Bylaws – LASCYPAA Advisory Council

LASCYPAA BYLAWS

ARTICLE I – PREAMBLE

We, the members of the LASCYPAA Advisory Council set forth on this day to establish and preserve, by following the principles, the experience of our predecessors. In 1985, the Louisiana State Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (LASCYPAA) was founded for the purpose of furthering the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) among young people. We do think it beneficial to establish a custodian to preserve the efforts and experience, lest they be lost. Being cognizant that all young people do not find our conference or meeting necessary, we do not propose to be a universal answer or a governing body for young people. We believe it beneficial to share our experience with all who request our help, for it is through our sharing that we have learned to function within the framework of the AA traditions.

ARTICLE II – FACTS, AIMS AND PURPOSES

Alcoholism is a disease that can affect anyone regardless of age. The first young people’s group in Louisiana was founded in New Orleans in 1974. Since that time, young people’s groups have been formed all over Louisiana. In 1984, a regional conference of young people in AA was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At the Regional Conference, the idea of a state conference was suggested. LASCYPAA was held for the first time in Shreveport/Bossier in the spring of 1985. The decision was made to have LASCYPAA travel throughout the state on an annual basis. This provides newcomers with a conference where they see and share the experience with other young people in our state.

Young people’s groups try to help the newcomer understand that 20 plus years of drinking coupled with the loss of family, friends and finances are not necessary for one to be ready for sobriety. Young people’s groups bring the newcomer into the mainstream of AA, recovery, service and unity through the twelve steps, twelve traditions and the twelve concepts of world service, carrying AA’s message to the suffering alcoholic. Young people’s groups are in no way separate from AA as a whole. Members of young people’s groups are involved in and committed to twelfth step work, treatments and corrections work, public information, general service, and every other facet of AA service. Newcomers are shown by people their own age that using the AA principles in their daily lives and getting involved in AA service can lead to a lasting and comfortable sobriety.

The Louisiana State Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous meets annually. This meeting provides an opportunity for alcoholics from all over the state and region to come together and share their experience, strength, and hope as a young person in AA. LASCYPAA is overwhelming visual evidence that large numbers of young people are achieving a lasting and comfortable sobriety in AA. Alcoholics who attend LASCYPAA return home feeling prepared to receive young people who come to AA looking for a better way of life.

ARTICLE III – OBJECT

The Council is the custodian of the conference and the Board of Directors of LASCYPAA. It is both the legal guardian and spiritual servant of LASCYPAA. Its’ purposes are but not limited to:

Practice the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts of Alcoholics Anonymous for World Service.
To demonstrate the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous among young people in the state of Louisiana.
To establish a permanent committee that ensures the preservation of the LASCYPAA experience and materials.
To serve as custodian of the Conference, and share its knowledge and experience with any member of AA who requests it.
Provide guidance to Committees who are bidding for the Conference.
Provide guidance to the current Host Committee.
Provide custodial oversight of LASCYPAA and veto power over the Host Committee.
To select a host city for each year’s Conference.
Uphold its fiduciary responsibility.
Practice transparency in its affairs.
Maintain the LASCYPAA archives.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

Each conference committee shall select three (3) people to serve on the Advisory Council.

They shall select three (3) people to serve as alternates. (6 total elected Advisory members from each Conference, 3 full membership and 3 alternates) Those being selected must have served on the conference committee continuously for six (6) months prior to the actual conference on which they served. They must be sober at least one (1) year. Those elected to serve are required to serve through five (5) additional traveling conferences. Elections will be conducted by current Advisory Council members within 30 days of the conference using 3rd legacy procedures. Alternates will be elected in order of first, second then third. Should the council not have full membership (12) not to exceed (15), those rotating off may be requested to serve until the Council again reaches full strength (12). Vacant council seats shall be filled by previously designated alternates and approved by the Council.

Failure to attend two (2) consecutive conferences or mandatory meetings shall cause advisory council membership to be up for review. Advisory members who are present are required to attend all Advisory activities at conference and mid year.

Relapse shall be considered a resignation.

If council members miss two (2) advisory meetings (including Zoom meetings) in a row and does not contact the chair or make other arrangements then, together with the rest of the council, their position is up for reevaluation.

