updated 11/13/2009

                 Delegate’s Conference Agenda Report                  

The purpose of this report is to give a general overview of the decisions reached by the 59th General Service Conference.

Although this report will touch on many of the items brought to the conference this is not comprehensive. Due to time restrictions, some of the items will be left out. In September, a full report will be made available by GSO which will be distributed by the area committee. However, any question you may have I will try to answer as fully as possible.

Following is a summary of the terms used to describe the actions a committee may take concerning agenda items. Each item is gone over at the conference committee level where it is then decided what the next course of action should be. The most significant being a recommendation. Committee recommendations are brought forward to the full conference body where they are open to debate. Once debate is over a vote is taken. Should the recommendation receive a 2/3rds majority (substantial unanimity), it then becomes a conference advisory action and is considered AA policy. If it does not receive this majority the item “dies” on the floor. Only a Floor Action or a new agenda item next year would introduce the item for conference consideration again. Of course, we do listen to minority opinion and reconsider if asked. Should the committee decide that an item needs more work or that there needs to be more information the committee can move an item along as an additional committee consideration. The full conference can ask questions concerning these items and why they weren’t presented as recommendations but they cannot comment on or debate them as this would take up too much time. Besides, that is the purpose of the committee work.  Also, the committee may make suggestions for new ideas or observations to the corresponding trustees committee. These are all handled under additional committee considerations. A committee may choose to take no action on an item. This will stop the item from moving any further. Because this is final, committees make sure they are as diligent and thorough as they can possibly be. No action items are treated the same as additional committee considerations at the conference level. As a remedy to a failed recommendation a conference member can also introduce a floor action. They may also be used as a way to introduce an item that did not make it to the agenda. Floor actions are open to comment and debate by the full conference and if voted on may rise to the level of conference advisory action should it receive the 2/3rds vote necessary. The conference may vote to not consider an action, in which  the item dies there. It may also vote to recommit, which sends it back to the corresponding trustees committee for review.

 
Now that you all have a firm understanding of how the conference comes to its decisions, I will begin with the committee reports. After each committee I will stop and ask for questions before moving on to the next committee. Should there be an item that we voted on at our April assembly I will also include that information.

Are there any questions before I begin?…..    

AGENDA: *Next years’ theme will be “Practicing AA’s Principles-The Pathway to Unity”             

*The workshop topic for 2010 will be to discuss the agenda selection process. The delegates will also receive any and all background material concerning the selection process. It is hoped that an understanding can be reached as to whether or not to continue the process as is currently being followed or to bring forward any changes for consideration. Our original vote at our assembly was to leave it as is. As this is only a workshop item, I did not see the harm in continuing the discussion so I voted for this recommendation. Any questions for Agenda?        

REPORT and CHARTER:                                                                                                    

*A recommendation was put forward that a review of the charter be put forth as a standing agenda item. Although this initially passed, it failed on reconsideration. The conference believed that an inventory to see if we were following the charter is a good idea, however it didn’t believe that this was the way to go about it. There were a lot of concerns about how much time it would take, how to compile all of the information, who would handle the inevitable legal questions, what the scope of the inventory would be, ect. At our assembly, we ran into much of the same questions and concerns. We believed that it was important but that this just wasn’t the right place for it. I voted against this recommendation both times for these reasons. Later, I tried to put forward a floor action that would have made this a standing agenda item but it was declined to be considered.    

*The committee took no action on adding the GSR preamble to the service manual. We had also voted against that in April.                                                                                       

*The committee took no action on the request to “include any text on the desirability of business or professional backgrounds for regional and at-large trustees” for the same reasons we had come to in April.                                                                                           

*The committee is requesting clarification on language regarding nominating an individual for regional and at-large trustee in the same year. It is not clear if this is a suggestion or advisory action from previous years. The language can be read several ways and needs to be investigated. This was interesting because this year two regions in the US had elections for their regional trustees while we also had the election of the trustee at-large US. Those areas felt that their best candidates were defeated in their nomination process for trustee at-large. Because of the understanding that they couldn’t then stand for regional trustee, some felt that their candidates were their areas second choice for regional trustee. As these areas are also on the same election rotation, they felt that this always puts them at a disadvantage. This had originally been presented as a recommendation but no one could present  any clear understanding of how or where the practice came from. The recommendation was tabled and the committee came back with this as an additional committee consideration in the hope that next years conference will rectify this. Any questions for report and charter? 

