Minutes of the Meeting of
CA World Service Office Board of Directors
July 24, 2008
I. Opening. Meeting called to order with the “we” version of the Serenity Prayer at 7:05pm by Chair, John B.
II. Tradition 3 read by Hayward H. Brief discussion ensued regarding membership—what defines membership.
III. Concept 3 read by Tom P. Lengthy discussion ensued.
IV. Birthdays—Willie had a BB Birthday, turning 55, since our last meeting. Singing ensued.
V. Roll call and Quorum Determined
A. Voting Members Present: John B. (WSOB Chair), KathyJo R. (WSOB Vice Chair), Tom P. (WSOB Treasurer), Teresa N. (WSOB Secretary), Earl H. (WSO Trustee), Hayward H. (WS Trustee), Richard L. (Director at Large), , Taffy W. (Director of Operations), Willie B. (Director at Large). A quorum is established.
B. Board Members Absent: Patty F. (DR&PD).
VI. Guests Present: none.
VII. Approval of the previous meeting’s minutes
A. Richard L. made motion to approve the minutes from 6/26/08 as amended. Seconded by Teresa. Vote Taken. Passed unanimously.
B. KJ made motion to table approval of the minutes from 7/10/08 to next meeting. Seconded by Taffy. Vote taken. Passed unanimously.
VIII. GUEST REPORTS
A. none.
IX. On-Line Business
A. Office Store Memorabilia.
1. On July 21, 2008, Patty made motion to allow the purchase of $3,000.00 for items, shirts/hoodies/ hats etc. to be sold at WSC. On July 23, 2008 Motion passed by majority vote.
X. Old Business
A. Referrals—
1. KJ: we need to address the referrals on the grid. KJ also mentioned some additional referrals that had been received during the year that need to be addressed. Discussion ensued and it was agreed that the WSOB would discuss and address on-line over the next two weeks.
2. Some discussion regarding process at WSC. John commented on how well the WSC Committee did last year at getting the pertinent information to the Committees.
XI. Break 8:10pm
XII. Meeting called back to order by Chair, John B., at 8:22pm
XIII. Office Director Reports
A. DRPD Report – Patty submitted written report.
1. Year-end activity
a. Treasurer has draft of June 30th PL vs. budget
b. Finals will be posted on group by next meeting
c. Budget line item changes give confidence to members that we understand our responsibility and authority in regard to spending.
2. Participated with LCF
a. Participated on LCF phone conference call.
b. Promised typeset 3 pieces by August 15th.
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c. Hope to work with this committee at conference.
d. Worked thru Earl to have WSC transcripts removed from LCF Yahoo group.
3. Supported DOO with WS conference on site production
4. Request from UK area—workshop information seminar
a. What can we learn from seeing how they function—how do they raise funds?
5. Thank You—conference sale items will be posted on yahoo group.
6. Intend to be on PI call this weekend.
7. KJ: re: the promise made to translate the “Cocaine Anonymous Fact File”, does anyone recall a date this was promised by? (several): there was no delivery date promised. John: What we should do is address this in our opening report at the Conference so that the Fellowship is aware that we are working on it.
8. Discussion re: issues with handling on-line business ensued…and possible solutions.
B. Director of Operations Report – Taffy submitted written and verbal report.
1. Equipment/Forms/Procedures/Inventory
a. New Dell components for front office donated by WSOB Chair.
b. Review suggested wire transfer policy.
1. Motion made by Willie B. and seconded by Richard L. to accept the “suggested Policy Statement for Wire Transfers draft” as official policy, as amended (first sentence: remove “from C.A. membership”; third bullet: replace “the designated….individual member” with “the sender.”) Discussion ensued. Vote taken. Passed unanimously. Taffy to amend and introduce into the Policy Manual, amending electronically, as needed.
2. Projects Pending
a. Motion from Conference Committee for approval of TMG supplies bid with changes and additions (up usage to 200K and printers—clarify service agreement—service included with after hours @ $100 per incident).
1. Motion to approve TMG as the official copier vendor for the 2008 WSC. Seconded by Taffy. Discussion ensued. Vote taken. Passed unanimously. Taffy is to forward the estimate rental invoice to the TNC.
b. Request from a non member to donate @ 150 pamphlets to “Save a Star” foundation for Golf outing fundraiser.
1. Discussion ensued. Hayward: with would be great P.I. for us; Willie: would it not be prudent for us to decide which pamphlets would be appropriate to send? Taffy: they are also interested in meeting schedules. (various): this is for the Chicago area? Taffy: yes.
