July 8 – 10, 2024 – WSBT Q2 Minutes

World Service Board of Trustees (WSBT) Minutes Q2 Quarterly Meeting July 8-10, 2024 – CAWS Convention, The Netherlands

TABLE OF CONTENTS	Page No.
WSBT Meeting Minutes	2
Chair’s Remarks
WSBT Officer Reports
Trustee Reports
WSBT Sub-Committee Reports
Trustee Conference Committee Reports
WSO Reports
CAWS Convention Reports
Place Marker / Business Items
Old Business
New Business
WSBT Correspondence Inquiries & Responses
WSBT Referrals
Attachment A – WSBT Officer Reports	19
Chair’s Report
Vice-Chair’s Report
Secretary Report
Assistant Secretary Report
Attachment B – Trustee Reports with Area Questionnaires
Atlantic North Regional Trustee Report	28
Atlantic South Regional Trustee Report	41
European Regional Trustee Report	54
Mainland Europe Trustee Regional Report	75
Midwest Regional Trustee Report	90
Pacific North Regional Trustee Report	103
Pacific South Regional Trustee Report	119
Southwest Regional Trustee Report	137
Trustee at Large 1 Report	154
World Service Office Trustee Report	155
World Service Trustee	158

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 1 of 207

Attachment C – WSBT Subcommittee Reports
External Communications	159
Finance	159
International Structure & Development (IS&D)	161
Legal	162
Long Term Planning (LTP)	165
NewsGram	166
Orientation	166
Outreach	167
Trustee Election Committee (TEC)	167
Trustee Negotiation Committee (TNC)	168
World Service Conference	168
Attachment D – WSC Conference Committee Reports
Archives	169
Conference	177
Convention	177
Finance	178
Hospitals & Institutions	179
Information Technology	179
Literature Chips & Formats	182
Public Information	184
Structure & Bylaws	186
Unity	186
Attachment E – World Service Office Reports
Chair	190
Treasurer	192
Director of Operations – No Reports Submitted
Attachment F – CAWS Convention Reports	196
2024 Holland
2025 Arizona
2026 Florida
2027 Washington State

Meeting started at 9 AM CEST.

Moment of silence followed by the “WE” version of the Serenity Prayer.

Roll Call – All trustees were present.

• Richard B. ANRT
• Chris M. ASRT
• Stuart J. ERT
• Johan T. MERT
• Clay P. MWRT/ WSBT Chair
• Ruby C. PNRT/ WSBT Secretary
• Aurora L. PSRT
• Barry H. SWRT/WSBT Vice Chair
• Gary P. TAL1
• Robert B. WSOT
• Joni E. WST/ WSBT Assistant Secretary

Readings

• 12 Traditions – Aurora
• Tradition 7 – Gary
• Concept 8 – Robert

Group Sharing

Chair’s Opening Remarks — Clay

In my opinion, I feel the WSBT has had an exceptionally busy Quarter of online business, and I would like to thank all members of the board for their continued perseverance in handling the business at hand. I would like to remind you all to be checking your emails daily to keep up with the business at hand. Also, if taking on a project, correspondence, or referral please work on it; don’t just take it on and then do nothing. And if you are unable to complete a project let me know so it can be reassigned.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 3 of 207

WSBT Officer Reports

• Chair (Clay)
• Vice-Chair (Barry)
• Secretary – (Ruby)
• Assistant Secretary (Joni)

Motion to approve the WSBT Officer Reports. Seconded.

Motion approved unanimously.

Trustee Reports – Each Trustee goes over the high points on their report. Significant topics or discussions are notated.

• Atlantic North Region Trustee (Richard)
• Atlantic South Region Trustee (Chris)
• European Region Trustee (Stuart) – Lots of concern among the European fellowship about not establishing a European fulfilment center. Having chips manufactured/distributed from a European location is helpful to cost reductions, but the real need is very much with the cost of getting books and literature shipped from the US to European locations.

Motion – To create a letter from the WSBT to the European Region and the Mainland European Region to provide info on the progress of the European fulfilment center. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

Johan, Stuart, and Robert will draft a letter and bring it back to this body for approval.

