Process for Electing a Regional Trustee (RT)
To become one of the Regional Trustees who serve on S-Anon’s Board of Trustees the candidate must be voted in either by the registered groups in the Region in which he/she would serve, or by a vote of the Board of Trustees (BOT). The Regional Trustee is elected for one three-year term and may be re-elected for one additional consecutive term of three years. There is a six consecutive year maximum to serve as a Board of Trustees member.
1. Election by the Region
a. Qualifications. Each candidate must meet the minimum requirements for service at the BOT level as described in Article III, Section 1 of the By-Laws of S-Anon International Family Groups, Inc. Suggested Experience: “It is suggested that a Board member have been working the S-Anon program long enough to have gained experience at other S-Anon service levels (suggested five years), demonstrated the leadership skills necessary to serve as a Trustee, and have the personal skill set to meet any special requirements for a particular BOT position” and Article III, Section 2 of the By-Laws of S-Anon International Family Groups, Inc. Regional Trustees: An S-Anon member residing in the Region and elected to the Board by their Region shall be seated as the Trustee for that Region, with no further discussion.
It is also suggested that each candidate have service experience above the group level, have a sponsor, and attend meetings regularly. In addition to working the Twelve Steps of S-Anon, it is recommended that each candidate be willing to learn to apply the Twelve Traditions of S-Anon and the S-Anon Twelve Concepts of Service as they relate to the challenges of service. Each candidate should have a willingness to become familiar with the S-Anon/S-Ateen Service Manual and be fully aware of the responsibilities, time commitment and energy required to serve in the full capacity of the Regional Trustee role. For further information, please refer to the S-Anon website under “Regional Trustee Selection, Qualifications and Responsibilities”, “Serving as an S-Anon Regional Trustee” (L-21), and the S-Anon/S-Ateen Service Manual.
b. Regional Trustee Election Process: It is the responsibility of the outgoing Regional Trustee to let their region know, at least six months prior to the end of their term, sooner if possible, that they will be stepping down and ask for candidates to submit their resumes to the World Service Office(WSO). The outgoing Regional Trustee will serve as the election facilitator for their region; however, when there is no current Regional Trustee in a region, the Regional Trustee Chairperson will become the election facilitator and identify another current, or former, Regional Trustee to assist and provide accountability. The facilitator will request current contact information from the WSO for all of the registered groups in the vacant region, use the Trustee election email address for all correspondence related to the election process and send out periodic appeals (Bcc) for service, along with the suggested qualifications. When the first candidate’s letter of intent and resume are received, the facilitator will send an email (Bcc) to all the registered groups in the region informing them of a designated deadline for receiving additional resumes, with the initial candidate’s documents remaining anonymous.
If the current Regional Trustee is considering serving a second three-year term, they will notify the other Regional Trustees of their intent and submit their letter of intent and resume to the WSO. An election facilitator will be chosen from the other current Regional Trustees, or possibly a previous Regional Trustee. This facilitator will notify the region and call for additional candidates to submit their resumes to the WSO as outlined in the paragraph above.
After the facilitator has notified the Region of a deadline for additional candidates to apply, those interested will send their letter of intent and resume to the election email address. When the deadline is reached, the facilitator will send an email (Bcc) or letter to all the registered groups in the region that includes:
• nomination of each candidate
• each candidate’s S-Anon service resume and a letter of intent stating their willingness to serve.
• a ballot
• instructions for how to ask questions
• instructions for how to submit a vote, and what the deadline is, including a statement that each registered group’s response and vote is important because at least 50% of the registered groups in the region must respond in order for the election to be valid.
Prior to sending this information to the registered groups in the Region, the Election Facilitator should make sure that each candidate meets the qualifications described in 1.a, above.
The email or letter should go to all registered groups in the region at least 6 weeks prior to the voting deadline indicated in the letter. Intergroups and Delegates should be cc’d on the emails so they can help facilitate the election process by making sure group contacts share with their home groups, encourage everyone to vote, and remind groups of ballot deadlines.
The email or letter should include instructions related to how registered groups may ask questions once they have received the material and reviewed each candidate’s S-Anon service resume. Questions may be sent to the Election Facilitator and forwarded to each candidate, and/or a forum, such as a conference/zoom call, may be set up with each candidate, Election Facilitator and anyone else who may have questions. If a conference/zoom call is to be held, the letter or email should include information for the call (date, time & call-in number).
The registered groups vote by returning the completed ballot to the Election email address by the given deadline. Each S-Anon member gets only one vote (no matter how many meetings they attend), to be sent in with the group’s ballot (see sample ballot below). No individual ballots will be accepted. Groups should include their ID# when they reply. If a group does not know its group ID#, it may contact the Election Facilitator, or the WSO, at sanon@sanon.org.
If a new group is established and registered with a group ID#, during the election process, every effort should be made to forward the candidate(s) and voting information (Letters, Resumes, Ballot, Directions) to them. If this group is able to vote, then the Election Facilitator will adjust the regional group count accordingly. The Election Facilitator will contact the WSO periodically during the election process to find out if new groups have been registered.
If a registered group has been verified as closed the Election Facilitator should remove the group from the Election database, and notify the WSO.
After the election process is complete the candidate(s), Region, BOT and WSO will be notified of the results.
Special meetings and intergroups are not considered voting registered groups, so they will not receive ballots. The Intergroup members, however, will vote in the registered group that they regularly attend.
c. Election Criteria. In order for the election to be valid, a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the registered groups in the region must respond by the given deadline. When there is only one candidate, a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes received is required in order to elect that candidate. When there are multiple candidates, a simple majority of the votes is needed to elect a Regional Trustee.
If a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the registered groups in the region do not respond, then the region is considered not sufficiently organized to elect a Regional Trustee. The candidate(s) will be notified that the Region did not meet the fifty percent (50%) requirement, then the Region and the WSO will be notified that the Region was not sufficiently organized to elect a Trustee. Each candidate can then submit their letter of intent and resume to the BOT for approval.
The BOT must accept a Regional Trustee duly elected by vote of the registered groups in the Region when the minimum requirements are met.
2. Election by the BOT
a. Qualifications: Same as above.
b. BOT Election of Regional Trustee. If the region is not sufficiently organized to elect a willing candidate, that candidate can then submit their letter of intent and resume to the BOT for approval, complete the BOT application to serve as a Trustee and, assuming favorable consideration, be elected by the BOT.
If no candidates have stepped forward, the BOT may approach a qualified member from the Region, ascertain their willingness, nominate and approve them as stated in the BOT By-Laws.
c. Election Criteria. In this case, approval by the BOT is the only criteria for election.
SAMPLE BALLOT A
(For use with only one candidate)
Group ID# ________
Candidate’s Name: Number of Yes votes ______
Number of No votes ______
Each S-Anon member gets only one vote (no matter how many meetings they attend). If a member has voted in another meeting, they are not counted on this ballot.
SAMPLE BALLOT B
(For use with multiple candidates)
Group ID# ________
Candidate’s Name: Number of Yes votes ______
Candidate’s Name: Number of Yes votes ______
Each S-Anon member gets only one vote (no matter how many meetings they attend). If a member has voted in another meeting, they are not counted on this ballot.
Updated March 2023
