WORLD SERVICE BUSINESS CONFERENCE-2006

By Rosalie Dvorak-Remis, Sacramento Valley Intergroup Representative

May 25, 2006

 

 

 

Many thanks to all of you, the members of the Sacramento Valley Intergroup who elected me to represent your interests at this conference.  Your financial contributions made it possible for your voice to be heard.  The WSBC is the group conscience of OA as a whole; I am grateful and pleased to serve as the Intergroup representative.   

 

The theme for the 2006 World Service Business Conference was “OA Without Borders.”  Voting results for all motions can be found at http://www.oa.org/ws_business_conf.html.  The Final Conference Report which contains minutes of all speeches, committee reports, workshop reports, bylaws, etc will be mailed to each delegate and each Intergroup in September 2006.  The following is a brief description of some of the highlights of the conference. 

 

There were only a few motions presented to the delegates at this year’s conference. Perhaps the most interesting and somewhat controversial was the motion to add exercise to the current list of OA tools.  It prompted much discussion and thoughtful analysis.  On the pro side, delegates noted that exercise is increasingly linked to a healthy lifestyle and a food plan without the other components of health (including stress management and exercise) was incomplete.  On the con side, many delegates felt it was an outside issue.  While the current 8 tools could each be linked to a specific step, exercise did not easily fall into any specific step.  The motion was defeated but expect it to come back to the group at some later date.

 

Workshops generated the most interest this year.  Sponsorship, using the tools, Tradition Four issues, and the stigma of membership were presentations that each reiterated the importance of active involvement in the OA fellowship as a means of recovery.  In keeping with the theme, OA Without Borders, the two workshops which “spoke” to me were (a) Passport to Freedom: Hearing is Believing and (b) Avoiding Detours:  The Disruptive Member.

 

OA has come out with a 25-minute CD which was played for the group at the Passport to Freedom workshop.  OA members from around the world, speaking in their own voices tell ‘what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now.’  The group attending sat spellbound as members described the devastation caused by the food compulsion, how they found OA, and how OA has allowed them to live in recovery and serenity. The CD is available for purchase in the OA literature catalog.

 

In view of the SVIOA ongoing lawsuit with a disruptive member, the second workshop was also enlightening.  Many groups have faced similar issues although none spoke of being sued as a result.  The most important suggestion reiterated many times was that a written statement about cross-talk in the OA meeting format would usually go far towards preventing many problems faced with members who act out at meetings.  The WSO Managing Director’s Report also contained a brief description of the adverse action taken against WSO by the Sacramento member.  As has happened in SVIOA, the member also lost his case against WSO and has appealed.  WSO now considers him a vexatious litigant in the court case. 

 

OTHER INTERESTING BITS AND PIECES:

 

è    OA exhibited at national conferences of healthcare professionals:  the American Physical Therapy Assn. and the American Public Health Assn. among others.

 

è    Plans are already underway to celebrate OA’s 50th year at the WSO Convention in 2010.  It will be held in LA.

 

è    OA is in a much healthier financial position than a few years ago and again ended the year in the black.

 

è    The LA Intergroup has set up a Virtual Online Speakers Bureau which can be accessed as MP3 files (digital audio files) through their website (www.oalaintergroup.org).

 

è    Internet and telephone meetings continue to be important ways for OA members to share their recovery, making OA a boundless, borderless community.  Currently WSO is seeking a way to integrated OA online meetings into the service structure as they have no way of being represented at this time. 

 

è    The HIPM Committee (renamed the Professional Outreach Committee) suggested starting OA meetings at grade schools and junior high schools as after-school programs or during the lunch hour. 

 

è    When sending in contributions to WSO please be sure to put your group number on your donation so that it can be correctly accounted for at the WSO office.