Service Board Inventory Notes – June 2025
Greater New Orleans Service Board
Service Board Inventory Notes – June 2025
Document Date: June 21, 2025
Service Board Inventory Notes June 21 2025 **These notes are from comments and discussions during the inventory meeting only, and *not* necessarily accurate representations of current GNOSB by-laws or procedures.
1. What is the primary purpose of the Service Board?
Oversee the Three Entities:
1. Big deep south
2. Central Office: To help Central Office
3. Daay at the Park
To provide the information to Greater New Orleans Area through committees 1. Give a platform for the local districts to communicate with themselves and the local community
2. Be there to support and coordinate efforts for all the AA Groups
3. Subcommittees specific to Service Board: Website, Answer Phone, plus, Pi/CPC, T&C, etc. Provide support to different districts
1. To go to different districts and see how we can be of service to them
To oversee that money donated is used correctly
1. Had fiduciary responsibility to the people they serve
Provide infrastructure
2. Is the Service Board effectively fulfilling this purpose?
NO answers: It has failed so many times at doing its stated purpose. It goes in a cycle.
AA has grown and the office is swamped with tasks and cannot keep up. We might need more professional help Not enough people are on the same page Just looking at the attendance here, there is a clear breakdown in participation. People are not attracted to getting involved.
Those trying to do the work are getting side tracked, confused, and shunned.
The service structure within the Service Board is very confusing Officer positions have been filled by people who have admitted they do not know what they are doing Not enough money is going to Central Office Big Deep South is not an effective fundraiser that did not have enough oversight for many years Service Board is confused about its Central Purpose: is it Central Office or many other things Is really trying, there are a handful of people who are really trying It is too much work for just a handful of people The current people on Service Board all took there positions as replacement midterm The current board and trying to follow they bylaws but most of the other entities don’t know them Most committees have set ways they have done it and don’t want to change (read BDS) There is a lot of polite southern resistance to breaking up the good old boys club Big Deep South basically made Service Board made its subcommittee which is backwards Does the Service Board need the subcommittees, it did not have them before Katrina
Service Board Inventory Notes June 21 2025 **These notes are from comments and discussions during the inventory meeting only, and *not* necessarily accurate representations of current GNOSB by-laws or procedures. Yes/No Answers: Some things are working while others are not Is not effective to Central Office but might do other things well Some things are done really well, and cleaning things up nicely, but facing a lot of pushback Daay at the Park donated its money to create a literature fund which was great
3. Are there any areas where the Service Board is not meeting its goals?
- The committees are confusing:
- Reorganizing what they do so it is not repeating what the districts and meetings already do, maybe
ask what districts and meeting need
- Doing a website overhaul would be a great place to start
- I would like to see the Unity and Service Meeting Back or Budget and Finance, or we can hire
people to do these jobs (if we could get the money for this)
- Problems with Big Deep South
- The office is overworked
- Working on bringing Central Office to the 21st Century
- Focusing less on alternative AA literature because we can’t compete with amazon
- Having People both willing but ABLE to be in those positions in Service Board
- Need to find a way to make it more attractive to make people want to be of Service
- It used to be standing room only in here
- Print out some of the guideline in the monthly bulletin with the QR code next to it so you can see more if
you want to 4. Are Service Board Representatives from all AA groups in the Area Participating in the Board Services Area coverage represented?
- NO: Sometimes a little effort helps but sometimes it doesn’t (our CO Chair went to all the District
meeting for her first 6 mths and they did not come when she had to stop)
- We are trying to get the money to be hybrid
- Maybe we need an outreach chair
- A lot of the people do not want to participate because they see it as political
- But we do provide the minutes in the bulletin and on the website
5. How can the Service Board encourage maximum participation in the decision making from member groups? Are the decisions being made really the collective conscious of every group?
- If the groups are not here then we cannot accurately reflect them.
- It has to start at the group level, we need to encourage the group reps to exist and participate.
