AGENDA
UNDEREARNERS’ ANONYMOUS GSB MEETING
SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
VIA TELEPHONE (712) 775-7100
The meeting opened at 5:00 PM Pacific Time (8:00 PM Eastern Time) with the Serenity Prayer. Darryl volunteered to be timekeeper.
The service of the previous GSB officers was acknowledged. They were
Chair Ed W.
Vice-chair Mike M.
Secretary Franne M.
Treasurer Andrew D.
Traditions Keeper Janis B.
The newly elected GSB officers were introduced. They are
Chair Tamyah E.
Vice-chair Matt B.
Secretary Ed W.
Treasurer Andrew D.
Traditions Keeper Janis B.
Information Officer Misa
The committee chairs were introduced. They are
Committee Name (Chair):
Finance Andrew D.
World Service Conf. Bella A.
Public Information1 Sonia W.
Service Structure Janis B.
Technology2 Peggy Q.
Literature Peter S.
1 The Website Committee is now part of the Public Information Committee
2 The Technology committee has joined forces with the Phone Committee and the Web Site Committee
Each committee gave description of their remit and what motions it presented and had passed at the World Service Conference (WSC), followed by a question and answer period.
Finance
Andrew D., the Chair and Treasurer, reported that the WSC approved the following motion:
Once a quarter, by April 30, July 30, October 30, and January 30 the GSB through the work of the finance committee present to the fellowship as a whole an income statement and a balance sheet for the most recent quarter and also year to date. This presentation would be to the GSRs through the monthly GSB meeting to bring back to their groups, and also through the newsletter, Voices of the Fellowship.
2. Also, that the Finance Committee prepare a spending plan for the GSB to approve for presentation for UA for the upcoming quarter.
And
3A. That the GSB compare in writing the figures from the most recent quarter and YTD with the corresponding spending plan for that period of time.
3B. That the GSB present the spending plan for the upcoming quarter and remaining YTD.
Andrew also made the following report, which had previously been placed on the Google Group:
Prior balance: $3,521.07
Expenses: $175.00 (Payment to “Taper Dave”)
$ 60.00 (Website update)
Income: $ 933.00
New Balance $4,219.07
The finance committee will be meeting on the 4th Monday of every month.
In addition to the main UA bank account, there is a separate sub-account that Andrew created to segregate funds for the WSC. That account, after payment of the final bill to the Retreat Center (where we had the WSC), has a remaining balance of $1138.41. The total for both accounts is $5357.48.
Andrew noted that there had been a finance committee that met a few times several months ago, but the chair resigned, so the committee disbanded.
Questions:
Franne suggested that we hold a fundraiser for the 2014 WSC. Andrew said that this was not part of the remit of his committee. Tamyah questioned whether outside fundraisers are consistent with our Traditions.
Ed W. asked where the $933 income into our treasury this month came from. Andrew said that all of the money was from 7th Tradition contributions to the Post Office Box.
Bella asked for clarification regarding why the WSC account was a separate account. Andrew explained that, in fact, it was a sub-account of the main UA GSB account, as discussed above.
Crystal asked about the need for an accountant to review our books. Andrew responded that, at this time, there was no need to incur this expense.
Ed W. stated that he talked to his own accountant (who does a fair amount of work with non-profit organizations) about auditing our accounts. The accountant said that she would have to charge at least $5000 for such an audit. However, the accountant also said that an organization with a cashflow as small as ours should consider the non-profit equivalent of the “internal audit” of profit making corporations (An internal audit is a review of the policies, procedures, and operations of one business unit of a corporation by corporate employees outside of that business unit.). In other words, Ed’s accountant proposed that interested members of our Fellowship review the flows of funds into the organization’s bank account and how that account is maintained.
World Service Conference Committee (WSCC)
Bella, the Chair of the committee, explained that it is responsible for
- Putting on the World Service Conference, both for “closing the books” on the one we just had, and for planning for next year
- Publishing the eZine, Voices of the Fellowship, which was started to build interest in the 2013 World Service Conference
- Implementing the above in a cost effective way.
The 2013 WSC passed a motion authorizing the WSCC to make preparation for a 2014 World Service Conference at the same site at substantially the same dates.
Steve R. raised the possibility that the WSCC arrange for the translation of UA materials to other languages.
