CA WORLD SERVICE World Service Board of Trustees and World Service Office Board MEETING MINUTES
December 5th, 2009
APPROVED
Since this report is a confidential CA document, for members only, it may contain members’ full names. This usage to facilitate communication within the fellowship was approved by the 1990 WS Conference. Such confidential use does not, of course, violate in anyway our Tradition on anonymity in public communications media (press, radio, TV, etc).
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Due to technical difficulties/equipment malfunction, the first part of this meeting did not record properly, making it unavailable to transcribe. The following are the notes that the WSBT Secretary has taken, combined with the final portion of the meeting that did record and was transcribed.
December 5, 2009
3pm-5pm
WSBT/WSOB Board to Board
Meeting Minutes
Kim Sherwan: Midwest Regional Trustee—WSBT Secretary
Joy Hutcheson: Pacific South Regional Trustee
Robert Lyle: Atlantic North Regional Trustee
Lawrence Matlock: Atlantic South Regional Trustee
Randy Groen: Southwest Regional Trustee
Nicholas Lynn: European Regional Trustee—WSBT Vice Chair
Richard Schafer: Trustee @ Large—acting World Service Trustee
Willie Bailey: World Service Office Trustee
Trevor Scheible : Pacific North Regional Trustee—WSBT Chair
Yvette Love: Director of Operations
Tom Phelen: WSOB Chair
Barry Jacobs: WSOB Treasurer
Richard Leve: WSOB Secretary
- Open/Serenity Prayer: Done
- Opening remarks by WSBT Chair & WSOB Chair: Done
- Supplemental reports, if any, from WSOB and questions from WSBT: Done
- WSOB Chair: Tom P. – done
- WSOB Treasurer: Barry J. – done
- WSOB Paid Director: Yvette L. – Waiting on electronic copy – done
- Barry J. – director – waiting on electronic copy
- Richard L. – director – done
- Yvette H. – director- done
4. Items for Discussion:
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- Conventions – Done
CAWS 2010 – Kim S. – on schedule, questions re: rent check, onreg, Coannon. Signature on checking account…Tom will facilitate…maybe occur in February. Committee is experienced with running a convention, and will be able figure out “answer” to concerns
CAWS 2011 – Randy G.…logo and them has been approved. WeTreat was a success…Love Fest coming up. Questions re: TRANSLATION QUESTIONS. Seeking WSBT and WSOB approval. Selling of coffee as fundraiser…leave manufacture on packaging re: legal. Richard L. – with name of co. their insurance co. will represent us if there is a lawsuit. As a seller, we are liable, so best to have manufacture name on label…with disclaimer. Willie: suggested that we seek legal counsel? Joy: will research concerns. Will secure free advice.
CAWS 2012 – Nicholas L. – Steering committee good to go…30 positions have been filled. Petty cash account is open. Seed money has been received. Future payments made in pound sterling…request from committee. 2012 has not opened yet here in the states. Seed and other monies are distributed via availability…Paypal is being used. Barry will discuss this with UK treasurer. We do not have a 2012 account set up yet. Let’s open up an International checking account…per Joy’s request. HSBC has an International checking account…this is close to our potential new WSO. “Trust” account has been opened for 2012. (Even odd year accounts). Re: Facebook postings…WSBT will address. Worry about budget, working with Tom. (WSOB Chair) to find a template and time frame to submit a proposed working document.
- New WSO space/ Status of Contract – Richard S. – New WSO space, was chosen from several locations, considered location….etc…walk through occur…minimal savings on larger space, primary space was smaller and more cost effective. WSOB voted on this. Rental agent has contacted Richard, lease will be available for review…Tom, Barry, and Richard will review. TNC will review contract as well. Looking to move, within 30 days, and give notice to current location, we are on a month to month basis at this point at current location. Once contract is available should be a 72hrs turnaround for approval. Signed lease will allow occupancy immediate; rent will begin on February 1. Current 1600 sq ft…new space is 2300 sq ft, with pullboard warehouse. – Done
- Office Restructure Project – Done/remove from agenda
- AA permission – Richard S./Trevor S. – letter from AA is not what we expected…Tom will call regarding this. Would love to see a copy…cost of stickers,
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Barry J.: Motion: in the spirit of the AA letter, that we sticker or alter the books (HFC II) for all international orders, including current backorder of 7 cases, with appropriate disclaimer, not to exceed unit cost of one dollar. Second by Joy H.
