By-Laws

The Harbor Group of Alcoholics Anonymous By-Laws

Definitions:

GROUP shall mean the Harbor group of Alcoholics Anonymous

TERM (office holding) shall mean a calendar year (January through December) unless otherwise stated.

QUARTERLY shall mean the four divisions of the year (January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December).

POST/POSTED shall mean clearly and conspicuously displayed on the group bulletin board at the facility.

FACILITY shall mean the location at which the group conducts its meetings, including a permanent or temporary meeting place.

PLURALITY shall mean a number of votes cast for a candidate in a contest that is greater than the nmber cast for any other candidate but not more than half the total votes cast.

ARTICLE I

NAME: The Harbor Group of Alcoholics Anonymous

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE: To maintain our sobriety and to carry the A.A. message to alcoholics who still suffer

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP: The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

ARTICLE IV

DUES AND COLLECTIONS: The group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

ARTICLE V

GROUP GUIDELINES:

  1. The twelve traditions of A.A. shall be the guiding principles for the group.
  2. Guidelines are determined by the membership as a whole through this instruments and expression of the group conscience t regular or special meetings.
  3. Regular group conscience meetings shall be held quarterly at 7:15 P.M. on the third Wednesday of the last month of each quarter. The steering committee shall meet at the same time at the facility on all other months to conducts the business of the group.
  4. Special group conscience meetings must be called by the chairperson of the steering committee within three (3) days of receipt of written request by fifteen (15) members. Such special meetings shall be held after notice is posted one (1) week prior to the meeting stating the time of such meeting and the purpose for which it is called. At special meetings of Harbor group the members may act only on such matters that are posted for the meeting.
  5. All meetings of membership shall be held in the group meeting facility unless otherwise noted in the monthly program. Voting by proxy is not permitted, and all voting shall be a show of hands and not by ballot.  Unless otherwise stated herein, no action of the membership shall be effective unless supported by the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the members present as specified herein.
  6. Member must have at least thirty (30) days of continuous, current sobriety and consider the Harbor group as their home group for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding any Harbor group business meeting to be eligible to vote. Any Harbor group member with six (6) months or more of continuous, current sobriety and group membership qualifies to be a representative committee member or meeting chairperson unless otherwise stated.
  7. A copy of this document and amendments must be displayed in the facility at all times.

ARTICLE VI

STEERING COMMITTEE AND ELECTIONS:

The business of the Harbor group of Alcoholics Anonymous shall be conducted by a majority vote of the members present at the group conscience meetings held quarterly and by the elected steering committee during the interim, unless otherwise stated herein.  Members of Harbor group who are not members of the steering committee may attend meetings of the steering committee, but shall no voice or vote.  No voting by proxy shall be allowed.

The purpose of the December quarterly meeting of the Harbor group conscience shall be the election of all officers from the qualified membership to serve on the steering committee for the upcoming year and to conduct any business before the group.

STEERING COMMITTEE COMPOSITION:

An eighteen (18) member steering committee, all with voting privileges, shall consist of the following positions:

  • OFFICERS
    • CHAIRPERSON
    • SECRETARY
    • TREASURER
    • PROGRAM CHAIRPERSON

MEETING REPRESENTATIVES

On the first Monday of June and December (semi-annually) the 7 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. group shall elect two (2) meeting representatives from their respective groups, if possible a man and woman.  These representatives shall serve a term of six (6) months on the steering committee.

THE G.S.R. ALTERNATE G.S.R. AND THE C.O.R.

The elected General Service representative (G.S.R.). Alternate General Service representative and Central Office representative shall also serve as members of the steering committee during their term of office.  The G.S.R., Alternate G.S.R., and C.O.R. shall serve a two (2) year term.

The G.S.R. and Alternate G.S.R. shall represent the Harbor group at the North East Texas Area meetings.

THE C.R. AND THE T.R.

The corrections representative and the treatment representative shall be members of the steering committee serving two (2) year terms.

THE L.R. AND THE G.R.

The Literature representative and the Grapevine representative shall be members of the steering committee serving a one (1) year term.

THE CPC/PI

The cooperation with professional community/public information representative (C.P.C./P.I.) shall be a member of the steering committee serving a one (1) year term.

ARTICLE VII

OFFICER REQUIREMENTS:

  1. GENERAL ELGIBILITY: One (1) year continuous, current sobriety as a member of the Harbor group.
  2. TERM OF OFFICE: All officers shall serve a term of one (1) year.
  3. ELECTION: each officer shall be elected at the group conscience meeting by a majority vote of the members present, provided that if no candidate for an office receives a majority of the votes cast, then the candidate for that office who receives a plurality of the votes cast shall be elected.
  4. VACANCY: A vacancy shall be filled by the steering committee to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of an officer. Vacancies in the meeting representatives shall be filled by the meeting they represent.
  • OFFICERS AND DUTIES:
    • CHAIRPERSON
      • Coordinate activities with other officers, representatives, and committees.
      • Assume, when necessary, the responsibilities of other officers to ensure continuity and smooth operation of the group.
      • Act as a liaison for the group to outside entities not covered by representative, including the Landlord.
    • SECRETARY
      • Record and post minutes of all meetings.
      • Functions as group historian.
      • Perform other tasks as required.
    • TREASURER
      • Maintain a register of all group financial transactions.
      • Receive monies from the group. Count and properly record such sums in the treasurer’s register.  Deposit monies received into the group checking account.
      • Maintain the group bank account, and sign checks for expenditures approved by the steering committee.
      • Prepare and submit a monthly financial report to the steering committee.
    • PROGRAM CHAIRPERSON
      • Develop and implement quality A.A. programs and meetings.
      • Prepare the monthly meeting schedule.
      • Coordinate the selections of chairpersons and speakers with the meeting representatives.
    • MEETING REPRESENTATIVES
      • Serve as members of the steering committee and select chairpersons and speakers for the meetings they represent.
      • Provide the program chairman with a list of the chairpersons and/or speakers for those meetings each month. This list should be delivered by the fifteenth of each month for the following month.

ARTICLE VIII

SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES:

  1. General Service Representative (G.S.R.) and alternate(s): Elected by the Group every year for overlapping two (2) year terms as described in “The A.A. Service Manual”.
  2. Central Office Representative (C.O.R.): Represents the group at Central Office committee meetings and report to the group on Central Office activities.

ARTICLE IX

NOMINATING COMMITTEE:

The Chairperson shall appoint a nominating committee to submit names of those to be nominated for each office at least thirty (30) days prior to the regular group conscience meeting in December. The names shall be posted at least fifteen (15) days prior to meeting.

ARTICLE X

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:

The steering committee may adopt such policies and procedures, including the creation of committees and appointment of committee members, as they deem necessary for the steering committee to carry out its duties of service to the group.

The policies and procedures shall not be in conflict with these By-Laws.

The policies and procedures may be amended by majority vote of steering committee members.

A copy of the policies and procedures and amendments thereto must by displayed in the facility at all times.

ARTICLE XI

AMENDMENTS:

This document, the approved By-Laws of the Harbor Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, may be amended provided that any such proposed change is approved for consideration by a simple majority at a regular meeting, posted for one (1) month, and approved at the next regular meeting by an affirmative vote of not less than three-fourths (3/4) of the vote eligible members present.

REVISION HISTORY: The foregoing By-Laws were amended and approved as amended at a Group Conscience Meeting held on March 21, 2012.

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