November 2003 PATCHOGUE, NY

I ntergroup Adopts New By-Laws A year and a half of work by the Ad Hoc Committee on the By-Laws culminated at the October Intergroup meeting at Cleary School when the Group Representatives had voted in April of 2002 to instruct the officers to form an Ad Hoc Committee to review the Associations By-Laws.
A Committee was formed of 5 group Reps, 3 of the chairs of the standing committee's and one intergroup officer. The Alternate Chairperson acted as the non-voting chair of the Ad Hoc Committee and the recording secretary served as secretary of the committee. The Group Representatives charged the committee with reviewing the By-Laws, bringing them into accord with current practices and addressing certain specific problems that had arisen in recent years. In there deliberations, the committee also kept in mind the possibility that, in the not to distant future, Suffolk Intergroup, like many other AA service bodies, may have to incorporate and tried to write the revised By-Laws in such a way as to ease the process of incorporation, if it doesn't become desirable. The committee met once a month for fourteen months. In January of this year, the committee began presenting completed portions of the revised By-Laws to the Reps at the monthly meeting at Cleary School and concurrently publishing the completed portions in the Bulletin. The Reps questions on each portion were answered at the monthly meeting following that portion's presentation. The opinions of the Groups were solicited and several votes were held in various months to change the wording of the By-Laws to reflect the intent of the Groups. In the last three months, the entire document was reviewed and discussed and former Intergroup Chairpersons were

experience of the By-Laws with the representives. At the October meeting, two votes were taken on changes proposed by the Reps. The Reps then voted to not take the By-Laws back to the groups again.
The vote was taken to accept the proposed By-Laws...
The new By-Laws will take effect January first of 2004. Before that time, Intergroup will print them up in booklet form. Each group will be mailed a copy and copies will be distributed to the Group Reps at the monthly SIA meeting at Cleary. Meetings and Events This Month

SIA Officers and Chairpersons Meeting:
Nov. 4th-7:30pm at the SIA Office
SIA Group Representatives Monthly Meeting:
Nov. 18th-8:00pm at Clearly School, Ronkonkoma
Share-A-Thon Group Representative Meeting:
Nov. 18th-8:00pm at Clearly School, Ronkonkoma
Suffolk General Service Monthly Meeting:
Nov. 21st-8:00pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Rocky Point.
SIA Special Needs Committee Meeting:
Nov. 20th-8:00pm at the SIA Office
SIA/GSO Public Information Committee Meeting:
Nov. 19th-7:30pm at the SIA Office
SIA Treatment Facilities Monthly Meeting:
Nov. 26th-7:30pm at Brookhaven Rec. Center, Mount Sinai.

Next