[Businessmtg] Bylaws & Incorporation

[Steve Rankin]

Hi ASPs,

 

This has been a long time coming, but it is finally here.  As usual, some
history is called for.

 

Over the 25 years that A Serenity Place has been around, banking rules have
evolved in response to government regulation, market conditions, and world
politics.  In the good ol' days, anyone could open a bank account with
little if any documentation supporting the name of the account.  Those days
are long gone.  It seems that every time we elect a new Treasurer, the world
has gotten a little more complicated since the previous Treasurer.  The
solution was clear; the path for any organization to perpetuity and a
legitimate identity in the real world is to incorporate.  

 

I went through the process for my own commercial corporation last Fall.
Shortly after we file the corporation documents, ASP will be able to open a
bank account in ASP's corporate name, which will greatly simplify the
handling of Seventh Tradition funds by the Treasurer, AND will allow the
rotation of Treasurers without any changes in the bank account other than
changing the signature cards on file.  

 

It isn't unusual for an Al-Anon service entity to incorporate.  My Al-Anon
District was incorporated before I became the District Rep in the 1980's,
and my Al-Anon Area was incorporated in 1983.  There are some administrative
hurdles, the biggest has been drafting the bylaws.  

 

The bylaws are the rules adopted by an organization chiefly for the
government of its members and the regulation of its affairs.  The good news
is that ASP has a website with over a dozen pages that document our group
consciences, policies and procedures.  The bad news is that none of it is in
the format of the legal document required.  Plus, there are things that need
to be documented in the bylaws that aren't documented on the ASP website.  

 

I started by accessing copies of bylaws from several Al-Anon service
entities looking for an example that provided the framework I thought would
work for us at ASP.  Then, I went through each section, clause by clause and
wordsmithed everything so the final version (a) read like an Al-Anon
document, not something else, and (b) reconciled with every policy,
procedure and group conscience of ASP.  Periodically, the bylaws needed to
be updated to comply with new group consciences.   The project was
fundamentally finished in late Summer. Then. After being reviewed by Anne
O., it went through a series of minor edits, corrections and bug fixes.    

 

The objective of this meeting is to approve the draft bylaws so the Steering
Committee can proceed with the incorporation process.  I will be posting a
second email containing the actual text of the draft bylaws in a few
minutes.  

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve