t’s 5:37am as I write this and I am hungry. ‘nuf said.
The PM session opens with our parliamentarian briefing us on our rights and responsibilities as delegates.
Next, on to the motions. The first, Motion A-a is to adopt the revised pamphlet: Treatment and Beyond
Three members stood and spoke in support. None spoke against, this motion passed.
Next up, Motion A changed how and who decides when to stop printing OA Conference Approved literature. This is literature which is still valid and current and useful but, because we sell very few pieces, printing new copies makes not financial sense. The motion really did clarify the muddy procedure that had been in place.
I was concerned that these conference approved pieces of literature would disappear if we didn’t print them and as they are still approved, we should at least place them on the OA website for members if they want/need them. The amendment was debated. There were two pro and two con. I voted pro but I did not watch the hall to see how the vote went. The amendment passed and I learned later it passed by a large margin.
This motion, A, gave the power to discontinue printing to the Executive Committee of the BOT. This is, I think, 6 people. The second amendment aimed to restore to the full board (15 members), this power. The concern was that two few people would be making this decision. I agreed with the amendment. 2 members spoke pro and 2 con. In the end this amendment was defeated and the motion was passed, with just the one amendment.
Motion E, B, C and D each moved to create official policies in support of OAs Public Awareness Campaign. So, with one motion, we established a Media Policy confirming what we already do: Press releases, website, bill boards, etc. Another motion made clear that yes, it is ok to use Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Still another defined what we mean by Attraction, Promotion, Cooperation and Affiliation.
As the Delegate Co-chair of the Public Information committee, I stood to speak Pro to the first two of these. After it was clear that they would all pass, I just sat on my hands and let them all pass. There was never a con speaker.
Motion K was next and it proposed to combine the Professional Outreach and Public Information committees at WSBC. The case was made that these two committees largely have the same goals and often duplicate efforts. This motion had 3 pro and 3 con. I stood con as I believed and believe that while these committees should consult and share, there missions are different.
After some announcements, thus ended the afternoon business session. In the evening we had a forum on language in OA. I’ll write about that later.
Steve