• Mainland Europe Region Trustee (Johan) – There are issues arising with having a ‘Portugal’ Convention that is not hosted/organized by the Portugal Area. The convention was created by UK members who hold a convention in Portugal. There are issues with the funds from the convention not going to the Area of Portugal.
• Midwest Region Trustee (Clay)
• Pacific North Region Trustee (Ruby)
• Pacific South Region Trustee (Aurora)
• Southwest Region Trustee (Barry)
• Trustee at Large 1 (Gary)
• World Service Office Trustee (Robert) – There is confusion in regard to how meetings are counted for the Licensing Agreement. Will be brought up again in New Business.
• World Service Trustee (Joni)

Motion to approve the Trustee reports. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

WSBT Subcommittee Reports – Lead Trustees go over the high-points of the sub-committee report. Significant topics or discussions are notated.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 4 of 207

• External Communications (Gary/Barry) – Conversation about exactly what this sub-committee is supposed to be doing. Nothing in the WSM for this sub-committee. Is it to reach out to high-level organizations that stretch beyond one Area’s boundaries? Is it to respond to inquiries? Is it to actively seek out opportunities where C.A. could have a presence at a high-level conference. Is it all of the above? Will be discussed more when we go over Orientation documents as there is a description of this sub-committee in the Orientation documents.
• Finance (Robert/Richard/all) – 2023 figures are almost finalized, was a very positive financial year. Have concerns about not getting a 2024 Revised Budget in the SR-14, want to make sure we get a 2024 Revised Budget on the Conference Floor. It is needed because of how our current financial process is. If we don’t have a revised budget, that means the WSBT could spend a lot of time for the remainder of the year approving expenses that are above the budgeted amounts. Considerable discussion about budgets ensued.
• International Structure and Development (IS&D) (Johan/Chris/Stuart/Robert/Gary) – Need to discuss the global fulfillment process more. The European Areas keep asking about this. Also, as the Global Representation is going to take a long time to work through, we need to create/submit a response to the maker of the referrals. Johan can draft a response to the referrals and bring them to online business. There are two projects that Jo P. submitted reports from LTP Advisory to the WSBT that need to be added to IS&D.
• Legal (Joni/Ruby) – Motion to submit trademark infringement documents through the ETSY platform. Seconded. Passed with substantial unanimity.

Motion to have the copyright and fair use policy formatted by a professional word processor at a cost of $40. Seconded. Passes with substantial unanimity.

Motion to approve the payment of four invoices (5470$) for legal fees incurred. Seconded. Passes with substantial unanimity.

• Long-Term Planning (LTP) (Gary/Stuart/All)
• NewsGram (Richard/Stuart) – Richard and Aurora will write articles for the 3Q edition. Orientation (Barry/Johan/All)
• Trustee Election Committee (TEC) (Johan/Chris) – Current with all timeline items as of now. Hotel rooms are ready, interview time slots set, one interview will be on Zoom. Maybe discuss in new business if we will continue to accept Slates with only one person as the WSM states we should not. There is one change from last year and that is to count the ballots in the room instead of outside of the room, but the results will

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 5 of 207

still be held secret between the TEC Chair and Vice Chair. Discussion was had about the fact that we do the entire TEC process before the Slate is even approved on the Conference Floor. Does the WSM need to be updated to reflect what is currently being done? Discussion was also had about when the TEC should announce who the new Trustees are. Should the announcement be moved to the beginning of the Conference? Needs more discussion

• TNC (Joni/Aurora/Johan/Clay/Robert/Richard)
• Trustee Outreach (Clay/Barry)
• World Service Conference (Gary/Richard)

Motion to approve the WSBT Sub-Committee reports. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

Trustee Conference Committee Reports – Lead Trustees go over the high-points of the WSC Committee reports. Significant topics or discussions are notated.

All the Trustees gave a huge shout-out to all of the WSC Committees. There is great work being done and everyone on each Committee is absolutely dedicated to getting the work done.

