2008 ABC/M Special Issue

 

“An S.L.A.A. group or S.L.A.A. as a whole ought never to endorse, finance, or lend the S.L.A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.”

 

Each year the Board of Trustees (BOT) meets in face-to-face sessions along with the FWS General Manager (GM) immediately preceding the ABC/M. On Wednesday, July 9, our GM, Linda Hamilton and her husband packed up the necessary supplies from the FWS office in San Antonio, Texas in their truck and drove overnight to the Conference site.   The BOT members began arriving on Friday from throughout the country. Meetings were held for six hours a day on Saturday and Sunday and for four hours on Monday. 

 

At the BOT meetings, many important issues were discussed. Time was spent in reviewing the work of the past year, as well as doing a self-assessment of our individual and collective performance. Other time was spent developing our vision of the future of the Fellowship and in brainstorming our budget priorities. Additionally, we heard a report from our GM about the results of the time inventory she had kept on her work and the work of the other staff at the FWS office. Given current budgetary restraints, the Board began discussing which services to fund and which to cut in order to meet the available amounts of money and time that are budgeted. 

 

In the interest of balance, it was not all work for us! Saturday night, the full BOT, members of the Local Planning Committee, and those delegates who had arrived early traveled to Tampa for a wonderful supper at a skyline restaurant at the Pier. Sunday after lunch, several of us held an impromptu S.LA.A. meeting on Step 11 and Getting Current. Then on Sunday evening, interested members went on a terrific dinner cruise in St. Petersburg. Monday saw the arrival of many of our delegates as well as a chance to go to dinner with members of the Monday night Sarasota meeting to hear one of our own BOT members, Richard C., speak.

 

The BOT met throughout the week with its members’ Conference committees. Additionally, the BOT met in special session on at least two other occasions during the week and held their first session with new-elected members on Friday. We are grateful for a productive year as it closes and look forward to the promise of growth the new year brings.
 

On behalf of everyone at the ABC/M, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Local Planning Committee of the Tampa Bay Intergroup and their president, Jack S., for all the hard work they put into planning and executing the hosting of the ABC/M. Y’all did a super job!!! We look forward to returning next year.

 

The day began bright and early with breakfast at 7:30 AM. The beginning of the ABC/M is always an exciting time as we meet new delegates and renew old friendships. Our new delegates had an orientation in the morning and the ABM officially began at 1:15. The afternoon was devoted to the first phase of our business. The evening included a question and answer session entitled “Get to know the BOT and FWS staff.” Conference members were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Board and FWS GM and to get to know each member on a more personal basis. To end the evening, the Board Chair, Dan A. and the FWS General Manager, Linda Hamilton presented the Conference with a convincing financial statement that demonstrated that FWS is now operating increasingly more in the black. The Conference was asked to provide input on creating budget priorities for the upcoming year. It was noted that the BOT’s emphasis at the moment is to continue to focus on stability. Any new growth will come slowly and cautiously.

 

Wednesday morning saw the first series of breakout sessions by Conference Committee members. New delegates were given the opportunity to attend meetings of those committees which they were interested in serving. After lunch the Conference met in General Assembly to consider the various Issues for Discussion (IFDs) on our agenda. At 5:15 BOT candidate nominees were accepted from the floor. 

 

After supper, members of the Board Governance and Nominating Committee Concepts Task Force made an engaging and educational presentation on their work to adapt and adopt AA’s Twelve Concepts for World Service for use within S.L.A.A. The presentation gave the history of AA’s development and adoption of the Concepts and outlined the histories of their use in other 12 Step groups such as Al-Anon, OA, SA, SAA and NA. The Concepts were introduced noting the differences between AA’s service structures and our own. Feedback was solicited that was overwhelmingly positive and all expressed their gratitude for the hard work of the Task Force. The Task Force hopes to update the Conference on their work again at ABC 2009.

Conference Committees met again this morning. Overnight and this morning, the BOT Nominating Subcommittee conducted oral interviews with the new BOT candidates and the candidates began to complete their written questionnaires. We are always grateful to members who express willingness to serve on the BOT and look forward to hearing from YOU if you would be interested in serving on the BOT in the future.

 

The business of the Conference resumed in the afternoon. In addition to discussion of several items, the Conference approved, by a vote of 38-0-1, a motion stating,

 

(Item 08n11) The hiring of professional writers and/or editors on a fee basis, to ensure prompt, efficient handling of writing and editorial responsibilities for S.L.A.A. literature projects, is in accordance with the principles of S.L.A.A. and the group conscience of the S.L.A.A. Fellowship. (Sponsored by the BOT)

 

We also received word on Thursday that, due to a misunderstanding, we needed to be out of our rooms on Friday by 9 AM and completely off the campus by 3 PM. The Conference Charter Committee and the Local Planning Committee scrambled to come up with a revised time and meeting room schedule. Many thanks to them for there efforts.

 

Following supper, the BOT Nominating Subcommittee held a question and answer session with the BOT candidates and the Conference heard five-minute qualifications by each of the candidates on Tradition 6. The final slate of candidates was composed of:

 

Liz D., Philadelphia, PA, (Confirmation of appointment to term ending 2009)

Rita H, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (confirmation of appointment to term ending 2010)

Dan A., Berkely, CA (2011)

Richard C., Boston, MA (2011)

Ayana P., NYC (2011)

We closed the day with the ever-popular FWS Auction. A good time was had by all and money was raised for FWS to boot. Over $3500.00 was raised for FWS!!!

 

Friday’s streamlined schedule began with the election of members for the BOT for the coming year. The BOT for the 2008-2009 ABM year is:

 

Liz D., Philadelphia, PA (2009)

Stephen S., Pittsburgh, PA (2009)

Chris D., San Diego, CA (2010—appointed by the 2008-09 BOT in their first in-person meeting following Friday’s elections)

Bob F., Omaha, NE (2010)

Rita H, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2010)

Dan A., Berkley, CA (2011)

Richard C., Boston, MA (2011)

 

Conference Committees met to finalize their budgets and lay plans for the year. After lunch, the Conference met in final session. We are grateful for all our new and old friends and hope to see you all next year!

 

Conference Anorexia Committee - Richard

Conference Bylaws Committee - Rita

Conference Charter Committee - Rita

Conference Diversity Committee - Richard

Conference Finance Committee - Richard

Conference Healthy Relationships Committee – Richard

Conference Intergroup Communications Committee - Rita

Conference Internet Committee – Stephen

Conference Journal Committee - Dan

Conference Literature Committee – Liz

Conference Members Retention Committee – Bob   

Conference Public Information Committee – Richard

Conference Prison Outreach Committee - Liz

Conference Steps and Traditions Committee – Bob

 

Board Finance and Operating Committee – Liz and Richard

Board Governance and Nominating Committee – Dan and Rita

Board Public Relations Committee – Bob, Chris and Stephen

 

Step 12 implies that we encourage service work within our Fellowship. Several people have expressed their interest in Board service and have asked how they might prepare themselves. The following tools are offered as suggestions for fostering and educating the Fellowship about service work: