Membership
WSC members include all members of the Board of Trustees and all Area Delegates (see Part 2). Any member of S-Anon is welcome to attend the WSC, but only WSC members have a voice and vote. WSC members are encouraged to join a committee and serve on that committee during the year.
Agenda
The WSC agenda is similar to most organizational meeting agendas as suggested by Robert’s Rules of Order:
• Roll is taken.
• A quorum is established.
• Since the BOT officers and standing committee reports have been distributed in advance
only highlights of reports will be offered. Questions are welcome at this time.
• Delegates give a report.
• Motions presented by WSC members are addressed.
Standing Rules
The World Service Conference follows Parliamentary Procedure as outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order. It is essential to have a parliamentarian, or one or more S-Anon members not seated on the WSC who are well-versed in Robert’s Rules, available to address questions of procedure. These additional Standing Rules were approved by the WSC in 2004 and in 2013.
• Only WSC members* have a voice and a vote. They must wear badges and be recognized by the Chairperson to speak.
• Members who wish to speak must line up at the microphones, be recognized by the Chairperson, and be called on in order, with speakers “for” and “against” alternating.
• The presenter(s) of the motion will have 3 minutes to introduce their motion. This time is separate from time granted to them under rule #4.
• Each member may speak for 3 minutes on a topic/motion.
• Each member may only speak one time on a topic/motion.
• Voting will be done by a show of hands.
• Asking or answering a question does not count as time at the microphone, provided the member does not continue to debate the issue.
• Roberts Rules of Order may not be invoked to close off discussion before all members who are rightfully entitled to speak have spoken to the issue.
WSC members are members of the Board of Trustees and Area Delegates. “WSC members” does not refer to S-Anon members in general.
Credentials Committee
Members of the Credentials Committee carry out the following activities:
• Welcome Delegates and Trustees and record their presence.
• Make available to visitors a limited number of agendas, copies of committee reports, etc.
• Provide Delegates and Trustees name badges.
• Establish the conference quorum. A quorum is two-thirds of all WSC members in attendance at the WSC. Report the quorum number to the conference.
Motions
The World Service Conference is meant to be a forum for discussion of issues and policies that affect S-Anon as a whole. For that reason, motions received that would be more limited in scope will be referred to the Board of Trustees or the appropriate Standing Committee for a response.
Motions may be submitted at any time of the year. In early January, a Call for Motions is sent out to all WSC members of record. It is the responsibility of the Area Delegate to be sure that all Area groups receive a motion form and an invitation to submit a motion if desired. Any individual S-Anon member can write a motion, but only WSC members can submit a motion to the WSC. The deadline for submitting motions is February 1. This allows time for the motions to be reviewed and processed by the World Service Conference Committee and prepared for distribution to WSC members by early May.
Writing a Motion
Motions should contain the following information and be limited to two pages. (See Appendix H for the Motion Template and a Sample Motion.)
• Exact language of the motion
• Paragraph describing the intent of the motion
• Statement of financial impact on the fellowship (to be provided by the Treasurer of the BOT and the Finance Committee after the motion is received)
• One or more arguments in favor of the motion
• One or more arguments against the motion (to be provided by the WSCC or BOT after the motion is received)
• Paragraph referencing how the motion is supported by S-Anon’s Steps, Traditions, and/or Concepts of Service and documenting how the specific changes will be implemented should the motion pass.
• The name and contact information of the submitter.
For additional information about motion writing, see “Writing a Motion to the World Service Conference” Service Literature (L-27) available for download through the S-Anon bookstore.
Submitting Motions
The Board of Trustees and the World Service Conference Committee (WSCC) invite and receive policy, procedural, and administrative motions from individual members and groups through their Area Delegate or Regional Trustee, or another BOT member if their region is not represented by a Delegate or Regional Trustee.
If an Area does not have an Area Delegate, we suggest that the local groups attempt to organize to elect a Delegate at least three months prior to the upcoming WSC and submit the motion through that elected Area Delegate.
If an Area that is not represented by an Area Delegate is unable to elect and send a Delegate, a motion may be submitted to the World Service Office for routing to the appropriate Regional Trustee. Motions from individuals and groups are accepted when submitted through the Regional Trustee only if the unorganized Area is unable to elect and send a delegate.
If neither a Delegate nor a Regional Trustee represents an Area, the WSO will request that another BOT member submit the motion on the submitter’s behalf.
Any Board of Trustees member may submit a motion for consideration by the WSC. A Committee Chair from the BOT also may submit a motion.
How Motions are Processed
The WSC Committee prepares the motions for the agenda. Motions that are limited in scope or impact are referred to the appropriate standing committee for response or action. In some cases, the BOT may adopt a motion without further discussion. Motions that may have a broad impact on the fellowship are reviewed according to the following criteria:
• Does the motion call for concrete actions or changes that would impact S-Anon as a whole?
• Is the action called for in the motion legal and in compliance with regulations governing 501c3 nonprofit corporations?
• Is the motion calling for action that is within the WSC’s “Traditional” role and not about corporate/legal functions of the BOT?
• Does the motion align with the principles of S-Anon’s Steps, Traditions, and Concepts?
