STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING MINUTES

THE ACA WSO BOARD OF TRUSTEES

January 23-26, 2014

Homewood Suites Inn, Atlanta, GA

Opening:This ACA WSO Board of Trustees held its first Strategic Planning Meeting at the Homewood Suites in Atlanta, Georgia on the 23-26th of January 2014.

Board members present: : Larry A., Joan B., Mary Jo L., Karen R., Allen C., Vonnie G., Majbrit M., Ines Z.

A. Approval of Minutes:Note: This was the first face-to-face, focused strategic planning meeting attempted by this Board and by this Board Secretary. The atmosphere was very casual without an official chair, however Mary Jo, our Board's treasurer was our group leader for all of our session, stepping in for Leanne, Board Trustee, who planned but was not able to attend. Notes were taken, but I failed in some of the details. For instance we did make some motions that passed unanimously, but I failed to note the maker of the motions, and I'm not entirely clear on which item was discussed on which day. Never-the-less, my report remains:

B. Day One (Thursday evening):

1) To reacquaint and ground into purpose (casual talk over dinner about the upcoming meetings and plans

2) ACA meeting in Mary Jo's room

C.   Day 2(Friday 8:30 am-5:50 p.m.) and Day 3 (8:30-5:30 p.m.) Items Discussed

1) Ground Rules for Strategic Planning Success

2) Goals and Expectations for Strategic Planning

3) Parking Lot Items (Oh, by the way, let's not forget....)

4) ACA Mission Statement congruity

5) Ways for Board to communicate but with less emails (i.e. Survey Monkey, BaseCamp)

6) OPPM review and revision 

7) Literature and Inventory

     a) Tiered discounts and bulk purchase rates, domestic and international

     b) Order fulfillment; how to lessen costs; volunteers and special workers; domestic and international

     c) Literature development, updating AND translations; audio books, e-books; creating a position for hired staff devoted to Literature's many aspects; ComLine; downloads

     d) Improving or establishing guidelines for ACA literature submissions/approval---many request new literature; some countries have NO literature---needs to better develop translations avenues

     e) Inventory: damaged books; expanding items/articles for purchase

8) Staffing:

     a) Employee Handbook revisions

     b) Creating benchmarks for staffing, domestic and international; budgetary considerations

     c) Hiring a Managing director and board liaison

     d) Establishing a clearinghouse or office in and for the European community; cost/demand

9) Fellowship:

     a) Intergroups and meetings: how to help serve, establish and maintain;

     b) public awareness; Speakers list

     c) Improving links of H & I and MPS

     d) International and Domestic conferences for ACA, for mental health, for strategic planning

     e) ABC now and then (future); planning, and preparation; logistics

     f) Archives, domestic and international

10) Website, web server; costs, future maintenance; create a section to ask for volunteers, perhaps specific needs or areas of service and who/how to contact

Motions Passed

#1 To combine 2 of our current literature tri-folds ("12 Concepts of Service," and "The Suggested Commitment to Service") into one piece of literature. Passed unanimously.

#2 Motion made to send out 400 ACA Fellowship texts (BRBs) per year to interested counselors, institutions, and/or various professionals via Members and Public Service Committee (MPS) beginning 2014. Passed unanimously.

#3 Motion to senda team of at least 2 trustees to attend an International Trauma Conference every 2-4 years to keep apprised of developments by the scientific community regarding stored trauma, PTSD and treatment. Passed unanimously.

#4 That we adopt a corrective action plan for employees. Motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted by ACA WSO Board Secretary, Karen Ragan

****As our website is currently under revision construction, I wasn't sure where to post my summary...my "report" of the Strategic Planning Meeting---Reports are somewhat different than minutes...The minutes of any meeting, in my thinking are originated in the head...in the brain...in the thinking--and there certainly was a lot of that in Atlanta.  The "report," however...that that part that comes from the heart.  My report is as follows: 

 

Secretary's Report on the Strategic Planning Meeting, Atlanta 2014

 

Submitted by: Karen Ragan, ACA WSO Secretary, February 8, 2014

 

This ACA WSO Board of Trustees met for a very well implemented face-to-face strategic planning meeting held in Atlanta, GA, the 23-26th of January, 2014.

 

Eight of the nine board members were able to gather to discuss our visions of how the fellowship's growth continues and how this board may help lay foundational guidelines for structure in future generations of recovery. The sole purpose of the Adult Children of Alcoholics World Service Organization is to serve the fellowship of Adult Children of Alcoholics. We asked the pertinent questions...what is the ACA fellowship going to look like in 5 years? In 10? What can we do now to help solidify a foundation that will support future board members as they, like us, come into service for this world-wide fellowship? What can we do to help make sure that the message of hope and help in the ACA program will be heard?

