ACA WSO TELECONFERENCE MINUTES
May 9, 2015
A. Called to Order: The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of ACA WSO was called to order at 2:01 p.m. EST by Larry A., Chairman,and opened with the Serenity Prayer.
Tradition Five was read by the Chair.
B. Roll Call of Board Members: Larry A., Chair and Literature Committee Chairman; Mary Jo L, Treasurer, and Finance Committee Chair; Ines Z, Secretary, Spanish Liaison and Spanish Translations Committee Chair; Martin C, Finance 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): Paul, CT (2); Marietta, CT (13); Don S., WI (1); Matt, WI (1);John M., CA (18); Jude, VA, MPS committee member); Bonnie, TX (11); Katherine, TX (4); Tracey, NY (6)
E. Approval of Minutes: A motion was made and 2nd, and the minutes of the April 11, 2015 teleconference meeting were unanimously approved. (submitted by Karen R.)
F. Committee Reports:
1. ACA WSO Treasurer, (Mary Jo L.): The net income for April was down primarily due to the cost of the ABC. The Finance Committee recently submitted the 2015 budget for Board approval. Full report may be found on the Repository.
2.Literature Committee, (Larry A.):Larry reported the ComLine is up and going now and if you have a submission, contact the staff through the “Contact Us” link on the website. Volunteers are needed to assist in completing the Basic 5 and Six Essential Tasks literature pieces. Three pieces of literature were approved by the 2015 ABC delegates for posting on the website seeking comments for editing prior to publication. Each piece will be up for three months in a staggered fashion starting in May, then June and July. Ines reported ongoing work on the Spanish BRB translation. Robin reported a new working title for the 4x4: The Laundry List Workbook, Integrating Our Laundry List Traits. Robin also requested volunteers for illustrations for the workbook and a cover. Work continues on the 12-Step Workbook Steps 6 through 12 expansion. More ideas are needed so please contact the Literature Committee staff if you have ideas at [email protected]. The complete report may be found on the Repository.
3. Distribution Office Report, (Sam): Reported work continues on literature orders with several different shipments expected soon. Sam and Mary Jo will be working on a plan to implement the new employee sick leave required by the State of California starting July 1. The full report is on the Repository.
4. ACA Members and Public Service (MPS) Committee (Denise) No Report
5. Hospitals and Institutions Committee (Joan B.) No Report
6. Intergroup Liaison Committee (Martin C.) There were some Intergroups not showing up on the website list for a while, but Gloria has manually updated and entered the list now. The Intergroup Committee seeks volunteers. Full report may be found on the Repository.
7. Website/Database (Larry): Reports development of a list of fixes needed for the new website to increase functionality and will seek quotes. The new special worker IT person will be on board soon.
8. European Activity Report, (Majbrit M): In Majbrit’s absence Martin reported that the committee did not meet in May but plans on meeting in June. One topic for discussion at that meeting will be the establishment of a Region.
9. OPPM Review Committee: Mary Jo reported the committee met and worked on Sunday after the ABC in Austin. Mary Jo, Ines, and Joan are the current members of the committee.
10. 2015 ABC Committee, (Mary Jo): Expressed gratitude for the great job and hard work the Lone Star Intergroup did in hosting the 2015 ABC in Austin. Karen has posted the ABC minutes on the Repository. Those minutes will be up for approval at the 2016 ABC. At this time there is no location chosen for the 2016 ABC.
11. Executive Committee Report: Mary Jo reported repurchase of soft-cover meditation books, workbooks, and newcomers pamphlets.
G. Old Business: none
H. New Business:
Motion #1: That the Board reimburse the Literature Committee Design Editor for the expenses incurred in upgrading the Dropbox account, increase her personal email volume for three months and layout software update. (Larry) The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.
Motion #2: The Board validate on the record the Board’s specific concurrence to pay $450 to Centauria to do necessary programmatic improvements to the website concerning the meeting directory and xcart. (Larry) The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.
Motion #3: That the system of Committee budgets be changed to annual amounts instead of monthly amounts. Budgets will be reviewed at mid-year by the Finance Committee to determine if they are adequate. Unused funds do not carry over from year to year. (Mary Jo and Martin) The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.
Motion #4: Struck from the minutes because it is a duplicate of Motion #2.
Motion #5: That the Board approved the expenditure of up to $350 to buy Barcodes to place on our literature to allow us to sell on Amazon and, in the future, may allow for an inventory purposes. (Larry) This motion was discussed and it was motioned and approved to amend the motion. This final motion reads: That the Board approve the expenditure of up to $350 to buy Barcodes to place on our literature. This amended motion passed.
Motion #6:That the Board authorize the chair to sign a maintenance contract with Centauria as revised. (Larry) The motion as read was 2nd and passed unanimously.
The floor was then opened for guest comments. In summary, those members who were able to listen in on the ABC via a phone line expressed gratitude for that opportunity. This was the first time technology allowed for this, and gratitude was expressed for the IT member of the Austin IG for his work in making this happen. Questions regarding the status of the IG discount on literature were asked and it was explained that as soon as the bugs are worked out of the xcart on the website the discounts will be in place. A request was made for information on forming an IG, and several helpful responses were given by other listeners. All discussion and input from those fellowship members attending the teleconference was appreciated.
It was announced: ACA WSO Board Teleconference meeting is scheduled for June 13, 2015
Adjournment: The motion to adjourn was made and 2nd. The meeting was adjourned and closed with the Serenity Prayer.
Minutes respectfully submitted by; Joan Bloom,