- It helps to have clear job descriptions
- Making this atmosphere welcoming for people to be in here
- This is all about being trusted, and being trusted servant
- People are more likely to be involved for one day events with 2 month commitments
Service Board Inventory Notes June 21 2025 **These notes are from comments and discussions during the inventory meeting only, and *not* necessarily accurate representations of current GNOSB by-laws or procedures.
- Bring your sponsee to the meetings
- Huge emphasis on sponsorship and working with the alcoholic, but not on service work
- Work in tandem (maybe with district event chairs) to do service workshop events
- Get positions filled by people who are willing, able, and competent
- Districts get attendance by visiting groups and offering support, maybe do that
- Service board needs unity within itself, there has been a lot of tension between Central Office and Big
Deep South, and that is where some people think it is political
- Maybe need an outreach chair
- There used to be a file that SBRs had to fill out so we knew who you were and what meeting you reped
- The Email and office line (plus the personal contact info of the office manager) get contacted all the
time, so people are contacting, just not in the meeting
- Go to homegroup business meetings
6. How transparent is the communication between the Board and the Representatives and the Groups?
- NO: The board is not transparent
- YES: Service Board does it’s best to be transparent through Central Office
- YES: Central Office is very clear about what it does with its splits, group contributions, direct donation,
central office backer donation, etc donations that come in
- NO: The Treasurer was not very good at her job and is routinely absent
- NO: Big Deep South was not transparent about its finances
- I have no idea
Participation is the essence of spirituality 7. Are there clear guidelines for the running of meetings and 3 legacies procedures
- Meetings have been made to feel unsafe by past members who have gotten aggressive
- There has been a large amount of tension in meetings and it usually centers around BDS
- It is not conducive to doing service work and growing spirituality
- There has been bullying going on
- Minority opinions are being heard, robert’s rules of order are followed, we make sure we have a
quorum, and table things when needed 8. Are we choosing our leaders with care? Do we recognize the need for officers? Are you encouraging and good people?
- We are so desperate for people that if you stand we take you
- Current Chair has had so little support that she has had to reach out to hose in lower service positions
for help
- Requires a lot of situational awareness, service awareness
- Positions have been filled from an emergency stand point not a qualified stand point
Service Board Inventory Notes June 21 2025 **These notes are from comments and discussions during the inventory meeting only, and *not* necessarily accurate representations of current GNOSB by-laws or procedures.
- No encouragement or support either to the board or from the board: Most of the board has been trying
to play catchup, which is not a position people can provide support from
- The bylaws do have outlines, and service board positions
9. Does the service board avoid allowing any member to assume excessive authority? Do we practice rotation of Service?
- There has never been a chance to practice rotation and the Service Board level
- Problems with warranty 10:
- There are positions where people have to much responsibility without enough authority
- There are people who have to much authority without responsibility
- Where there is the ability to rotate, most people are willing to rotate
10. Are matters of authority clearly defined? Do we trust our trusted servant?
- We could get more detailed but very few people read and follow things that are personally given to
them
- Do not trusted the trusted servants, everybody is operating from a position of fear
- Sometimes the job descriptions do not help
- There needs to be a clear description of the job, both in orally explained and written, and if you are not
able, then do not stand 11. Is the board fulfilling its 7th tradition responsibilities. Is it being prudent with the money contributed?
- We are being prudent but we do not have enough
- It is hard for the board to be prudent when other treasurers are not doing their job
- Daay in the Park and Big Deep SOuth are great events but they cost a lot of money
- The salaries of the folks who work at Central Office (we cannot afford to keep our people employed)
- It is hard to make a budget when you don’t get financials from subcommittees
- Daay in the Park is getting more expensive and is no longer being offset by Big Deep South
Contributions
- This place is harmony when it is functioning correctly and it is just so sad now
What are the groups plans for the future
Greater New Orleans Service Board, Inc. · 638 Papworth Ave, Suite A, Metairie, LA 70005 · aaneworleans.org