(To clarify, the purpose of this bylaw is to allow the council, with the member in question, to evaluate whether they are still willing and able to fulfill their membership on the committee, not to punish members for not showing up.)

ARTICLE V – OPERATING COMMITTEE

The council shall elect from its membership an operating committee consisting of, but not limiting to, a chairperson, co-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. They shall act and be of service by the direction of the council and shall not take actions individually or collectively without the consent of the council. Operating committee members must be council members. It is suggested They must serve on the council one (1) calendar year before being elected to the operating committee. Upon election, they shall serve for two calendar (2) years, or until their service commitment is fulfilled, and may be elected to one additional term. Council shall use 3rd legacy election guidelines found in the service manual.

If someone steps down from their position (only serving out half their term), elections will be held. If this occurs during the middle of a two (2) year term, then the person elected into the position will only serve one (1) year. If the person is re-elected to the same term, they are eligible to run for re-election into the same position, and then serve a full two (2) year term since they were not able to fulfill the full term of the position previously. They can only serve in that position for a max term of 3 years. Elections are held every 2 years at the conference for all positions.

SITE SELECTION PROCEDURES:

Site selection will be voted on at the conference annually by open deliberation voting. There will be a Zoom meeting a week after bid books are submitted to discuss the bids books. At the conference after bid skits, there will be a short break followed by open deliberation. Each advisory member will have 2 minutes each to say what they liked and disliked about each bid. After the short discussion 2 neutral members outside of the council will carry out 3rd legacy voting. The neutral members conducting the 3rd legacy voting will be selected by the council. After the new host is awarded the new host committee will be debriefed and they will work with the new host committee to arrange pre registration and possible merchandise sales of the following conference. The council will then debrief the bid(s) which are not awarded all in one room after debriefing the newly awarded host committee.

PROCEDURES FOR CALLING AN EMERGENCY MEETING

An emergency meeting can be called by any advisory member. There can be discussion in the Advisory Chat to find a time for a quorum to attend. The meeting must be scheduled 24hrs out in advance so people have time to read the chat and plan to be in attendance. The chair or co chair should be notified of the issue and then individually contact the group. The chair is responsible for understanding the issue to convey this to the group so there is a informed group conscious.

The emergency meeting must be conducted in Zoom and will be scheduled by the Chair. The Chair is responsible for making sure people understand there is a meeting and explaining what the meeting is about with as much detail so the group is an informed conscious.

In the event of a natural disaster or some other event where there is immediate danger the meeting can be scheduled closer than 24hrs, but there should be adequate time for members to be informed there is a meeting.

An Emergency Meeting is defined as any meeting outside of the annual meeting at the conference, mid year and the bi-monthly meetings conducted on Zoom.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The Advisory Council are the guardians and owners of the LASCYPAA Facebook page. As such, there will be admins from both the Advisory Council as well as the Host Committee to keep watch over the page to make sure that nothing keeps us from our primary purpose and diverts us from our common cause.

The Chair and Web Master of the Advisory council are admins on the page as well as the Chair of the Host committee. The Council will work closely with the Host Committee on issues as they arise on the page. The page is a tool for outreach for our conference (and others) and also used to help promote Recovery, Unity and Service. Facebook messenger is used to conduct business throughout the year but all voting happens in person, over the phone or on Zoom when a quorum is present.

If there is something you feel violates our rules of this page please reach out to an admin found in the members section in this page and we will review the post or comment in question.

Rules of the page:

1.) Be kind and courteous. You may be the only Big Book a newcomer sees on the the page. Healthy discussion is fine but post and comments which diverts us from our primary purpose will be taken down. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help others to achieve sobriety.

2.) Post must be in line with the Three Legacies of AA, Unity, Service and Recovery. Post can be conference related, outreach, people reaching out for help, people looking for fellowship etc. Hype is allowed.

