Virtual Region Board Meeting Minutes
Date: January 5, 2024

Time: 1:30 PM ET (UTC-5)

Members Present:

• Chair
• Vice Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Trustee
• Intergroup Outreach Committee Chair
• Digital Coordinator
• Digital Committee Chair
• Twelfth Step  Within/Workshop Committee Chair
• Finance Committee Chair
• Data Committee Chair
• PIPO Committee Chair
• Finance Committee Chair
• Bylaws Committee Chair

Strategic Vision:
The function of the Virtual Region Board is to serve and support its committees, intergroups, service boards, meetings, and members, and to carry the message to those who still suffer.

Opening:
The meeting opened with the Serenity Prayer in Spanish and English.

Approval of Minutes from the October board meeting with one addition: voted to extend the Delegate Support Fund applications past November 1, until the day WSBC applications close. No object from board members. (Note: There was no board meeting during Assembly.)

Committee Reports:

Treasurer’s Report:

For financial information please contact our Treasurer:  Treasurer@oavirtualregion.org.

Convention

Track 3/steps has 2 sessions open. Track 4/workshops has 1 session open. The Newcomer open house has 24 filled. Registration assistance is needed.

Finance

OA does not break out unrelated literature on oa.org. It is considered on-mission. The finance chair and VR chair will discuss income streams at a later date.

Public Information Professional Outreach/Unity with Diversity

The first newcomer open house of 2025 will be held later than usual due to its inclusion in the convention. Discussions are ongoing regarding the rescheduling of the remaining newcomer open houses in 2025.

Intergroup Outreach and Renewal

Reported on outreach to unaffiliated meetings. Had a review with the Men’s IG of 13 meetings. Had 4 additional volunteers. Need more to reach out to unaffiliated meetings.

Social Media Subcommittee

Needs volunteers.

 Old Business:

Committee liaison assignments (The data chair will update everyone’s distribution lists)

• Ad-hoc Tech committee – Data Chair
• Bylaws committee – Vice Chair, WSO Trustee
• Convention committee – Treasurer, VR Chair
• Convention, IGOR, TSW Workshop committees – VR Chair
• Finance committee – Treasurer
• Language Services committee – Digital Coordinator, Data Coordinator
• PIPO committee – Vice Chair, will move to Bylaws once a new PIPO Chair is named
• Data Committee and Tech Committee – Data Coordinator

Other support for committees and services:

• The vice chair will manage the newsletter.
• A PIPO chair is still needed.

Using X for Outreach

Data Committee – The Social Media Subcommittee is researching use of X for outreach. The VR Chair is interested in exploring the feasibility and compliance of using X as a platform for the convention and will work with the subcommittee.

New Business:

• 2025 Board Meeting Dates: The VR Chair will share potential alternative dates for board meetings in the board members/committee chairs chat. Looking to schedule earlier meetings when there are conflicts. This is because some previously proposed dates conflict with other events and meetings. Priority will be for board members, then committee chairs.
•  Dates for Assemblies and Convention: The VR Chair will send out potential dates for Assembly 2. Assembly 1 will be held the last week in May, first week in June. For Convention 2026, the planning committee will again target a timeframe similar to this year’s convention.
•  Translated materials: Via the VR Chair, the Virtual Region submitted requests via letter to WS to translate and distribute virtually the following materials: the OA workshop and study guide in normative Spanish; the OA 12 and 12 in normative Spanish; the 30 questions from the sponsorship kit in normative Spanish; ‘When should I refer someone to OA’, in languages of all VR intergroups. We have not submitted forms. 
•  Digital Sales: In November, the VR Chair requested overall sales figures for translated documents, including digital sales figures, from the trustee. The request was repeated in January, but the WS staff were too busy with the May WS business conference to provide the information. The VR Chair will follow up with several people after this meeting: the treasurer of the board of trustees; the VR trustee liaison; the liaison to the region chairs committee; the Chair of the region chairs committee. In the meantime, the VR Chair will submit a request for an existing license on OA.org. The VR is not requesting funding. 

Board Reports:

• • Chair: All committees need volunteers, particularly the website committee. The data chair is organizing volunteer lists based on the service preferences indicated by volunteers. To help with outreach efforts, each committee will receive a distribution list of volunteers who expressed interest.

•  Vice Chair: Based on a recent inventory, fellows are interested in receiving the newsletter. The newsletter will be published this month if submissions are available. If no submissions are received, the newsletter will be discontinued.

•  Trustee: The agenda questionnaire for the World Service conference is now available online. An online session titled “Meet the Maker” will be held on February 1, 2025, to provide information about the questionnaire. This session is open to any member who has questions about the agenda questionnaire. There are currently approximately 16 motions listed on oa.org.
  Meet the Maker: https://oa.org/documents/service-body-meet-the-maker-session/
  World Service Business Conference: https://oa.org/world-service-business-conference/

•  Digital: The social media subcommittee is seeking volunteers.

Closing:

Closed with the serenity prayer in Spanish, French, Swedish, and English.