December 2005 Intergroup Minutes
Approved
Western Massachusetts Intergroup
Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2005
OPENING:
Rayna, WMI Chair, opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. with the Serenity Prayer.
Reading of Tradition 12, OA 12&12.
Reading of Concept 12.
OFFICER REPORTS:
Recording Secretary's Report read by Linda T.
A motion was made to accept the minutes as amended. The motion passed.
Chair/ Vice Chair Report - No report given.
Treasurer's Report given by Rhea.
Income: $414.13
Expenses: $283.17
Balance: $928.31
A motion was made to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented. The motion passed.
Corresponding Secretary's Report given by Jeff. Financial mail was picked up by Rhea. We also received five pieces of mail. One item if note was a notice from Region 6 that January is "Recovery from Relapse" month and asking WMI to create a recovery workshop. We also received Central Mass Intergroup's newsletter where they list the meeting groups who contribute to 60/30/10. Jeff suggested that WMI might want to do this, too.
Archivist Report given by Sue who reported that she just completed another notebook of materials for 2005 which brings our total to 14 notebooks filled with historical material. Sue also said that she had an inquiry from a meeting group regarding their actual anniversary date. She also had an inquiry asking about the history of Public Information.
Roll Call/Introductions/Newcomer Welcome
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Soft Literature Report - Carol not present; no report given.
Hard Literature Report - Ellen not present; no report given. Rhea reported that she was aware that Ellen had opened a separate bank account for hard literature.
HIPM Report - Gabrielle reported that she met with a social worker in the EA Program in the Emergency Room at Mercy Hospital and gave her the 15 OA questions.
Newsletter/Meeting List Report - Chair not present, no report given. Elaine said that she is on this committee, but has not been able to meet with the Chair, Kim. Sue reported that Suzanne is still updating the meeting list, however Suzanne is also unable to reach Kim. It was suggested that we step in regarding the January newsletter. Rayna said she would contact Kim.
Young People's Report - no Chair for this committee, although Sue reported that both meetings will now meet from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer.
Public Information Report was given by Sarah who asked OA members to compose and mail a personal testimony of their experience, strength, hope and recovery in OA to the "Letters to the Editor" section of the local newspapers.
Region 6 Assembly Report was given by Rayna who said she would conduct nominations under New Business.
World Service Report given by Rayna. Elections for WSBC reps will be handled under New Business.
Marathon Report given by Linda. The Marathon committee is working on the final details of the Marathon. Registrations are coming in. Westfield groups will handle the set up for the Marathon and the Northampton groups will handle the clean up.
12 Step Within Report given by Sue who reported that there is now a third group holding a 12 Step Within meeting. The three groups are Southwick, the Springfield Hobby Club and the Wednesday night group in Westfield.
Fundraising Report given by Rhea who brought a mock up of what the t-shirt design will look like. Rhea will be ordering about 9 dozen shirts this week so that they will be ready to sell at the Marathon.
Website Report - Dan, Website Coordinator, was not present; no report given.
PI Blitz/Ad-Hoc Committee Report - Elizabeth ill; no report given.
New Meeting Site Report given by Sue who reported that the Holyoke Hospital site looks promising. A question was raised about the parking situation at the HH site. The next step is for the committee to do a site visit where they will also check on the parking issue. Rayna said that the YMCA site was not a viable option as it did not meet all our needs.
OLD BUSINESS:
Budget Issues
1) Marathon - Linda shared that she is concerned that Marathon income and expenses are not realistic. Also, current budget only has $200 budgeted for facility rental when actual cost is $250.
A motion was made by Rhea to cut a $250 check to cover the Marathon facility rental fee. The motion passed.
2) PI Budget - A question was raised as to whether the $77 per year Pow Web hosting fee the WMI website should be charged under the PI budget.
Rhea and Frank will present a revised 2006 budget at the January meeting.
Website - Rayna tried to describe the "temporary" website that Dan created to the group, but it was too difficult to imagine without actually viewing the site. Linda said she would email all present at the meeting who listed an email address on the attendance list the temporary website address so that everyone could actually see the site. Linda also agreed to coordinate a review committee to critique the website and give Dan feedback. The committee included Heather, Sarah, Frank, Gwen and Gail. The group did agree that the following items should be part of the website: Updated meeting list, Marathon info and Intergroup meeting minutes.
NEW BUSINESS:
Website - An issue was raised as to whether there is a need to send other area Intergroups mailings. The issue was tabled for now.
WSBC Delegate Elections - Rayna referred to handout she had prepared. A question was raised about the eligibility requirements. WSBC requires one year of abstinence in order to serve, but a written request can be sent to WSBC asking that this requirement be waived.
A motion was made to allow Elaine to sit in as Mary's proxy and waive the requirement that Mary be present in order to be considered for a delegate position. The motion passed.
Nominees and their qualifications were discussed and then a paper ballot was taken and tallied by Gwen. The election results were:
Delegates: Rhea and Mary. Rayna, too if budget allows.
Alternate: Jeff
There was a concern regarding the WSBC registrations being taken care of. Rayna said that she would handle this.
WMI Officer Nominations - Elections will be held in January and positions become effective in February. The nominations that were moved and accepted were as follows:
Chair: Elaine
Vice Chair: Gabrielle
Recording Secretary: Linda
Corresponding Secretary: Jeff
Treasurer: Frank
A motion was made to make the Website Coordinator role an officer position. The motion passed.
Region 6 Nominations - Three reps are needed. The nominations that were moved and accepted were as follows:
Representatives: Rayna, Jeff and Gabrielle
Alternates: Sarah, Rhea, Elaine and John
Heather brought World Service CD's that she had received and passed them on to Rayna.
Gail, who currently handles the Answering Service calls, will end her service as of December 31st. Heather said she has a possible replacement.
Sue announced that Maureen will be bringing an OA public service announcement to Channel 40, so keep your eyes open!
GROUP CONCERNS
Carol does not want to continue with soft literature. There was a discussion as to whether WMI should continue to offer hard/soft lit. The discussion was tabled.
GOOD OF THE ORDER
NEXT MEETING
Monday, January 9, 2006 at 6:30 p.m.
CLOSING
The meeting closed at 8:25 p.m. with the Serenity Prayer.
Respectfully submitted by,
Linda T.
Recording Secretary