Previous: Motion to place a label(s) on “How It Works”, page 227 of HFC II, 4th paragraph “Remember that we deal with cocaine” (that whole paragraph restore back to its original content), Step 1, page 227 of HFC II (restoring this back to its original content), page 229, the blank portion at the bottom place a label with the disclaimer that was provided by AA on the last written transmission, page 237 HFC II, “The Promises” and “A Vision For You” placing a label with the disclaimer provided by AA. Second by Joy H.
Motion passed
This may be our opportunity to print books overseas? LCF has not signed off on typeset of book w/o AA literature. We are not there yet. Once typeset is approved, could we not send this to UK…cost effective. Barry: we should inform any Area that they may receive altered books…is this acceptable? We need to delete our current inventory.
Question called the vote – Motion passed.
Minority opinion: Yvette, Nicholas, Willie.
Motion to reconsider, voted on prevailing side…Kim, second by Joy…Passed. Motion to table previous motion re: sticker of books, until verification of intentions from AA regarding letter via Tom P. Second, passed.
Motion to suspend the rules. Second/Passed
Motion to extend the B2B meeting to complete the agenda. Second Passed.
- Accounting Procedures and Policies – Joy H. – future update
WSBT has passed them and have been forwarded to the WSOB for approval.
- Status of unaudited financial requests in a timely matter. – Joy H. – future update Difference on budgets…PL Budget vs Actual vs 7th tradition report.
Barry will provide electronic version of budget for Joy’s review and audit. AR and sales reports to the WSBT for the Quarterly meetings.
- Training requirements for WSO Staff – Trevor S. – discussion has taken place with Tom and Yvette…more will be revealed – future update
- Status of Webservant – resumes and interviews will take place – future update
- HFC II Storage – combine with Item 4–update–continued discussion re: books, chips. Montreal might be a good place to start with regarding costs of printing, storage, distribution, etc… LTP… Kindle distribution. Electronic version of book.
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- Status of International bank account- Nicholas L. – discussed previous – Done
- Policy on bid review for new PI PSA’s – Nicholas L. – some debate how to proceed…should put forth, and recommend which one they would prefer. TNC, will review. Discussion: location, who is in it, contract, etc etc….
This is in next year’s budget, July 2010. – Future update
- Gift invoicing (Intl) – Willie B. – International shipping, gift invoices – negates duties, brokerage costs Is this spiritual? Is this legal…? Members in receipt of orders would like to continue this, as it lowers costs. Principle financial planning…
Willie B.: Motion to suspend gift invoicing pending further investigations. Second by Joy H.
Yvette-is this for current orders, and how soon will we be informing our customers.
Advise them of the corrections to the shipping costs, and if they have questions refer to Regional trustee. This is no longer considered a spiritual procedure.
All future orders will be billed correctly. Are we sure that we want to continue even for this one order that we want to do this? Refund the money…and advise them of the status of this at this time, regarding “the gift invoicing”. Regional trustees will advise areas that previously gift invoicing will no longer be taking place until the completion o the investigation. Future Update
- New reimbursement procedures – Willie B. – all reimbursements will be done upon the receipt of receipts. – Done
- Motion to adjourn – 651pm Close/Serenity Prayer – DONE
Following was transcribed from recording of tapes, picking up with agenda item 12:
Trevor: Alright, we are back on the record. It is 6:28 p.m. At this point, just for transcription purposes, we’re going to get our secretary to re-read the motion that we were currently on when we ran out of tape.
Kim: Motion to suspend gift invoicing pending further investigation.
Trevor: That was by Willie and seconded by Joy. Do we have further discussion on that motion?
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Yvette: For the suspension of this, does this include our current pending orders, question one and how soon will be notifying the customers that we ship to internationally so that they know. I received seven emails for one customer that orders from us frequently in regards to the gift invoicing. It had been done like this for years. I’m going to get another one and one of you will probably get one too, Trevor or Robert. I’m not exactly sure. I just want this to be…
Trevor: I can respond to part of that. As far as how you notify them, a simple statement in regards to it is a new policy and that this practice is no longer conducive to our spiritual well being as a fellowship and any further inquires in this regards can be directed towards your regional Trustee. Direct them to one of the three of us that it might be.
Yvette: I just wanted the verbiage to look like, ok there’s a new girl in the office and she’s making all these changes.
Trevor: Don’t take the bullet yourself, because it’s not you making the decision.
Yvette: It’s all of us.
Trevor: Cocaine Anonymous World Service Office Board and the Cocaine Anonymous World Service Board of Trustees in a combined effort have chosen to not to continue to this practice based upon the spiritual principle of honesty
Yvette: We’ll put that together.
Willie: I have a question. How many orders do we have pending?
Yvette: Just one, just the one.
