Proposal 1: Trusted Servants & Recruitment Process
Add a bullet to the Common Duties that calls for every Trusted Servant to participate in the semi-annual recruitment process by recommending potential replacements, sending a personal share to GROW describing their experience as a Trusted Servant, and working with the Secretary during recruitment by personally encouraging potential volunteers.
Recommended Language: Add the following as the second bullet in the “Common Duties” on the GROW website and in
- Every Trusted Servant shall participate in recruiting Trusted Servants in the following ways:
- Participate in the recruitment process by identifying and recommending to the Secretary women who seem well-suited to the position the Trusted Servant currently holds;
- In the week before recruitment begins (late February, late August), write a message to the GROW mail list that describes her job, estimates the workload, actual time spent, and what doing the job as done for their sobriety;
- Help the Secretary during the recruitment month (March and September) by encouraging potential volunteers to volunteer for her position when recruitment begins.
Rationale: The proposal reflects broad agreement in business meeting participants’ comments addressing the lack of volunteers for Trusted Servant (TS) positions. The comments overwhelmingly agreed that TSs should be more involved in the recruitment process and supported the suggested proposal.
Summary of Comments
Eight women commented on Proposal 1 which would add a bullet to the Common Duties section of GROW position descriptions. Most of the comments were a simple expressions of agreement with the proposal. Two commenters felt that asking Trusted Servants to “identify” potential volunteers would create pressure for those identified. One commenter recommended wording changes. The Chair has edited the bullets to better reflect those concerns. We will vote on the resulting Proposal 1.1 during the fourth 3-day session.
Results of Voting on Proposal 1
Eighteen (18) participants voted on the Proposal that would add a bullet to the Common Duties that calls for every Trusted Servant to participate in the semi-annual recruitment process. Twelve voted “I disagree,” and six voted “I agree,” representing a 67% majority rejecting the proposal. Therefore, the proposal did not meet our requirement for a 2/3 majority. The Chair invited participants who voted “I agree” to submit a Minority Opinion. By our guidelines, if anyone changes their vote as a result of the Minority Opinion, there will be a re-vote.
Two people submitted Minority Opinions further supporting the proposal. One argued that requiring Trusted Servants to share on the topic of Service was not a burden and would help GROW. The other felt that we already identify potential candidates for TS positions and that including this in the proposal was appropriate.
No one changed their vote as a result of the Minority Opinions; therefore, the 67% vote rejecting the proposal stands, and the proposal is not accepted as a Group Conscience Decision, the subject cannot be raised again for at least a year.