TrusteeWebsite.com
Your Trustee Agenda Resource
Administrator Log In  
  With special thanks to Leanne W. for help with the conversion to a searchable file.

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS TRUSTEE MEETING
MAY 3 & 4, 1990
SHERATON TARA – DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS

The Board of Trustees Meeting was called to order by Dan B., Chairman of the Board of Trustees at 1:40 P.M., May 3, 1990.

A) ROLL CALL

Roll call was taken by Karen H.

B) INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS

Dan B. welcomed all members and asked all new Trustees and Alternate Trustees stand and introduce themselves.

C) STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

Dan B. gave an opening statement urging all members to get involved. He explained the procedures for the meeting and stated “Roberts Rules of Order” would be followed.

D) MINUTES OF THE SUNNYVALE MEETING

The minutes of the Sunnyvale Meeting were approved as submitted.
Approved: 31 Against: 0

E) OLD BUSINESS

1. Report on Trustee election procedures, George J.
Motion to accept Gamblers Anonymous proposed Trustee election guidelines.
Amendment 1 – To change the word “proposed” to “suggested”.
Approved: 19 Against: 3 Abstained: 5 Passed
Amendment 2 – To delete sentence under Section C – Nominations “Intergroup Chairperson should explain……”
Approved: 3 Against: 28 Abstained: 1 Failed
On the motion
Approved: 21 Against: 9 Abstained: 2 Passed
(1st vote)

2. Key chains (welcome, 30 day, 60 day, etc.) 2nd vote
Approved: 29 Against: 1 Abstained: 2 Passed

3. Report on placing a plaque at the site of the first Gamblers Anonymous meeting.
Can’t be done. The original building was torn down and the site is now a parking lot.

4. Dissolve G.A. Publishing and incorporate it into G.A.I.S.O.
Tax status to remain intact and bookkeeping greatly simplified. 2nd vote
Approved: 32 Against: 9 Abstained: 2 Passed

5. “Daily Inventory” for use by membership. 2nd vote
Approved: 15 Against: 9 Abstained: 2 Passed

6. Adopt “Young Gamblers in Recovery” as approved Gamblers Anonymous literature. 2nd vote
Approved: 31 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed

7. Gamblers Anonymous should start its own tasteful advertising campaign and stop depending on the media for occasional “mercy moments”. Tabled from Sunnyvale.
Discussion only. Several good ideas were presented but no motion was made.

8. Establish guidelines (and insert in the guidance code) for selecting cities for hosting National and International Conferences. Tabled from Sunnyvale.
Motion to table to New Orleans.
Approved: 27 Against: 3 Abstained: 1 Passed

9. Consider the advisability of having a city put in a bid to host a conference where the site is a distance from the host city. Tabled from Sunnyvale
Discussion Only.

F) COMBO BOOK

1. Page 16: Twenty Questions (#18) – change the first word from “Do” to “Did” to make it conform to the past tense as do all other questions. 2nd vote.
Approved: 0 Against: 30 Abstained: 0 Failed

2. Page 17: #2 – delete and replace with the following; “Telephone other members as often as possible, but at least one phone call a week. USE THE TELEPHONE LIST!!!”
Motion to accept above.
Amendment to put “Use The Telephone List” in small letter.
Approved: 4 Against: 24 Abstained: 1 Failed
On the motion
Approved: 4 Against: 26 Abstained: 0 Failed

3. Page 17; #3 – 5th sentence….”this includes buying stocks for speculation, commodities, etc.” Motion to accept above
Approved: 6 Against: 25 Abstained: 0 Failed

4. Page 6; Unity Step #6 – remove the words…”related facility or…”
Motion to table to New Orleans.
Approved: 21 Against: 7 Abstained: 1 Passed

5. Page 17; #3 – after “don’t gamble for anything”, put “this includes the buying of stocks, commodities and options; buying or playing….
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 2 Against: 27 Abstained: 3 Failed

6. Definition of Gambling –
Motion to add “or by others for us” to the definition of gambling on page 14.
Approved: 1 Against: 30 Abstained: 1 Failed

7. Step 12 of the Recovery Program.
Motion to change Step Twelve to “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other compulsive gamblers, and to practice these principles in all our affairs”
Approved: 2 Against: 28 Abstained: 1 Failed

G) GUIDANCE CODE

1. Page 8; Article VIII; Section 22; change to read “Any Trustee or Alternate who misses two (2) ….
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 17 Against: 14 Abstained: 0 Failed
(2/3 vote needed)

2. Page 7; Article VIII; Section 12; eliminate entire section.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 0 Against: 29 Abstained: 1 Failed

