Minutes from the OIAA 16 September 2023 Assembly

The Assembly was opened by the OIAA Chair, Susan R., at 2:03 pm EST (11:03 am PT, 7:03 pm UK/Portugal).

Review of Assembly Minutes – Jeff B., Secretary

Jeff described the process for establishing a quorum. He explained that at last year’s annual poll there 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.
Jeff reviewed the meeting minutes from the June 17th Assembly.
Jeff then reviewed the meeting minutes from the July 29th Assembly.
Mark M, Technology Chair, announced that was now a quorum of 51
Jeff asked for a motion to approve the June 17th minutes. Jules, the IGR from Keep on Trudging, made a motion to accept the June 17th minutes as presented which was seconded by Mark T., the IGR from the Dawn Patrol group. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 56 – 0.
Jeff asked for a motion to approve the July 29th minutes. Eric A., the IGR from Came To & Believe group, made a motion to accept the July 29th minutes as presented which was seconded by Stormy, the CPC chair. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 46 -0.
Jeff announced that we now have an Alternate Secretary, Amelia L. He thanked Amelia, who helped during his recent illnesses, for her preparation of the two sets of Assembly minutes that we reviewed today.

Treasurer’s Report – Jennifer B., Treasurer

Jennifer mentioned that she is looking for volunteers with a financial background who would be interested in participating in a financial review. Jennifer and the Board have decided not to have a costly audit done by an outside accounting firm due to the cost but instead decided to hold an internal review with members other than the Treasurer and Finance committee. She requested that anyone who is interested can email her at treasurer@aa- intergroup.org.
Jennifer reviewed the Budget Variance report for August. Our 7th tradition contributions for the month were approximately $8,700. She reviewed a number of the expenses on the report. The net operating income was a little over $6,000,
On the Balance Sheet we have a cash balance of almost $99,000 with just under $5,000 earmarked for the International Convention in 2025. The available funds are just under $94,000,
The third report reviewed was our Contributions report. This report shows the contributions by groups and individuals for the month. Jennifer stated that what is important here is for IGRs to make sure that their group is being recognized. Sometimes when an individual sends money in, the money is for actually for their group. Please reach out to treasurer@aa-intergroup.org with any such corrections.
For August, 75 different groups and individuals contributed to OIAA, one of which was a group named Sober in China.

Vice Chair report – Nona C.

Nona mentioned that the upcoming IGR Forum in October will have an orientation for new IGRs which will be a part of the IGR Forums going forward. She stated that there will be presentations from two committees, the Steppers and PAC (Policy & Admissions) committees. There will also be two presentations: one about how IGRs service their groups and another on working with newcomers. There will also be an Ask It Basket so please send in your questions.
Nona stated that she has spent time attending the meetings of the Unity, Communication and the Finance committees.
Nona also mentioned that she was able to attend the NAATW Conference online.

Technology Chair report – Mark M, Technology Chair

Mark encouraged the attendees to attend the Technology committee meetings on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.
Mark stated that the committee will get better at using the News and Events on the Home page so please submit your events to be placed there.
Also on the website is a new Get Help Now button to assist your group with any issues that they encounter.
The OIAA Committees have started using their pages on the website so check out these pages if you are looking for information about a committee.
There is also now a place for groups to add their group reports to the website.
Mark announced that there are several videos on the aa-intergroup YouTube channel including several from the Technology committee on using the website. Several committees, such as the Communications committee, has have plans to create videos as well.

Chair report – Susan R., Chair

Susan reported that the OIAA Committees have submitted their budgets, and the membership will vote on the 2024 budget in December.
She stated that we sent 12 members to the NAATW workshop where we were also on the agenda as presenters.
Susan mentioned that our Secretary, Jeff B., presented at the Australian Assembly and we are on the schedule to present at ICOAA. She also informed the membership that the Secretary informed the Board that, due to health reasons, he will not be able to attend the ICOAA meeting in Cincinnati.
Susan stated that the Treasurer rescinded her motion from the July 29th Assembly so that motion will not be on the agenda today.
Susan reported that the Board has made a decision to expand the Board to include two new non-officer trustees, a Trustee At-Large and an International trustee, which the Bylaws give the Board the right to do. The descriptions and qualifications for these trustees were developed in conjunction with the Guidelines ad hoc committee.
Susan asked that anyone interested in these positions to provide their service resume to the Board by November 1st. The election of these two new trustees will take place at the Election assembly on Dec. 16th.
Susan also mentioned that several of the currently serving officers including herself, the Vice chair, Nona C., and the Treasurer, Jennifer B., were appointed to their positions. These officer positions will also be included in the Election assembly on Dec. 16th. Anyone wishing to stand for one of these officer positions should submit their service resume by Nov. 1st.
Susan mentioned that two ad hoc committees, the Get Into Action and Grapevine, La Vina and Magazine committees, have decided to not go forward as part of OIAA and have left the organization. She also stated the decision was made to not go forward with supporting the 2nd Annual Spanish convention due to several issues which surfaced.

New Business

Susan presented the following motion relating to the attendance of our Secretary at the ICOAA Conference. His attendance had been approved at the 7/29 Assembly, but the Secretary notified the Chair that he would not be able to attend due to health reasons. Lesliee A. made a motion to send the Vice chair to the ICOAA Conference as a replacement for the Secretary. Tamara seconded the motion. There was discussion on the motion including the role of the ICOAA which was clarified by Jeff B., the Secretary. The vote was 44 – 2. There was no minority opinion.
Nona C., the Vice chair, provided the attendees with information about the additional trustees being added to the Board in accordance with Section 3.02 of the Bylaws which she read. Nona read the qualifications for trustees which was developed in conjunction with the ad hoc Guidelines committee. Nona then read the descriptions for the new trustee position, one for the Trustee-At-Large and one for an International trustee. The Assembly adjourned at 3:31 pm EST (12:31 pm PT, 8:31 pm UK/Portugal) with the Responsibility statement.

Motions Summary

Jules, the IGR from Keep on Trudging, made a motion to accept the June 17th minutes as presented which was seconded by Mark T., the IGR from the Dawn Patrol group. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 56 – 0.
Eric A., the IGR from Came To & Believe group, mad va motion to accept the July 29th minutes as presented which was seconded by Stormy S., the CPC chair. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 46 -0.
Lesliee A. made a motion to send the Vice chair to the ICOAA Conference as a replacement for the Secretary. Tamara seconded the motion. The vote was 44 – 2. There was no minority opinion. Humbly Submitted, Jeff B, OIAA Secretary.

OIAA Assembly 15 June 2024