Conference Committee Minutes
Regular Meeting and Contact
Alternate Mondays at 1830 ET via Zoom
Contact email address: conference@greysheet.org
Purpose
The Conference Committee is responsible for all aspects of the GreySheeters Anonymous World Service Conference (WSC) planning, communication, registration and operations. The Committee seeks information on where and when to hold the next WSC. The Conference Committee presents the final selection of the venue, city, hotel or retreat center based on the prior WSC vote and the committee’s research. The Conference Committee takes into consideration the financial health of our fellowship.
The Conference Committee prepares the Registration Packet with information regarding the WSC including an online registration link and direct link to PayPal. The Conference Committee works closely with the Board of Trustees’ treasurer, president, the Website Committee, Communication Committee and Structure Committee. The Conference Committee registers delegates and verifies eligibility to serve as a conference delegate to accredit each registrant. The Committee prepares an accreditation report for the conference.
The Conference Committee coordinates the entire conference weekend with the venue, including meals, special food requests, rooms, conference materials, and name tags. If the conference is held virtually, the committee makes all the arrangements with the virtual meeting service.
Report
Update
Since our last report submitted in March 2019, we prepared a WSC budget for the Board of Trustees, contracted with the Cenacle Retreat Center, and negotiated a contract with the WSC transcriptionist. This budget included the costs of the Cenacle Retreat Center and other miscellaneous expenses (excluding travel and lodging expenses for Board of Trustees) which are incorporated into the Registration Fee.
The standing committees of the World Service Conference required more time to implement the decisions of the WSC2019 and prepare new motions. Subsequently, we agreed that it would be a better financial and informational decision to postpone the World Service Conference to 2021. We agreed to arrange a Video Forum where the committees could present their annual reports to maintain accountability, transparency, and involvement. We are working with a Board member on the logistics for the Zoom session. The Conference Committee will be moderating the two-hour session on October 17, 2020. We have implemented a timeline between now and the beginning of October.
In addition to planning an in-person World Service Conference to be held on September 17-19, 2021 at the Cenacle Retreat Center in Chicago, we are exploring options for a virtual conference should the pandemic prevent enough delegates traveling to Chicago.
Plans
During 2020-2021, we plan to
- Review the possibility and implications of holding a World Service Conference every two years
- Review the possibility and implications of holding a virtual World Service Conference or Video Forum each year
- Develop Conference Committee policies and procedures to be used by future Conference Committee members
- Complete the policies and procedures to organize a World Service Conference, both for in-person and online formats
- Continue to work with the Website Committee on updating the online registration form for delegates to the World Service Conference
- Set up an accreditation procedure with the Structure Committee to verify every GSR and ISR who registers for the conference to make sure they meet the criteria to become a delegate