CORRECTIONS:

*It was recommended to revise the pamphlet “It Sure Beats Sitting In a Cell”. I voted in favor of this as we did in April.

*It was noted that the Spanish version of “AA in Prison: Inmate to Inmate” would be completed by fall of ‘09 and that the DVD ‘AA In Correctional Facilities” be available in a compilation of English, French, and Spanish by the end of ‘09.

*As to AA members signing agreements or other legal documents to enter correctional facilities, the committee decided to request sharing from the fellowship regarding this topic and a report forwarded to the 2010 conference committee. As this doesn’t seem to apply to our area, I do not see the need or value of  organizing a response.  Are there any questions for Corrections?

LITERATURE:

*It was recommended that the revised draft of “The AA Member - Medications and Other Drugs” be approved. After much discussion about wording this recommendation failed. I had voted in favor of this as we had in April. Later on, a floor motion was passed to return this back to the trustees committee for further review. This allows the revision to continue forward.

*It was recommended that the revised draft “AA For the Native North American” be approved. After initially failing, this passed upon reconsideration. I voted in favor both times as we did in April.

*It was recommended that “Q & A on Sponsorship” be revised. This passed and I voted in favor of this as we had in April.

*It was recommended and passed that a Special Needs pamphlet for newcomers be developed. Although we voted for this in April I voted against this at conference. During discussions several of us asked what defines special needs. The topics were so broad that no one could really say what topics would be covered in such a pamphlet. Further, if we only touched upon some topics would this then become the definition that AA uses to define what special needs are? Although I’m in favor of the idea, I believe that without more direction as to what defines special needs that this will create problems in the future. Later on, a floor action was introduced to address this but was declined to be considered.

*The sentence encouraging newcomers to obtain and study the big book in “A Newcomer Asks” was recommended and passed. I voted in favor of this as we had done in April.

*It was recommended and passed that the pamphlet “44 Questions” be changed to “Frequently Asked Questions About AA”. I voted in favor of this as we had in April.

*It was recommended to update the video “ Your AA General Service Office, the Grapevine, and the General Service Structure adding an episode on the GSR and another on the DCM at a cost not to exceed $64,000. This failed as the conference felt that these topics were already covered well enough and because of the cost. I voted against this recommendation for those reasons. In April we had voted 7-4 in favor.

*The committee recommended that the trustees committee develop a questionnaire to gather input from the fellowship on the need to develop conference approved literature that focuses on the topics of spirituality and agnostics and atheists in AA. This failed. I was opposed to this mostly because since 1986 AA has gathered input from the fellowship 9 times on this same subject. Gathering input again isn’t going to get us any closer to developing something we could all agree on. The original agenda item, which we voted for in April, was to discuss the need for literature on these topics. This recommendation did not answer that item in my opinion. In a later floor action, it was moved that we develop literature that includes these topics. This I voted in favor of and it was recommitted to committee.

*The committee took no action on a second edition of the “Daily Reflections”. We had voted in favor or this in April.

*The committee took no action on developing a “Remote Communities” book. We had voted in favor of this in April.

*In a later floor action that failed, the Kindle project/contract with Amazon.com was to be suspended with a review to be taken by the trustees literature committee. I voted against this floor action as the big book is already on the web, the first edition from Anonymous Press is already on Kimble, and that this is basically just a format change which is in the purview of the publications department. Are there any questions concerning literature?

PUBLIC INFORMATION

*The committee recommended and passed the updated pamphlet “A Message To Teenagers”. I voted in favor of this as we did in April.

*The committee recommended and passed the wall poster for young people with some minor changes. Although the poster looked much better and a lot less menacing in color than the black and white version we viewed I still voted against this because of the graphics as we had in April.

*The conference passed recommendations to produce a new PSA and to revise the radio PSA’s primarily because this wasn’t done last year and 3 years would be too long. I voted against a new PSA for financial reasons and for the revision of our radio PSA’s.

*The conference passed the recommendations to approve the 4 selected young people videos  and to discontinue “AA-Rap With Us” and “Young People in AA”. I voted in favor of both of these. The RI video was not chosen as a selection. GSO will also continue to accept new submissions.

*The 2010 Membership Survey Questionnaire was passed.

