Highlights
SA Conference Business Meeting, July 10, 1993
Nashville, Tennessee

Agenda: January 1994 conference in Rochester; service committee reports; other business.

• Rochester was the only bid after one month and thus became the site; it was moved to change the dates to January 14-16, 1994. Motion: To accept January dates as proposed—carried unanimously.

• A motion was made to make permanent the SA International Conference Search Committee as chartered in January 1993, i.e., that we form a committee of at least three people who will review conference bids and consult with S-Anon before making a final decision concerning location. Another motion was made that this committee report at each conference its choice of conference site one year in advance. The motion passed.

• The Intergroup Formation Service committee is collecting information and making a list of existing groups. (See following report.) Bill T. has sent out some information on the Chicago Intergroup. He asks for more help if possible.

• There are four members on the Conference Tape Service Committee, headed by Francis H. A list of conference tapes is available, but current feeling is we should not centralize tape duplication. Remains to be decided if we should have a tape catalog.

• A Central Office Budget has been established. Income for the Central Office is essential and part of our 7th Tradition. Donations and literature sales are down this last quarter. It was suggested that sending the Essay newsletter by subscription only would help solve our recurring financial problems, and that our financial need should be made public. [Note: $1,020 was collected at the dinner Saturday night for support of the Central Office.]

• Keith D. (Vancouver) is asking for input on the formation of the Literature Service Committee.

• Michael B. (Wichita) reported for the General Service Study Board on a proposed structure for SA Fellowship service. (See following report.) Comment was made that in AA the Intergroups support local groups and do not function to produce General Service Board representatives. Motion made that the proposed General Service Board structure report be submitted to the Fellowship for review and feedback and be returned to the committee through the Central Office. (Motion passed.)

• David T. reported on the New Group Committee; they send out information on new groups and encourage adoption of new groups by existing groups.

• Bernie M. reported for the Prison Service Committee. Ten prisoners have been contacted. They correspond and they try to get a nearby SA group contact. Fifteen SAs are on the committee.

• Following is a list of Central Office Oversight Committee members and their regions (adopted at the Chicago International Conference business meeting in July 1991):

• Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, BC, ALTA, AK, NWT): Keith D. (Vancouver).
  Southwest (CA, NV, UT, AZ): Dan N. (San Diego) and Jim C. (Los Angeles).
  North Central (WY, ND, SD, NE, IA, MN, IL, WI, SASK, MAN): Jim O. (Chicago).
  South Central (CO, KS, OK, NM, TX, AR, MO, LA): Sylvia J. (Oklahoma City).
  Southeast (IN, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, FL, INTL): David M. (Nashville).
  Mid-Atlantic (VA, WV, OH, PA, MD, DE, NJ): Betsy T. (Washington, DC).
  New England (NY, MA, CT, VT, RI, NH, ME, ONT, QUEB, NB, NS): Larry M. and James M. (New York City).

Agenda Items January 1994 Business Meeting

The next business meeting will take place at the Rochester conference in January 1994. In order to make the best use of time, we are asking that all agenda items be submitted in advance. (Please indicate how much time you would like for each item; we will try to honor your requests!) Cut-off date: December 1.

Committee Needs Volunteers

The Service Structure Study Committee (SSSC), formerly the General Service Board Study Committee, is announcing some openings. We need one representative from each of the following three regions: northwest, southeast and northeast. (See above for states included in each region.)

The SSSC discusses, researches and proposes service structure ideas applicable to SA. Qualifications are that representatives be active in their local SA group, sober in SA for a minimum of two years, and be able to take part in a conference call with the other members of the committee about once every six weeks.

Service Structure Study Committee Proposal

After compiling a list of active intergroups, designate areas of service structure, perhaps based on states. Divide those large states that have active SA intergroups into two areas, for example, lower and upper New York State. Also, Eastern and Western Canada. Then develop “sharing of experience paper” from active intergroups on how to form active intergroups in areas that don’t have one. This paper could be completed at the next two semi-annual International Conferences with organization of paper by the intergroup committee.

After intergroups have formed, they will pick delegates to send to annual delegates conference (the first one taking place in perhaps two or three years). At this conference, mechanisms for electing overseers may be developed, and the following year at the second annual delegates conference, overseers will be elected.

In AA, each delegate represents a specific region of the U.S. and Canada. The delegates are rotated every two years. These delegates meet at an annual conference in New York together with the Trustees of AA. The Trustees are made up of 14 recovering alcoholics and 7 non-alcoholics. They oversee the General Service Office in New York City and are responsible to the Delegates Conference. The General Service Office (GSO) is to carry the message both inside and outside the AA fellowship. In addition, the GSO is the guardian of the traditions, copyrights and fiscal responsibilities of the Fellowship.

Highlights from Central Office Oversight Committee Meetings
July 10-11, 1993

The focus of both meetings was on raising funds and cutting costs, specifically the cost of the Essay newsletter. It was agreed that from now on, the Essay will be sent to subscribers only. It is planned to continue publishing at least four issues per year, and the annual subscription rate will be $7 per subscriber for four issues. Each issue will have a separate subscription flyer included. Currently the Essay is our most costly expenditure, accounting for approximately 20 percent of our annual budget. It was also decided that we experiment with a most cost-effective format for the Essay. (Feedback on formatting of this issue will be appreciated.)

Intergroup Formation Committee

The Intergroup Formation Committee is attempting to obtain information from existing intergroups. We plan to compile this information in order to provide a network among existing intergroups, and to provide useful information to areas attempting to form an intergroup.

We ask each existing intergroup to call or write the SA Central Office in Simi Valley with the following information: Intergroup Name / Area Covered; Mailing Address; Telephone Number; Name of Current Contact; Contact Address and Phone Number (if Intergroup address/phone number do not exist). We will then send you a form asking for more detailed information. Please contact the Central Office as soon as possible. As of July 1993 we have received information from the following intergroups: Chicago, IL; Nashville, TN; Rochester, NY; Portland, OR; Oklahoma State.

If you want to work with this committee or want to receive available information about forming an intergroup, please contact Bill T. via the Central Office.