BYLAWS OF THE
HARRISBURG AREA
INTERGROUP
ARTICLE I—NAME
Section 1: The name of this association is Harrisburg Area Intergroup
ARTICLE II—PURPOSE
Section 1: The purpose of this Intergroup shall be to aid the individual groups in their common purpose of carrying the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) message to the alcoholic who still suffers and to foster and encourage the unity and service of the AA legacy by using the following resources:
a) Maintain a 24-hour telephone answering service for those alcoholics seeking help;
b) Provide a simple partnership consisting of representatives from Harrisburg area AA groups to assist and stimulate local AA groups;
c) Provide a comprehensive prison outreach program whereby meetings can be made accessible to inmates in county and state prisons, halfway houses, work release centers and youthful offender facilities;
d) Maintain a monthly publication (Sobriety News) to announce membership of new groups, changes in meeting times and dates, upcoming AA events, all Intergroup business and activities, and act as an instrument through which individual members may share their experience, strength and hope;
e) Provide an internet site on which can be published meeting schedules and all other business relative to AA in the Harrisburg area;
f) Provide a literature sales office during specified publicized hours for purchase of AA approved literature by group representatives or their designees;
g) Provide guidelines for the Public Relations Committee to support outside speaker requests and relations with outside treatment facilities—always emphasizing adherence to AA traditions;
h) Provide regularly updated meeting schedules for all groups in the Harrisburg area;
i) Organize Intergroup events such as picnics and motivational dinner meetings and assure that such functions adhere to AA traditions;
j) Notify Intergroup representatives of upcoming meetings through the use of postal cards or email.
ARTICLE III—OFFICERS
Section 1: The officers of the Intergroup shall be a chairperson, a co-chairperson, recording secretary, and treasurer.
Section 2: The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
a) preside at all Intergroup meetings, assuring compliance with AA traditions and Intergroup bylaws;
b) appoint committee heads;
c) ensure that only eligible members participate in the voting process
d) introduce new representatives
e) establish necessary committees
f) co-sign all checks
a) assume responsibilities of the chairperson when the chair is absent
Recording secretary shall:
a) prepare minutes of each meeting and submit them in writing for additions, corrections and approval at subsequent meetings
b) maintain an accurate roster of group representatives and record attendance at meetings
c) establish from the roster those eligible to participate in voting
d) record the results of all votes on questions before the Intergroup
Treasurer shall:
a) co-sign all checks prepared for payment of invoices
b) keep written records of all disbursements and receipts, including
· all revenues and expenses relative to special events
· receipts from literature sales and purchases
c) provide a monthly financial statement at Intergroup meetings
d) maintain a “prudent reserve” (enough to cover three months’ expenses).
e) provide notification in writing to alert all participating groups when funds reach the level of prudent reserve
f) submit to a designated outside entity all financial data for an annual audit
g) assure that all expenditures other than telephone, answering service and meeting cards in excess of $50.00 are approved by a majority vote.
Section 3: To be eligible as an officer of Intergroup, a representative shall have two years of continuous sobriety
Section 4: It is suggested that an executive committee consisting of the four officers meet before the regular monthly Intergroup meeting to identify any special matters expected to come before the membership.
ARTICLE IV—MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Any AA group in the Harrisburg area may be a member.
Section 2: Any group may withdraw from this Intergroup by tending to the chairperson of Intergroup notice of such desire to withdraw; statement of reasons is optional.
Section 3: This Intergroup shall have no control over the internal affairs , the management or conduct of any member group, the intent of these bylaws being only to gain Intergroup unity, strength and cooperation; complete independence of each group must be preserved.
ARTICLE V—REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1: It is suggested that each AA group within the Intergroup choose one representative and one alternate to replace the representative in case of his or her absence.
Section 2: Al-Anon groups have their separate fellowship. Intergroup cooperates with Al-Anon to achieve common goals in recovery.
· Al-Anon Family groups shall be eligible for representation.
· Al-Anon Family groups may not vote on AA related issues.
ARTICLE VI—MEETINGS
Section 1: Meetings shall be opened with the Serenity Prayer and the 12 traditions and closed with the “Lord’s Prayer.”
Section 2: The members shall hold a regular meeting on the first Thursday of each month.
Section 3: The attendance of at least 10 member groups shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at any regular or special meeting of the Intergroup.
Section 4: A special meeting may be called at any time upon 14 days of published notice.
Section 5: The order of business shall be as follows: roll call, reading and adoption of minutes, chairperson’s comments, treasurer’s report, committee reports, completion of old business and consideration of new business.
Section 6: Only group representatives or their alternates shall be eligible to vote on Intergroup matters.
Section 7: The meeting for the election of officers shall be held in February. The term for each office is one year. Incumbents may succeed themselves if nominated and elected.
Section 1: Each committee shall have three members; the committee chair shall appoint a spokesperson to present the committee report at the regular monthly meeting.
ARTICLE VIII—AMENDMENTS
Section 1: Amendments to these bylaws shall be adopted under the following guidelines:
a) establish a committee to review the proposed changes for one month to assure that any change is in accord with AA traditions, if approved by this committee then;
b) provide a 60 day published notification of the proposed changes to all AA groups, using, but not limited to, the following instruments:
1. Sobriety News
2. Unity Committee
3. e-mail
c) adoption of any changes requires a 2/3 majority vote of participating Intergroup membership present following the 60 day notification period.
ARTICLE IX—TRADITIONS
Section 1: These bylaws are based in the spirit of the 12 traditions of AA, which traditions shall be observed as closely as possible in any given situation.
ARTICLE X—FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Section 1: All contributions to Intergroup shall be made voluntarily by the individual groups. There shall be no mandated fees assessed on any group at any time.
Unanimously adopted January 3, 2008