Minutes for 1st and 2nd 3-day Sessions
Introductory business meeting materials were presented. These included reports from our Secretary, Treasurer, Listkeepers, outgoing Business Meeting Chair, and OIAA Representative. Reports from the GSR and Grapevine Rep have not been submitted at this time. Two proposals were presented for discussion in the first 3-day session, and two additional proposals were presented for discussion in the second 3-day session.
Proposal 1: Reduce the membership requirement for Webkeeper Backup from 1 year to 6 months.
Recruitment for Trusted Servants was conducted through the month of September. Since the position was established in April 2019 when the new GROW website became active, no volunteers had surfaced for the Webkeeper Backup position, and it has remained vacant.
One volunteer offered to take the Webkeeper Backup position for the term from October 2020 to October 2021. While the volunteer more than met the requirement for one year of sobriety, she did not meet the requirement for one year of membership in GROW. This proposal would allow her to serve as Webkeeper Backup by changing the membership requirement from one year to six months.
Fourteen participants made substantive comments on the proposal. Most, but not all, of the comments indicated a preference to leave the requirement as is at one year. The Website Administrator suggested that, while the current requirement should not be changed, it might be possible to make an exception given the volunteer’s length of sobriety and willingness to serve. Several participants agreed with this suggestion. We postponed further discussion of this issue.
The Secretary learned shortly before our business meeting that another GROW member had expressed interest in the Webkeeper Backup position. She is a long-standing member of GROW and meets both the membership and sobriety requirements. While she had initially agreed to take the Webkeeper position, she was not confident that she had the skill level necessary for our Webkeeper. She has since agreed to take the Webkeeper Backup position, leaving the Webkeeper position vacant at this time.
Nineteen (19) participants voted on Proposal 1.2. Twelve (12) participants voted “I disagree” (63%) on the proposal, and seven (7) voted “I agree. (37%) ” Therefore, Proposal 1 did not meet the requirement for a 2/3 majority.
In the absence of a 2/3 majority, this proposal will be set aside and cannot be raised again for a year. The Chair will, however, open a discussion of the website-related job descriptions.
Proposal 2: Modify the job descriptions for the Greeter and Listkeeper trusted servant positions to stress the importance of timely processing of requests for membership in GROW.
Our group receives many inquiries and requests for membership from women who are struggling and want help to stop drinking or stay stopped. Our Listkeepers and Greeters are the first point of contact for these potential new members. If approved, this proposal would
change “daily” to “several times a day” and assure more timely processing of requests from new members.
Eight participants made substantive comments on the proposal, all of them supporting changes to the Greeter and Listkeeper job descriptions to make clear GROW’s expectation that these Trusted Servants will check their e-mails several times a day (rather than daily).
Participants voted on this proposal during the second 3-day session. Eighteen (18) participants voted on the proposal. Sixteen (16) participants voted “I agree” on the proposal, and two (2) voted “I disagree.” Therefore, Proposal 2.2 met the requirement for a 2/3 majority vote approving the proposal.
Before it can be accepted as a Group Conscience decision, participants who voted “I disagree” will have the opportunity to present a Minority Opinion. If anyone changes their vote as a result, the Chair will call for a re-vote. If no minority opinion is submitted and no one changes their vote, the proposal will be accepted as a Group Conscience decision.
Proposal 3: In the Weekly Leader Listkeeper’s job description, revise the existing bullet that mentions the monthly Tradition posting to make it clear that the tradition corresponding to the month will be posted twice each month, and the WLL will invite members to share on that Tradition.
Since we decided to devote the first meeting each month to the appropriate Step in April 2019, posting and discussion of the Tradition has been lost. When we discussed creating a Step meeting, there was a lot of discussion about whether it should be just the Step or the Step and Tradition. It was never the intent of the participants in the business meeting to drop the Traditions from our meetings.
When the monthly Step was approved, a bullet was added to the job description. The existing bullet, however, was never changed to address the Tradition meeting separately. This proposal will correct that oversight and make clear GROW’s commitment to AA’s Traditions.
Five participants made substantive comments on the proposal, all of them supporting changes to change Weekly Leader Listkeeper’s job description to send out a “Tradition meeting” message twice a month that invites members to share on the appropriate AA Tradition throughout the month.
Participants will vote on this proposal during the third 3-day session.
Proposal 4: Add the Common Duties of Trusted Servants to the bottom of the “New Trusted Servant Letter.”
When GROW established the first Trusted Servant positions, we developed a set of “Common Duties” that would apply to all positions. However, today, not all job descriptions contain a reference or link to the Common Duties. While the introduction letter for new Trusted Servants contains a link to the Common Duties, they can easily be overlooked. Adding the text of the Trusted Servant Common Duties to the introduction letter that every Trusted Servant already receives when they move into a position will highlight those functions to which GROW expects all Trusted Servants to adhere.
Six (6) participants made substantive comments on the proposal to include the text of “Trusted Servant Common Duties” in the New Trusted Servant Letter. All of the comments supported the proposal without modification or edits.
Participants will vote on this proposal during the third 3-day session.