the Bylaws. Jeff mentioned that one resume from Nona C., our current Vice chair, was received for OIAA Vice chair and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for OIAA Vice chair, There were no additional candidates and Nona C, was invited to share her service resume with the Assembly. A vote was taken and Nona received 94.6% of the vote which represented substantial unanimity. Jeff congratulated Nona on her election as the OIAA Vice chair.

Jeff started the election for the last OIAA officer, the OIAA Treasurer. Jeff read the requirements for the Treasurer position from the Bylaws. Jeff mentioned that one resume from Jennifer B., our current Treasurer, was received for OIAA Treasurer and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for OIAA Treasurer, There were no additional candidates and Jennifer B, was invited to share her service resume with the Assembly. A vote was taken and Jennifer received 89.5% of the vote which represented substantial unanimity. Jeff congratulated Jennifer on her election as the OIAA Treasurer.

Jeff added his gratitude for these 3 officers and all the great service that they perform for OIAA. Jeff asked the Assembly to unmute and thank these newly elected officers.
Jeff informed the Assembly that the Board decided, as defined in Section 3.02 of the Bylaws which he read to the Assembly, to expand the Board from 5 Trustees, the current officers, to 7 Trustees by including 2 non-officer Trustees, one an International Trustee and a Trustee-At-Large.
Jeff read the requirements for all Trustees that were developed by the ad hoc Guidelines committee for inclusion in the revised Guidelines which have yet to be approved.
Jeff started the election for the International trustee. Jeff read the requirements for the International trustee. Jeff mentioned that one resume from Beth A., our current alternate Unity committee chair, was received for the International Trustee and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for this position, There were no additional candidates and Beth A., was invited to share her service resume with the Assembly. A vote was taken and Beth received 92.6% of the vote which represented substantial unanimity. Jeff congratulated Beth on her election as the first International trustee of OIAA.
Jeff started the election for the Trustee-At-Large. Jeff read the requirements for the Trustee-At-Large. Jeff mentioned that one resume from J. Buck R., currently serving on the board of the NAATW as Vice chair, was received for Trustee-At-Large and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for this position, There were no additional candidates and Buck R., was invited to share his service resume with the Assembly. A vote was taken and Buck received 90.9% of the vote which represented substantial unanimity. Jeff congratulated Buck on his election as the first Trustee-At-Large of OIAA.
Jeff asked the Assembly to unmute and thank these newly elected Trustees.

2024 Budget Review & Vote – Jennifer B., Treasurer

Jennifer informed the Assembly that she will be reviewing the budget, which has been posted on the website, line-by-line. She mentioned that she has also included the actuals from January through November and the December budget from 2023 to provide a point of reference.
Jennifer first reviewed the revenues and stated that the budgeted amount is based on the current year with a slight increase resulting in a budgeted revenue amount of $83,000.
Jennifer then reviewed the expenses line-by-line. The following were the questions that were asked by the Assembly:
- Beth D. asked about what constituted the Registration fees. Jennifer explained that these fees were for the fees required for having as registered agent and yearly reporting to the state of NJ.
- Julie inquired about the officer insurance. Jennifer explained that we currently have Directors & Officers insurance which only covers the OIAA Officers and Trustees. The Board decided to obtain an additional liability insurance policy to protect other members in service to OIAA.
- Suzanne, an IGR for a group in New Zealand, asked about the $10,000 budgeted for the Technology committee. She wanted to know if the Technology committee would have to ask for approval for any new projects. Jennifer replied no and that once the budget was approved the Technology committee could utilize this money at their discretion. Mark M., the Technology chair, described some of the potential technology projects which his committee is considering.
- Megan, IGR for One Day at a Time, asked whether the 3 day International convention was already approved. Matt B. expressed concern about spending $18,000 for this 3 day event was excessive and did not know what the purpose of the event was. He expressed that he felt this event should be self-funded. Carlos D., the Unity committee chair, explained that the committee wanted to cover different time zones and different languages. The committee felt that such an event would help support online meetings around the world. Nona C., the OIAA Vice chair, provided some of the history of how the International convention came about. Carlos further explained that the budgeted amount is for technical support to ensure the security of the event and for translators.
Jennifer completed her review of the expenses and asked if there were any motions to amend the budget.
- Beth D. asked whether the International convention could be reduced to 1 day to start and if that would save money. Jennifer stated that this would indeed save money and asked Carlos D. to comment on Beth’s proposal. Carlos explained that the 3 day event was set up to cover different time zones with 18 hours spread over 3 days. No motion was made to change the budget for this event.
Preston made a motion that we trust our trusted servants and approve the budget as presented. Meredith, IGR from the Sunday Sober Women group seconded the motion.
Jennifer turned the vote on the budget to Jeff B., the OIAA Secretary, to conduct the discussion and the vote.
- Debra stated that she agreed with moving ahead with the International convention so that we can reach all the time zones.
- An attendee asked if we were voting on a motion about reducing the International convention to 1 day. He was told that no such motion had been made.
As there was no further discussion, a vote was taken on the motion to approve the budget as presented. There were 83.3% Yes votes, 9.3% No votes and 7.4% abstentions. Jeff asked for minority opinion but, as none was offered, the budget was approved.

The Assembly adjourned at 3:31 pm EST (12:31 pm PT, 8:31 pm UK/Portugal) with the Responsibility statement.

Motions Summary

Randy C., the IGR from the Online Recovery group, made a motion to accept the September 16^th minutes as presented which was seconded by Catherine, the IGR from the Online Bridge to Sobriety group. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 54 – 0.
Preston made a motion that we trust our trusted servants and approve the budget as presented. Meredith, IGR from the Sunday Sober Women group seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, a vote was taken on the motion to approve the budget as presented. There were 83.3% Yes votes, 9.3% No votes and 7.4% abstentions. Jeff asked for minority opinion but, as none was offered, the motion passed and the budget was approved.

Humbly Submitted,
Jeff B, OIAA Secretary.