3. Page 11; Article X; Section 9 (#1); replace entire paragraph as follows- “Duties of the Pressure Relief Group Chairman shall be to be responsible for educating the Groups on Pressure Relief, maintain updated forms and give assistance to Groups where needed.
Motion to accept the above.
Amendment to change “maintain” to “maintaining” and “give” to “giving”
Approved: 28 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed
On the motion
Approved: 29 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed (1st vote)

4. Page 7; Article VIII; Section 11; eliminate entire section.
Discussion Only.

5. Page 18; Article XVI; Section 2 (line 13); remove the word “appoint” and replace it with “elect”, also at (line 15) take out the word “appointment” and replace it with the word “election”.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 23 Against: 2 Abstained: 3 Passed

6. Page 19; Article XVI; Section 4; eliminate the entire section.
Motion to delete “and Board of Trustees”.
Approved: 26 Against: 0 Abstained: 3 Passed

7. Page 20; Article XVI; Section 14; eliminate the entire section.
Motion to insert “within 60 days in the Lifeline Bulletin”.
Approved: 19 against: 4 Abstained: 0 Passed

8. Page 6; Article VIII, Section 6; change the word “proxies” to “absentee ballots”.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 4 Against: 24 Abstained: 1 Failed

9. Page 20; Article XVIII; Section 1; eliminate the entire section.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 27 Against: 1 Abstained: 0 Passed (1st vote)

10. Page 8; Article VIII; Section 22; at the end of the last sentence add: “Absentee ballots by overseas members of the Board of Trustees will count as attendance at the Board of Trustees physical meetings”.
Motion to accept above.
Amendment to delete “overseas” and add “more than 3,500 miles”.
Approved: 14 Against: 14 Abstained: 1 Failed
On the motion
Approved: 29 Against: 1 Abstained: 2 Passed

11. Page 9; Article IX; Section 7; Clarify what is a legitimate expenditure.
Discussion only.

12. Page 8; Article VIII; Section 17; Remove the first 16 words – to read: “Any item(s)…etc.”
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 30 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed
(1st vote)

13. Page 10; Article X; Section 2 & 5 (#4); What are the Majority of the groups voting on if Intergroup is to accept the new group after 90 days? Why vote them in if you can’t vote them out, unless the B.O.T. ok’s it?
Motion to eliminate last sentence; Section 5 (#4).
Approved: 7 Against: 21 Abstained: 2 Failed

H) NEW BUSINESS

1. Realignment of Trustee Areas.
a. Area 3 requesting 1 add’l Trustee and Alt.
b. Area 13 requesting 1 add’l Trustee and Alt.
Motion to accept a. above.
Approved: 14 Against: 15 Abstained: 3 Failed
Request for item b. was withdrawn. Motion to move Windsor, Ontario out of Area 4 and include as part of Area 9.
Approved: 29 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed
Motion to split Area 7 into two separate areas adding one Trustee and one Alternate.
Approved: 25 Against: 3 Abstained: 2 Passed
(Area 7 will include Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama)
(Area 7A will include Texas, Oklahoma & Arkansas)
(Area 5 will now include Prince Edward Island and Upstate Eastern New York).

2. Co-ordinate literature (like “The Young Compulsive Gambler”) and other such items that can be put in individual folders to be distributed at awareness functions.
Motion for Literature Chairman to coordinate approved literature to be used at awareness functions.
Approved: 7 Against: 15 Abstained: 4 Failed

3. At all National and Mini Conferences, a collection should be taken for the I.S.O.
Motion to place a suggestion to collect for I.S.O. at Mini Conferences in Lifeline Bulletin.
Approved: 6 Against: 22 Abstained: 2 Failed

4. Change the 12 Steps of Recovery back to their original form.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 3 Against: 28 Abstained: 1 Failed

5. In the next edition of “A New Beginning”;
a. Include any additional personal stories.
b. Correct the margins.
c. Page 100, remove the words “The Founder of Gam-Anon”.
d. Remove pages 101 &102 and replace with the correct history of Gam-Anon.
Discussion only – It was the consensus that it is o.k. to include additional stories and correct the margins. Page 100, 101 & 102 will remain the same.

6. “Your First Meeting” proposed as new literature.
Discussion only – No motion made.

7. Can a Gamblers Anonymous member count time of abstinence from gambling prior to attending his/her first G.A. Meeting as accumulated time toward their Gamblers Anonymous anniversaries?
Motion to add “over a 12 month period beginning from the day he/she joins G.A.” to Section 4; Article VII, to be inserted after “Gamblers Anonymous meetings”.
Motion to table to New Orleans.
Approved: 25 Against: 2 Abstained: 2 Passed

8. Could G.A.P. publish a paperback edition of the Big Book “Sharing Recovery through Gamblers Anonymous” at a more affordable price than the $11.00 Big Book?
Discussion only. It is up to the Board of Regents if they choose to publish a soft cover.