3.) Any post which threatens a members safety or goes against the rules will be taken down. If someone makes a post which threatens another member, they can me removed and blocked from the page. This page follows our NDAH (Non Discriminatory Anti Harassment) Policy found here:https://www.lascypaaadvisory.org/index.php/lascypaa-ndah/

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS

CHAIRPERSON

Arrange for and announce the agenda for all Council Meetings prior to the meetings.
Open council meetings with the third step prayer and maintain meetings in reasonable order. Close council meetings with the 7th step prayer. (c.s.)
Recognize members entitled to the floor.
State and put to vote all motions properly made and seconded.
Announce the results of all votes.
Affix his/her signature to all appropriate Council actions and be one of four able signatures on Advisory Council checks.
Responsible to ensure a council representative is available at all Area 27 meetings, to meet with the current host committee, as long as Area is agreeable.
Chairperson will be considered the Secretary in all banking matters.
Arrange mid year meeting, conference meeting and all bi-monthly Zoom meetings.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.
Be admin on the Facebook page.
Shall be named on the Secretary of State’s website listed as the director.

CO-CHAIRPERSON

Shall work closely with the Chair, and assist the Chair during discussion by keeping track of those who wish to speak.
In the absence of the Chairperson, shall accept the full duties of the Chairperson.
If Chair position is left vacant, shall temporarily fill in as Chair until the committee votes by 3rd Legacy procedure to fill the chair position.
Assists Chair with ensuring that all tasks are accomplished.
Carry out the various duties assigned by the Committee.
Act as liaison between the council and the General Service Office.
Be one of four signatures on all bank accounts.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.
Shall obtain quotes for liability insurance for each host year.

TREASURER

Keep accurate records of all Council financial transactions.
Give financial report at Council Meetings and an annual report at the conference advisory meeting.
Give written financial statements.
Have in his/her possession at council meetings all bank statements, deposits, and check books, in order to be prepared to make deposits or disbursements at council meetings.
Maintain all accounts subject to inspection anytime.
Be one of four signatures on all bank accounts.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

SECRETARY

Act as custodian of all council materials with exception to archives.
Keep and transcribe minutes to be emailed to Council Members prior to the next meeting.
Furnish information from our records to anyone who requests it.
Answer all correspondence promptly and to the will of the Council.
Furnish copies of correspondence to all council members on all matters affecting the council of young people in Alcoholics Anonymous.
Be one of four signatures on all bank accounts.
Adds meeting notes to Google Drive folder to keep documented trail of notes.

HOTEL LIAISON

Assists Host and Bid Committee’s with hotel contract negotiations.
Acts as liaison between the Host Committee and Advisory Council when reviewing and giving feedback about the hotel contract.
Upon receiving majority approval from the full council and all questions has been answered to the best of his/her ability, will let the Host Committee know that they are good to sign the hotel contract.
Collects official room night data to give to the Archives chair.
Hold at least one (1) Zoom meeting for bid and host committees.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

OUTREACH

Arranges 2 meetings a year for bids to ask questions and gain direction on the bidding process from advisory members.
Reaches out to potential people interested in bidding and gives experience strength and hope on bidding for LASCYPAA.
Maintains an outreach mailing list and sends bid invitations via this mailing list.
Outreach chairperson shall annually issue to the Area 27 Delegate, Alternate Delegate, Area Chair, all major Louisiana central offices, young people’s groups, and anyone else who requests it, an invitation to bid for the Conference site. Included in this invitation to bid should be the following as listed:

1. A brief description of the Conference background.
2. The facts as to how, when and where bids are accepted.
3. A current conference flier and bid requirements.

Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

ARCHIVIST

Act as caretaker of the archives (documents, memorabilia, traveling showcases, etc.) in such a way that there is no substantial distortion of the material.
Arranges for dry, safe and storage of archival material and prepares a budget for such.
Act as custodian of the conference banner and be responsible for its storage between conferences and for the banner’s delivery to the current Host Committee at the committees’ Advisory Council elections prior to the conference.
Arranges for display space at conferences and events.
Shall work with the Host Committee on matters pertaining to the archives including displays for the conference and material to be collected before, during and after the conference including but not limited to novelties, memorabilia, the Host Committee’s written experience etc.
Documents attendance, pre registration and room night data for future host and historical data on conferences.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

WEBMASTER

To maintain an up to date advisory website including domain, hosting and content management.
To furnish and update all pertinent login information to the Operating Committee and Host Committee.
To maintain and administer any Social Media accounts operated by the council.
Prepare and submit an annual budget for the advisory website.
Be an admin on the Facebook page. and to be the custodian of the Facebook page. This includes the following:
- Turning on and off post approvals
- Turning on and off member approvals
- Filming bid skit’s by going live on the LASCYPAA secret Facebook page.
Must submit a report to the secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

BYLAWS

Have a working knowledge of the advisory Bylaws, Bid Requirements and Guidelines.
Has a working knowledge of 3rd legacy voting and Robert’s Rule of order.
Have a working knowledge of the 12 steps, traditions and concepts to make suggestions on ways the Bylaws can help steer us in a principled direction.
May hold special meetings to review, discuss and update the advisory Bylaws.
Submits agenda items for the chair for any changes to the Bylaws for voting in advisory meetings.
Updates Bylaws on Google Doc and sends updates to Webmaster to change on the website.
Informs bid committees of any Bylaw, Bid requirements and guidelines which will affect their bid.
Must submit report to secretary prior to any advisory meetings.

ARTICLE VII – MEETINGS

The annual meeting shall be held at each LASCYPAA conference and shall be for the purpose of selecting a host city for next year’s LASCYPAA, electing officers, receiving reports by officers, document revisions, and any other business that may arise.

The Annual Mid-Year meeting site shall be selected during the annual conference. The purpose of this meeting is for unity, and to conduct any pressing business as long as quorum is present. Zoom online meetings will be conducted every other month on the second Sunday of the month at 6pm.

The Mid-Year meeting is a mandatory meeting. One-half plus one of the current Council shall constitute a quorum. (Example, if there are twelve Council members, quorum would be seven members.)

ARTICLE VIII – VETO PROCEDURE

The Advisory Council has the chief initiative and the active responsibility in ensuring the integrity and continuity of LASCYPAA year after year. Any host committee decision that may be viewed as detrimental to the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous or to current or future LASCYPAAs would be of utmost concern.

If such a matter comes to the attention of the Advisory Council, all due diligence should be exhausted in communicating the concern to the Host Committee. If after having been informed of the concern, the Host Committee chooses to stay the course, the Operating Committee of the Advisory Council can make a recommendation to the full council that the Host Committee decision be vetoed.

If no Advisory Council meeting is imminent and time is of the essence, an emergency meeting may be called by the Chairperson to address the issue. A vote to veto a Host Committee decision requires a 2/3 vote from present council members.

If the veto passes, the Host Committee Chairperson should be notified by the Advisory Council Chairperson of the decision.

ARTICLE IX – FUNDS

No member of the council shall incur expenses in the council, without first receiving the approval of the council. The council shall act as a body and no individual shall make decisions independent of the majority opinion.

The bank accounts and council material should not be used in group or area business. The advisory council shall accept bids for LASCYPAA once a year at the annual conference.

The council shall maintain a prudent reserve of $10,000.00 and an operating budget of $4,000.00 above prudent reserve. Should the balance exceed this, the excess shall be dispensed responsibly. It should disperse $500.00 if requested by the chosen Host Committee for seed money.

After annual operating expenses have been paid, travel reimbursements may be distributed to Council Members at twenty cents ($0.20) a mile per vehicle for travel to and from the annual Conference unless the Conference is taking place in the city you hosted in. If a member lives out of state, they will be reimbursed from Louisiana state line closest to where they would be traveling through for the conference.

Advisory Council Members shall be reimbursed up to one night per person with tax for the LASCYPAA Conference.

Reimbursements declined by attending council members shall be returned and reincorporated into the Council’s budget.

All Council financial transactions shall be made through its bank accounts. No member of the Council shall incur expenses outside of job description in the Council name without first receiving a two-thirds majority approval of the council. After the reserve amount is met, the Council has the full authority to distribute the money where the need is the greatest within the local service structure of Alcoholics Anonymous.

ARTICLE X – DISSOLUTION

Upon dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed directly into the service structure of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Revised 7/1/23

Download the LASCYPAA Advisory Bylaws