• Archive (Johan/Chris) – Preparing for the move of Archive items to Arizona.
• Conference (Gary/Richard) – There are concerns from members of other WSC Committees about how the Referrals are being handled. The Referrals do not seem to be getting to intended WSC Committees in a timely manner. Does Formsite possibly have some additional features that the WSC Conference Committee could utilize to make the Referral process better? Gary will take this question about Formsite to the WSC Conference Committee.
• Convention (Aurora/Johan) – Discussion about whether the host city CAWS Convention Chairpersons have to attend the WSOB meeting and the WSC Convention Committee meetings or if it is suggested. WSC Convention Chairperson guidelines do not state the host city Convention Chairperson has to attend these meetings, it states it is suggested. Current Trustees who are past host city CAWS Convention Chairs state it is confusing to know everything that is expected of a Convention Chair and all the different places they are expected to report to.
• Finance (Richard/Barry)
• Hospitals & Institutions (Stuart/Gary)

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 6 of 207

• IT (Chris/Joni)
• Literature, Chips & Formats (Barry/Ruby) – Questions about why the ‘Power of P.I.’ pamphlet draft was returned to the WSC PI Committee. That seems out of the norm for the LCF process.
• Public Information (Ruby/Aurora)
• Structure & Bylaws (Joni/Robert)
• Unity (Robert/Clay)

Motion to approve the WSC Committee Reports. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

WSO Reports

• WSOB – Chair – Lots of conversation about the new process for European chips manufacturing/purchasing/shipping. Right now it is just for plastic chips.

Clay – Can the WhatsApp number/info be put on the Contact Us page on the ca.org site? Robert – Will bring that request to the WSOB.

Stuart – Concern that the current negative budget will cause us to miss the opportunity to make necessary improvements for the WSO office equipment, furniture, etc. Robert – No, we are not taking ‘trash’ equipment/furniture with us. I will bring any needed expenditures to this body that would go over-budget, as needed.

• WSOB – DOO (suspended) – No report.
• WSOB – Treasurer –

Chris – When will all the money be moved to the Chase bank accounts? Robert – Hopefully by the end of the year, but not entirely certain. Richard – Why is Lolita’s credit card still open?

Robert – Three of us went to the bank a couple months ago and one of the items we wanted to do was close that credit card. Due to the two people who signed for the card not being present, we can’t do anything about it. The bank said if we left the card inactive for 1-2 years, they will auto-cancel it. The card is totally inactive and there are no fees being incurred on this card. The physical card is secured in the WSO.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 7 of 207

Robert – Question . . . . Could we take the Freedom Fund off the WSO/WSOB and maybe pass it over to the WSC Finance Committee? Should fundraising be a focus of the WSO or would it be better with a WS Committee?

Johan – I think this is a marketing issue. The name is a bit strange, very American. The idea is great, just needs better marketing.

Stuart – Yes, great idea, just needs to be re-packaged. Maybe throw this to LTP Advisory to work on?

Gary – I think the name is very international. How much work is it really for the WSO? They put a flier into mail-outs or attach a flier to an email. The work has already been done.

Richard – Give it more time.

Johan – I don’t think the WSO should be doing fundraising. If this was a committee, that might be something people would like to join to generate ideas.

Aurora – The WSO/WSOB has done a lot of fundraising in the past. Would like to see more of that.

Clay – We would need to have the WSC Finance Committee to bring this to the LTP Advisory. We couldn’t just throw it to LTP Advisory.

Stuart – It is not correct to say WSO doesn’t do fundraising, they are the ones who ‘run’ the CAWS Convention.

Motion to approve the WSOB Reports. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

CAWS Convention reports & updates – The Regional Trustees go over the high-points of the Convention Committee reports. Significant topics or discussions are notated.

CAWS 2024 Holland (Johan) – Convention starts in 2 days. This hotel is 100% booked for the Convention.

Aurora – Is the YouTube stuff completely approved? Is it video or just audio? Do the speakers know this is going to be a live-stream? Johan – I will look into this.

Johan – Just got info. Audio only and all speakers have been informed.

CAWS 2025 Arizona (Barry) – Ready with a presentation, shirts to sell, registration will be open, all the usual stuff that happens for the turn-over on Sunday night. The Hotel Liaison and the Fundraising Chair both had to step down a couple months ago. Those positions have been filled.

Gary – Does not think it is appropriate to charge for Speaker meeting streaming. We don’t charge for speaker meetings.

