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Mar-Anon

Updated Feb 7, 2025

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Business Meeting

Business meetings are generally scheduled before or after the group’s regular meeting for members to discuss and decide about group business.

(minimum of 5 attendees/members who attend)

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Business Meeting Purpose:

To promote group unity
To help the group and its officers make decisions
To allow members to be heard
To inform members of the duties of the group officers
To ensure the rotation of group officers regularly
A special group conscience meeting can be called in the event of an unexpected conflict or item

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Sharing ideas for outreach support
Expressing concerns
Planning special meetings or projects
Changing the group name, meeting time and place, finances, or meeting format
Deciding whether to open or close meetings
Electing new group officers
Scheduling meetings
Receiving and discussing the treasurer’s financial reports for in-person meetings
Progress reports from the officers

Business Meeting Objectives:

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Chairperson: Leads and moderates the meetings.
Co-Chairperson: Handles technology part of the meeting and supports the chair
Secretary: Takes notes and organizes content and members, helps make announcements, and provides access to updated notes and decisions
Treasurer: Financial Reporting
Librarian: Reports and manages the groups' books, literature, and chips
Newcomer Support: Contacts newcomers outside of the meeting to provide fellowship
Group Representative Meeting: This person represents the meeting group at Mar-Anon Liaison meetings every six months to communicate questions or concerns with the Mar-Anon Board of Directors (Mar-Anon will provide the Zoom link)

Business Group Meeting Officers and their roles:

Each meeting decides how to elect officers. (minimum of 3 officers)

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To maintain unity, it is always wise to seek consensus, a position reached by the group unanimously. However, where there is none, a two-thirds majority vote is suggested to carry a decision, or you can have a quorum, which is the minimal number of members who must be present for a valid business transaction/decision to occur. It is suggested that 50% of the group's members + 1 is a quorum.

Home group members are only allowed to vote. Non-home group members can attend the business meeting and make recommendations or suggestions but cannot vote. Mar-Anon members can only have one home group, which is the meeting you attend regularly and provide service for.

Items to consider and decide:

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Announce business meeting dates ahead of time, preferably at least 1-month prior.

Ask members to submit ideas and concerns two weeks prior to the business meetings to place them on the agenda; otherwise, they will be added to the next scheduled business meeting.

Handing out or emailing copies of the group officer duties and the agenda in advance helps members become better informed about service positions.

Preparation:

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Link to Mar-Anon Business Meeting Guide Format

https://mar-anon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mar-Anon-business-meeting-with-group-conscience-2.7.2025.pdf

Business Meeting Agenda Guidelines:

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Part of the Business Meeting

Group Conscience

The Group Conscience is the will of the group or the collective conscience of the group.

It is our organization's process and cornerstone.
It empowers every member to propose changes and modifications.
These proposals are then put to the vote, allowing the group to democratically adopt or reject them using the Twelve Traditions as guides, maintaining “principles above personalities.”

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