Clinton AIC Board business meeting 29-Sep-2015

• Austin reported a balance of $1320 and change, not counting what Big Al has been holding during Austin's trip to the land of Octoberfest.

• Austin has ordered 3 grapevine subscriptions, a discussion ensued about whether to use them as fund raisers or give out as prizes or just make available in the center for sharing, and the later was agreed uopn.

• There was some discussion as to futures for literature, should we make books available, start a library etc. There was general agreement that a newcomer packet of some kind should be available and what ought to be included. Discussion brought out concerns of affordability in the short term, but that low cost or free important resources like meeting lists, perhaps pamphlets, perhaps living sober book. Rocky volunteered to produce a meeting list sheet of Clinton meetings including CAIC space meetings that could be a page on the web site and handed out. Rocky volunteered to check out living sober price. (update: $5 from Central Service for qty1-19)

• Austin is still pursuing the article of incorporation as 501(C3) non-profit, which is the first step towards a stable financial footing in the vision to provide a stable platform for recovery program expansion in town. His vision includes many things for problems that are often related to substance abuse, such as battered women, day care, telephone resources, coordination with other groups and the like. He has a start on a vision statement and will be sharing the charter statement (from 501(C3) application) with the board via email.

• There was some discussion about the separation of corporate entity from recovery groups particularly as it relates to the tradition of group autonomy. While there was some concerns raised about how formal or complicated this might become, there was general agreement in moving towards some model that conforms to the spirit of that tradition. I threw out this verbage: “Traditions suggest that we move towards a more formal separation between the corporate entity and the self-sustaining recovery groups which use its resources”. This will not happen overnight because the business model is not yet fully understood, but as we develop it, something to keep in mind.