Aurora – It is a virtual registration, for a very nominal fee, like $5. It is just a way to help offset the cost of the platform. It isn’t geared to the newcomers so much as it is more towards the people who can’t travel to the event.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 8 of 207

Robert – Concerned as there is no Treasurer report and no Profit & Losses report being provided in these reports. We need more than what has been provided so far.

CAWS 2026 Florida (Chris) – Little slow on the fundraising, but it will pick up.

CAWS 2027 Washington (Ruby)

Motion to approve the CAWS Convention reports. Seconded. Passed unanimously.

Robert – Checks were given to each Trustee for per diem prior to the convention as we are not using the debit cards internationally. Why are we doing receipts for the per diem check? Receipts are not required for this type of scenario per US IRS guidelines.

Discussion ensued. Getting paper receipts for purchases is difficult on this trip. This process is different then when we request to be reimbursed for food/meal purchases made using personal funds or credit cards. It is also different than food/meals purchased using the C.A. issued debit cards. Agreed that we will each submit an expense report, but no receipts this time.

Place Marker / Business Items (items retained on agenda for every meeting)

• Copyright and Trademark Protection (Joni)

Matter No.	Country	Mark	Renewal Due
59628-0001	Canada	WE’RE HERE AND WE’RE FREE	September 30, 2027
59628-0002	U.S.	COCAINE ANONYMOUS	September 4, 2030
59628-0003	Canada	COCAINE ANONYMOUS	December 13, 2031
59628-0004	U.S.	C.A.	December 20, 2028
59628-0005	Canada	C.A.	June 12, 2032
59628-0006	U.S.	C.A. HOPE FAITH COURAGE (logo)	April 24, 2030
59628-0007	Canada	C.A. HOPE FAITH COURAGE (logo)	August 9, 2032
59628-0008	U.S.	WE’RE HERE AND WE’RE FREE	April 2, 2026
59628-0009	Europe	COCAINE ANONYMOUS	April 1, 2026
59628-0010	Europe	C.A. HOPE FAITH COURAGE (logo)	July 26, 2026
59628-0011	Europe	C.A.	July 25, 2025
59628-0012	South Africa	COCAINE ANONYMOUS	Provisional Refusal
59628-0013	South Africa	C.A.	Provisional Refusal
59628-0014	South Africa	CA HOPE FAITH COURAGE (logo)	June 30, 2027
59628-0015	CA.org		October19, 2026

Standing Business

1) Ratification of WSO Chair, Treasurer, and DAL’s (Interview Chair and Treasurer Wednesday AM) – Q2

 The WSO Chairperson, Treasurer, and all Directors-at-Large have been ratified by the WSBT.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 9 of 207

2) WSBT Ratification – Q2 – Secret ballots collected by the WSBT Chairperson.

All current WSBT members have been ratified.

3) Project Chart (Barry) – Many of these projects have been discussed in previous reports. Regional Restructure was renamed to Global Representation – Johan, as Project Lead, will get a meeting scheduled.

Global Fulfillment – Will make an announcement about this during the Meet the Boards meeting during this Convention.

Project to investigate C.A. shares being placed on YouTube with logo – The referral needs to be sent to the WSC IT Committee.

4) Correspondence (Joni)

Two responses outstanding, will be approved during Old Business.

5) Referral Tracker (Joni) – Reviewed and updated outstanding referrals.

6) Long Term Planning (Gary)

 a) C.A. Website Development Contract –

Motion to proceed with the Website Development with Studio Global per the Associated Scope of Work (SOW). Seconded.

Robert – This was approved by the WSOB.

Gary – What is the completion date?

Robert – There isn’t a completion date set right now. We won’t pay the company until the Phase of Work is done. There are four phases for this project. Aurora – I would like to see a completion date set as well.

Johan – I am ok with no completion date as the things he is going to do depend on how fast things can get through the various committees and how the fellowship responds to the changes on the site.

Motion passed unanimously.

7) Trustee Election Committee (Johan) – Only have the MWR slate this year.

