ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS WORLD SERVICE ORGANIZATION (ACA WSO) MONTHLY TELECONFERENCE MINUTES –
11 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. PST (UTC -8)

August 11, 2012;

Opened with Serenity Prayer

Roll Call:

1. Board members present: Scott R, Interim Chair, Phyllis R., Treasurer (newly elected), Joan B., Secretary, Larry A., Anja H., Karen

2. A quorum established. Yes

3. Committee Chairs: Scott R., Webmaster/Database; Phyllis R., Outreach; DiAnne, WSO Office; Larry A., Literature Committee; Joan B, Hospitals & Institutions; Anja H., European Activity; Jesper, 2013 ABC;

4. Introduction of guests: Jessie, CA; Nancy, CA; Luke, NY; Martin, UK; Anita, OK; Tom, UT; Ellen, UT; Allen, Nova Scotia; Leanne, FL; MaryJo, IL; Gayle, FL; Mona, IL; Jesper, Denmark; Terri, CA. (I apologize for anyone I may have missed placing on this list, and for any misspelled names. Joan B, Secretary)

Motion to approve the June 9, 2012 ACA WSO teleconference minutes made by Joan. Phyllis noted a misspelling of her name, which will be corrected. Larry seconded this motion. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion to approved the Special Teleconference Minutes of June 16, 2012 made by Joan, seconded by Larry. Motion carried unanimously

New Business items:

Motion1: To suspend phone bridge meetings until such time that a group conscience determines (or not) that they should reconvene. (Phyllis, Jeneane, Scott)

Background: More phone bridge complaints about non-compliance with Traditions continue to come in. Consider closing down phone meetings because they have become unsafe and unwieldly. 6/23/12 and 7/5/12 complaints received in email.

Discussion: Phyllis does not support this now, since for some people it is the only meeting they can attend. No second; motion failed.

Motion 2: To authorize the uploading of the e-BRB (electronic Big Red Book aka, the Fellowship Text) on e-retailers with DRM at $9.99. (Larry).

Discussion: Larry provided information reminding us of the various discussions the board held via email on the important points to consider so the Traditions were not violated. Phyllis questioned the ACA income and Larry explained that with the Amazon price of $9.99 ACA will receive 70% of the earnings. With Barnes & Noble, the profit for ACA will be 65%. These earnings will be sent directly to the ACA bank account. There is no charge for downloading the e-BRB Joan seconded this motion.
Board Vote: Unanimous approval of the motion. Phyllis and Scott noted the important historic moment this is for ACA.

Motion #3: To approve the expenditure of $850 for the layout of the Danish BRB. (Larry)

Discussion: Background information had been provided indicating that the Danes have been working on this for a while and that the Translation Agreement signed by the interested parties allows for ACA to pay for the layout of translated ACA literature to ensure that the BRB appears in the same form as the original BRB. Jesper has been involved in the layout. Phyllis noted the value of this motion. Anja seconded this motion.
Board Vote: Unanimous approval of the motion.

Motion #4: To approve the following expenditures: 1) $55 in review costs by Tampa Bay Translations for the Japanese “ACA is…” trifold; and 2) verification and formatting of the Hebrew “ACA is…” trifold.

Discussion: This work advances the primary purpose world wide of ACA. Joan seconded this motion.
Board Vote: Unanimous approval.

Motion #4: To approve the expenditure of $8 to have the Meeting trifold formatted that was submitted by Trustee Karen.

Discussion: Originally for reasons of space, the developers of this trifold had left out a few words. That material has been added back in and an area was left on the front for meetings to place their name and address. This trifold uses literature already conference approved. Karen seconded this motion.
Board Vote: Unanimous approval.

Motion #6: To purchase up to two new computers for the office. Costs would be around $500 $600 each.

Discussion: The board was informed that that the office has two computers, of which one is not currently suited for upgrade. With the increasing orders and other tasks being done in the office, new computers would greatly improve and support the growing requirements of the office personnel. Scott amended this motion upon realizing that it would be closer $600 per computer. Anja seconded this motion as amended.
Board Vote: Unanimously approved.

