[Businessmtg] List Administrator Report

[travelynne2]

 Thanks Steve for the history involved in this - I found it fascinating! This is exciting news - and better 25 years late than never! I look forward to seeing how the virtual area organizes itself over time. 

Thanks to you and the steering committee for your work preparing for this transition. 

Hugs, 
Lynne

    On Thursday, July 1, 2021, 1:41:24 AM PDT, Steve Rankin <steve at serenitysys.com> wrote:  
 
 Hi ASPers,

 

The big news in Al-Anon is the World Service Conference’s (WSC) vote to bring the online/electronic Al-Anon ‘meetings’ fully into the greater Al-Anon service structure.  This means that ASP, like our sister electronic ‘meetings’ will become Al-Anon “Groups” just like face-to-face groups.  Wow!

 

A little history.  Let’s wind the clock back to the 80’s.  

 

My sponsor shanghaied me into being the Group Rep (GR) for my home group in Alameda, CA.  That segued into being elected Alternate District Rep, then District Rep (DR) in the late 80’s.  During my term as DR, I met Don R. the DR of the district on the other side of the hills.  Being the only two male DR’s in the 26 districts jump started our friendship, along with similar interests in German cars, computers, and so on.  Don launched a new online meeting called CyberSerenity (CAFG) in March 1995 and invited me to join.  Little did I know where that path would lead me!

 

CAFG grew explosively.  Don was a genius (and simultaneously an idiot) at marketing. Don actively recruited new members from other countries to translate CAFG’s website into other languages.  By Fall, CAFG was available in 7 languages and membership was something like 700.  To quote the OLA-IS site: 

      “CyberSerenity by vote declared CAFG an Al-Anon Group; pursued being listed at WSO; and established an ad-hoc committee to work out a structure for the meeting, considering the "suggestions" provided in the Al-Anon Service Manual and seeking input from other on-line Al-Anon meetings.”

I was elected Chair of that ad-hoc committee.  

My sponsor was a Trustee and set me up with Ric. B., the Executive Director of WSO at a Regional Service Seminar in February 1996.  Ric & I found a quiet corner and we spent the afternoon talking about the nuts and bolts of how an online meeting could work within the Traditions.  It is worth mentioning that Ric’s previous career was as an activist lawyer – he made his living using the legal system to get his way. Ric told me that WSO’s plan was to authorize a three-year pilot project to list on-line meetings as electronic meetings and appointed an ad hoc committee "to study the impact of the Internet on Al-Anon".  Ric also told me that the 3-year pilot project would be extended 3 years at a time as many times as needed until WSO and the WSC were ready to do something else.  And so it was.  

 

Unlike the rest of the CAFG members on CAFG’s ad hoc committee, I was in frequent personal contact with Don and. . . well, let’s just say that Don had no intention of letting go of CAFG in any way.  The result was an exodus of members taking their resentments, getting a new coffee pot and starting a new meeting.  ASP was the third meeting splitting off of CAFG when I launched ASP on May 1, 1996.  We registered ASP with WSO in Spring 1998.

 

WSO was unwilling to call us “groups” because that would have given us a vote in service structure.  Remember, Al-Anons tend to be control freaks and the folks at WSO are Al-Anons just as much as you and I.  So, any group of Al-Anon’s that met electronically were defined as electronic ‘meetings’ instead of groups, and as ‘meetings’ we didn’t have the same rights as groups.  

Over the years, Ric would call me or send me an email letting me know that he’d be in California.  I’d grab a sponsee and we’d make a speed run to wherever he was speaking, and we’d find a quiet corner and get our heads together on service issues.  Sometimes, it was more like bumping heads.  

WSO eventually abandoned the pilot program, and hardened the policies on electronic meetings, which were different than face-to-face groups.  

I recall Jerry and I starting to hear rumors about the possibility of a change in policy and becoming an Al-Anon Group.  After 25 years, I’ll admit we were a little skeptical.  But, it happened.

 

So, what do we know?

 

1.    We know that we are an Al-Anon Group, or that we will be as soon as the bureaucracy does its administrative dance. 
2.    We know that WSO is creating a new non-geographic “Virtual Area”.
3.    We know that the electronic meetings will be a part of the new Virtual Area.
4.    We know that the new Virtual Area will elect a Delegate who will attend the next World Service Conference next Spring in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
5.    We know that the new Virtual Area will develop its own internal service structure; elect officers, coordinators, etc.  
6.    We know that the new Virtual Area will have both expenses and financial obligations to the WSC. 
7.    We know that ASP will have a Seventh Tradition obligation to support the new Virtual Area.
8.    We know that WSO is revising documents and policies that will eliminate ALL differences between face-to-face Groups and electronic Groups.
9.    We know that WSO has told us that they plan to hold a conference call of the CMAs (Meeting Contacts) in late July. At that time WSO will inform us of the details of how this will move forward.
10.    We know that WSO is not going to change the face-to-face service structure, or any of the established policies regarding that service structure.
11.    We know that ASP needs to create a Group Rep service position, and that we need to fill that position.  

 

 

What we don’t know.

 

1.    Administrative details involving whatever process and procedures will be involved.
2.    How, when, where the new Virtual Area will meet and decide on its internal structure of officers and coordinators, and how it will go about fleshing out those service positions.  
3.    For example, we do not know if the Area will decide to have Districts.  I know that some of the non-English speaking groups are a little upset or disappointed that WSO isn’t creating a separate Area for them.  After all, there are 70-something face-to-face Areas and only one Virtual Area to represent the rest of the world.  Hmm.  
4.    While not set in concrete, it is reasonable to assume that the new officers of the Virtual Area will be elected from the pool of new Group Reps elected by the newly re-classified electronic groups. 

 

Since I have served as an Intergroup Rep, Group Rep, Alternate District Rep, District Rep and Area Officer, I am personally quite familiar with how the Al-Anon service structure works.  Having served as an Area Treasurer, I’m also personally familiar with the types of financial expenses that an Area incurs, that need to be supported by the Groups of the Area.

 

Undoubtably, there are other issues that I have not identified, but I think I’ve covered the based reasonably well.  

 

So. . . while we are presenting our reports and asking/answering questions, you might want to read some about the Al-Anon service structure in the Service Manual.  You can download a copy of the current 2018-2021 Service Manual at https://al-anon.org/pdf/P2427_online.pdf.  Naturally, the parts on electronic meetings are now out of date, but the rest of it should be OK.

The Group Rep position is described on pages 60-61.  I’ve pasted that section below.

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve

 

 

 

Group Representative* (GR): 

• Acts as liaison between the group and the District and between the group and the Assembly. 

• Becomes familiar with the current edition of the Al-Anon/ Alateen Service Manual (P‑24/27), and encourages its use among group members.

• Works through the District in helping to initiate public out‑ reach projects. 

• Encourages Alateen sponsorship in accordance with Area Alateen Safety and Behavioral Requirements. 

• Serves as local representative of the Al‑Anon/Alateen magazine, The Forum, by: 

    • Acquainting members with its usefulness. 

    • Suggesting personal subscriptions. 

    • Submitting group subscriptions to the WSO. 

    • Encouraging members to write articles. 

    • Is elected for a three-year term. 

    • Encourages election of an Alternate GR

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