St. Paul Al-Anon Intergroup By-Laws
Revision dates: March 2004

Article I NAME
The name of this organization is “St. Paul Area Al-Anon/Alateen Intergroup.”
Article II OBJECTIVES
Section 1
The purpose of Intergroup is to aid Al-Anon Groups, serving the common purpose of carrying the Al-Anon message to the suffering families and friends of alcoholics.
Section 2
Among the principal functions of Intergroup are maintaining an office that is open on a regular schedule for the sale of literature and providing twenty-four hour telephone information about Al-Anon and about meeting times. A professional answering service may be engaged to answer the phone when volunteers are not available.
Section 3
The guiding principles of Intergroup are the Al-Anon/Alateen Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts, together with the policies set forth in the Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual.
Article III MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
Membership in Intergroup is open to all Al-Anon Groups in the Greater St. Paul area.
Section 2
Each group may select one Intergroup Representative (IR) and one Alternate IR whose term will be for one year starting January 1. Any group may select a replacement IR or Alternate IR at any time to serve the remainder of the year.
Article IV OFFICERS
Section 1
The officers are Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. They must be active Al-Anon members and preferably be present or past IR’s. Their responsibilities are set forth in Appendix A.
Section 2
Officers shall serve a term of one year starting January 1 and may serve no more than two consecutive terms in a single office.
Section 3
Officers for the coming year shall be nominated at the November and December meetings and elected at the December meeting. Elections shall be in the following order – Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Treasurer.
Section 4
Officer vacancies shall be filled by special election. Replacement officers who are elected in January, February or March of any year shall be considered full term officers.
Article V MEETINGS
Section 1
Meetings shall be held once a month unless a motion to omit a meeting is carried by substantial unanimity at the preceding meeting.
Section 2
Groups shall be notified through a newsletter or otherwise by mail as to the date, time and place of Intergroup meetings.
Section 3
Each Group shall have one vote. In the absence of a group’s IR, the Alternate IR may vote. No IR, Alternate IR, or individual may represent / vote for more than one group.
Section 4
All important decisions shall be made in accordance with the principle of Substantial Unanimity (2/3 majority or greater as may be decided by majority vote).
Section 5
Additional meetings may be called by the Chair or by the Vice Chair. Groups shall be notified of such meetings at least two weeks in advance.
Section 6
The regular monthly meetings shall include but are not limited to the following:
  1. Summary of the minutes of the last meeting
  2. Report of the Treasurer
  3. Other reports from Committees and liaisons
  4. Unfinished business
  5. New business
Section 7
No important decision shall be made without a quorum consisting of representatives from at least 5 percent of the Greater St. Paul Area Al-Anon Groups.
Section 8
Both incoming and outgoing IRs are to attend the December meeting. The outgoing officers shall preside.
Article VI COMMITTEES and LIAISONS
Section 1
Whenever possible, the functions of Intergroup are carried out by Standing Committees, the Office Committee and other Committees as may be established for particular purposes.
Section 2
Committee Chairs, with the exception of the chairs of the Office and Program Committees, shall be appointed by the Intergroup Chair.
Committees may have Co-chairs. In particular, this may be advantageous for the Volunteer and Literature Committees.
Committee chairs and co-chairs should be IRs or Alternate IRs, whenever possible. Other committee members should be active Al-Anon members.
Section 3
Standing Committees shall be as follows:
Alateen Institutions Public Outreach
Archives Literature Speakers Bureau
Directory Newsletter Volunteer
Group Liaison Program  
These committees shall follow World Service Office guidelines, where appropriate. Specific guidelines for some committees are in Appendix B to these By-Laws.
Section 4
The Office Committee oversees the operation of the Intergroup office, including paid employees, if any. It shall consist of past and current Chairs, Volunteer Committee Chair, two officers other than the Intergroup Chair, and IR’s to bring its membership to 5. The IR members shall normally be elected at the January Intergroup meeting.
The office committee shall elect its own chair and secretary.
It makes recommendations about Office hours and practices, about major purchases, including office equipment and insurance, and about the advisability of having one or more paid employees.
Section 5
At any time when there are paid employees, the Office Committee will establish and revise job descriptions and titles, act as a hiring committee, periodically review employee performance and recommend salary changes. Upon appropriate cause it may recommend termination of employment.
Office Committee meetings will be open to all IR’s and employees.
Section 6
The Chair of Intergroup shall be an ex-officio non-voting member of all committees.
Section 7
Liaisons to other Al-Anon service organizations such as Minneapolis Information Service, the Minnesota South Area Assembly and conference planning committees may be appointed when appropriate.
Article VII CENTER EMPLOYEES
Section 1
A paid employee shall have a voice but no vote at Office Committee and Intergroup meetings.
Section 2
Paid employees shall report directly to the Office Committee Chair.
Article VIII FINANCES
Section 1
Intergroup shall be a non-profit organization, undertaking no activities or assuming any obligations which might result in financial deficits unless offset by receipts from contributions or Al-Anon activities such as open meetings.
Section 2
In accordance with Tradition 7, Intergroup is self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Appeals may be made to groups and individuals for financial support. Contributions may be accepted from Alcoholics Anonymous conferences and roundups that have substantial Al-Anon participation.
Section 4
Intergroup shall maintain its funds in an insured checking account subject to the following policies.
  1. There shall be at least three officers who can sign checks, including but not limited to the Chair, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer; all must be bonded.
  2. Checks and other withdrawals shall require two signatures. Under no circumstances should a blank check ever be signed.
  3. The Treasurer shall make monthly written financial reports to Intergroup
  4. An Audit Committee composed of three IRs shall be appointed by the Intergroup Chair each December for the purpose of reconciling bank statements, journals and treasurer’s reports and reviewing sales invoices, orders and inventory.
Section 4
Office equipment and literature inventory shall be insured up to value each year.
Article IX AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
These By-Laws may be amended at any regular business meeting by a vote of two thirds of all groups represented, following a written notification to all groups of pending changes. The By-Laws shall be reviewed and any necessary revisions recommended to Intergroup every three years by an appointed committee. Next review (October 2003) to be read at the January (2004) meeting.
Copies of these by-laws shall be available at all Intergroup meetings. The Chair shall summarize the by-laws at the first regular meeting in January. By-Laws shall be given to the new IRs at the January meeting.