 

We began meeting informally on Thursday, January 23 with an evening meal to reacquaint, to set our purpose and to catch our breaths from travel. We looked at our prepared agenda--Friday's meetings would start early, no time for inconvenient jet lag! We then joined in a Trustee's room for a simple ACA fellowship meeting. In the safe space of an ACA meeting, we were able to really breathe and to settle in from our travels. We shared our experiences, strengths and hopes with introductions of each of our personal stories and how we came to be in the ACA fellowship.

 

Friday's meeting began at 8:30 a.m.   We were grateful to have an plan...an agenda carefully prepared by Leanne, a trusted servant and trustee. Leanne not only prepared the agenda, she arranged and secured our location and accommodations, meeting rooms and coordinated us arriving in the same place, pretty much at the same time. This was no easy task as we were brought in from Chicago, New York, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Denmark. Unfortunately, Leanne fell ill before the event and was not able to attend. She did a remarkable job and was sorely missed. Of course, in her absence, we did elect her to arrange for our next strategic planning meeting as well! We were very grateful too that our Treasurer, Mary Jo, was able to step up and conduct our meetings, keeping us on task and focused.

 

We began listing, by writing on the wall, our purpose, our expectations, for the meeting and for the planning we would do. What were our goals? What were our expectations for this strategic planning?   As individuals, we think differently, but there was a commonality expressed---our goals seemed to fall in the same vein of gaining clarity for the common direction of the ACA fellowship. We were hoping to be inspired; to share a singleness of purpose and to identify priorities more clearly. There was also hope that as a board, we would leave with more bonded personal relationships. Depending on where one sits in a room determines the view that one has---it was hoped to gain insight into each others' perspectives.

 

We established ground rules, turned off phones, agreed to be on time, to actively listen, to participate...to respect. We agreed to ask questions, to clarify, to strive for consensus, to stay on topic...We agreed that all voices would be heard. And not just our voices...each trustee seems aware that we are each speaking, thinking, on behalf of the fellowship...of the Intergroups, of the meetings, and that we are each in service for each ACA member.

 

One by one, we lay our gathered data on the table...information, requests, ideas---we refined lists and brainstormed--we created rough time-lines and priorities for projects of 2014, 2015, 2016 and beyond. We pooled our thoughts on what exactly we would need to see these projects to fruition...how would we complete these tasks? Who was going to help us? How will we get volunteers? Would we hire special workers? Though we were able to take a few breaks and enjoy a nice lunch together, Friday's meeting did not end until nearly 6 p.m. Our agenda suggested we enjoy some of the local night life with dinner or dancing ....many of us however felt the need for our brains to be quiet...to rest and renew our bodies in the quiet.

 

   Saturday began at 8:30 a.m. and we covered a lot of territory. We recapped the preceding day's work and began determining feasibility of the longer-termed projects and how they might be accomplished---how they would affect future boards, staff and administrative duties; How would our decisions affect us currently in those areas? What effect on management and Intergroups and non USA meetings and....How would our decisions affect today?

 

      Saturday's meeting ended at 5:30 p.m. and some of us was able to hang out and enjoy the restaurants, attend a local ACA meeting, and have a bit of down time. Others had made prior arrangements to visit with family and friends which helped quiet the heart and rest the mind.  

 

The agenda's plan for Sunday was to meet from 7:30 to 9:30 for breakfast. We were hoping to discuss more of the 2014 ballot proposals for the ABC as we work to provide our analysis on the proposals. Flights and travel plans however, interrupted our presets. Still, many of us ran into each other in the hall or at the breakfast nook and were able to touch base and give wishes for safe travel. Luckily, we were able to get out of the city just before the snow storms arrived.

 

     Something almost comical though: as we were trying to determine the priorities of "high, medium, or low" on the tasks we were facing...everything was falling into the "high" category--even things in our "parking lot" page that we'd thought of as "oh...by the way, we need to...." We want it done...we want it done now. We want it done correctly.   We want our service to be sound and true and we want it to be for the good of the ACA fellowship. We made effort to prioritize items we'd like to see fulfilled by year's end...or by2015...or by the 2014 ABC which is only a few short weeks away. Our treasurer described it well. We covered a lot of territory...we didn't have enough time to discuss individual project work...but we got done what we needed to get done. It's an HP thing.