2. Earl made motion to refer this to the Illinois/Chicago area. Seconded by Teresa. KJ made friendly amendment that, in the event that the Illinois/Chicago are cannot fulfill the request, the WSO will go ahead and take care of it. Accepted by both the maker and seconder of the original motion. Willie: I would suggest that the WSO contact the Illinois chairperson to notify them of this request and to let them know that we will be happy to assist if they so desire. Richard: I agree with the need to expedite the fulfillment of this request by notifying the area and offering our assistance if they are unable to comply. John: Is there any risk of affiliation? Hayward: this is not affiliation but, rather, cooperation. Vote taken. Passed unanimously.
c. Merchant Billing—met with Kurt Hewlet of Merchant Services referred by Tom P. Still pending.
d. Help Desk update: based on last meeting, I sent e-mail to Mike to set a time to speak with him to learn issues involved. –still e-mailing.
XIV. Break at 9:30pm
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XV. Meeting called back to order by Chair John B. at 9:40pm
XVI. Director Reports
A. Chair—John B. submitted verbal report.
1. Recognizes Susan for having reached her one-year anniversary of an employee of the WSO.
2. Recognizes Taffy’s work and growth here at the WSO.
3. Discussion of UK Area’s request for WSO presence and importance of.
B. Vice Chair—KJ submitted verbal and written report.
1. WSOB
a. Updated referral tracking with notes from last meeting and sent updates to WSOB identifying the next steps for each item in our grid.
1) drafted Convention referral and forwarded to Miss Patty for feedback.
b. Facilitatedon-line motion for WSO memorabilia at WSC.
c. Began draft of next quarterly report for the WSBT.
2. WSOB Sub-committee work
a. Attempted to facilitate By-Laws sub-committee meetings on 7/7/08 and 7/17/08.
b. Prepped materials from “referral grid” for ByLaws and recommendations to WSOB
3. CAWS2009
a. Received inquiry from 2009 Auction chair Kristin re: ebay
4. WSC 2008
a. Received and reviewed and reviewed updates to the delegate mailing
b. Created list of items I recall WSOB working on for consideration in our opening report
5. Re: KJ’s idea of a contest to “Name the Contribution Program”—KJ suggests “the RockStar Program.”
C. Willie made motion at 9:59pm to extend
D. Treasurer’s Report—Tom P submitted written and verbal report.
1. May 31 report does not reflect the Hotel Bill and final reconciliations from CAWS2008.
2. CAWS2008 entertainment (especially special events/offsite events) revenues were not what had been expected. Some discussion ensued as to how we can take our knowledge and experience outside of this meeting to the members/Convention Committees. Willie is submitting a referral. KJ is staying on Convention Committee where she can offer her expertise. Tom suggests BINGO.
E. Secretary—Teresa submitted verbal and written report.
1. Following Willie’s lead, submitted year-end report to Earl.
2. Attended the LCF conference call last weekend with Patty. Looking forward to Richard and Patty joining me on the LCF Committee this year at Conference.
2. After being alerted (by Earl) to the fact that WSC Transcripts may have been uploaded to the LCF Yahoo Group’s site, I was able to verify and to communicate a request to Cynthia that they be removed in order to protect the anonymity of all of our members.
3. NewsgGram: Can someone other than John B. write the WSOB report? Seems that the load could be share. John: I think it is most appropriate coming from the Chair, but am open to other ideas/thoughts. Willie: perhaps you could still put in your pitch but also include other Directors to chime in along with you. John: Yes, we could do that. I still think that primarily the message should come from the Chair.
4. Plan to meet with KJ this Saturday to review/write referrals.
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5. John: Thank Teresa for all of her work. Please keep in mind that, in the Spirit of Rotation, Teresa will be moving on from the Secretary position.
F. Director at Large—Willie B.
1. Submitted Year-end report.
G. Director at Large—Richard L.
1. Looking forward to the Conference.
2. Want to thank Earl for all of his hard work. It has been a pleasure to work with you.
XVII. Trustee Reports
A. WSO Trustee––Earl H—submitted verbal and written report
1. I continue to be grateful to the WSBT and the fellowship of C.A. for giving me the opportunity to serve as the WSOT. I have attended all of the WSOB meetings during this last quarter. I have been very busy communicating this last quarter’s issues, motions and policy changes between the WSOB and the WSBT. I attended the quarterly meeting of the WSBT and the WS Convention in SLC and participated on all Conference Calls. I have been serving on the following sub-committees:
* Chair Trustee Election Committee
* WSBT Finance Committee
* Long term Planning Committee
* International Structure and Development
* Orientation
* Trustee of the World Service Conference Finance Committee
2. The WSBT appreciated the notes and suggestions presented to them concerning the guideline on bank transfers and purchases at the quarterly meeting. I worked with the WSBT during the last quarterly meeting and developed a policy, which was approved, that clarifies amounts, intervals and approval processes going forward.
