Please enjoy and share these highlights from our September Board meeting. It is important for the democracy of Al-Anon that our fellow members know what we are working on and we rely on our service structure for this to happen. Thank you for taking the time to be informed.

The Board met on 7-8 September 2019 at the NZAGSO.

We were delighted to see the successful implementation of the new NZ Al-Anon Family Groups website and receive reports on the work that is taking place.  The fellowship has invested in this upgrade to make it attractive and as user friendly (with a responsive design) as possible. Check it out on your device.

We discussed the status of the NZAFG PO Toll-Free number 0508 425 2666 which allows the public to phone for free for information about our meetings.  At Conference 2019 it was agreed that this number would become permanent and that it would be implemented using menu routing.  This means that when the caller phones they are greeted with a menu from which they are able to select the area in which they wish to attend a meeting and the call is then answered by a member in that Area. This implementation is now complete.

We got a sneak peek at the Conference Summary 2019. This is almost ready for release to the fellowship, keep an eye out for it on the website. We have started planning for Conference 2020 which will be held 18-21 June 2020 at the Friary with the theme “Let it Begin with Me”.

The planning for Convention 2020 on 17-19 January 2020 at Christchurch is underway.  The theme is “Living Serenely One Day at A Time”.  We suggest you book your flights for Christchurch and we  look forward to seeing you there.

Preparations for the NZAFG attendance at Cutting Edge Conference on 18 – 21 September 2019, at the Cordis Hotel, Auckland are almost complete. This conference is New Zealand’s key addiction professionals gathering providing an excellent opportunity for the addiction sector to get together, to network, and to learn about and embrace innovative thinking and practices.  We have a number of give-away items for attendees to help publicise Al-Anon Family Groups and improve our communications with professionals in this field.

We have also completed our annual review of the Board Strategic Plan and have a new mission statement: To help Friends and Familes of alcoholics and to ensure that the necessary resources are available in the future. (added italics)

We completed our annual board inventory to ensure the healthy functioning of the board. We also spent some time on succession planning to ensure there are enough board members as members complete their service.  We are sad to report the resignation of the CRBM and we thank her for service. That role is now vacant.  We have now seconded on to the Board Sarah R from Christchurch and we look forward to her joining us in December 2019.

If you would like to know any more about these highlights, or have any questions, please contact your Regional Board Member who will be happy to assist.

In service

John Bansgrove
General Secretary (trial)
NZAGSB