GUTSSteering Committee – 10/29/2023

10/29/2023 Steering Committee Notes

SC Chair: Lauren

Secretary: Lauren

SC Members Present: Dennis, Christian, Kristen, Lisa, Elle, Mark M, Mark P, Barbara, and Jeremy

Old Business

1. Thread Overhaul
2. Mandatory Business Meeting Attendance for Service Leadership
3. Hosts/Cohosts Only in Live Thread
4. Specifying Job Roles
5. 24/7 Contact List
6. GC Manual
7. Non-Facilitated Topics
8. Lauren motioned to bring all “Old Business” to the next BM.

1. Seconded and Passed (10 Yes Votes/No Dissent)

New Business

1. Nominations

1. Open Positions

1. 1 BM Chair, 2 Secretaries, and LGBTQIA+ Contact List Coordinator.
2. SC Members: Keep in mind that the ones who are currently serving on SC are going to need to fill in the SC leadership positions. If you wait until the day of the December BM to chair, you won’t get any training. Until those positions get filled, you are all equally responsible and accountable for doing the work in those positions. 

2. Terms ending

1. Barbara’s SC position 11/04/2023 (Can be renominated), Amy’s SC position, Sarah S’s Intergroup Rep position 11/05/2023 (Can be renominated), and Donna’s Cohost Training position 11/17/2023 (Can be renominated).

3. SC Response

1. Dennis: Inquired about the BM Chair/SC Chair Position. He thought that Christian was the new BM Chair. 
2. Lauren: No, Christian is the new SC Chair. The two positions have always been separated, but I was serving both positions because no one wanted to do them. This is the last SC meeting that I will be chairing. After this meeting, Christian will be taking over. We will still need a new BM Chair. 

4. Motion to open nominations after the SC Meeting.

1. Seconded and Passed (10 Yes Votes/No Dissent)

2. Anniversary

1. A reminder that the GUTS 3rd Anniversary will occur 11/02/2023. The theme will be “masquerade.” Members can attend wearing their costumes and masks. Just a fun and simplistic way to celebrate our Anniversary! 
2. Lauren encouraged service team members to post this info in the meeting and give people a heads up about the Anniversary whenever they are working their shifts. There’s no need for this to go to the BM since the Anniversary will occur prior to the next BM.

3. Host Feedback Workshop

1. Three workshops have been conducted to date, each facilitated by Kristen, Lisa, and Mary, who have exhibited commendable dedication and effort. It is imperative for ALL hosts to participate in ONE of these workshops. These workshops were concise yet comprehensive, offering clear and actionable insights. Each workshop was efficiently managed, lasting approximately 30 minutes or less. Participants gained knowledge and skills related to host feedback mechanisms, redirection methods, strategies to encourage member participation, and the essential nuts and bolts of hosting. Hosts are encouraged to actively engage in these workshops, recognizing them as invaluable opportunities for growth in one’s hosting abilities. 
2. Please remember that there is one more workshop. Hosts who do not attend any of the workshops will be scheduled as cohosts only. The last workshop will be held by the wonderful Mary (11/5 3pmPST GUTS room.)

4. Complaint

1. Kara: Bart needs to go. He makes people feel uncomfortable by making negative comments in the chat and harassing members of our group — in particular, me. There have been several meetings where Bart has targeted things I’ve typed in chat and things I’ve shared in the meeting, and numerous service members can vouch for this. From now on — I will say something to Bart when he says something to me until he is finally banned from meetings. I’m sick of it.
2. SC Response