Questions:
Barbara in New York City asked about plans for the 2015 WSC, as other fellowships plan these events two years in advance. Bella explained that there has been some limited discussion on that topic, but almost all of the attention has been focused on 2014.
Tony in San Francisco asked whether anybody could come, or whether the event would be restricted to GSR’s. Bella said that everybody in the Fellowship is welcome to attend.
Melvyn of New York asked whether email’s of the committee members were collected. Bella replied that they were, and that she would be happy to forward them to Melvyn.
Mike M. asked when the profit from the 2013 WSC would revert back to the GSB Treasury. Bella said that there were no plans to do this, as the funds will be needed as “seed money” for the 2014 event.
Public Information
Sonia W., the committee Chair, reported that, as of the beginning of the WSC, the Fellowship had been declining all media inquiries. The WSC voted to respond to media inquiries with the following, as amended:
To: Media and Press
From: Underearners Anonymous
RE: Reporting on Underearners Anonymous / Interviewing members of Underearners Anonymous
We believe in carrying the message of our Program to other compulsive underearners so that they might
understand what we have come to know about underearning, and experience the relief we have found.
When reaching out to those who are still suffering, our “12 Traditions” state that it is through attraction
rather than promotion that we help other underearners.
Our primary aim is to live without underearning one day at a time and to help other underearners to achieve prosperity. To that end we are cooperating in supplying you with information and/or members to interview. In return we request:
1. Our “anonymity at the level of press, radio, film, television and other public media” needs to be respected to protect the integrity of the individual sharing, as well as U.A. as a whole.
a. We ask that you use only the first name and the first initial of the last name of anyone you refer to in any article or media piece;
b. We request that no direct quotes be used without express permission, from interviews done inside or outside our meetings;
c. We request that no faces appear in any photographs or videos;
d. We request that you supply us with any cassettes, videotapes, or drafts of your articles 7 days prior to your deadline, for us to review and approve.
2. We request that you list our website, www.underearnersanonymous.org, in your piece.
3. There are no experts on underearning in U.A.—only members helping members- the following statement needs to be included, word for word, in your report:
“The stories shared today express the opinions and experiences of the individual members, and not necessarily that of Underearners Anonymous as a whole.”
Thank you for your interest in Underearners Anonymous and we hope that we have been of service to you as well as to the compulsive Underearner who still suffers.
For more information, please contact us at:
e-mail: media@nullunderearnersanonymous.org
www.underearnersanonymous.org
The committee will be meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. They expect to work with Misa to get their own email address and link on the main UA website. They plan to do additional enhancements of the website. While they may have a volunteer within the Fellowship, they may need an appropriation of $500 to hire someone to do it.
Questions:
Tony from SF asked, “We don’t have many face-to-face meetings in the San Francisco area. How can we support outreach?”
Sonia responded, “We will be discussing these things for a while [, so you can participate in the discussions]. We expect to take over some of the things that Misa is currently doing.”
Dave from Panama re-emphasized the need for the additional funds from the treasury if a volunteer was not forthcoming to do the work.
Service Structure
Janis B., the Chair, quoted a vision for the committee and its goal for the Fellowship from Eddie E., “To build fellowship without hurting each other.” The specific responsibilities with which the committee is charged include
- The drafting of a Service Structure Manual, similar in form to that of Debtors’ Anonymous, that is suitable for our Fellowship,
- The drafting of by-laws that are suitable for our Fellowship,
- Ensuring that the above adhere to the Traditions and Concepts
We recognize that whatever we do will necessarily change over time as the Fellowship grows and evolves.
The WSC passed the following motion:
GSB Committee Chairpersons/Individuals or Groups may present motions to be added to New Business. Motions are presented at one GSB meeting & added to the calendar/agenda for the next GSB Meeting. The time between the presentation of a motion at one GSB meeting & the voting on a motion, at the next GSB meeting, will provide the opportunity for a “full discussion” to occur. The submitter of a motion may request same-meeting consideration on the grounds that the motion is time sensitive or that it is likely to be passed by “substantial unanimity” with a minimum of discussion. The Chair, without further discussion, will then decide whether the request for “same-meeting” status will be granted. Procedural motions, such as a move to adjourn, motions to send a substantive motion to committee, are exempted.
