[Businessmtg] The Alternate GR Position

[Steve Rankin]

Hi folks,

I'd like to respond to Anne's suggestions with some of my own thoughts.

1. TERM.  The term of office in ASP is based on the same "panel" concept as
has been long established in face-to-face Al-Anon service.  How panels work:
The Area officers serve a three-year term, and each year is called a panel.
At the fall Assembly we will be electing officers for Panel 58 which begins
in January. At the World Service Conference which is in April, there are
always three current panels serving. The newly elected Panel 58 Delegates
will be there with the Delegates of Panel 56, and 57. This serves the
Conference in that there are always Delegates there who have some experience
and there is never a time when all the Delegates would be brand new to the
conference. The outgoing Delegates mentor the new incoming Delegates, and
that way the new Delegates are never alone, and they learn to ask for help.
This whole thing started in 1961.
The term of every GR, every DR and their Alternates is tied to the term of
the Delegate in the same Area.  For example, I served as a GR in Panel 26
(1986-88), then as DR in Panel 29 (1989-91), then later as an Area Officer
in Panel 37 (1997-99).
Shorter terms APPEAR to make it easier to get members to volunteer, however
the consequence of shorter terms is that the Group needs to elect people 3
times as often.  Combine that with the prohibitions against holding the same
position consecutively to avoid dominance, and the result is the Group
quickly runs out of members.  Additionally, there is the serious issue of
time spent electing people.  More often than not, what I have witnessed in
other groups is that shortening the term of office exacerbates the problem
rather than fixing it, and often directly leads to the demise of the group.


2.  Elected vs. Appointed.  This is simple. . . per the Service Manual:
     "Since a GR may be unable to attend all District and Area meetings,
     an Alternate GR is needed and is elected at the same time."
No member of Al-Anon has the authority to appoint another member to
represent the Group.  Since an Alternate GR serves as the GR in the GR's
absence and replaces the GR in the event of a permanent absence, the
Alternate GR must be elected, not appointed.

3.  Members of ASP that are ELECTED to serve ASP sit on the Steering
Committee.  Therefore, the Alternate GR, being an elected trusted servant of
ASP would sit on the Steering Committee.
Referencing back to #1 above, I need to point out that an Alternate GR, like
the "At Large" positions on the Steering Committee have the same voice and
vote as the elected officers, however unlike the elected officers, the
Alternate GR and At Large positions provide no actual service that keeps the
doors open and the lights on.  IMHO, this flies in the face of Concept 10.
"Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service authority
and double-headed management is avoided."
One of my concerns is the situation where the SC is dominated by At Large
and Alternates, hence my recommendation at the last Business Meeting that
the Alternate GR be considered an At Large member of the SC, lest we create
a third position on the SC with no responsibilities, yet all the authority.

4.  Access to Groups.io.  Yes, I imagine that the Alternate GR would have
access to the groups.io GR forum.  However, we need to remember this
position is the ALTERNATE GR, not the Assistant GR or some other
manipulation of the position.  The Alternate GR has voice and vote ONLY in
the absence of the GR, which would not give the Alternate GR a voice in the
groups.io forum unless the GR actually left the forum.  Having said that, I
will note that having access to and regularly reading the posts on the
groups.io forum would help the Alternate GR be informed.

5.  Access to information, Assemblies and other functions.  Yes, the
Alternate GR should have the same access to information, announcements,
flyers, meetings, Assemblies, etc. as the GR.  Certainly, the GR and
Alternate GR should communicate frequently, however the GR and Alternate GR
need to understand that one was elected GR and the as the Alternate.  This
is not a situation where they split the duties to share the load.

6.  The election of an Alternate GR may occur ONLY when there is an ELECTED
GR in office.  For example, Anne is serving as one of our Founders and as
our Acting GR.  We need to elect a GR before we can elect an Alternate.

Hugs,
Steve