Combined Board Meeting

Attendees:
Beth A., Alt. Unity Chair
Lesliee A., Communication Chair
Jeff B., Secretary
Jennifer B., Treasurer
Jan BB., PAC Chair
Nona C., Vice Chair
Laurie C., Alt. Communication Chair
Melinda F., Alt. Technology Chair
Stormy H., CPC chair
Amelia L., Alt. Secretary/Alt. Guidelines chair
Mary M., Steppers Chair/Registrar
Mark M., Technology Chair
Tom M., Get Into Action Chair
Gwen Mc., Guidelines Chair
Terry N., Convention Chair
Susan R., Chair
Gary W., Alt. Steppers Chair

Susan R., the Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:07 pm EST. Susan asked the attendees to introduce themselves. The meeting opened with the Serenity Prayer.

Treasurers Report – Jennifer B., Treasurer

• Jennifer reviewed the Budget Variance report and mentioned several of the expenses. She reported that Net Income for July was just over $6.000.
• Jennifer mentioned the Contributions report and that there were 81 groups and people contributing to OIAA in July.
• Jennifer next reviewed the Balance sheet. She stated that we have accrued cash-on-hand of $92,700.
• Jennifer was asked by the Guidelines Committee to prepare a write-up on our security procedures relating to our funds. She reviewed these procedures with the Board.
• Jennifer stated that she has seen security measures for the treasury of other AA entities and that OIAA’s security measures are the strongest she has ever seen.

Chair report – Susan R.

• Susan mentioned that she did not want us to come together to read reports. Instead, she is looking for ways to bring us together to cooperate, communicate and collaborate.
• She stressed the importance of working with the Master Calendar for your meetings and events to avoid over-stressing the Tech team.
• Susan asked that the Committee chairs to provide a report to the Board once a month and to the Fellowship once a quarter.
• Susan would like to schedule these Combined Board meetings once a month through the end of the year and then 8 times next year with no meeting in an Assembly month. She suggested that the Officer Board meetings take place on the 2^nd Tuesday at 5pm EST with the meetings being open to anyone and that these Combined Board meetings be held on the 3^rd Saturday of the month at 2pm EST (8am Hawaii, 11am OT 7pm UK/Portugal and 8pm France) to accommodate everyone in a 12 hour time zone span.

Questions from Unity Committee – Beth A., Alt. Unity Chair

• Susan R. asked Beth A., if her questions about the business structure of OIAA had been answered.
• She responded that they had not been all answered and that she specifically wanted to know:
  • What is the advantage of having a Registered Agent in NJ vs. NC?
  • Why doesn’t OIAA have a telephone number?
• Gwen M. commented that OIAA is incorporated in NJ and having a Registered Agent in NJ is a legal requirement

Trustee Qualifications and Descriptions – Susan R., Chair

• Susan R. stated that in December we will be expanding the Board to include 2 new Trustees. The Board needs to approve the descriptions and qualifications and then inform the membership at the September Assembly.  The descriptions and qualifications will be posted on our website so that people can submit their resumes.
• Nona C. discussed the process that the Guideline committees went through to develop descriptions for the two new Trustee positions, an International trustee and a Trustee-At-Large. The Guideline committee had some issues with the definition for the Trustee-At-Large position. The Guideline committee also recommended there be two International trustees as opposed to one International trustee and one Trustee-At-Large.
• Nona C. read the description and qualifications for the International trustee. Nona asked for comments from the Board members on the description and qualifications for this trustee.
  • Jennifer B. commented that for all of 2023, only 7% of the contributions to OIAA come from outside US and that we should only have 1 International trustee at this time. Jennifer agreed with the wording of the description.
  • Beth A. commented that the low International participation could be due to time zone and currency issues. Also, in some countries, PayPal is either complicated or cannot be used.
• Susan R. clarified that the Membership does not need to vote on these new Trustee positions because the Bylaws allow the Board to expand itself. The Membership will need to be notified, however.
• Jennifer B. made a motion to accept the description of the International trustee, as presented, which was seconded by Jeff B. There was no additional discussion and the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
• Nona C. then read the general leadership suggestions for all Trustees including a suggestion that a Trustee have 7 to 10 years of sobriety. Jennifer B. made a motion to accept the general leadership suggestions for all Trustees, as presented, which was seconded by Jeff B.  There was no additional discussion and the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
• Jeff B. asked for clarification about whether the Board was not going to accept the Guideline committee recommendation to have two International trustees. Susan R. clarified that the Board requested descriptions for an International trustee and a Trustee-At-Large.  The issue was that the Trustee-At-Large description was not “fully baked.”  Members of the Guideline committee worked to update the Trustee-At-Large description.
• Mark M. stated that he was in favor of one International Trustee and one Trustee-At-Large but that he was opposed to the Trustee-At-Large description. The decision was made to continue to work on the description for the Trustee-At-Large and that this be an agenda item at the next Officer Board meeting in September.

The Election Process – Mary M., Registrar

• Mary M. read the Election process as presented to the Guideline committee.
• Jennifer B. asked about the requirement that an individual can only hold 1 position. There was a question about whether Committee chairs are Officers.  After examining the Bylaws, it was determined that Committee chairs are not Board members.
• Based on several comments, Mark M. made a motion that we send this Section back to the Guideline committee and postpone approving the Election process. Nona C. seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Inventory Questions – Nona C., Vice Chair

• Nona C. presented a number of questions to the Board and the Committees chairs for consideration including:
  1. What is our Mission statement?
  2. The Board has a Duty of Care. What does that look like in our organization?
  3. What are some of our organizational challenges? How do we improve our communication? Are our volunteers over-extended?
  4. What is our International effectiveness?
  5. How do you see our organizational structure? How do our Committees promote Unity with the Fellowship and each other? Are we responding to the needs of the online Community in accordance with our 9^th Tradition?
• Nona C. stated that she will send out these questions and ask for the Board and the Committee chairs to provide their answers which she will summarize.
• Jennifer B. suggested that our IRS tax form has a question about the organization’s external primary purpose which could be used as a mission statement and that states that OIAA is an: “Online platform for connecting with AA online meetings and 24 365 help line.”

Introduction of the Alternate Secretary – Jeff B., Secretary

• Jeff B. announced that Amelia L. has been helping with the Assembly minutes and that he has appointed Amelia L. as the new Alternate Secretary.
• Amelia mentioned that her sobriety date was 3/15/1985 and then presented a brief service resume.

The meeting closed at 3:52 pm EST with the Responsibility Statement.

Motions Summary

The following motions were made and voted on by the Board at this meeting:

1. Jennifer B. made a motion to accept the description of the International trustees, as presented, which was seconded by Jeff B. There was no additional discussion and the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
2. Jennifer B. made a motion to accept the general leadership suggestions for all Trustees, as presented, which was seconded by Jeff B. There was no additional discussion and the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
3. Mark M. made a motion that we send the Election section back to the Guideline committee and postpone approving the Election process. Nona C. seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Humbly submitted,
Jeff Bernknopf
OIAA Secretary