After the GSB Meeting where a motion is presented by a GSB Committee, committee members will be asked to send an email description of the motion to all the members of the GSB, perhaps via the Google Group to engage in discussion regarding the motion. If a motion is presented by an Individual or Group, a GSB Committee may be assigned to facilitate the “full discussion.” Members of the GSB Committee are also encouraged to take the discussion of the motions presented by GSB Committees to the groups which they represent in order to add to the “full discussion” of each presented motion which the GSB receives.
Questions:
Mike M. noted that there were numerous recommendations that the Service Structure Committee made in 2011. These need to be reviewed, voted upon, and implemented.
Barbara in NYC asked whether there are non-underearners on our Board, just as there are non-alcoholics on the AA Board. Andrew said that there are not currently any on our Board. Janis said that there are no plans to add any. Ed W. said that our current by-laws, such as they are, are simply copied from the Debtors’ Anonymous by-laws. The latter call for a “Board of Trustees” that is entirely separate from the General Service Board, which is clearly not the case now.
Technology and Phone Meetings
Peggy Q., the Chair, noted that the following motion was passed at the 2013 WSC:
We propose that, in keeping with the 4th Tradition and the 9th Concept, all phone meetings that have a phone moderator, choose a moderator coordinator by [the meeting’s] group conscience [for a] term of service no more than 6 months and [for] no more than two consecutive terms. Qualifications for the moderator coordinator (MC) are:
1. Have been a moderator at least 3 months
2. be trained and follow the suggested guidelines of moderator coordinator as outlined in the moderator coordinator training. Training will be provided frequently (tbd) and/or be found on a pre-recorded training
3. the MC will train that meeting’s moderator(s)
4. The MC will act as a go-to person for any issues the moderator encounters in the course of providing service.
5. Have a sponsor who has completed the UA steps and they at least have completed step 5.
The Technology and Phone Meetings Committee further requested of the meetings that the latter provide this information to info@nullunderearnersanonymous.org (i.e. Misa) using the form that is already on the website. It is hoped that all registrations can be completed by October 31, 2013.
Peggy Q. reported the unanimous decision of the committee not to police the meetings in any way, but simply to ensure continuity of the meeting by making sure that someone is coordinating things. Eventually, however, meetings that are not registered, as per above, will have their listing removed from the website.
Questions:
John in California asked, “What if a meeting does not have a regular moderator now?” Peggy replied that this was OK, There will simply be a note in the listing of the meeting on the website that there is no regular moderator for that meeting.
Steve in LA suggested that the Technology Committee coordinate all change requests for the website, including those for the WSCC and the Public Outreach Committee. Peggy Q. agreed that this was a good idea.
Literature
Peter S., the Chair of the committee noted that the 2013 WSC had approved a 4 page document entitled “Literature Committee Principles,” available on the web by clicking here.
[Secretary’s note: That document defines “Conference Created” literature, as that which is “approved by the World Service Conference for publication by the General Service Board of Underearners Anonymous, using the funds available to the GSB.” The document notes that “any Group can determine for itself by Group Conscience that a specific piece of literature conforms to the principles of UA and is thus acceptable to be read at that meeting. Likewise, any Group or Intergroup can determine by Group Conscience what literature to provide for sale to its members.”]
They are currently looking for writers and editors, as well as a committee secretary.
Questions:
Matt B. asked about a specific process by which literature gets to be “conference created”. Peter explained that a procedure has been passed by the GSB and the New York Intergroup, but there was insufficient time available to pass it at the 2013 WSC.
John in California asked about the ownership status of www.NinthTradition.org (also known to the web as www.9thTradition.org). Peter replied that he retains the ownership rights to the website at the present time. It has only been used for UA business, and not for other fellowships, a practice that will continue as long as Peter retains ownership. However, that is subject to change if/when Peter transfers ownership.
Motion RE Voting Procedure:
That we continue to use the same rules of order as we approved at the WSC; namely,
- The “Simplified Robert’s Rules of Order at AA Business Meetings”
- The flowchart “ Our Voting Procedure”, and
- The paragraph on minority opinion voting
(Each of these items was posted for review on the Google Group).
Tony in San Francisco asked about “knowledge based” voting. As none of the others had heard about it, she said that she would supply information about it shortly.
The meeting adjourned with the Serenity Prayer at 6:31 PM Pacific Time (9:31 PM Eastern Time).
Respectfully submitted,
Ed W.
Secretary, General Service Board of UA