[Businessmtg] End of the Month Note from BM Chair

Thu Nov 29 07:42:32 PST 2018

Thank you Jerry for this report.

So, it is my understanding that this person, Sue Perez is considered a
representative for all online meetings, even though she has not been
appointed, not been elected by any group, nor involved with any
online/electronic meeting.

How interesting is this development???  This information can be added to
the first LA who made a decision to press the button here on ASP.
Fire, ready, aim.......

Beverly

On Wed, Nov 28, 2018 at 9:24 PM List Administrator <la at asp-afg.org> wrote:

> Biz-Pals,
>
> Very near the end of the November Business Meeting.
>
> While the archiving topic is ringing with input from some quarters, we
> are nowhere near any points of unanimity. On top of that fewer than 50%
> of Business Meeting members have noted a position one way or the other.
> Others have suggested continuing this topic.
>
> You will note that nobody submitted resumes for the ASP Secretary
> position.
>
> A topic regarding posting the Warranties has not been gotten to. Believe
> it or not there are copyright issues when they are republished. I've had
> one phone conversation with the WSO; a letter requesting specific
> permission to post the Warranties on our website has not been answered
> yet. We do have other options. Bumping this topic to a future Business
> Meeting for now.
>
> Please remember that any ASP member can suggest BM agenda topics. Just
> email your suggestions to the Steering Committee at
> steering_committee at asp-afg.org or to any member of the SC.
>
> A few folks aren't happy with the way I chaired this month's meeting.
> Complaints and applause are welcome in my LA mailbox - la at asp-afg.org.
> Please don't use my personal email address.
>
> - - - - - - -
>
> Earlier this month Sue Perez, Associate Director, Group Services of the
> WSO hosted a video conference for representatives of "electronic
> meetings." As ASP's WSO contact I attended finding it interesting to
> hear input from other email and telephone groups. Some members joined
> via video, others by phone. Many of us had never done such a conference
> before so it took a while to get up to speed. I've copied the agenda and
> my notes below. There will be future such conferences. If anybody has
> questions let me know...
>
> Virtual Meeting CMA Participants
>
> Agenda for November 12, 2018 9:00 PM via WebEx
>
>         *
>
> Welcome
>         *
>
> Purpose of Call: To provide a forum for electronic meeting contacts to
> share E, S ad H in order to support each other. The call is not to
> address meeting problems. We want to foster better communication among
> the meetings on the various platforms. What does your meeting need in
> the short term? Long term?
>         *
>
> What are we to call ourselves? Electronic? Virtual?
>         *
>
> Review of the revised electronic meeting registration form and
> instructions.
>         *
>
> Would various meeting platforms (i.e. email, Skype) be interested in
> participating in a WebEx business meeting similar to what is in place
> with phone meeting CMAs in order to discuss issues that may be specific
> to online meetings?
>         *
>
> Next Steps and Announcements
>         *
>
> Close with the Al-Anon Declaration - - - - - -
>
> The meeting was chaired by Sue Perez, the WSO's Associate Director -
> Group Services and lasted for about 1-1/2 hours. In attendance were
> members of the WSO's Electronic Workgroup - which includes Trustees &
> etc. - and approximately 15 or so CMA's from various electronic meetings
> by phone or video.
>
> As this was the initial meeting it seemed formatted as much to open
> communications as it was to address any matters in earnest. I'll touch
> upon each agenda item as I recollect content. [The meeting was recorded,
> but there's no assurance that I'll get a copy.]
>
> 1. Welcome
>
>     Introduction of those attending
>
> 2. Purpose of the Call
>
>     Telephone meetings wanted the WSO to solve issues [non-Al-Anon talk,
> especially in what they call their "After Meetings"] with some guidance
> from above. It seems the telephone meeting have serious problems with
> crosstalk and outside entity talk.
>
>     Availability of certain CAL for use in meetings [Beginner Packet was
> mentioned by one CMA][The idea of braille CAL was brought up.]
>
> 3. What to call ourselves.
>
>     Nobody liked the suggestions. Most thought calling the different
> formats by what they are [phone meetings, email meetings, Skype
> meetings, etc. made the most sense. Then someone came up with "Remote
> Meetings" which got a good reception as a general title with the
> specific types having their own categories.
>
> 4. WSO is about to approve a revised electronic meeting registration
> form and instructions.
>
> 5. Many expressed interest in future meetings for the different meeting
> types. Email, phone, etc. Nothing scheduled.
>
> 6. WSO does what WSO does. We'll have to wait and see...
>
> 7. Close with the Al-Anon Declaration.
>
> The part of the conversation which caught my attention most was the
> input from the Trustees and Workgroup members. Principle among these was
> the emphasis on electronic meetings being "outreach efforts" not Al-Anon
> "groups." There was talk about the service structure not including
> electronic meeting representation - which brought out that Sue Perez is
> considered the [sole?] representative for all electronic meetings to the
> [WSC?/WSO?]. No talk about her being appointed, not elected by the
> groups, nor any evidence that she is involved in any of the electronic
> meetings personally. The WSO continues its hard line that we aren't
> groups in the same way f2f groups are - that our members are effectively
> represented through the structure of the various Areas in which each
> member lives. I can't think of the last time my Area gave one thought to
> members of electronic meetings let alone represented our interests.
>
> We'll just have to see what this PR effort results in.
>
> Points I made [not in order and paraphrased]:
>
> ~ I'd like to think that the WSO would seek out to the long experience
> of many leaders from electronic meetings for their input and suggestions
> as the WSO moves forward with setting policy and procedures.
>
> ~ In some cases online meetings are as large as some Areas, yet we're
> without any representation.
>
> ~ Communications is moving more and more toward electronic media. The
> WSO would do well to study future trends in this area because as a whole
> we're growing by leaps and bounds - younger folks use tablets and phones
> as their primary communications tools.
>
> ~ A willingness to continue participating in future meetings - general
> and email specific.
>
> ~ The new European regulations which affect electronic communications
> and user protections - about which I know little but which now affect
> any group with international exposure.
>
> All I can think of for now. We had one of our ASP members representing
> another electronic group at this conference. I invite that person to
> share their experience if they would like - Just keep in mind that at
> midnight Friday the Business Meeting goes onto full moderation status so
> email traffic is halted until the January meeting opens.
>
> In service,
>
> Jerry H., BM Chair
>
> -
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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>
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> Administrator, at  la at asp-afg.org
>
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