Alcoholism Support Group

Hill Country Intergroup Association By-Laws
Ratified: July 12th, 2004
ARTICLE I – Definition and Purpose
1) The Hill Country Inter Group Association, hereinafter called the Association, or HCIA, shall
consist of all A.A. groups in the Austin and greater Austin area. Any other groups in the
Southwest Texas area who wish to participate in the Association will be welcome.
2) The purpose of the Association shall be to maintain a service office for Alcoholics Anonymous
groups in the Greater Austin area. The Association shall perform services necessary or desirable
for the rehabilitation of alcoholics within the aims of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous,
providing a vehicle through which the A.A. groups and individual members may “carry the
message to alcoholics” within the framework of the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The Association shall provide the following services:
a) To maintain a Central Service Office in cooperation with, but not as an affiliate of, the
Alcoholics Anonymous groups in the Austin area.
b) The performance of any service necessary or desirable for the rehabilitation of alcoholics
within the stated aims of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. The office is to be
run for the benefit of all area A.A. groups and for all suffering alcoholics of the area; its
objective should be to transmit and refer requests for help to the secretaries of other
members of A.A. groups closest to the address of the caller, thus providing an
opportunity for members of such groups to do Twelfth Step work so necessary for
continued sobriety.
c) The HCIA will operate in accordance with the suggestions in the A.A. guideline “Central
or Intergroup Offices”. Copies of the guideline will be given to all new Intergroup
representatives and board members.
ARTICLE II – Membership
1) Membership – Any GSO registered A.A. group within the greater Austin area is entitled to be a
member of the Association. Each A.A. group should elect an Intergroup Representative (IGR)
and, if desired, an alternate.
2) Intergroup Representatives (IGR) – It is suggested that IGRs serve for a period of one year from
the time of election or until they are recalled or replaced by the A.A. group they represent. It is
also suggested that IGRs have a minimum of one year sobriety.
3) Duties – Each participating group shall have one vote (in HCIA Group Representative
proceedings) to be cast by the IGR from that group, or if the IGR is not present, then by the
alternate.
ARTICLE III – Intergroup Representative Meetings
1) Meetings and Officers – HCIA Intergroup Representatives meetings shall be held monthly, or at
any other time that a meeting may be called by a majority of the duly elected Board of Trustees, or
upon written requests of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the groups. These meetings shall be presided
over by the Chairperson of the Intergroup Representatives: in that person’s absence, the Secretary
may preside over the meeting. In the event that neither of these officers is present at a meeting,
those representatives present may elect an officer to preside at that meeting. The Chairperson and
Secretary shall each serve a one-year term with no person to hold a single office for more than two
(2) consecutive terms. These officers shall be elected by simple majority vote from among those
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present at the regularly scheduled April HCIA Intergroup Representative meetings. Thus, terms of
office shall commence in May.
2) Notice – Due notice of all meetings will be given to all IGRs by the Secretary in writing one week
prior to such meetings. Notices posted in the U.S. Mail and addressed to the last known address of
the IGR on record in the association shall constitute proper notification. If an E-Mail address is
available for the representative, notification by that means shall be deemed acceptable.
ARTICLE IV – Quorum (for Intergroup Representative Meetings)
A quorum shall consist of at least seven (7) IGRs.
ARTICLE V – Nomination Committee for Board of Trustees
1) Nomination Committee – Three (3) IGRs will be elected in the June Intergroup Representative
meeting to serve a one-year term as a nomination committee.
2) Duties – This committee will canvass persons from the greater Austin A.A. community that are
interested in serving on the HCIA Board of Trustees, ensure that they meet the minimum
requirements and that, if elected, they will serve. A slate of eight (8) candidates should be
prepared for each year’s elections (twice the number of openings). The slate of candidates should
be completed by October to be voted on in the November Intergroup Representative meeting. Any
candidate not initially elected will be considered when filling vacancies throughout the year.
ARTICLE VI – Board of Trustees
1) The Board of Trustees shall consist of eleven (11) voting members, eight (8) elected by the HCIA
Intergroup Representatives, one (1), the Chairperson for Special Events, elected by the Board of
Trustees, one (1) being the Office Manager of the HCIA and the eleventh being the serving
Chairperson of the HCIA Intergroup Representatives. The Board may also include one or more
non-voting member(s), each being serving District Committee chairpersons, at the invitation of the
Board of Trustees. Each elected member serves a two-year term beginning on December 31st of
the year they are elected. Trustees are to be members in good standing of a greater Austin A.A.
group with the minimum of one (1) year continuous sobriety. All elected members must be
approved by the Board; none may be disapproved without good reason. Terms of Trustees will be
staggered with four (4) being elected in odd-numbered years and four (4) being elected in even
numbered years. Trustees will be elected at the November HCIA Intergroup Representative
meeting. A person should serve only one term as a Trustee without a break in service.
