St. Paul Al-Anon Intergroup Service Meeting
Minutes – January 10, 2012
The meeting opened at 7:00 pm with the Serenity Prayer
- Introductions
- Chair, IR for Seekers of Compassion AFG
Secretary, IR for Heights & Lights Al-Anon
Treasurer, Summit Hill Wednesday 5 pm Al-Anon
Assistant Treasurer, Alternate IR for Midway Wednesday 6:30 pm Al-Anon
Literature Chair, Summit Hill Monday 6 pm Al-Anon
IR for Serenity Seekers Al-Anon
IR for Uptown Tuesday 9:30 am Al-Anon
IR for Inner Peace Al-Anon
IR for Uptown Monday 8 pm Al-Anon
It was noted there was a quorum (at least 5% of 110 groups = 6) of
Intergroup Representatives present.
Tradition 12 and Concept 12
Sharings from The Forum, January 2011 were read.
Substantial Unanimity
While our by-laws state all decisions require at least 2/3 approval, a
motion was made that substantial unanimity be established at 75% for
Intergroup in 2012. After discussing the basis for substantial unanimity in
our Traditions, Concepts and General Warranties, the reminder that only
Intergroup Representatives vote, and clarification that abstentions would
be counted as “opposed,” the motion passed.
Reports
- Chair
- The Chair made a request to be allowed to “spend a little
money” for a subscription to The
Forum, 100 copies of the English version of Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2012 and 25 of the
Spanish version, plus 3 copies of the latest DVD, Al-Anon and Alateen’s Role in Family
Recovery for the Intergroup Office were approved.
- Vice Chair
- No report
- Secretary
- Minutes from the December 2011 meeting were approved without
objection.
- Treasurer
- The treasurer deals primarily with paying bills. Signatories were
changed for banking accounts today. The previous treasurer prepared the
report covering December 2011. It was noted that while it appears we
have a sudden increase in funds, we will need to pay our 2011 taxes and
several outstanding invoices from the World Service Office. The report
was accepted without objection.
- Assistant Treasurer
- The assistant treasurer primarily handles income from contributions
and literature sales. A generous contribution from an individual in
December was noted. Contributions from individuals and groups vary
widely in amount and frequency making budget planning difficult. The
report was accepted without objection.
- Event sales
- We have been asked to sell literature at the District 20 Potluck
January 28. The Chair will oversee packing and transporting materials
and asked for help selling at the event.
- Group Liaison
- We discussed writing a welcome letter to new groups and to have
guidelines to create consistency between old and new officers and
service committee chairs from year to year.
- Literature
- Keeping our best sellers in stock is a challenge. Building a
reserve inventory by taking advantage of bulk discounts offered by the
WSO is key. A year end inventory was completed. A clipboard of
literature ordered and needed is now hanging in the office to better
communicate information to office volunteers and the Literature Chair.
- Newsletter
- Our last Newsletter was in September 2011. We will look to print
our next Newsletter in February/March. The Chair asked all officers and
service committee chairs to submit a brief introduction of themselves
and description of their service to St. Paul Intergroup.
- Office Volunteers
- The Chair summarized a report from the Office Volunteer Chair.
There are 2 new office volunteers. 3 days in January (25, 27, 31)
remain to be filled. Check the web page (www.al-anon-alateen-msp.org/pages/OfficeVolunteerInfo.html and
contact contact the Office Volunteer Chair if you are able to
volunteer
- Speaker Chair
- The Chair summarized a report from the Office Speaker Chair. She
and the previous Speaker Chair are coordinating the transfer of this
service. Requests are filled primarily via email communication.
- Web site/Directory
- The web site and group records chair attempts to update web and
directory information within 24 hours of receiving notice. The
events page on the website was noted;
upcoming Al-Anon as well as AA events with Al-Anon
participation are posted. Past Intergroup minutes with personal
identification edited out are also available from the
Intergroup Home
page.
- Telephone Volunteers (Remote)
- Scheduling for after hours call forwarding is handled by the
Minneapolis Information Services. To become a telephone volunteer you
need to contact the Minneapolis Information Service office during
business hours to be trained and placed on the schedule. The openings
available are posted on the website.
- Liaison to Minnesota South Area
- The liaison reported she would provide a requested poster display
at the Folderol event February 3 – 5.
Business
- Audit
- The 2011 end-of-year audit will be conducted after the completion
of the turnover and checking account signatures have been validated.
- Bylaws review
- This is ongoing. The Chair stated the only significant change to
the by-laws being considered has to do with the past practice of paying
for a bond to cover losses due to theft by a check signer. There are
differing opinions on whether or not to continue this practice. Thank
you to the 2 Intergroup Representatives who brought the issue to their
groups for discussion. It was noted they came to different opinions.
Aside from the issue of insuring against theft, the concern of
anonymity for those involved with St. Paul Intergroup becoming public
record in the event of a claim is the issue. The Chair suggested that she,
together with the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, would consider
making a recommendation next month. Intergroup funds have not been
covered by a bond for the past year.
- Reserve (ample/prudent)
- We currently have about 3 months reserve on fixed expenses but may
want to target reserving up to 6 months. Continued development of
clearer financial tracking and budgeting are ongoing.
The meeting adjourned with the Al-Anon Declaration at 8:00 pm.
Edited for the web 6 February 2012