Discussion took place about should the TEC accept a slate with only one name even though the WSM states it should be two or more names. The WSM does have a note on Page 3, before the Table of Contents, stating the Manual is to provide guidance but does list four exceptions (requirements). One of those exceptions is “procedures for elections and participation at the World Service Conference.” However, there is nothing in the WSM that specifically states any repercussions if a one-person slate is submitted.

• Are we going against the WSM when the TEC accepts a one-person slate?

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 10 of 207

• Would the TEC be going against the group conscious of the Regional Assembly if a one-person slate was not accepted?
• Does the WSM need to be changed to reflect what is currently happening or do we need to change what we are doing to adhere to the WSM?

Very good questions that need to be looked at some more. Also, more education of the Trustee election process needs to be done at the Area and Regional levels.

Clay thinks the WSOB needs to submit a dead slate each year for the same reason that the Regions need to submit a dead slate.

Page 67 WSM, World Service Office Trustee, Point 1 could be interpreted as saying the WSOB only needs to submit a slate when there is an vacancy.

Motion – To move the review of the Trustee Election process to the WSBT Long-Term Planning (LTP) sub-committee. Seconded. Passed unanimously. Chris will Lead the project.

8) All-Rise Conference Report (Gary) – Next one will be in Orlando, FL, May 28-31, 2025. This most recent one went really well. Will get the contact list to the WSBT soon so the North American Regional Trustees can get the info out to the Areas. Of the three 12-Step Fellowships present at the event, we were the most popular booth.

Were most of the contacts more local to S. Cal as that is where it was held this year? No, contacts from all over the USA.

Do the contact list get used by the Areas? Answer – Yes.

This could possibly be something for the potential new Conference Committee for External Communications and have the TAL on that committee.

Motion – To have the WSBT Long-Term Planning (LTP) sub-committee research the suggestion of creating a new WS Conference Committee for high-level professional external communication. Seconded.

Stuart – there is a large section of the WSC PI Handbook about CPC. This would need to be defined so as not to overlap that.

Motion passes with substantial unanimity. Stuart will be Lead. Joni and Ruby assist.

Old Business Items

1. C.A. Shares on YouTube with the logo – Has the referral with our recommendations been sent to the IT Committee yet? Not yet.

2) Moving Office WSBT (Gary)

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 11 of 207

The Office Moving Committee has been meeting regularly. Needed Tenant Improvements have been outlined, but a scope of work hasn’t been presented to the Committee yet. The landlord is going to paint, do some flooring, some lighting, and ceiling tiles. We need to build a storage room, need some additional lighting installed, some electrical needs, possibly create a board room, things like that. There is a General Contractor in the local fellowship who wants to donate the work for these needed improvements. Discussion has taken place about possibly giving the member a receipt for the donated work. Idea came from a Committee member, not the member who wants to donate the work. The $10,000 limit is for money donations, does it apply to something like this? There are other local members who want to make donations of work to get the Office ready for use. Many of the WSBT members are not comfortable with this idea. Some concerns –

Concerned that might give someone the idea they have something to hold over the Office because they did donate such a large amount. There are maximum donation limits for a reason.

Concern about the optics of doing something like this.

Concern that we need to be self-supporting. OK if members want to donate hours, but not comfortable with donations of materials.

Joni – Part of this move process is to file paperwork with the State of Arizona and to get a Arizona State Tax ID number. CAWS is listed as not being in good standing with the State of California. They have revoked or suspended our status as of April for a tax bill that is from 2020. I am not sure what this is about. We just found out about this last week, so I need to get more details. This is something I need to talk with Jonathan about.

3) Review all Orientation Documents for Review and Approval (Barry/Johan/Ruby)

Doc 01 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 02 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 03 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 04 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 05 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 06 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 07 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 08 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 09 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Motion – That Trustees are non-voting members of the WS Conference Committees they sit on. Seconded. Passes with substantial unanimity.

Doc 10 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 11 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 12 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 13 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 14 – Approved by unanimous consent.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 12 of 207

Doc 15 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 16 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Doc 17 – Approved by unanimous consent.

Table of Contents – Approved by unanimous consent.

Motion – To approve all revised WSBT Orientation Documents. Seconded. Motion passes unanimously.

4) Tradition 11 change (Joni/Ruby) – Nothing for this currently, deadline fast approaching for ballots to be submitted.