1. Lauren was unsure about this situation and didn’t have context for it. She appealed to the SC members to give her background on this issue.
2. Mark M: Has firsthand experience with this situation. He stated that Bart is a very opinionated guy and a chat meister. He reached out to him personally and talked to him about his behavior multiple times. Bart specifically targets certain women and makes passive aggressive comments towards their shares. He has made comments towards Kara repeatedly. Bart has been booted numerous times. He is aware of the behavior that caused the booting and knows that he has crossed the line many times. Mark suggested placing a ban with an “x” amount of time onto the BM agenda.
3. Jeremy: Wanted to expand on Mark M’s share. Jeremy also spoke to Bart one on one and had to block him because he would not stop. He also saw that Bart would target people and make passive aggressive comments during people’s shares. Jeremy did not post feedback regarding this issue, but he would like to second Mark M’s suggestion to put a ban onto the BM agenda.
4. Christian: He referred to the Ban Guidelines and said that the behavior was exactly like the “6-month” ban section of the guidelines. The guidelines cover passive aggressive commentary, name-calling, bullying, etc. Sounds like this section describes the guy to a “T.”

• Lauren: I was waiting for everyone to finish speaking to the topic before bringing up the guidelines because I needed some background before concluding. The section regarding “Ban Length” was approved by the group. There are only two sections of the guidelines that have not been approved yet. 

5. Dennis: Inquired about the process for bans. He wanted to know if they were approved by the group. If they were approved, then we will need a 2/3 majority vote to approve the ban.

• Lauren: Yes, that’s correct, the process for bans section was approved by the group. The only sections that weren’t approved were the last two. I have to go over those sections at the next BM. The bans should be fully approved and ready to go onto the Website after the next BM.

6. Lauren: All bans must go through the BM process. I motion to put a 6-month ban on the table for the next BM agenda (per the Ban Guidelines). 

• Seconded and Passed (9 Yes Votes/No Dissent)

7. Lauren (Side Note): After hearing more contextual information about this topic, I observed that male members have reached out to Bart, and they were also mistreated/harassed in the process. I was listening for that, specifically, because part of our Ban Guidelines state, “Bans are issued when all previous efforts failed.” Bart was given numerous chances within the regular meeting, and he was booted for repeated instances of negative crosstalk, passive aggressive commentary, and specifically targeting women. Our common welfare comes first, and our safety guidelines were broken repeatedly, according to the first-hand experience of Kara, Mark M, and Jeremy. I also observed the female members in the chat who spoke to this behavior as well. Their input is recognized too. Section “C” shows the relevant ban length that will be placed onto the agenda.

3. Ban Guidelines Section: First Offense-6 Months

1. A 6-month ban will be given to a member for their first offense. 

• Continuous disruptions impede the service team’s ability to facilitate the meeting.
• The individual’s outbursts, temper tantrums, bullying, name-calling, manipulation tactics, or passive aggressive commentary repetitively disrupted the meeting’s functioning.
• The member’s behavior violated the group’s ethical and/or safety guidelines repeatedly. 
• A service team member was given 3 service strikes.

5. Alternate Sister Meetings

1. LGBTQIA+ Sister Meeting

1. Mona: Would like to open a discussion on starting a LGBTQIA+ meeting for Sundays…I am aware of the last Sunday of the month we have chip meeting… So, I thought maybe we can have it at 430PST? I would help start this…and host until we are able to build a team as per GC.

2. Speaker Meeting

1. Mark P: Proposing Speaker Meetings either at the Chip Meeting, or maybe more. I truly think Speaker Meetings help newcomers identify.

3. SC Response

1. Mark P: Speaker meetings are a vehicle to help newcomers identify, and they are especially powerful. He suggested having a speaker at the Chip Meeting. Perhaps, the Host can call on those who are hitting milestones to be a speaker for the meeting. If not, he proposed that we could have a separate meeting for speakers too.

• Lauren (Side Note): The Chip Meeting has rotating Hosts monthly. Any Host can chair the Chip Meeting. Perhaps, Hosts can keep Mark P’s idea in mind. Asking for speakers is a perfectly acceptable action to take for this meeting too. All sister meetings have the option of bringing in a speaker for their respective meetings too. 

2. Jeremy: The Newcomer’s Meeting basically evolved into a Speaker Meeting. A speaker is procured each week for this meeting. Perhaps, we can specifically identify that the Newcomer’s Meeting is a Speaker Meeting too. That way, everyone knows that a Speaker Meeting is available. 
3. Dennis: He liked the Speaker Meeting idea, but he is unsure when we would hold the meeting.

