[Businessmtg] Topic Chair Qualifications

[Jerry]

Biz-Pals,

Steve's suggestion to post multiple calls to service when too few volunteers step forward certainly makes sense, though it puts the onus back on the Secretary to continuously seek chairs rather than on the membership to willingly serve at any opportunity. While I still don't think that the lack of a few short days or weeks of ASP membership should keep experienced Al-Anons from chairing - it isn't exactly rocket science folks - doesn't mean there are no other possible solutions.

It seems to me that in a group our size there would never be a shortage of members eager to serve, yet occasionally, especially over the last decade or so, ASP has important service positions habitually left vacant. Is it our requirements? Perhaps it's the absence of sponsors and their guidance of sponsees toward service and its importance? We just don't know.

In F2F meetings, when there is a problem of one sort or another, it is suggested that a first step toward finding solutions could be as simple as calling meeting topics which address the Al-Anon principles which may help guide the group to answers.

Proposal:
ASP could follow this suggested process by having a pre-prepared Tradition 7 topic on service the Secretary would automatically post on the day/days for which we have no volunteer chair.

I think this would be a great "Plan B." Focused group discussions on service, its importance, and the principle of being self-supporting are likely to increase the willingness of members to both serve our group and enhance their personal recoveries. It may even eventually lead to ASP being able to fill not just our topic chair shortages when they occur, but all our vacant service positions, many of which have gone unfilled - some for many years on end.

In service,
Jerry
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