5) Review of motion passed at Q2 2023 regarding WSOB members and proximity to WSO (Barry)

From the WSBT 2Q2023 minutes

Motion to add the following new language to the WSM P.70, after the list outlining the current CAWSO Board members –

The following CAWSO Board positions shall reside within a 150-mile radius of the World Service Office location:

1. Chairperson

2. Vice-Chairperson

4. Treasurer 
5. One Director-at-Large

Motion carries unanimously

To be referred at a later date.

Barry – These are the four specific positions that were thought, at that time, to be necessary to be within 150 miles of the WSO.

Joni – I am no longer in favor of this motion. Feel it puts WSOB in a box. Also taking away autonomy of the WSOB to populate the Board as they see fit.

Gary – We have seen recently what happens when the WSO/WSOB has significant issues. Having specific positions close to the WSO was needed to address those issues. Robert – I do not think this is a good idea. Global diversity is very important on the WSOB. This places significant limitations on the ability to get people on a slate. Also, the Treasurer is a hard position to get qualified candidates to start with. Putting this limitation on that position makes it even harder. Chris – I do not agree with this motion now.

Joni – We have put in 3 years of very hard work within the WSO, created better internal procedures, etc, so we hopefully never get into that type of situation in the WSO again. Clay – The WSBT ratifies these positions. If it isn’t in the WSM somewhere, then the WSBT has to keep it in mind that one of these positions needs to be a local.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 13 of 207

Aurora – We have seen what happens when there is no one checking in on the WSO. If no one is in the geographic vicinity, how would we keep up with the oversight on a regular basis?

Barry – There needs to be some safeguards in place. We all are going to rotate out and relying on pass-it-on is not reliable. How much would it cost to bring in a Chairperson from a European location if something went sideways with WSO again? I think the Chair and Vice need to be in the geographic area of the WSO. Not the Treasurer nor the DAL. Stuart – This just feels like a step back from what the majority of the world does for work/management now in the virtual age. I think this would be good if we said that at least one of these positions needs to be in the geographic area.

Richard – There needs to be someone close, not all four positions. WHO needs to be in the geographic area of the WSO?

Gary – Have we spent any money to bring the Treasurer to California to sign docs and do business? Answer – None. How many times does the WSO Chair go into the Office each week? How can the person who does the hiring/firing/etc do all of that without being in the geographic vicinity of the WSO?

Chris – This motion was made a year ago and a lot of things have changed.

Robert – I think at least some people on the WSOB need to come from the geographic area, just not for mandating specific positions.

Motion — To amend the previous 2Q2023 motion to state that two members of the WSOB need to be from the geographic area of the WSOB. Seconded. Clay asked for unanimous consent. The motion did not pass.

This discussion will be moved to next quarter.

6) Communication with A.A. regarding Changing the Concepts (Clay/Barry) – Barry got a response back from A.A. Intellectual Property Committee with confirmation they had received the email he sent. No timeline given for when a response will be sent. Hold until next quarter.

New Business Items

1) Money Market Account (Chris)

Chris – Concerned that one or more of the new bank accounts might be a Money Market Account. Doesn’t feel it is appropriate for C.A. to be investing funds.

Joni – Can we get some more info about what the new bank can offer us before we make any type of decision?

Gary – I don’t have any info about this type of thing and would like to do some research on how this applies to Traditions and such.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 14 of 207

Others agree we need more info. Robert will get more info about mutual fund accounts. We will get input from the WSOB Treasurer.

Gary – Think this is an LTP project.

Joni – Does not agree this is an LTP project.

Johan – This should go to the WSBT Finance sub-committee.

Motion – To have the WSBT Finance sub-committee investigate money market accounts and the possible impact this could have on CAWS. Seconded.

Several speak in favor of the motion.

Robert – Can we bring the WSOB Treasurer into this sub-comm discussion? Answer – Yes.

Motion passed.

2) Groups Digital 7^th Tradition Collection (Chris)

Chris – Have gotten calls from several members from various Areas about this process. They are all looking for guidance on how to do this.

Ruby – Gave some info about obtaining Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) from US Internal Revenue Service. Also, there are several hurdles to trying to set up Digital 7^th Tradition without co-mingling personal/fellowship funds.