Randy: In the spirit of notification I would like to just gift invoice this last one out. Have they sent you the money already?
Yvette: No we are waiting for Pay Pal. They already have the amount based on the gift invoice shipping rate. It’s a Pay Pal pending order and we have to weigh it, we have to do all those costs so we can tell them…
Randy: The only reason I asked is because our decision, right here, regarding this one outstanding order is to change their cost without them knowing it. To me that sounds like we have a history of doing this, let’s get them their order, gift it out to them, and notify everybody that all future orders have to be taken into consideration. I just don’t feel comfortable that we just sat here and decided to spend some more of their money.
Yvette: Ok.
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Trevor: Anything else?
Richard: Is this not the order that is not shipping yet because of we’re waiting on a decision for HFC II books?
Yvette: It’s the very same order. We have two issues with the gift invoicing and the HFC II books. This order is going have to be notified on a lot of face.
Richard: I believe we could address that after the decision. My concern is knowingly doing it wrong.
Randy: For how many years have we’ve done it wrong?
Yvette: I’ve only worked for you for a year.
Richard: I have never made a decision to do it wrong.
Yvette: Hum?
Richard: He asked me how many years we’ve been doing it wrong and I said I have never made a decision to do it wrong. I’m being asked to right now.
Randy: We have a pending order, we recognize that when we take in orders—I guess I don’t see anything—I understand the whole—and I don’t want to do it wrong, but I don’t want to do them wrong either.
Richard: We could refund them and leave it up to them.
Randy: Do you want to refund and do that or you can say this motion reflects all future orders and allow the pending one to go through.
Willie: The pending order is already going to have to be cut because it’s got HFC II in it. I believe this goes into effect immediately. Because orders are pending, are we just going to send them chips and stuff and not send them the II, I don’t know. Spiritually speaking, I say we refund them the money and let them know the decision, whether it’s to suspend it or not to suspend it, whatever.
Yvette: Pay Pal should notify their district or the areas for this huge order of what’s taking place at this meeting and then we can move forward from there.
Trevor: That’s something that the Trustees who’s regions contain areas that would be effected, Nicholas, Kim, and Robert, and myself, can notify our Canadian areas and the European region
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that the practice of sending out things under the gift invoice label has been discontinued and give them an explanation as to why and our sincere hope that they understand our desire to do things that are spiritually…Where we stand right now, correct me if I’m wrong, we still have a motion on the floor. Is there anymore decision on the motion? We have a motion that was by Willie to suspend the practice of gift invoicing pending further review, seconded by Joy, anymore discussion? Thank you, all in favor? All opposed? That motion has passed unanimously.
The final item: the new reimbursement procedures. Barry asked to put that on the agenda.
Willie: The new reimbursement procedures that was presented by the Treasurer at the Office Board meeting on Thursday was to send your invoices as soon as the expense report is submitted for approval. Send your receipts to the office. It’s a window that those receipts should be into the office, and depending upon where you are like international, it might take a little bit longer, but five to seven days.
Barry: I don’t understand why you can’t send it together with the expense report.
Trevor: I can explain that a little bit. What happens with the reports, they send them to me for approval. I approve them and then forward them to Yvette with a CC back to whomever send it to me saying that I got it, I’ve approved it and whatever. They get the electronic copy but we want the originals.
Barry: Why are you approving something that you don’t see a receipt on?
Trevor: I have to approve the expense before it gets paid.
Barry: Right. Don’t you want to see a receipt? I’m not saying that anybody would not do it.
Trevor: Basically they have to ask for the Chairs approval to do it in the first place, so I know its coming. If they ship me…
Barry: What I’m saying is to actually be reimbursed I would like to see a receipt. You approved it and I would like to see a receipt and match it up. I don’t think its new policy, I think it’s somewhere; I don’t have the binder here but…
Richard: Same thing we were all told. We were told to get our receipts in.
Randy: I was told they had to be originals.
Trevor: I was too.
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Willie: The policy is that the expense reports go to the WSBT Chair for approval, that means if he has to see receipts, everything has to be sent to him and he has to send everything to the office, that’s why the policy has been that the electronic version goes to the WSBT Chair and the receipts are sent directly into the office. That’s why we put a time frame so that we get the receipts at the office in a timely manner, so to approve that expense report without having it going across the world. The receipts coming to the office, he approves this and now we procedurally can say until we get the receipts we don’t cut the check, but the policy still stands as it exists, the procedures are what I am bringing forth to this Board saying what the WSOB Treasurer would like to see happen.
