ACA WSO TELECONFERENCE MINUTES

December 13, 2014

A. Called to Order: 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.

            Step Twelve was read by the Chairman.

B. Roll Call of Board Members: Larry A., Chair and Literature Committee Chairman; Joan B., Vice Chairman and Hospitals and Institutions Committee Chair; Mary Jo L, Treasurer; Karen R, Secretary; Vonnie G., MPS Chair and Trustee; Allen C., Literature Committee member and Trusteee; Majbrit M., European Committee Chair and Trustee; Ines Z, Spanish Liaison and Spanish Translations Committee Chair and Trustee and Martin C, Treasury Committee Member, Chairman of the Intergroup Liaison Committee and Trustee

C. Quorum established

           

D. Guest Introductions: Guests who chose to introduce themselves at this time included (number of TC meetings attended shown in parenthesis if known): Jillian, Canada (4); Marietta, CT (8);Robin, TX (Literature Committee Production Asst.); Sam, CA (ACA WSO Office manager);Paula, Denver, CO (3);John, CA (9); Precious (Suzi), PA (7-8); Judy, NV; Jonathan, NY; Pamela, CA; Sam, CA (1); Maureen, CA (4); Dawn, VA (1); Dennis, Moscow, Russia (2)

E. Approval of Minutes: A motion was made and 2nd , and the minutes of the November 8, 2014 teleconference meeting were approved as posted. (Karen)

F. Committee Reports:

            1. Strategic Planning Committee (Karen): Discussed meeting of the Board of Trustees held in Nashville, (November 13-16, 2014) for the purpose of assessing the direction and needs of the ACA fellowship as it grows; included report on presentations by Sam B, the WSO Distribution Center manager and Robin R, the Literature Committee's production assistant. Full report can be found on the Repository.

            2. ACA WSO Treasurer, Mary Jo L.  Reports net income for November was $8,628;Besides going to Nashville for the Strategic Planning Meeting, the Treasury Committee met once in November; even with the expenditures with the website, we are showing a profit which will allow for expansion in the warehouse with inventory and various projects; we continue to study ways to put better systems of checks and balancesin place as the fellowship grows.

          3. Literature Committee, (Larry A.):  John gives a final report on completion of his project for establishing general guidelines for helping to establish Intergroups; He has turned in the draft to the Literature Committee Chair and offered thanks to Bonnie and other volunteers; Ines reports we have received a completed translated version of the BRB from the Spaniards ; continues to meet for vetting to be sure translations can be understood by all Spanish speaking people; is recruiting volunteers to help with translations of the ABC proposalsto insure participation;Spanish speaking phone meetings continue and are planning a celebration of the ACA birthday/anniversary in January, utilizing Chapter 8 in the BRB; Introduction of Johnathan, a new member to the Spanish Committee ;  Larry reports the audio book project has been fully submitted to the vendors; --These full reports can be found on the Repository. Also a mention for the need of volunteers on any of the ACA WSO Committees.

          4. Distribution Office Report, (Sam): Reports appreciation for the opportunity to meet with many of the Board members in Nashville; reports on specific book orders and returns; is writing desk procedures for the staff; also continues with the staff testing the new website; attended a webinar regarding California State paid leave regulations and accruement of 2015; Full report may be found on the Repository.

          5. ACA Members and Public Service (MPS) Committee, Vonnie G.:  Continues to provide service and guidance for USA and Non-USA members; helps out with cost on shipping and handling cost wherever possible; Intergroup subcommittee has been very helpful; Expressed appreciation for teamwork and for volunteers; Continues to receive questions of various recovery aspects; Full report can be found on the Repository.

          6. Hospitals and Institutions Committee (Joan B.) Responds to a high school group who is interested in educating the public about ACA via website link; Fellowship texts and workbooks continue to be sent out; responses to questions about requirements when taking the ACA meetings to prisons; Continues requests from inmates and institutions; is always open for volunteers in the H & I committee; Full report may be found on the Repository.

          7. Website/Database (Larry): The new website issues and negotiations with UPS continue; We have in the past, used the Homepage format to inform the fellowship of certain things--this may change with the new website Homepage with a "link" to "Fellowship Notices and Input; Full report will be available on the Repository.