9. Reconsider the automatic removal of harry P. (Trustee from Area 18 – Australia) and reinstate him.
Harry P. was not reinstated as a Trustee.
Motion to amend the Guidance Code by inserting “this does not apply to physical meetings in excess of 3,500 miles” to Article VIII; Section 22.
Approved: 11 Against: 19 Abstained: 2 Failed

10. Can Gamblers Anonymous members have a sale to the public (flee market, etc.) of G.A. donated items and not be in violation of the Unity Program?
Discussion Only.

11. Can Gamblers Anonymous members hold a car wash to the public and not be in violation of the Unity Program?
Motion that Gamblers Anonymous members can hold a car wash to the public and not be in violation of the unity Program.
Approved: 13 Against: 15 Abstained: 2 Failed

12. Can Gamblers Anonymous literature be reproduced (Xeroxed, etc.) and used within the fellowship?
No discussion.

13. “Abstinence From Gambling The G.A. Way” proposed as new G.A. literature.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 26 Against: 1 Abstained: 4 Passed (1st vote)

14. Should the I.E.S print Good & Welfare as part of the minutes to be sent to the Trustees, to be included in the bulletin, both, or not at all?
Motion that Good and Welfare to be a part of the minutes and sent to all Trustees.
Approved: 1 Against: 30 Abstained: 0 Failed

15. Gamblers Analysis, Inc – a company with a logo very similar to ours that promotes gambling.
Is this an outside issue or does it affect gamblers Anonymous as a whole?
Motion to write a letter to the company asking them to revise their logo.
Approved: 6 Against: 20 Abstained: 2 Failed

16. Allow the G.A. new red book “A New Beginning” to be sold and distributed by other than G.A.I.S.O. (also other approved literature).
Discussion only – It is the general policy that I.S.O. will sell literature to anyone requesting it.

17. “Yes, I want phone calls!!” card as G.A. literature.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 0 Against: 28 Abstained: 2 Failed

18. “Daily Prayer/Daily Worksheet” as G.A. literature.
Motion to accept above.
Approved: 6 Against: 19 Abstained: 6 Failed

19. Long Island/Eastern Long Island Intergroup Hot Line – Is it proper to have G.A. and Gam- Anon both listed or is it against G.A. policy?
Discussion only.

20. “Public Relations Fact Sheet”, as new literature.
Motion to accept above.
Amendment 1 – To add “Please list any contacts you have in the public relations area that the public relations committee can contact.
Approved: 28 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed
Amendment 2 – To delete the word “homeroom” and add the word “group”.
Approved: 28 Against: 1 Abstained: 0 Passed
Amendment 3 – To add the words “card games and lottery” to the predominate area of gambling and alphabetize that list.
Approved: 16 Against: 15 Abstained: 0 Passed
On the motion
Approved: 33 Against: 0 Abstained: 0 Passed

I) DISCUSSION

1. A new member came to a Sydney meeting. Sydney has a T.V. program called “Australia’s Most Wanted”. Shown on this program was the face of the new member who is apparently a prison escapee and a violent man. What should the group do?
Discussion only.

2. Discuss putting a paragraph in the Combo book or Question and Answer pamphlet on how compulsive gamblers chase money. It is believed most will identify with this.
Discussion only.

3. One room has someone having their anniversary listed on a calendar, but another room has that person admitting to gambling after this date. Should it stay in the room (what is said here, stays here) or does this affect G.A. as a whole?
Discussion only.

4. Boston Area Unity and Recovery literature. (Speakers)
A speaker from the Boston area whose meeting (this meeting is not recognized by G.A.) uses non approved G.A. literature addressed the Board. The Board of Trustees remained firm in their stance that the Guidance Code will be followed and only approved G.A. literature can be used in meetings.

5. Sponsorship – What’s the problem?
Discussion only. A piece of literature was submitted to the literature committee.

6. The Baltimore Hot Line – Non-recognition of local Intergroup and the I.S.O. Discussion only.

7. A discussion was held regarding G.A.’s refusal to accept an outside donation from a Gam- Anon member.

J) GOOD AND WELFARE

The meeting was closed with the Serenity Prayer at approximately 7:00 P.M.

Collection for the (4) four sessions was $601.35

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be November 15 and 16, 1990 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Respectfully Submitted,

Karen H., International
Executive Secretary