*The committee took no action on developing a generic wall poster for public places. We had voted in favor of this in April.

*The committee took no action on adding text to the pamphlet “AA at a Glance”. We had voted in favor of this in April.

*The committee also requested that the pamphlets “Too Young” and “AA for the Older Alcoholic-Never Too Late” be included in the PI kit and workbook.

Are there any questions for PI?

COOPERATION WITH THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY

*The committee recommended and passed a video segment for professionals in the employment/HR fields to be streamed on GSO’s website. This was a project that started several years ago. Last year we passed 2 video segments aimed at the legal/criminal justice field and the medical field. The 3 video segments will now be made onto a DVD and included in the CPC kit and also be available for purchase.

*Under the agenda item for Grapevine uses in CPC endeavors we included ideas for adopting a subscription for professionals, leaving behind a current or back issue at a professional’s office, and taking Grapevine representatives along to participate in local CPC endeavors.

*We also requested that a survey style letter be produced for the professional to assess the CPC effort made on their behalf. Are there any questions for CPC?    

TREATMENT

*Recommended that the video “Hope-Alcoholics Anonymous” be approved. After initially failing this passed  (barely) upon reconsideration. I voted in favor of this both times. It seemed to me that the majority of the members who voted against approval did so because of the use of full faces by actors portraying recovering alcoholics. I found the video was very well done. So much so that you forgot you were watching actors. In response to all the discussions that occurred every time a video was shown, GSO has asked for sharing from the fellowship concerning the use of full faces by actors. They would like to know what we think our policy should be concerning this to avoid lengthy discussions at conference in the future. Also, had this video not been approved for this reason, it would have cost a good deal of money to fix the video.     

*The committee recommended that its scope be expanded to include services to Special Needs/Accessibilities. This passed as we had passed it at our April assembly. After listening to the discussion, I decided to vote against this. I am not opposed to the idea of a Special Needs committee. However, no one could give any kind of a real definition as to what special needs involves. Does it mean just accessibility and physical issues? Would this include mental and psychological issues? How about remote community issues? Does this also deal with cultural and linguistic problems? These concerns are now addressed by all of the committees working together. Although having a Special Needs committee would bring attention to this area of service I felt that without some measure of the scope of services that this was premature. In addition, I did not feel that by piggybacking this onto a committee that already included CPC and Treatment that this was the best place for a new committee.

*The committee requested that a section on carrying the message into outpatient treatment settings be developed. Our area had voted in favor of this in April.

*The committee suggested that the Grapevine consider developing an annual Treatment Facilities issue similar to the annual Corrections issue. Are there any questions for Treatment?

POLICY and ADMISSIONS

*The committee recommended that the General Service Board develop a procedure for filing a concept 5 minority appeal to the General Service Conference. This was passed and I voted in favor of this. I voted for this particularly after discussion in which it was revealed that a minority opinion was refused to be heard by the board recently. It is also important to note that only one minority opinion has ever been filed and that was in 1965 by Bill W. Before that conference though, Bill had rescinded his appeal so it was never heard.

*A recommendation that would have allowed minority appeals to be presented directly to the conference without review failed. I voted against this recommendation.

*The committee recommended that the General Service Board develop a plan for the General Service Conference to conduct an inventory of itself. This passed and I was in favor of this. Any questions on policy and admissions?

ARCHIVES

*The committee requested that the trustees create a report on the feasibility of developing a format (I.e. PowerPoint presentation) for a self guided tour of  GSO’s AA archives that conveys the experience of visiting GSO and the Archives.

*The committee requested that they add a daily AA historical reference to GSO’s AA web site. Any questions on archives?

TRUSTEES

*Our new chairman of the board is class A trustee Ward E….. Any questions?

FINANCE

*The committee recommended to gather input from the fellowship concerning the following: 1. If we continue to use literature profits to partially fund our services should there be a limit? 2. If there is a limit, how do we continue to pay for services if there is a shortfall in contributions? This was passed and I voted in favor of this. Although sharing on this subject already occurred, this hopes to define that discussion more.

*The committee decided that there was not a need for a seventh tradition poster at this time. We had voted the same in April. I will give a financial report later on. Are there any questions for this committee?

GRAPEVINE

*The committee took no action concerning the “grey” pages. We had voted to rescind them in April.