            8. European Activity Report, Majbrit M: Sends out calls for volunteers to serve on the European committee; feels encouraged to consider ideas discussed in Nashville at the Strategic Planning meeting; continues to hope for ways of reducing shipping costs; Appreciates Ray as a new committee volunteer from Scotland and hopes to be able to arrange for a monthly European teleconference for ACA; Full report may be found on the Repository.

           

          9. OPPM Review Committee, (Karen):  We reviewed our assigned portions and are coming up with a lot of questions as we see certain items being approached in different sections of the OPPM. It is very interesting and we continue to be open to different approaches. We plan to meet again per TC on December 27.

            10. Intergroup Liaison Committee, (Martin C.) This committee begins its service as acting as a conduit for passing information to Intergroups directly, has contacted Intergroups for ideas for development, is including the European committee and welcomes any member with experience or just needing help. The full report will be posted on the Repository.

            11. 2015 ABC Committee, Mary Jo: Location for the 2015 ABC is not yet determined though Long Beach, CA and the WSO staff will be a fall-back if needed; Fifteen unique proposal items have been submitted and are waiting on Board analysis and translations; the full report may be found on the Repository.

          12. Executive Committee Report: (Joan):    Reports Board approval for ordering both hard and soft cover books. Full report may be found on the Repository.

G. Old Business: (none)

H. New Business:

Motion #1: To validate for the record, the Board's specific concurrence to purchase two (2) laptops and warranties for $2,456.83. (Larry)

The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.

Motion 2: To validate for the record the Board's specific concurrence to engage a special worker supporting the Literature Committee as an employee and to increase the responsibilities beyond those currently contracted out. The employee will assist the Board, supply well laid out and relevant literature content, support translations, deal with literature quality issues and help with new challenges as they arise. If approved, the Literature Committee Chair and Treasurer will jointly negotiate the employment to include the appropriate (1) job description, (2) hours, (3) terms, (4) conditions, (5) remuneration and benefits and (6) tax status. The employment should commence on or after January 1, 2015. (Martin)

The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.

Motion #3: To validate for the record the Board's concurrence that when the WSO Board holds an in-person meeting, we move that group expenses, such as meals and transportation, be paid for with the ACA debit card. (Mary Jo)

The motion was 2nd and passed unanimously.

Motion #4: To validate on the record the Board's Specific Concurrence to purchase a total of five (5) Store Manager licenses to allow greater capability in working with the x-cart, and getting financial data transferred into intuit software used by the WSO accountant at a cost of up to $450 at $90/each. (Larry)

The motion was 2nd and passed unanimously.

Motion #5: To create a "Lights On" line item in the financials to include costs of shipping literature to first meetings in a new country.  (Mary Jo)
 
The motion was 2nd and passed unanimously.

The floor was then opened for guest comments. Precious from PA pointed out a typo on the Promises #10 as posted on the website; had questions about the Laundry List Traits and their flipside document being used in step work; Marietta from CT had questions about copyright infringement and Intergroup guidelines; Dennis from Russia expressed thanks to the WSO Board and special thanks to Martin in the UK and to Majbrit, Denmark; he had a question about the proposals and expressed hope that there may be a technological way for him to attend the 2015 ABC as he would be unable to attend otherwise.

     Larry A., the WSO Board Chairman, expressed gratitude to all the volunteers, all the special workers and to all the people attending meetings that are keeping the doors of this fellowship open. Joan B., the Vice Chairman includes a sharing of warmth from the heart, stating that she sits in Southwest Iowa, pretty much in the center of the USA, and is listening to the sharing and service of people from Russia, Denmark, the UK, Canada and all over various parts of the USA--from all over the world, and hearing the willingness to help other people from all over the world. As this year of service ends for 2014, Happy Holidays to everyone!

It was announced that the next ACA WSO Board Teleconference meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Adjournment: The motion to adjourn was made and 2nd. The meeting was adjourned at 3:26 p.m. ESTand closed with the Serenity Prayer.

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