The By-Laws were drawn from the following sources:

  1. Al-Anon Alateen Service Manual.
  2. WSO Al-Anon Guidelines.

Appendix A

SUGGESTED RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUIDELINES FOR INTERGROUP OFFICERS

Chair
  1. Presides at Intergroup meetings.
  2. Appoints chairs of committees.
  3. Plans the agenda for Intergroup Meetings in consultation with other officers. Is an ex-officio non-voting member of all Committees.
  4. Is a voting member of the Office Committee.
Vice Chair
  1. Presides at Intergroup meetings in the absence of the Chair.
  2. Chair of the Program Committee. In particular, the Vice Chair directs the planning and organization of open meetings such as Gratitude Night.
Secretary
  1. Records minutes of Intergroup meetings and mails them to members in advance of the next meeting
  2. Summarizes them at the next meeting.
  3. Maintains a list of recent attendees at Intergroup meetings.
Treasurer
  1. Keeps records on all transactions.
  2. Maintains accurate records of bank accounts.
  3. Reports to the membership on expenses and income in the preceding month and cumulatively from the start of the year.
  4. Ensures that funds received are deposited and bills are paid in a timely manner.
  5. Maintains records on sales and payroll taxes owed and files necessary returns in a timely manner.
Assistant Treasurer
  1. Assists the treasurer as requested.
  2. Maintains records on individual contributions and sends acknowledgements with thanks.

Appendix B

SUGGESTED RESPONSIBILITIES AND GUIDELINES FOR STANDING COMMITTEES

Archives Committee
  1. Keeps a history of Intergroup activities.
  2. Provides a display reflecting Intergroup’s history when requested
Alateen Committee
  1. Keeps lists of groups and sponsors.
  2. Helps find sponsors for new groups.
  3. Conducts Alateen workshops.
Directory Committee
  1. Keeps the directory up-to-date
  2. Publishes a new directory as needed.
  3. Provides mailing labels for the newsletter and other Intergroup mailings.
Group Liaison Committee
  1. Visits groups to explain what Intergroup is and how it serves.
  2. Assists in organizing new groups.
  3. Helps groups having group problems.
Literature Committee
  1. Office sales
    1. Orders literature and medallions for sale.
    2. Stocks literature depot shelves.
    3. Keeps inventory on literature and medallions, specifically a dollar inventory as of December 31st each year and a running inventory to membership and Treasurer.
  2. Sells literature at special events.
Program Committee
  1. Planning and organization of any open meetings, e.g., Gratitude Night.
Speakers bureau
  1. Keeps a list of Al-Anon/Alateen speakers.
  2. Seeks volunteers for speakers list.
  3. Provides the names and phone numbers of speakers for open, closed meetings and special events.
Volunteer Committee
  1. Keeps a list of volunteers to work at the office and a list of persons with keys. The Chair or their desgnee is responsible for retrieval of keys from any person who no longer provides volunteer services.
  2. Schedules volunteers for the Center
  3. Find and schedule telephone volunteers to liaise with the Minneapols Al-Anon Information Service when the office is not open.
  4. Trains and orients office and telephone volunteers.
  5. Communicate directory changes to telephone volunteers and the Answering Service.

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Updated February 7, 2012