[Businessmtg] Business meeting

[Mary Abbott]

> Thanks Anne O for facilitating this meeting. In answer to your questions....     



> What does service mean to you?  

> Service to me means group participation beyond just showing up. For example, in ASP that means, at a minimum, going beyond just finding time to read shares and to share with ESH with others. 

> What does service mean to the health of our group? 

> Without volunteers, we have no organization. In my F2F group I have taken responsibility for chairing general meetings, newcomers meetings, was alternate district representative, and literature chair. This service made me feel like I was doing my part to keep my group functioning properly. 

>  And what keeps you from volunteering to serve on the Steering Committee and in the Secretary and Treasurer positions that remain open?  

ASP has such a different structure than a F2F meeting. Although I really like the constant daily feed of meetings, shares, and opportunity to share, it took me some time to become familiar with how meetings work. It was a lot of trial and error learning. It was a year before I felt comfortable jumping into business meetings. When I did, I found business meetings to be confusing, frustrating, and unproductive. I think much of that is due to the email format. I don’t know a solution for this and so i have been hesitant to express my frustration. 

In terms of specifically volunteering for either the treasurer or secretary position, my business meeting concerns are the biggest factor that  keep me from jumping in to a steering committee volunteer position. I’ve held every possible steering committee position across the many non-profits and organizations of which I’ve been part. I’ve been a board president for 5 different boards, so I am familiar with leadership. However, I hesitate to volunteer for treasurer (or secretary) because I cannot envision how the process works. I read the job description on the website, that doesn’t tell me hardly anything about how much time it would take or the hoop jumping that I would need to do. Until these questions are answered for me, I hesitate to volunteer. That doesn’t mean that I am unwilling, I just need more information. 

Mary A. 

Sent from my iPhone