The meeting opened at 7:02 pm with the Serenity Prayer.

Introductions

Chair, IR, Uptown Tuesday 6:30 pm A
Co-Secretary, IR, Midway Wednesday 6:30 pm
Treasurer, IR, Summit Hill Wednesday 5 pm
Newsletter Chair, IR, Monday Midway Men’s 7:15 pm
Literature Chair, IR, Summit Hill Monday 6 pm Al‑Anon
IR and office volunteer, Compassion Al‑Anon St Paul
IR, Superior Street AFG
IR, New Brighton Thursday Al‑Anon
IR, Uptown Thursday/Saturday Al‑Anon

There were readings on Tradition 8 and Concept 8.

It was noted that a quorum (5% of groups, that is, 6 or more) was present so substantive business could be done.

Business

1. Questions/Concerns

There was none.

2. Additional nominations for 2014 open positions

The IR from New Brighton Thursday Al‑Anon said he would be willing to serve as Vice Chair. He was nominated with a second for the position and elected unanimously. We now have a full slate of officers for the remainder of 2014!

3. Other open service positions

No one volunteered to serve in any of the other open positions: Liaison to Minnesota South Area Assembly, Group Liaison, Event Sales, Alateen, Archives, Public Outreach, and Institutions.

4. SPIG inventory: Questions 4 – 8

We discussed the questions 4 – 8 of the Intergroup inventory we started on in July

Question 4 concerned “Communication”, specifically how well we did on preparing an agenda, notifying members of meetings, preparing and distributing minutes, and providing reports at meetings. The general conclusion was that we do quite well.

Question 5: “Do we have a full slate of officers?” We do now for the first time this year.

Question 6: “Are fixed office expenses the best use of member contributions and income from sale of literature?” This led to a discussion of whether it was still appropriate that St. Paul and Minneapolis have separate Al‑Anon Information Services. Might there be cost savings if they were combined, perhaps maintaining a greatly scaled back presence for the sale of literature in St. Paul? Or were we doing well enough financially as to make this irrelevant? We do not know if combining would help or hurt. Perhaps an ad hoc committee would be a good idea to learn more. The Chair said she would contact the Chair of Minneapolis Al‑Anon/Alateen Information Services about the issue.

Question 7: “Do we begin and end on time?” Yes, although we sometimes spill over a few minutes.

Question 8: “Is a one hour meeting too short or too long?” The consensus was that one hour was about right.

The next six questions will be addressed next month.

5. Volunteer sheets for hospitality suite at Fellowship Weekend

The Chair passed around signup sheets. Volunteers are needed on Friday August 29 from 4 to 9 pm and on Saturday August 30 from a to 11 am. Also needed at the hospitality room will be items like copies of the newsletter, business cards, volunteer sign up sheets, FAQ, … . It would also be helpful to have a notebook with responsibility sheets for Intergroup positions and bylaws.

6. Update: Calling groups to update information and invite Intergroup Representatives

The directory chair distributed sheets with the current information of groups that had not been recently called. Most of the sheets were taken by those present. He also passed around brief instructions on what to do.

7. Report on Al‑Anon meeting at Fellowship Club

A member reported that the number of attendees was lower than anticipated, but that the meeting was going well. She reported she had been reimbursed for start-up literature expense and also for room rental for the June speaker workshop.

8. Report on Hazelfest August 2, 2014

The Chair reported that the event was “fun.” There was music and speakers all day, with booths in a big tent. She took about $50 worth of literature, but brought back more than half, having given literature to about 15 people. There was a lot of interest in Alateen. She said Hazelden was very appreciative of Intergroup’s participation.

When asked “should Intergroup do it again?” she said we should, if there are volunteers willing to do it. It was good to have a visible Al‑Anon presence at recovery events. She will make notes on what to do and how to improve it. Next time, there should be more Alateen literature.

9. Updating position guidelines

This was tabled for a future meeting.

9. Update on purchasing a copier

This was tabled for a future meeting.

11. Questions/Concerns/Other Business

None

Reports

Chair

The Fourth Step Workshop will be 2 — 4 pm on September 13 at the Recovery Church. We will pay rent to the church. A question was raised as to whether we had ever paid the church for last year's workshop. The Treasurer will check and pay if we still owe. The Chair will send a flyer to the webmaster for the website. She will also pick up stuff for the Fellowship Weekend hospitality room.

Vice Chair

The newly elected vice chair had no report.

Secretary

The co-secretary summarized the minutes of the July meeting. It was moved, seconded and unanimously voted to approve the minutes, after correcting some spelling errors.

Treasurer

The Treasurer reported total income of $1,346 and total expenses of $2,007. She had not received details on sales or contributions. The ending fund balance was $8,239,with $5,000 in the Reserve fund. It was moved, seconded and voted unanimously to accept the Treasurer’s report. She said she would not be willing to be Treasurer in 2015.

Assistant Treasurer

She was not present but sent a short note in place of a full report. The note indicated $1,171 in literature sales, $81 in medallion sales and $1,008 in contributions for July.

Office Volunteers

No report.

Office manager

No report.

Speaker chair

No report.

Website.Directory

The website is up-to-date.

Newsletter

A newsletter was mailed and emailed on August 1. Over 150 newsletters were emailed and paper copies went to all groups.

It was pointed out it would be good to get the next newsletter out by October 1 to provide timely notification that nominations and elections of 2015 officers would take place at the November and December meetings. After a little discussion October 1 was agreed upon, with a deadline of September 15 for submitting content.

Event sales

The position is open.

Liaison Minnesota South Area

The position is open.

Literature

We ran out of Courage to Change. Two cases have been ordered.

The meeting closed at 8:04 pm with the Al‑Anon Declaration.

The next meeting will be September 9, 2014 at 7 pm at the Griggs Midway building.