[Businessmtg] Greeter Chair Position and Service

[Jerry H.]

Biz-Pals,


First off, I'm not writing as the List Administrator - just Jerry. My positions are my own and not necessarily the group's.


I'm afraid there's a slightly distorted impression out there that everything is fine here at ASP. A member said something like that, but I know it's not exactly true. Yes, the topic meetings are doing superbly. Our primary purpose needs these thoughtful, probing topics to move all of us along, and we're getting that.


But how is our primary purpose going to hold up over the long term? What if we had no volunteer topic chairs? What if we had no List Administrator or Secretary hacking away at their keyboards behind the scenes? Treasurer collecting and depositing? And Greeters! What would we do (would prospective new members do?) without our Greeters? What of a vacant Greeter Chair? Each of these positions is a key part of ASP's long-term success and good health.


How healthy is a group which doesn't fill its necessary service positions, really?


You know, ASP took a risk many years ago when Steve turned group ownership over to the membership. The membership took on the obligations of serving the group much like f2f Al-Anon groups do. The very nature of some of our service positions require longer service terms to assure continuity, even stability, but filling them, despite a membership of many, many hundreds, is often difficult. No surprise, then, that a few dedicated ASPers find themselves standing up for group service regularly - and even switching seats from time to time.


We're in a position now where a less critical service position, Archivist, can be better left vacant than a very critical position - Greeter Chair. The opportunity was there for all ASP members to join the Business Meeting. The opportunity was there for all members of the Business Meeting to stand for the Greeter Chair position. Nobody stood. Then one of our most dedicated trusted servants, Anne, stepped up once again with the willingness to resign as Archivist to fill the Greeter Chair. I now understand that there is some reluctance to "bend the rules" to accommodate ASP's needs. I get that. But if this had happened at any f2f meeting I've ever belong to there would be a whoop and holler of joy and applause.


There's a simple work-around: Open up another 7-day period for accepting resumes for the position. Anne and others could submit as they choose, and off we'd go. Perfectly legit in every way. With Anne's resignation in hand from the Archivist position we could accept resumes for that, too, if someone is interested.


On a personal note everyone needs to know that there are other trusted servants who have been carrying the load of the absent Greeter Chair in addition to their regular and pressing duties. I'm one of them and after three months it's wearing on me. In addition it's taking up the time I need to learn the ins and outs of the LA position you've elected me to fill. I ask you to please find a way to solve this sooner rather than later.


Gratefully,

Jerry

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