Aurora – There is very useful info from an AA Intergroup in S. California on this subject. Doesn’t see an issue with use of a personal virtual wallet platform being used for group donations as long as proper documentation is done. Ultimately, groups are autonomous and can collect funds how they decide to.

Richard – Yes, the WSC Finance Committee is looking into this. Asks if Ruby could create a document on how to get a TIN for US based meetings.

Gary – This isn’t our lane. Feels this should be addressed by the WSC Finance Committee. Robert – Agrees with Gary. Can we reach out to other 12-Step Fellowships to see how they are handling this? Maybe they could share some info that we could utilize.

Barry – Agrees this needs to go to the WSC Finance Committee or the LTP Advisory Committee.

Stuart – Most of these groups are not going to get the non-profit status needed to do some of this stuff. I think this issue is being made bigger than it needs to be.

Richard – I agree we are making this harder than it needs to be. If we can help point groups in a direction in a simple way, let’s do that.

Gary – There is already two committees looking at this. It would be out of our lane if we took it on as well. We need to let those committees finish their process.

Stuart – I don’t see any difference between people putting cash in a meeting bag and taking that bag home with them as opposed to putting funds into a digital wallet.

Chris – The difference is this a paper trail that in the US could lead to Federal tax implications.

We will watch to see what the WSC Finance Committee creates for guidance.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 15 of 207

3) Trustee and WSBT sub-committee reports are due to Clay by August 2, 2024, so he can create the Conference Report.

Quarterly Reports are due August 8, 2024.

4) Conference Committees having materials for distribution to the fellowship approved at Conference for upcoming year-SR-21 (Clay)

Clay – Russell brought this up to him. Russell doesn’t think the WSBT has the authority to approve these items.

Robert – We need to get a definition for exactly what ‘materials’ means in SR-21. Ruby – Rod D. has already sent a referral on this.

Gary – We need to get SR-21 updated.

5) Public Information 4-point Video approval process proposal (Ruby)

Ruby – Presented info about the WSC Public Information Committees 4-point Video approval process as put forward in the 2024 SR-14 documents.

Robert – Have concerns about this going away from Conference approval. Feels the final approval really needs to come from the Conference.

Stuart – We need to get these things approved quicker than what our current process is. This does kind of take us back into the SR-21 issue of the WSBT approving items instead of

Conference. Until that issue is resolved, I don’t see how we could do this. This has some issues.

Clay – Concerned this motion is going to be ruled out of order on the Conference floor. Chris – This concerns me a lot.

Aurora – Something has to change with this entire approval process. Things become outdated so quickly, that our current process can’t keep up. We are missing out on a very key piece of getting info out to the fellowship and the people who need this info.

Gary – It is going to the floor, it may or may not get ruled out of order. When we are on the Conference floor, we each get to vote as our conscious leads us. No, it should not take 3 years to get things out. People are doing it already. We need to find a way to help them. Ruby – Gary is correct, people are already doing it. With today’s technology, it takes less than 15 minutes to create a video to be put out on social media, but it takes the Conference 2-3 years to approve a video.

Johan – The Standing Rule needs to be changed. Why does all of this stuff need to get approved by Conference? I can’t imagine this is what the intent was for this SR-21. Areas can send out all kinds of stuff that end up all over the world, why does the fact that it come

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 16 of 207

from a Conference Committee mean it has to sit for a year before the info can go out to the Fellowship?

Joni – Concerned about the volume of items that might come in.

Stuart – Yes, there are lots of things being created by Areas. This process would just be items for approval to be put on the WSC PI page for usage by other Areas. Also, this approval process could become a tool for Areas to be able to do their own video review better.

Chris – Yes, we are causing a delay here at this level. WSC PI is supposed to help create guidance for the Areas to use. That is what this could possibly become.

Aurora – Items put on social media are usually a 15-30 second snip and it takes just about that long to create it. They are sharing these items between Areas right now. This would help give guidance for how Areas could approve their own items.