*The committee took no action on rescinding the 2004 Advisory Action limiting the distribution and subscriptions to the Grapevine. We had voted the same in April.

*The committee expressed some concern over several changes and decisions made by the Grapevine office and board last year and asked that a report on the decision making process be forwarded to the conference committee. Any questions for Grapevine?

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS/REGIONAL FORUMS

*Recommended and passed that an anonymity protected photo of the flag ceremony be taken at the international convention.

*Recommended and passed that an anonymity protected internet broadcast of the flag ceremony be taken at the international convention. I voted in favor of both of these.

*The committee requested that the trustees consider ways to make the broadcast of the flag ceremony more widely available than it was in 2005. Any questions?

FLOOR ACTIONS

*The only floor action I haven’t already mentioned concerned a proposal to maintain the current pricing structure of our literature. This failed. I voted against this as it just wouldn’t be prudent not to raise prices at this time. Any questions?

As mentioned in this report there are three requests for sharing among the fellowship. One which involves the signing of legal documents for participation in correctional facilities will not be discussed at our area as we have no experience with this. The request for discussion on the use of full face videos and on the use of literature profits to fund services will take place on August 9 from 12:00-4:00. I will have the CPC video segments and I am promised a copy of the new Hope video. We’ll show these and discuss the implications, if any, of showing the full face of actors. We will use the second half to discuss the various financial aspects of AAWS and decide if we believe we should be fully self supporting through our own contributions or at what limit we should impose  on the board from spending anything over a certain percentage of profits. As promised…..

FINANCIAL REVIEW

GSO expense were up 11% from last year. This is mostly due to an increase in the funding of the medical plan mandated by the IRS, hosting the World Service Meeting, and increases at the hotel for the conference and the board meetings. Next year, we will not be hosting the World Service Meeting and the conference and board meetings are moving to a different hotel. Contributions were down about 1% from last year and the percentage of groups donating was also down just over 1%.  AAWS were only slightly higher while expenses showed a significant increase. This all amounts to roughly a $275,000 loss for the year.

The total cost per individual member for the year was $7.04 In RI we contributed a total of just under $35,000 for a per capita of $6.41. Compared with last year we contributed $17.00 less. Our per capita fell .15c due to an increase in registered groups and members. For the US and Canada the average per capita after total contributions was $4.69. This is .13c less than last year and $2.35 per member away from being self supporting.    

The Grapevine and La Vina also did not fare well as both subscription rates fell and shipping costs increased. Although cutting staff and 25% of their office space in an effort to save money the Grapevine lost $140,000 while La Vina lost an additional $75,000. It should be noted that switching to a staple less magazine and going to full color was a negligible increase to production costs.

This is not a full financial report nor did I mean it to be but it should give you a fairly good  picture of AA’s finances. On the day of sharing in August I will go into much more detail as to what the costs of individual items are and how they relate to our services. For now, I will try to answer any questions you might have.

I have now attended my second conference as your delegate. I cannot thank you enough for the honor and privilege to serve you during this time. I have met many amazing people and have had conversations concerning matters that I would never had even thought of. When casting my vote at conference, I was always aware that I was representing the AA member in RI. I hope that the times when I used the right of decision that you believe that I was still representing the RI AA member. I believe AA is beginning to work more and more with new methods of passing the message and that we are also entering an era when AA will have to face up to its financial position if we are going to continue to grow. The world is a big place and many people are dying without ever hearing about the hope we offer. The question is, will we be able to continue to afford carrying the message anywhere? Will the membership finally be fiscally responsible for the direction it gives its trustees? Will we continue to use new forms of carrying the message to reach out to the sick and suffering? And what about the future of AA and the internet? As the use of the web becomes more widespread, problems seem to pop up at every turn. AA has some big questions to answer in the near future. I’m sure that we will have the right people in place to answer them so long as we continue to participate in the conference structure at our area and district meetings. The voice of the group hasn’t steered AA wrong yet. I don’t believe that would change in the future. It is my great hope to see you all on August 9, 12:00-4:00 to do our part in lending our experience, strength and hope to answer some of these questions. The meeting will be here at St. Luke’s. There will be coffee and other drinks. Please feel free to bring something to snack on if you’d like. Thank you again for the privilege of serving.     

Yours in Service,            Al D.    Panel 58 delegate