• Is the motion about an action that has already been or is being taken on an issue?
• Is the motion language respectful, and does it clearly state what is actually being proposed?
• Does the motion cover all information requested in the Motion Form, and is it limited to two pages in length?
Motions that meet these criteria are placed on the agenda and distributed to the Area Delegates for discussion within each Area.
Out of Order Motions
Sometimes motions are received that are worthy of consideration, but do not rise to the standard of “affecting S-Anon as a whole” or do not meet the criteria in the bullet points above. Motions like this are considered “out of order.”
An example would be a motion to change the reimbursement formula for Area Delegates. If a motion is received that is more limited in scope, or only affects a limited number of members in S-Anon, it is referred to the Board of Trustees or the appropriate Standing Committee for a response. Other examples of motions that are “out of order” include:
• A motion submitted from the fellowship for revisions to S-Anon literature. These are forwarded to the Literature Committee for consideration and recommendation. The Literature Committee, however, may submit motions to the WSC requesting “concept approval” for a major piece of literature or a change to the process by which literature becomes Conference Approved.
• A motion to relocate the World Service Office into a residence would be considered out of order as it would violate a zoning ordinance.
• A motion to donate to a shelter for victims of sexual abuse would be out of order. It is outside the scope of S-Anon’s purpose (Tradition 6).
• A motion that states “S-Anon stands for helping relatives and friends of Sexaholics” would be out of order. No action is called for and it is redundant.
There is new writing underway to further define motions that are out of order.
ROLE OF AREA DELEGATES
Area Delegates (AD) have important responsibilities before, during, and after a World Service Conference. The AD may also play an important role in the local and Area service structure.
Prior to the WSC: During the months leading up to the WSC, the ADs receive periodic communications from the WSC Committee. In May, ADs receive the motions to be considered at the WSC in July. The AD shares the motions with Area groups, encouraging all groups to review and discuss the motions, and then report back with their views on each issue by a predetermined date. Some ADs attend various area S-Anon meetings and participate in the group conscience discussions, while others work through Intergroups and rely on group representatives to understand each group’s position on the issues. Others email the motions to members and ask for feedback. Each AD and the groups in the Area have the freedom to design a communication process that works for the Area. The AD listens with an open mind to all points of view from the Area groups and prepares to bring the Area’s perspective to the WSC. (NOTE: If an Area is unable to cover all or part of the expenses required for its AD to attend the WSC, partial financial support is available from the WSO).
During the WSC: ADs are expected to arrive at the WSC fully informed and able to present the views of Area groups on the motions to be considered (Concepts Four, Five). During the deliberation on each motion, ADs listen with an open mind to all points of view, thoughtfully and prayerfully considering the perspectives presented by other ADs and the Trustees. The AD then votes his or her conscience on each motion as she or he believes best supports the interests of the entire Fellowship (Tradition Two, Concept Twelve-Warranty Three).
Following the WSC: ADs report the results of the voting on each motion to their Area groups. Some ADs write a report and send it to groups via email. Others hold conference calls or share the results at meetings. This follow-up is important because it completes the communication cycle and keeps members informed.
ROLE OF ALTERNATE AREA DELEGATES
In addition to the AD, each Area is encouraged to elect an Alternate Area Delegate (Alternate AD), who also registers with the WSO and is put into contact with the General Delegate Assembly. The Alternate AD, while not an official part of our service structure per the WSC Charter, learns about the AD role and responsibilities and may assist the AD with some of their tasks. They would perhaps be in a position to be the next logical AD at the end of the current AD’s term or to step in if the elected AD cannot serve their full term. The Alternate AD may attend the WSC but does not have a voice or vote, unless the AD cannot attend at all, or has to leave the meeting due to unforeseen circumstances.
RECORDING THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WSC
The proceedings of the WSC are recorded. Only one copy of the recording is made and is archived at the WSO. Three microphones are used. One is for the Chairperson, who will stand at a podium at the front of the room. Two microphones on stands will be placed at either side of the room and be labeled “pro” and “con” respectively. Only WSC members may speak at the microphone, and they must line up and wait to be recognized by the Chairperson.
WSC MINUTES AND SUMMARY
The Summary of the WSC Proceedings is written by the WSCC or someone they appoint soon after the conference ends. The WSC recording secretary prepares minutes from the recording of the conference. The WSCC Chair or his/her designee reviews the WSC minutes before they are distributed. Then the minutes are emailed to WSC members and an online voting process to approve the minutes is conducted. If a quorum of the WSC members who attended the meeting vote in favor, the minutes are approved.
After the minutes are approved and ready for distribution, the WSO Executive Director or his/her designee directs the webmaster to post the minutes on www.sanon.org. Individual S-Anon members beyond the BOT and Delegates can request a copy of the minutes, and the copy will be emailed after the minutes have been approved by the BOT and Delegates.
FELLOWSHIPWIDE GROUP CONSCIENCE
A Fellowshipwide Group Conscience (FGC) is only conducted when a motion is passed by the WSC that makes a change to any of the S-Anon Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions or Twelve Concepts of Service. All other motions from the fellowship may be addressed by the WSC, the BOT and its standing committees, or the WSO.
Updated August 2023
