THE ACA WSO TELECONFERENCE MINUTES

November 9, 2013

Opening: The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of ACA WSO was called to order at 2:00 p.m. EST by Larry A, Chairman, and opened with The Serenity Prayer.

Concept 11 was read by Karen R., Secretary

Board members present: Larry A., Mary Jo L., Karen R., Vonnie G., Allen C., and Leanne S.  A quorum was established.

Guest Introductions (number of TC meetings attended shown in parenthesis if announced) included: Scott and Phyllis, AZ (many years);Mona, IL (since Jan. 2011);Joan, KY (4); Majbrit, Denmark (8); Kathy, NJ; John M, CA; Charlie, MI; Susan, CA; Susan, CO; Nancy, CA; and Troy, TN.; Laura, Ines, NY (8)

A. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the October 12, 2013 meeting were approved as posted.

B. Committee Reports:

1. Treasurer, Mary Jo L. The Treasurer Committee met twice this month and has effectively established the two cost centers to more clearly define the financial standings. Reminder: When making a 7th Tradition donation on behalf of your group, please include the Group ID #, otherwise the donation appears as "anonymous." The full Treasurer Report is on the Repository.

2. Literature Committee, Larry A.;The meditation book is at the printer and we are hoping for delivery before Thanksgiving. The books will be soft cover and sell price is $10.00. Mary Jo expresses gratitude for all who assisted on this project and for the opportunity of service as it has been one of growth and expansion. The Spanish Translation of the BRB project has only 3 chapters left for translations. Leanne tells us that efforts of the standardization of our ACA conference approved literature continues to make progress. The full Literature report may be found on the Repository.

3. Distribution Office: No report.

4. Outreach, Vonnie G., Outreach continues to be available for both member and public service information regarding meetings. The report this month contained a sampling of the types of questions that often come to the Outreach Committee from both local and international callers. The full report can be found on the Repository.

5. Hospitals and Institutions (H & I),  The full H & I report can be found on the Repository. Four BRBs books were sent to inmates in the month of October.

6. Website/Database, Scott R reports spending time training office staff for the database navigations and working directly with meeting updates. Forms for submitting proposals as well as registration for the 2014 ABC are now available on the website. Scott also report that he will continue to assist and serve the ACA fellowship and Board as Webmaster until full update and upgrades have been completed. The full report will be posted to the Repository soon.

7. European Activity Report, Majbrit M reports that Holland has established an Intergroup. Work continues to move forward to establishing a distribution office in Copenhagen so that European countries may save on shipping costs. European Activity Reports may be found on the Repository.

8. Social Media Committee Working Group No report.  

9. 2014 ABC: no report.

10. Executive Committee Report: Larry A.,Reports the authorization to purchase a pallet jack for the distribution center. Cost: $199.00

C. Old Business:

1. To create a budget and also establish an annual budget review process for when year-end numbers become available.(Original issue from May 2013)Mary Jo reports that the budget draft was submitted and there are amendments to be made. The budget should be ready for approval next month. Mary Jo expresses much appreciation to the others on the Treasurer Committee Allen C, OK and Martin C, England, for their diligence and attention to detail as this is the first budget the ACA WSO has ever had.

2. The floor was opened for nomination for the position of ACA WSO Trustee. None were brought forward. We acknowledged two nominees thus far, 1) Majbrit M., from Denmark who has service experience on the European Committee, has attended at least 7 WSO teleconferences, and who was of great assistance and support for the ACA's first International ABC; and 2) Ines Z., from New York who has service experience as a liaison and translator for Spanish speaking groups, has assisted in the Spanish translations of the Workbook as well as the BRB and with various items via the Outreach Committee. Both Majbrit and Ines accepted nominations.

D. New Business      

Motion #1 Made by Larry, 2nd by Karen: To validate on the record the Board's specific concurrence that authorized the Chair to sign an agreement between ACA WSO, Inc, NAWS, Inc and Centauria that will allow Centauria to use NAWS (Narcotics Anonymous World Service) custom programming to create the new ACA website.

Motion Carried (unanimous)

Motion #2Made by Vonnie, 2nd by Karen: To install a conference line that will be made available to telephone meetings to use that will provide the same vital opportunity for anonymity for a phone caller as for someone who attends a meeting in person.  

Motion Tabled.

Motion #3 made by Larry, 2nd by Leanne: That the Board authorize the purchase of additional metal shelving at a cost of about $520 for the warehouse in Signal Hill, CA. 

Motion Carried (unanimous)

Motion #4 made by Leanne, 2nd by Mary Jo: To approve the expenditure of approximately $8,500 for travel and expenses for all ACA WSO Board members to attend a face-to-face meeting in January 2014 to conduct a strategic planning session.

Motion Carried (unanimous)

Guest Comments: Questions were asked about the upcoming meditation book, about ACA literature available for download as well as suggestions/requests for guidelines on starting Intergroups. Comments were also heard about some of the phonebridge, as well as some face-to-face ACA meetings seeming to ignore guidelines of "cross talk," and sometimes feeling unsafe. Guests were referred to the ACA website for more information regarding committee reports and minutes.

Announcements: The next ACA WSO Board Teleconference Meeting was announced as scheduled for December14, 2013 at 2:00 p.m., EST. We also announced the 2014 ABC being held the last weekend of April (25-27, 2014) in Chicago, IL.

Adjournment: The motion to adjourn was made and seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 3:12 p.m. EST and closed with the Serenity Prayer.

Minutes respectfully submitted by; Karen Ragan, ACA/WSO Board of Trustees, Secretary