[Businessmtg] **** Motion #4 Update Topic - Opening Part 2

[Steve Rankin]

The background on Motion #4. . . aka Part 2 of the opening of this topic.

 

After ten years of running ASP as the List Owner, I decided to turn the
operation and management of ASP over to the members of ASP.  We held an
extended Business Meeting from November 2005 through May 2006 for the
purpose letting the members of ASP make their own decisions about how ASP
would be structured and operate.  

 

Perhaps the most significant of those decisions was Motion #4.  After months
of listening to the members share their ideas about what they wanted the
service structure of ASP to be, I posted a synopsis of what I had heard on
the original ASP web site hosted by me.  After discussion, the membership
voted unanimously to pass Motion #4. 

 

NOTE. The text of Motion #4 can be found here
http://asp-afg.org/members/group-conscience/ along with all of the other ASP
Group Consciences.  The meat of Motion #4 is contained in the web page
posted on the original ASP website here
http://www.serenitysys.com/A_Serenity_Place/Business/nbm/structure.htm

 

What is Motion #4:

 

*             Defines the relationship of the Business Meeting and Steering

Committee by defining the authorities and responsibilities of each.  

*             Defines the authorities and responsibilities of the individual

ELECTED officers.

 

Over the years, some of us on the Steering Committee have had casual
discussions regarding possible changes to Motion #4 to address issues that
we have seen arise.  The current Steering Committee has taken a fresh look
at Motion #4 states and what ASP's actual needs are, discussed the issues
both in Steering Committee Zoom meetings and via email.  The result is an
updated version of Motion #4 with some significant changes, as well as some
housekeeping changes.  

 

Please understand that the recommendations have been agreed to unanimously
in the Steering Committee, with one exception - the addition of the
brand-new Group Representative position.  We didn't get a chance to discuss
or agree to that because it is so new that WSO hasn't released any details
yet other than it has been approved by the World Service Conference.

 

Next, I'll describe each of the recommended changes to the original Motion
#4.

 

1.            Changes the wording of the duties of the Secretary relative to
the

Business Meeting to comply with changes made later in the Secretary & Web
Master job descriptions.  In other words, this particular change is a house
keeping change following the significant change noted later.

2.            OLA-IS Rep.  OLA-IS is the "Online Al-Anon Information
Service" that

has been instrumental in both assisting people find online Al-Anon meetings
and assisting online meetings by providing a communication venue much like
the Information Services in face-to-face Al-Anon provide to both prospective
members and to groups.  This may sound a lot like a District, but there are
a couple of significant differences. First, an Information Service often
covers a larger geographic area than a District; typically, several
Districts. Second, an Information Service often serves as a Literature Depot
and a physical office with live people that a single District cannot afford.

OLA-IS has been in existence since I can remember - around the same time
that ASP started.  OLA-IS was THE primary source of information for people
looking for online Al-Anon for many years and continues to be a significant
source of new members at ASP.  However, around the same time that WSO
established its own website, WSO determined that there is no such thing as
an online Information Service and wrote OLA-IS telling them to desist, but
specifically allowed OLA-IS to continue their excellent website.  Only in
recent years, has WSO provided information to the public on the WSO website
regarding online meetings.  

 

Most of the time, OLA-IS is very quiet, however there are times such as
recently when a number of online groups hosted by Yahoo lost their "homes"

when Yahoo shut down Yahoo Groups.  OLA-IS served as a valuable line of
communication for some of those groups to find new "homes".  While I have
monitored and occasionally participated in discussions at OLA-IS, ASP hasn't
had an official OLA-IS Rep for many years, and with the advent of being a
real Group with real access to a new Virtual Area and its soon to be
developed service structure, the OLA-IS Rep position can be archived. 

 

3.            References to Panel A, Panel B and Panel C have been removed.
The

original plan was that the officers on the Steering Committee would rotate
on a staggered basis, much like 1/3 of the Delegates rotate each year.  This
hasn't worked out at all, so we are abandoning that idea.

4.            List Administrator.  A single word change to the duties of the
List

Administrator is being suggested.  The List Administrator is authorized to
make autonomous decisions.  The problem is that some List Administrators
have interpreted this to mean they could do what they wanted without
consulting with the other members on the Steering Committee, or even inform
them after the fact. We are trying to continue the authority, but strengthen
the idea that this autonomous authority is granted ONLY when NECESSARY.  The
List Administrator is still responsible for keeping the others informed.

5.            Secretary.  The gist of this section is that the Secretary
assumes

the duties of the Web Master.  Currently, the Secretary has 2 duties.  Chair
the Business Meeting and oversee the Daily Chairperson in the recovery
meeting.  Chairing the BM takes some level of daily attention, but only
every other month.  Overseeing the Daily Chairs is pretty much a
once-every-six-months job.  Most changes to the website tend to be (a) small
and simple and (b) to occur during the off months, so the additional duty is
minor.  However, our recommendation is to allow the Secretary to appoint an
assistant that will do the actual work on the website.  We are calling the
assistant the Recording Secretary as that better describes the job. 

6.            Greeter Chairperson.  No changes.

7.            Web Master.  We are recommending that this position be
deleted.  As

I mentioned above, the work load is extremely light and only occasional,
hence the decision to roll the duties into the Secretary position.

8.            Treasurer.  No changes.

9.            OLA-IS Rep.  As I already mentioned above, we are recommending
this

position be deleted.

10.         Group Representative.  This is a brand-new position for ASP that

came up just a few days ago, after the discussions in the Steering
Committee.  Since I have done service in face-to-face Al-Anon as an
Intergroup Rep, Group Rep, District Rep, and Area Officer, I am familiar
with the structure of face-to-face Al-Anon and the gist of the various
service positions within an Area.  Rather than attempt to define specific
duties of an ASP Group Rep, I am suggesting describing the job in very broad
terms, which include the reality that the Group Rep will become eligible to
serve in other positions, both elected and appointed, within the new Area.

11.         Founders.  Our Founding Statement states "two 'founders' (the

original founders of A Serenity Place or those most nearly so)" serve on the
Steering Committee where they have both voice and vote.  Historically, the
primary role of the Founders has been the stability they help bring
stability to ASP by reminding - and annoying - newer members and trusted
servants about ASP's group consciences and ways of doing things that none of
us have the right to change on our own.  The recommended changed don't
assign duties or responsibilities to the Founders, but the change does
acknowledge that the Founder's will provide the interpretation of
established policy and group consciences when controversy arises regarding
what a policy or group consciences actually means, or how it applies in
practice.  The concept is similar to having a parliamentarian that serves as
the resident specialist on procedure.  Another issue this section addresses
are those situations when a service position is vacant - a Founder can be
tapped to serve in any position BY REQUEST of the Steering Committee.  There
is nothing here that opens the door for a Founder to step in and take over a
service position without being asked by the elected members of the Steering
Committee.  

 

Hugs,

Steve