Cynthia B. called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m. with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer. She also introduced herself as the new Group Representative (GR) and commented that this was her first Group Conscience (GC) Meeting.

FORMAL ELECTION OF REMAINING OFFICER POSITIONS: Secretary and Newcomers' Meeting Coordinator:

In the interim since the November Quarterly Group Conscience Meeting,

Cynthia noted that Joanne P. had offered to serve as Secretary again (had served a term a few years ago), unless someone else was interested in serving, and Colleen M. had offered to be Newcomers' Meeting Coordinator. Since Joanne was not present for this meeting and had served before, Carol recommended deferring this decision for awhile longer so that someone new would have a chance to serve the group and made the motion to do so. The motion was approved. Colleen was duly elected to fill her position for the coming year.

Action: Cynthia will hold this remaining officer position open for formal election at the next Group Conscience Meeting in April to see if someone else is willing to serve the group.

INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW OFFICERS:

Cynthia introduced the other new officers present by name: Carol I. as Information Service Representative/Alternate Group Representative, Tim C. as Treasurer, Ed S. as Literature Chair, and Bob C. as the ongoing Webmaster. Although always listed with the officers, Bob C. clarified his status to be that of an ongoing volunteer. Cynthia indicated that Tim could not be present.

REPORTS:

-> Secretary Report:

Cynthia requested that those present review the minutes from the 4th Quarterly Group Conscience Meeting (November 14, 2009). The minutes were accepted as recorded.

-> Financial Report:

Copies of the Statement of Activity for each of the three quarters in 2009 and a literature audit for 2007-2009, with a cover message from Joanne, were distributed. The group took a few minutes to look over the report.

Update on changing bank account to Chase Bank. In the absence of Joanne and Tim, Cynthia reported that everything was in order and that the account had been changed to Chase Bank.

Clarification of contribution to the World Service Office (WSO) during the second quarter. As indicated in the Statement of Activity for the second quarter (April - June 2009), Joanne had a breakdown of our contributions to WSO, showing the special holiday contribution separated from the regular semiannual contribution.

Presentation of the audit of literature purchases and income. Joanne had included a literature audit for 2007-2009 in her report, as indicated above.

During the lengthy discussion that followed, Bob pointed out that it is still not clear how to assess the large discrepancy between the literature purchases and the sales income. Paula B., past Literature Chair, was present to explain that the inventory of literature had not been reflected in the financial report. As Literature Chair, her responsibility was to see that we have the appropriate amount of literature on hand. Her inventory of the stock is made according to past records of how much of each publication is to be on hand, and she then purchases what needs to be filled in. She also pointed out that some discrepancy in the figures may result from money for literature being placed in the basket rather than using an envelope. Paula supplied a list of Al-Anon publications with the number of copies distributed in 2009. She commented that there is no large discrepancy between the number of books purchased and the number of books left. Paula also added that, since we are here to support family members and friends of alcoholics and many come to Al-Anon in the midst of difficult situations, we might want to consider it part of our service to accept that some may not pay for the materials.

Bob suggested that the Financial Report would be easier to understand if the statements showed what the opening balance is. Ed S. pointed out that we need to decide if we want to tolerate the loss that the group is incurring. During the discussion, various questions arose about the financial statements that could not be answered without Joanne's presence. Cynthia also distributed copies of a literature itemization showing the number of copies and the cost of those items for each quarter. Mary G. made note of possible discrepancies in the financial report itself, pointing out, for example, that for the Third and Fourth Quarters some deficit figures have not been shown with parentheses. In addition, in order to get an accounting of the difference between the expense of purchasing materials and the inventory of unsold items, both figures need to be gathered on the last day of the quarter. Carol suggested that a committee be formed of those involved to explore how to better account for our losses. Carol withdrew her motion after Bob offered to contact the individuals involved to discuss the questions raised.

Action: Bob will call Joanne (past Treasurer), Ed (new Literature Chair), and Tim (new Treasurer), to request answers to some of the questions raised and get clarification on how the numbers on the financial report reflect the difference between literature purchased and literature sold.

-> Literature Report:

Paula noted that the literature audit had correctly shown that 36 One Day at a Time books had been given away during the first quarter of 2009.

-> Information Center Representative Report:

Carol indicated that there was no report as of this time.

-> Newcomers' Meeting Coordinator Report:

Colleen M. voiced a concern about her possible lack of the necessary qualifications for stepping in to chair a Newcomers' Meeting occasionally when no one is signed up or the one signed up is absent. Since she has only a year and a half in the program and the qualifications for chairing the meetings, as noted, include a requirement of two years in the program, she wondered if this would be a problem. The ongoing issue of not having enough qualified members signed up in advance to chair the Newcomer's Meeting was discussed. This issue, when coupled with Colleen's position and responsibility for assuring that the meeting occurs readily, appeared to create a conflict. The suggestion was made that if there were no one signed up to chair the Newcomers' Meeting, Colleen could then canvas the members present for a qualified volunteer chair. At that point, if there was no one present with the required qualifications who was willing to chair, Colleen would fill the role of chairperson. With this process in place, Colleen would have fulfilled her duties to the full extent of her ability. Given the fact that she is comfortable in handling the chairing responsibilities, the group did not think that the lack of one-half year should keep her from carrying out the responsibilities of this service position.

ACTION ITEMS:

Tent Sign Follow-up:

Since Susan P. was unable to be present, Cynthia thought at first that this item would have to be postponed until the next GC Meeting. However, both Bob and Betty M. indicated that, given the reading in the preamble of the reminder for a 3-minute time limit on member sharing and reading in the chairperson's guide of a 5-minute time limit on chair sharing, felt that this sign was no longer necessary and the group agreed. No further action is needed.

Recommendation for Use of First Names and Last Initials in the Minutes on the

Website Instead of Only Initials:

Bob reviewed the history to how the change to having only initials in the minutes on the website came to be (to protect the anonymity of someone with an unusual name). Now that this person was no longer involved in the group, he suggested returning to the original practice of including the first name and last initial. The motion to do so was approved. Bob indicated for the future that if someone has a problem with anonymity, that concern can be addressed on an individual basis.

Action: Bob will follow up in the 2010 GC Meetings in reverting to the original policy.

Carol, unaware that only items on the current agenda could be considered, raised questions about the URL name and the provision of coffee by the group. Bob suggested that any new items be held until the next GC Meeting.

Action: Carol will contact Cynthia if she wants to place an item on the agenda for the April 10th GC Meeting.

NEXT MEETING: The next quarterly meeting of the Group Conscience is to be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at 1:15 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:45 p.m. with the Serenity Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary G., Acting Secretary

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