4. Motion to bring the Alternate Sister Meetings topic to the next BM. Jeremy’s idea to pointedly state that the Newcomer’s Meeting is also a Speaker Meeting will be on the table for the BM. 

• Seconded and Passed (10 Yes Votes/No Dissent)

6. Sister Meeting SOS

1. SC Response

1. Jeremy: The Sister Meetings are seriously struggling to get Hosts. Getting Hosts to cover the 12 Trad/12 Steps Meetings has been a challenging endeavor. People have limited availability to cover these meetings. He wants to bring this to the BM and see what the group can do to help.

• Lauren:  This has been an ongoing struggle for a year. We have implemented measures to aid the Sister Meetings such as keeping nominations for Sister Meetings continuously open or the fast-tracking GC. I will bring this to the next BM to update the group and see if they have any ideas that could help.

2. Mark P: While the Traditions are incredibly important, many members do not perceive them as “exciting.” The Steps/Traditions Meetings both come from the 12&12. He proposed combining those two meetings and creating a 12&12 Meeting on either Tuesday or Thursday. Doing so would free up space for the LGBTQIA+ meeting.
3. Dennis: Can only Host one day out of the week. He has to work and has limited availability. The Sister Meetings need help, and people need to step up.
4. Kristen: This has been a problem all over Zoom. A lot of meetings are struggling to receive service help (not just this meeting.) She explained that many people have returned to in-person meetings. She’s hoping that the excitement for in-person attendance is occurring and not that fewer people are attending AA. She seemed to agree with Mark P and suggested combining/redispersing the Sister Meetings. She is saddened because hosting the Sister Meetings used to be a highly sought form of service in the group. She worked those meetings herself. The group will need to evaluate the greatest need for the Sister Meetings and decide how to proceed. She also reiterated that people could join service simply to Host one of those meetings once a week.
5. Motion to bring this topic to the BM and expand on Mark P’s idea to combine the 12 Trad/12 Steps meetings into one 12&12 Meeting. 

• Seconded and Passed (10 Yes Votes/No Dissent)

6. Lauren (Side Note): Combining the two meetings might be a practical solution for people’s availability and preventing burn-out. The notes below are still applicable and remain feasible options for the group.

• Nominations for sister meetings are always open. Any Host-trained member can be included whenever they show the interest. We simply hold a poll and vote them into the position. 
• Fast-tracking GC: “I propose fast-tracking cohosts to Hosting ONLY if they agree to one of these options. If they do not follow through on this agreement, they revert back to cohosting until they meet their required hours for Hosting: 1 night of Hosting LNG per week for the first 2 months OR become a Host for one of the Sister Meetings. Lauren’s Proposal-Seconded and Passed (10 Yes Votes/No Dissent)” (September 3^rd BM Notes)

7. Other SC Discussions (Will not be brought to BM)

1. Mark P: Zoom Glitch

1. This was posted in the GUTS Thread, and it answers the questions that were asked during the SC Meeting:
2. Sarah S: As to the zoom feature Jeremy mentioned in the SC thread that automatically lowers hands, unfortunately there is currently no way to toggle this off. I’ve been looking into it…I know it’s been a hot topic in the zoom community…but so far no fix for this highly annoying new “upgrade”.  I’ll keep everyone posted as to any new developments.

• Sarah S: I’ll add that there is a pop up box that will warn you how many seconds you have before it lowers your hand. If you see the pop up box and can click on it, your hand will remain raised. It’s easy to miss though. This is undoubtedly one of the worst features I’ve seen zoom come up with.  It was added automatically. We didn’t have the option to decline it, and now it cannot be turned off. Again, I’ll keep everyone posted as to developments. Surely there will be a fix for it eventually.

2. Kristen: Email Issues (Topics Distribution)

1. Jeremy said that he and Elle will be discussing the email subscription which needs to be renewed. The email subscription that we have in place was group-approved, but he wants to go over the fee with Elle.