3. The TEC interviewed 10 candidates in SLC for the positions of TAL, SWRT, PSRT, ANRT, and WSOT. We will continue the interview process with 8 more candidates in Los Angeles this August.
4. I have been busy working with the WSC Finance Committee online since the Convention.
5. I continue to review all bills and sign checks at the WSO twice a month before our Board meetings and review the bank accounts.
6. I would like to thank you again for your patience, love, and tolerance.
B. WS Trustee––Hayward H—submitted verbal report.
1. Attended the Trustee Conference Call.
2. Been keeping apprised on H&I Committee issues on-line.
3. Been thinking about how we can better our relationship with the regions…to build their trust and knowledge and understanding of us.
4. Would like to see the Fellowship more involved in our NewsGram. It should not only be a select few writing the articles.
5. Would like to figure out how to get the delegates to carry the information out to the Areas, and so-forth.
6. Want to thank Earl for all your help, friendship, and knowledge.
7. Richard: shares Hayward’s thoughts and desires. Believe that we can make it happen, but will take work and time.
8. Willie: also shares Hayward’s desires. Believes that the answer is in education.
9. John: also shares Hayward’s sentiments. Also believes that it takes work and time and education and inclusion.
XVIII. 7th tradition taken.
XIX. Committee Reports
A. Finance: Tom, Earl—active with issues and referrals on Yahoo Group.
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B. Structure & Bylaws: John—nothing new.
C. Convention: KJ, Patty—nothing new.
D. Conference: Hayward—kickoff dinner—who do we pay? Taffy: you can pay me.
E. Unity: Willie—question to Taffy: any idea on the number of RSVP’s to date? Taffy: not sure—maybe 10 or so. Been sending them to Waheedah.
F. Literature, Chips & Formats: Teresa—already reported.
G. Hospitals & Institutions: Hayward—participated in H&I Day at CALA—a lot of newcomers/recovery homes were in attendance. There was food, opportunity drawing, speakers. Turned out pretty good. Willie: there was paid entertainment (comics).
H. Public Information: Willie, Richard—nothing new.
I. I.T.: KJ—nothing new.
J. Archives: Patty—KJ: possibly Archives could collect articles from local newsletters and pass on to the WSO for possible NewsGram material.
XX. CAWS 2008, Salt Lake City–already addressed.
XXI. CAWS 2009, Denver–already addressed.
XXII. CAWS 2010, Milwaukee—Tom: they have had several events and are keeping track of their spending and income.
XXIII. CAWS 2011, Arizona—nothing new.
XXIV. New Business
A. Motion made by Tom to adjust budget line items to reduce program services: insurance by $1400.00, bookkeeping by $7,850.00, and rent to $1080.00 and to increase program services salaries by $5400.00, with all offsets to be in corresponding line-items under Admin. Seconded by Richard. Motion made by Willie to table. Seconded by Hayward. Tom: I need the answer now in order to make the changes. Vote taken. Motion to table fails. Tom: speaking to my motion, this is purely cosmetic in order to bring into line these particular line-items, and to allow me to present a more accurate report. This is not going to change our total amounts, it is just putting things in the right spot. Earl: For clarity: this is money that has already been budgeted and approved. This is money that is currently in the Green bucket but should be in the Blue bucket? It is simply lateral move? Tom: Yes. Willie: My concern is that we bring a motion to this table, and we are doing things with too much of a sense of urgency. We are making decisions in haste. We need to plan much better. John: Thank you for your concern. Please note that there are times when there are things that do require decisions made quickly, especially when it comes to year-end financial reports. Tom: This is a special situation in that we are given an extremely limited amount of time to complete a report at year-end. This is not an absolutele emergency motion. I am bringing this in order to clarify the report and to avoid unnecessary confusion at the Conference and to allow for the Finance Committee to create a better budget for next year. It is understandable that it was not created perfectly at the Conference, given that there are only 5 days in which to compile the budget, and the errors are not discovered until the end of the year. Richard called for the vote. Vote taken. Passed, abstention and oppositon noted.
B. Next meetings—Next meetings will be August 14, 2008.
XXV. Motion to Adjourn made by Willie 11:17pm. Seconded by KJ. Vote taken. Passed unanimously.
XXVI. Meeting closed by Chair John B. with the “we” version of the Serenity Prayer.
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