[Businessmtg] Statement of Suggestion

[Karen Clem]

Hi Jerry....sorry for the late post.  i just home a short time ago and ask if you can post this for me.   would it be possible to allow feedback to this for a few extra days....this will give  bm members a chance to respond.  thank you.  karen c



hi bm aspers...after a great deal of thought on the letter submitted by the sc i find it necessary to share on a few things.  I will also state that I would like to see these issues addressed openly to the bm, NOT just privately addressed to me because i asked them. This is truly an issue of honesty and openness that needs to be shared with the bm and maybe the fellowship in general.  While I understand business stays in business meetings, the entire fellowship deserves to be informed of some of these issues as well.  Especially, the group inventory and current group conscience and web page concerns.  

 

1.  i would like to say that I did not feel that this bm was a total loss or an experiment in how we can do it better.  Remember, we are at all times working within progress not perfection.  It was productive in that we worked together towards a common goal with very little verbal dysfunction. I also learned a lot in observing some new issues that arose  that  provide a great opportunity to address together.  We went through a shit show last year and it was hoped that with new leadership this would change.  However, some leadership did not rotate and it’s now hard for me to just place the blame on those that are gone.  As I say this, I reiterate that, new leadership needs time to learn their jobs...period.   Even with the glitches we accomplished several things.  I see them as follows.


2.  The  fact that the poll was blocked brings to mind a HUGE question.  It was my understanding that there are only a certain number of individuals that can do this.  It is not an open system.  It would be nice to know who did this as it has created a lot of  distrust in the bm.  Whoever did this needs to fess up and tell the bm why this was done or figure out if our system has been hacked. have we been compromised?   Would a  past servant who had access be capable to still access our member site?  It should not be hidden or lost on us that this was done and no one was notified until our voting ability was abruptly blocked.  I would like to know an answer to this and I hope that the rest of the bm feels the same concern for our safety as I.  it even brings to heart the question of anonymity within this fellowship.  This is definitely an issue that will create more problems down the line if we do not address it now. 

i also believe that the problems with the bounced mail etc...are a result of issues cited above and that the membership should have been apprised of this, especially if it is a result of problems inside the system based on human actions (ie: past leadership).  it often takes time to find this stuff and we all need patience and time to work out the glitches.


As for who set up the poll etc... It is MY perception that when the last leadership left, there was no sharing of duties, how to do things or an appropriate transfer by past leadership to new leadership.  Frankly, I would be surprised if things were not deleted or locked up as this happens in the business world all the time.  Principles above personalities not being practiced here.  Problems are meant to create new opportunity, which usually means time is needed to unravel the issues.  While this creates not only procedural problems it causes a feeling of distrust as we do not understand or have any idea of the problem.  Should this be the case, we deserve to know this so that we can work through this crap in a manner that can create an orderly learning process.  On a personal note, i get the feeling that a lot of stuff was done to hinder us, not help us. (just my opinion).     We need to allow those who have the skills to teach those that do not (you know, like the concepts teach).  Setting up a voting poll by a member who wants to run for a position is not wrong nor should it be an issue here.  If we can’t even trust someone to create a poll how can we trust that person to be  a trusted servant?? 


Lastly, are ASP polls set up to resemble secret balloting in a F2F meeting?  If so, a member has the ability to vote their respective conscience with a vote of “yes/no/abstain,” is that correct?   Stating the reason for your decision during a secret ballot/poll is inappropriate and against policy I thought.   This seems easy to apply next go around.....should not be an issue.  



I also believe that the problems with the bounced mail etc...are a result of issues cited above and that the membership should have been apprised of this, especially if it is a result of problems inside the system based on human actions.  It often takes time to find this stuff and we need patience and time to work out the glitches.


This said, it is clear we need to provide our trusted servants the TRUST necessary for them to do their job.  We not only need to have a need but a want (per group conscience) for several trusted servants at ASP and not having them filled goes against our group conscience of policy.  Having a safe place and an opportunity to discuss this glaring issue (during a group inventory or at least a bm) might help us understand why our own ASP members aren't stepping up for these vacancies....

 3.  I think it would be prudent on all of us to remember that we are guided by spiritual principles but our policies and guidelines having been written by a human being  (this is directly related to the web page issue).   As fallible human beings we make mistakes in our actions, decisions, thoughts, behaviors etc that tend to impact others (unless we live in solitude).  Placing blame on a single individual or group of people does not benefit the bm, ASP or the Al-Anon fellowship.  We have chosen to become members of ASP and of a bm which means we have chosen to be in a relationship with one another.  I try to participant in ASP and Al-Anon with the same level of respect and consideration  as I do in my personal relationships.  Al-Anon and ASP have taught me balance and the part I play in all my interactions.  Like GB lead today’s meeting on Tradition 5 “by encouraging and understanding ““by welcoming and giving comfort”

For example, when we had no webmaster to set up the polls or restore our group conscience others offered to step up and help in providing partial tasks of the position for the bm’s need.