Kim: I’m fortunate that I can scan everything. I scan my expense report, I scan all my receipts, they are all on one report and I send it to Trevor. What he does with it, or Carl, or Hayward, or whoever it was, and then they send it out to the office. A question to Yvette earlier was: are the scanned receipts acceptable and she said yes. I usually hang on to my original receipts for a year, but is the scanned receipts viable and acceptable? Yvette said yes. I think that should be standard.
Randy: I thought they had to be originals.
Trevor: I was always told they had to be originals too.
Richard: We were told they had to be originals, that’s why.
Joy: I staple my originals to an original expense report that I sign. I mail the signed original expense report with the original receipts to the office.
Kim: Ok I’m done. Thank you, Trevor.
Barry: Yes we would love to have the way Joy just said, that’s the best ultimate thing. If we ever got audited and our expense reports were audited by whoever would asked for that audit and we have a electronically sent receipt that’s ok because we have an electronic receipt, we are going to go after you and if you don’t have it or if you’re not keeping it for a reasonable amount of period then it’s going to go back to you. I’m just telling you what’s happening right now. On my good faith of signing that check I’d like to have a receipt going with it. It can be and electronic receipt. You are the on approving it, you should also be in that same position, you should want to see some sort of receipt, whether it be electronic or original.
Tom: The thing that compelled me when this was brought up the other night was that not an outside auditor but a member of the fellowship they come in. We got expense reports in there that don’t have back up to them; they are saying what are you guys doing?
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Yvette: My practice has been from the time of being hired in processing the expense reports when Hayward was a Trustee, Nicholas has always scanned his, Kim has scanned hers, Joy has scanned hers, and Richard has scanned. Somewhere along the line Randy, Robert, Lawrence, anybody, Trevor they have either send in or scanned in the receipt and they have never been an issue but the only thing that would be an issue as Tom says, is to have expense reports that are filed with a check stub attached to it and no backup, what-so-ever. The time period for the Treasurer and the check signers to have—it’s acceptable to me. Legally, we want to say is this correct for audit purposes not by a member but for our non-profit status, that I will look into, but the practice has been that receipts have been sent in, either by scanned or by hard copy and they have been attached and it works fine for me. What I have not seen is there probably have been a few expenses that have come through that maybe I don’t have the attachment or maybe you’ll bring them to me when we meet up at the next meeting and I’ll attach them, but this is the practice that they are attached to the backup expense report. That portion would be new for the check signing. The portion of how it’s sent would be how it has always been sent, what is convenient for you all to give it to me the fastest way you can give it to me.
Randy: Now we give Trevor the chance to actually look at the receipts.
Willie: I’m really trying to be clear. When we go through this whole process and we talk about what’s legal and everything else, when I approve, sign a check, with my signature on a check I’m the only one approving it, there is no signature for Trevor to approve the report. We really should look into all of that. I believe that we’ve become too complicated for a simple process, not that it’s been happening all along but it’s saying that Trevor reviews the expense report, these are Trustees, so we expect for them to be honest and forth right with their expense report. Because they do the expense from receipts if they are in the mail, electronically sent it to Trevor, put in the mail to the office, those receipts attach a note to the expense report that the receipts are in the mail. I believe that is appropriate, by the time we sign the check anyway, meeting every two weeks, we should have those and then if we don’t have one then we contact Trevor and say this Trustee expense report has been held up until we get the receipts. That I believe is a procedure that we can follow but I don’t think that we need to try and change the policy
Trevor: We create the policy, you guys do the procedure. I’m asking for you guys to tell me what to tell everybody on this Board. That makes total sense to me. Just so everybody knows, when you send in an expense report with receipts attached, I don’t always look at each receipt. I already know that the expense report is coming anyway, because I know that they asked me can I do this? Coming here and going to the regional I see all that stuff, I know its coming. I expect it, now if Nicholas sends me a expense report for $3000 pounds then I will probably say what is this for?, but if he sends me one after going to Sweden for a visit and I already knew about it anyway and it’s for 200 pounds, I don’t need to see the receipt for that. I’m just going to approve it because I knew it was coming anyway and I knew that was what it was going to be and I approve it and it’s all good. Let’s keep it simply.
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Barry: So as long as the receipts there by the time we sign it in our office, either electronically or hard copy?
Willie: Motion to adjourn.
Tom: Second.
Trevor: We have a motion to adjourn. Motion by Willie to adjourn, seconded by Tom, is there discussion? Before we adjourn, I’d like to say to the members of the WSBT, please stick around so we can make our plans for the rest of the evening after we close this meeting. All in favor of adjourning? All opposed? We are adjourned at 6:51 p.m.
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