2) Meetings and Officers – The Board of Trustees will meet monthly at least ten (10) times per year.
Board of Trustees meetings shall be open and any member of A.A. may appear at a regularly
scheduled meeting and make a presentation to the Board, provided that the Board is given notice
of such appearance no less than one (1) week in advance of such appearance. Following the
November election, the Trustees continuing in office for the following year and the Trustees-Elect
shall hold a meeting and elect a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
These officers will constitute the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. Vacancies on the
Executive Committee will be filled as required from the Board of Trustees. Only elected Trustees
may serve on the Executive Committee. In the event that an elected Trustee shall fail to appear for
two (2) consecutive, regularly scheduled meetings of the Board, without announcing the intent to
be absent, that Trustee’s term of service shall be terminated.
3) Recall – Trustees may be recalled from office by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the participating
Intergroup Representatives. This action can be initiated by a proper motion from the floor during
an Intergroup Representative meeting but shall require a quorum of ten (10) Group
Representatives before a vote is taken.
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4) Vacancies – Vacancies on the Board of Trustees will be filled at the next regularly scheduled
HCIA Group Representative meeting. Nominations will be made from the names submitted by
the Nomination Committee the previous October but not elected. A vote of the participating
Group Representative will elect the replacement. The newly elected Trustee will serve the
remainder of the vacated term. The elected Trustee will remain eligible for re-election.
ARTICLE VII – Qualifications of Trustees
All persons nominated or elected as a Trustee of the Board of Trustees must be a sober member of
a greater Austin area A.A. group, should have at least one (1) year of continuous sobriety and should,
at all times during service as Trustee of the Board, maintain this sobriety.
ARTICLE VIII – Duties of Trustees and Officers
1) Each person duly elected as a Trustee shall discharge his/her responsibility as a trusted servant,
bearing in mind at all times that his/her actions are for the benefit of all A.A. groups and that
principles should come before personalities.
2) Each trusted servant elected to serve in office as set out in ARTICLE VI shall perform such duties
as usually pertain to the office and such other duties as may be specified from time to time by the
Board of Trustees.
3) The Chairman of the Board of Trustees shall be an ex-officio member of all committees formed.
The Board of Trustees shall appoint committee Chairman and Vice-Chairman as needed to
perform the various services outlined in ARTICLE I. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each
committee shall appoint members-at-large as required to perform effectively the duties of the
committee.
4) In order to maintain proper office facilities, the Board of Trustees may contract for the services of
a paid Office Manager and for such additional paid employees as may be deemed necessary for the
efficient performance of the purpose of the office, all within the framework of Tradition Number 8
of Alcoholics Anonymous and to the end that office expenses can be kept to a minimum.
5) Periodic reports including a financial review or an audit of the books of the Association office
shall be tendered (by mail) annually and/or when authorized by the Board of Trustees or required
by a written resolution of the Intergroup Representatives, to the Intergroup Representatives and
Secretaries of the participating A.A. groups. If these reports are not challenged within thirty (30)
days from the date of mailing, the Board of Trustees may consider that the report has been
approved and accepted by the groups.
6) A quorum shall consist of at least four (4) members of the Board of Trustees.
7) The position charter for the Board of Trustees functions and the position charter for the Executive
Committee of the Board of Trustees shall be a part of the By-Laws of the Association.
ARTICLE IX – Financing
The financing of all administrative activities of the association shall be primarily by pledge, gifts
and contributions from the greater Austin area A.A. groups (within the Twelve Traditions of A.A.), and
secondarily by income from such projects or activities as may be authorized from time to time by the
Executive Committee or the resolution of the participating Intergroup Representatives. Reports shall be
given to the groups quarterly.
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ARTICLE X – Amendments
1) These by-laws or any amendment, change or repeal thereof may be ratified and adopted by a vote
of two-thirds (2/3) of the participating Intergroup Representatives present at any participating
Intergroup Representative meeting, provided the proposed change has been submitted at a
previous regular or specially called Intergroup Representative meeting.
2) A copy of all by-laws and amendments thereto shall be made available to those Intergroup
Representatives present at the meeting where the written proposal is made.
ARTICLE XI – Dissolvement
In the event that the Association be dissolved, all property of the Association shall be distributed
among the member-groups of the Association. This distribution shall be overseen by the existing
Executive Committee.
END
Posted on 11/07/09, 10:11 am