It is important to remember that the bm represents the ASP membership and that the steering committee does not make decisions for the bm or the ASP membership;  the bm does.  The bm is made up of any member of ASP who wishes to attend and those in attendance determine the decisions.   The steering committee is an advisory board in a sense.  They report to the bm the issues that may need to be addressed (based on their observance when the bm is out of session).  The bm decides the outcomes for these issues, not the steering committee.  The bm speaks for the fellowship.  It is not the other way around.  if the sc in my f2f did this to our fellowship, i believe that it would lead to a very unhealthy situation.  we on the sc bring to the bm/fellowship where the attendees make the decisions.  IF we indeed practice Al-Anon as close to a f2f meeting we need to follow those guidelines here as well.

  4.  the concepts as they are written in Al-Anon are not meant to be twisted to fit a certain group or person.  they are there for the benefit of the fellowship and to guide us in our recovery in Al-Anon as they guide our fellowship.  it is my belief that they are not being followed as they should be.  the traditions are also being broken here.  it is sad that we are not honoring those and that they are being used to cause distrust in our bm.  looking at the service manual there is a page in there that defines the service structure.  maybe we need to review that and go back to basics here and honor the spiritual principles as they are meant to be, not based on personal interpretation...again, my opinion

  5.  it was my understanding that the greeter chair needs to be filled.  Jerry, I believe, spoke to it’s urgency while others disagreed.  If I understand the role this position provides, we will have essentially closed our meeting doors to those seeking “the welcome and comfort” we state to offer.  The fact that the SC “suggested” we all put this off until the March meeting or that the poll was BLOCKED/CLOSED (at least it appeared to be when it was accessed on Monday the 29th in the afternoon) speaks volumes to what is perhaps not being considered here? 

 6.  again, i address the group inventory and group conscience.  i ask this and would like feedback about this from the sc so that the bm can address this issue.  when was the last time a group inventory was completed?  where is it posted  and why are we not able to see the results of that inventory?  i have brought this up in the last few business meetings.  it has never been addressed, by anyone...why not.?.  i believe that it is time for this to occur.  we all need to be on the same page here.  this also means that whatever group conscience is being followed in the sc it needs to be open for all of us to see what is being used to guide our bm's.  I believe that is what Steve and the sc are tasked with trying to accomplish because we have a vacancy   (webmaster ).  For the members of the bm and probably the trusted servants to have nothing to reference  during a bm is not responsible and calls much into question.  I hope we can get some sort of acceptance even a temporary one.  I still believe that a committee/task force needs to be formed to complete this task and that it needs to take as long as it takes to do this.  we have many new members and other views may have changed over time. 

 7.  In the last bm it was voted and approved that the web page, was not acceptable in its current form.   i was under the impression that any other fixes or changes were suppose to be an agenda item for the bm and that a committee was going to be put in place to address this.  it is great that most of the original web page is back, but again there are issues that a committee should be addressing for further action and changes to this stuff.  it should not be incumbent on one person to do this and i ask why is one person doing all the work.  once the original stuff was put back in place it should have come to the bm for the next part of the process.  discussion (though private) was actually encouraged at this bm, but there has been no movement to create a committee to take part in further action next, nor have we been told why? 

 8. while i am unsure as to how many individuals were in this bm, i would ask why more members have not spoken up to add their voice to this process.  this is important for all of us (and now we may be affecting members who have yet to arrive).  without input nothing changes or gets done.  decisions made without input from the bm will come back to bite us all in the butt...haven't we seen enough of this crap?  there is no reason for us to be nit picking each other apart and placing blame here.  we are suppose to help create trust, unity and harmony, not allow stuff to become toxic for everyone participating in the bm.  more importantly, if individuals are sending private emails to ask questions about stuff and the rest of us do not know what the concerns are, we cannot, i repeat cannot remedy the issue.  additionally i would ask why are private email exchanges allowed during a bm if it affects the fellowship as a whole. why are they not being shared with the rest of the bm members.


9.  as for the job duties and what is required from each service postion, (as it was so stated in the bm ???) it may be time to reevaluate what those positions are, what needs to be done as they apply to different aspects of the jobs.  we need to give our trusted servants the TRUST they have earned when they accepted the position so that they can do their jobs the best way they can.  we do not govern...that means we do not control what each person can learn based on how they do the job.  they deserve the right and the respect to do it in a way that is beneficial to all of us, and they deserve the right to be able to ask for help or delegate if needed to get the job done..(ie:,  the voting poll). 

 10,  i am asking each and every one of you, what do you all think of this last minute SC suggestion with no time to hear one another and reason things out? and how does this affect you and your recovery?  do you all feel that we have done our due diligence in our duty to be fully participating?  personally, i did not see much traffic in this meeting, but i do know that while the voting was in process, the discussion process was ongoing.  is that not how this process is supposed to work? 

 lastly...that said, if you made it this far, please please let the bm and sc know what you think of this.  we have until the end of this bm to voice our thoughts....we cannot make it better if no one speaks up.  it is all fine that the sc chose to address this, but in reality, they are addressing their part of it.  the bm needs to addess its concerns and part as well.  i have asked that we be allowed a few days extra for bm members to have time to respond.   thanks for reading and letting me share. hugggsss,
karen c.