Barry – It takes a long time to get anything done in this fellowship on this level. How long would it take to get SR-21 changed? It is obvious there is an issue. We have got to make things work for the members of the fellowship who will be here after us. We currently print books without them ever going to the Fellowship. We have no idea if the Fellowship likes these items or not, but we create them without going to the Fellowship for approval. We are going to hold up a 30 second video? This doesn’t make sense. There is a chokehold on this.

Johan – Going back to SR-21 needs to be changed. Things need to be updated to evolve with the times we are in now. We need to stop using the WSM and our policies to hinder the fellowship.

Motion – To craft a motion to be presented at the 2024 Conference to change SR-21.

Seconded.

Motion passes with substantial unanimity. Johan took lead.

6) Payments to WSO (Clay) – Regional Trustees, please pass info on to the Areas – When making any type of electronic payments/donations to WSO, please input a lot of info so WSO will know what the payment is for or where the donation is from. Especially when using the PayPal platform, this section can be easily missed.

7) Area Questionnaire (Clay) – The WSO Chair came to me and would like us to change the question about “Do you have any issues with the Office . . . “ This could be perceived as a negative and they are asking that we take out the word ‘issue.’

Robert – This is the first time I have heard of this and I think this is out of order as this concern hasn’t been brought to the full WSOB to be discussed.

8) Starter Kits (Clay) – The WSO has asked the Regional Trustees to create a standardized method of handling Starter Kit requests.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 17 of 207

Discussion took place about how each Region handles this issue. There is a standardized method of handling Starter Kits outlined in the WSBT Orientations documents, but it isn’t being handle the same way by each North American Regional Trustee.

Motion – To move the discussion of how to handle requests for Starter Kits to the WSBT Project List. Seconded.

Motion passes with substantial unanimity.

Motion to extend session. Seconded. Passed.

9) Remaining meetings for the 2024 calendar year (Barry/ Robert) Orientation call – Oct 5 at 7A PT.

Conference Call – Motion to cancel the 4Q Conference Call. Second. Motion passes with substantial unanimity.

4Q Meeting – Dec 6-8. Motion to have 4Q meeting to Arizona. Seconded. Motion passed.

10) Canadian Non-Profit Status (Robert) – Canadians get charged the same import taxes as the ER Areas and MER Areas. Maybe CAWS could file for Canadian non-profit status to help decrease the import taxes. Maybe also look into doing this for ER and MER. This would need more research.

Chris – Concerned that the WSO would need a physical address in Canada in order to do this.

Stuart – In the ER, even if was non-profit in ER we would still need to pay import fees. This would definitely need to be researched further.

Johan – Has heard that AA has a Canadian entity ship books to European locations as the fees are cheaper.

Robert – Can this be looked at by IS&D, Global Fulfilment project? Johan – Yes.

Richard – S. Ontario Area is a non-profit already. They have also looked at getting a chip manufacturer. That info was submitted when they put in a ‘bid’ for the WSO to move there.

IS&D may want to reach out to them to get some info.

Motion – To approve the response to the ‘wiki’ inquiry. Seconded. Passed unanimous.

Motion – To approve the N. American Regional Trustees 2025 budget to be the same as 2024. Seconded. Passed unanimous.

Motion – For the WSOT and WST 2025 budget to stay the same as 2024. Seconded. Passed unanimous.

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 18 of 207

Motion – For the ERT and MERT 2025 budget to stay the same as 2024. Seconded. Passed.

Motion – For the TAL1 2025 budget to stay the same as 2024. Seconded. Passed.

The Common Trustee Expenses for 2025 will be handled by online business.

Motion – For the Trustee Election Committee budget for 2025 to be $9,000. Seconded.

Passed.

Discussion of the perceived conflict of interest with the current WSOB Vice Chair also being the 2025 CAWS Convention Program Chair.

Any Other Business

Group Inventory

Dates and Times for Conference Calls and Quarterlies 2023-2024

• 2023– Q3 – Conference (Dallas) Q3 August 23-25, 2024, TEC August 26-27, 2024, Conference August 28-September 1, 2024

Moment of silence followed by the “WE” version of the Serenity Prayer.

For all attached reports see: https://documents.historyofca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-07-08-10-WSBT-Q2-minutes.pdf

WSBT 2Q2024 Quarterly Minutes APPROVED Page 19 of 207