Attendees:
Jeff B., Secretary
Jennifer B., Treasurer
Nona C., Vice Chair
Mark M., Technology Chair
Susan R., Chair

Susan R., the Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:04 pm EST. The meeting opened with the Serenity Prayer.  Susan reported that we have received 3 resumes: hers, Nona’s and a resume for Trustee-at-Large from Buck R., a Past Delegate from Area 12 Delaware, who is on the Board of the NAATW organization.

Charter Review – Nona C, Chair

• The Unity Committee provided a revised charter to the Board. Nona walked the Board through the revised charter.
• Jeff and Jennifer commented that there was nothing in their charter about reaching out to international meetings which was thought to be a part of the mission of the Unity committee. Mark mentioned that the annual International Convention that the Unity committee has proposed will necessitate contact with international AA members.
• Mark M. made a motion to accept the revised charter from the Unity committee which was seconded by Nona C. The Board voted unanimously to approve their charter with one abstention.
• Nona next walked the Board through the revised Communication charter. There were no issues expressed by the Board.  Mark M. made a motion to accept the revised charter from the Communications committee which was seconded by Jennifer B.  The Board voted unanimously to approve their charter.
• Susan raised the issue of whether the Communications committee should become a Standing committee as opposed to an ad hoc committee.  The Board was in favor of moving in that direction, which will have to be brought to an Assembly. Jeff pointed out that bringing this to an Assembly would probably have to wait until the March Assembly.  Mark M. made a motion that a recommendation be made to the Assembly to change the ad hoc Communication committee to a Standing committee. Susan R. seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the Board.

Secretary Report – Jeff B., Secretary

• Jeff explained that he sent out a revised version of the Conflict-of-Interest document which included revisions based on Jennifer’s recommendation to replace “Director” with “Trustee” throughout the document. Jeff said that the updated document will be sent to the McCarter lawyers.
• Jeff reviewed the plan for approving the Guideline document that he had prepared at the Chair’s request. The plan has the following proposed steps:
  1. Review the outstanding issues in the Guideline document to finalize the document.
  2. Review and approve Sections 1 through 4 at the November Officer Board meeting.
  3. Review and approve Sections 5 through 7 at the December Officer Board meeting.
• With this plan, the Guideline document would have Board approval in early December which can be announced at the December Assembly. The Board agreed to the plan for Board approval of the Guideline document by the December Officer’s Board meeting.
• The Board discussed how the Guideline document would be presented to the Members. Jeff suggested that we have 4 or 5 Workshop sessions to present the Guideline document, but Susan had only budgeted for 2 sessions.  Jeff suggested that we try to get the Guideline document approved at the March Assembly, but Jennifer stated that she thought that March was too aggressive with June being a more reasonable timeframe.
• The Board discussed how many Workshop sessions would be required to explain the Guideline document to the Membership. Jeff suggested 3 sessions to introduce the Guideline document with 2 sessions for the US, Canada and Europe and 1 International time-friendly session. The US, Canada and Europe Workshop would require 2 interpreters ($520) and the International Workshop would require 4 interpreters ($1,040).
• The Board then discussed whether to approve the Guideline document in 3 months (March Assembly) or 6 months (June Assembly). Mark felt that 6 months was too long and that the Bylaws were approved in 3 months. Nona stated that she changed her mind and agreed with the 3-month timeframe.  The consensus of the Board was to have the Membership approve the Guideline document in 3 months at the March Assembly.  There will be one US, Canada and Europe Workshop session in January with a repeat session in February along with an international session in February.
• Susan clarified for Jennifer that the combined Officers and Committee chair meeting will take place quarterly (4 times) in January, April, July and October for 2024.
• The Board reviewed the outstanding issues with the Guideline document and made several decisions and updates to the The revised document will be dated Oct. 10, 2023, and sent to the Guideline committee.

Chair report – Susan R., Chair

• Susan reported that she has not been able to get a hold of our PIC chair, Jon. He has not responded to any communications.  Susan stated that we do not have a process for removing an inactive worker, but we can remove someone for cause.  Jon has not provided a charter for the PIC committee.
• Susan reported that Stormy, our CPC chair, had resigned because her budget was not approved. She rescinded her resignation and stated that she is objecting to her budget cuts.  No charter has been provided for the CPC committee.

Treasurer’s Report – Jennifer B., Treasurer

• Jennifer distributed the financials to the Board and asked if there were any questions or comments.
• Jennifer mentioned that she reached out to Stormy and let her know that the Board did not approve her budget. Jennifer let Stormy know that she could still bring her budget to the Assembly, but that Jennifer would be speaking out about the excessive cost for the video.  The Board discussed the CPC budget, and the consensus was that the $10,000 expense in the CPC budget be removed.  Jennifer said that she would modify the budget accordingly and reach out to Stormy to let her know the Board’s decision.
• Jeff asked about two budget items which make up 40% of the OIAA 2024 budget: Melinda as a special worker maintaining the website (25%) and the Unity committee’s international convention (15%).  Jennifer expressed concern over the activities conducted by Melinda and the cost of these activities.  Mark, our Technology chair, informed the Board that her activities were necessary for maintaining a growing and complex website.  The Board suggested that an RFP for these services be prepared to look externally for a less costly alternative.  The Board also discussed the cost for the proposed International Convention and was informed that the cost was split between online tech services and translators for a 3-to-4-day Conference.

The meeting closed with the Responsibility Declaration at 4:32 pm EST.

Motions Summary

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

1. Mark M. made a motion to accept the revised charter from the Unity committee which was seconded by Nona C.  The Board voted unanimously to approve their charter with one abstention.
2. Mark M. made a motion to accept the revised charter from the Communications committee which was seconded by Jennifer B.  The Board voted unanimously to approve their charter.
3. Mark M. made a motion that a recommendation be made to the Assembly to change the ad hoc Communication committee to a Standing committee. Susan R. seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the Board.

Humbly submitted,
Jeff Bernknopf
OIAA Secretary