SLAA Meetings are organized by volunteers; per our Traditions, there are no paid staff. Each meeting has its own sense of order and script, but all share some common structure. This structure is organized by several volunteer positions. Below is how many of the local meetings structure their meeting-level service, but each meeting is autonomous and may vary.
Secretary
The Secretary’s responsibilities
The Secretary runs the meeting. In this role, they:
- Oversee the meeting.
- Arrive 15+ minutes before the start of the meeting to open doors, prepare for the meeting.
- Check if the script and all the readings are there.
- Maintain the primary copy of the script and other readings, with modifications being proposed and voted on in the monthly business meeting.
- Start the meeting on time and follow a script (see script possibilities below).
RUNNING A MEETING
The meetings operate on a tradition of program readings and sharing. A strict no-crosstalk policy is maintained by the Secretary. The Secretary insures that the meeting follows The Twelve Traditions, as described in SLAA Basic Text.
SCRIPTS
The script is maintained by the group conscience of the meeting. Each meeting has some latitude in defining their own script, within the framework of the traditions. There are several examples available from the following list:
Requirements
Some meetings require their Secretary to be in program for 6 months, and off bottom lines for 90 days. However, each meeting is autonomous and makes its own requirements.
Length
This is typically a 6-month commitment.
Treasurer
The Treasurer’s responsibilities
The Treasurer:
- Collects the money from the 7th Tradition basket
- Keeps a record of it in a ledger
- Pays the landlord for rent and/or Zoom account charges
- Makes a treasurer’s report at the business meeting (monthly in most cases)
- Maintains a prudent reserve
- Donates excess funds to the regional intergroup organization, as well as to Fellowship-Wide service organization (FWS). Groups can decide what percentage of excess funds to donate to Intergroup and FWS, typically 60%/40%.
Requirements
Some meetings require their Treasurer to have a job and a bank account. However, each meeting is autonomous and makes its own requirements.
Length
This is typically a 6-month commitment.
Literature Person
The Literature Person’s responsibilities
The Literature Person:
- Is in charge of putting the literature on the table before the meeting.
- Purchases literature from Intergroup or FWS — works with the meeting Treasurer to make the purchase.
Requirements
Some meetings have no requirements for this commitment. However, each meeting is autonomous and makes its own requirements.
Length
This is typically a 6-month commitment.
Intergroup Representative
The Intergroup Representative’s (Rep) responsibilities
The Intergroup Rep is a liaison for the group who attends the Intergroup meeting on the 3rd Saturday of the month and reports back to the group the business of Intergroup.
Requirements
Some meetings require their Literature Person to have 6 months in program and 90 days off bottom lines. However, each meeting is autonomous and makes its own requirements.
Length
This is typically a 1-year commitment.
Speaker Seeker
Speaker
Most meetings have speakers who tell their story to the rest of the group. Anyone in program can be a speaker.
Speaker Seeker
The Speaker Seeker schedules speakers for the meeting.
Zoom Host
Some meetings are either partially or wholly hosted on Zoom. The Zoom Host starts the Zoom session and screen shares the readings as called for in the meeting script. The Zoom host is separate from the Secretary, proving support for the zoom portion of the meeting.