ITEM #1: Scott, board interim chair, reported to the board that Phyllis has been on the board in the past and has also been treasurer. Since the most recent treasurer took a leave of absence, Phyllis has agreed to return to the board and resume the treasurer duties. Karen motioned that Phyllis be returned as board member and treasurer. Joan seconded this motion. Phyllis said it is an honor and a privilege to serve. Anja thanked Phyllis for taking on this role again.
Board Vote: Unanimous approval of this motion.

ITEM #2: Joan asked a question regarding the AA paragraph at the end of the ACA promises, as some members of her home group had voiced disapproval of reading this statement. Joan presented their question to the board to determine if it was possible to alter this reading. Indications are that that paragraph has long been associated with the ACA promises, but some meetings don’t read the AA paragraph and others do. So, the AA paragraph can be read or deleted, depending on the group conscience.

Monthly Reports:

1.ACA/WSO Treasurer: Phyllis R. A solid month was seen in income and assets. Literature sales for July were $37,724.41. See her report online for the full details.

2.Literature Report: Larry A. Larry reported work being done this past month on various language translations, readying for placing the e-BRB with Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and working on the ComLine possibilities. He also reported the Spanish speaking phone bridge meetings are now using the Spanish language workbook and other literature. See his full report online. Larry mentioned his desire to form a Meditation Book workgroup and that submissions are coming in for this book.
Scott asked that the Audio report be tabled for now. Agreed by all.

3.WSO Officer Report: DiAnne A. July was the largest overall for orders. DiAnne reported order quantities continue to be high for the workbooks and fellowship texts. T-Hub training was completed in June and July and they are looking forward to using this with UPS Worldship. Using T-Hub will remove much of the existing manual entry for orders and shipping confirmations. DiAnne reported an expected increase in labor hours in the coming weeks due to the switch over to UPS Worldship/T-Hub, however, the number of hours will not be as high as those required when the office switched to the Shopping Cart program for orders. She also reported an employee will be leaving the office sometime in the next 30 days and reporting for duty with the military. More complete information of office activities is contained in her report online.

4.Outreach: Phyllis R. She reported receiving 266 emails in July asking for information, and Karen has been assisting her, having answered 55 of them. Phyllis noted that in 2013, while in Denmark for the ABC, a note may need to be placed on the website noting that outreach will be unavailable for a time.

5.Website/Database: Scott R. He noted a nearly 5% increase in registered meetings since the ABC at the end of April. Kelso has begun development of software used in the background of the meeting update list. Scott reported having the “Repository” software installed on the website but is not yet running. He will ask board members to place their reports on this page for viewing by anyone. Larry suggested using an automated system to help callers find meetings in their area. This

6.Hospitals and Institutions: Joan B. Joan reported sending literature (BRB’s and Workbooks) to a ¾ way house in Pennsylvania, and to inmates in a Washington and Illinois prison. Her full report will be online also.

7.European Activity Report: Anja H. Anja reported working on establishing contact with other European countries, but to date the only one she has heard from so far is the U.K. Phyllis asked about forwarding emails of European questions to Anja, which Anja thought was fine. Scott suggested adding a European connection to the email-forwarding list.

8.Executive Committee Report: The Executive Committee met via phone and determined a better way for the board to work in unison is to improve communications between each member.

9.2013 ABC Report: Jesper: He reported researching venues in Central Copenhagen for the 2013 ABC, which is more expensive that meeting in the outskirts of the city. So far he has found that the cost per day for a meeting room is $750 U.S. dollars. He said a hotel room may run between $100 to $150 U.S. dollars per day.

Old Business:

Discussion on the ComLine publication has been tabled until the next conference call.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS: None

GUESTS COMMENTS:

Many of the guests made comments expressing their gratitude to the board; Tom indicated the phone bridge meetings were lifesavers; Anita volunteered to help with the Meditation book; MaryJo thanked Joan and the Board for their service work and that she enjoyed the phone meetings; Ellen asked a question regarding the information line set up by someone and mentioned there is often discord on a particular line; Laura asked if there is a teen pamphlet yet, and the answer is no, but there is a chapter in the BRB speaking to teens and ACA. One complaint was brought up and discussed at length by the caller. The board members acknowledged that the problem had been discussed and they thought resolved via email with the caller prior to today’s teleconference.

Meeting closed with the Serenity Prayer.

The next teleconference will be: September 8, 2012

Respectfully submitted by Joan B., ACA WSO Secretary