The 2006 LifeRing Congress

The Delegate's Page

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The Congress proper, or Delegates' Assembly, meets on Sunday morning, March 26 2006, in the Maffly Conference Center, Herrick Hospital, 2001 Dwight Way, Berkeley, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. This is the same location as the Friday evening reception and the Saturday breakouts and presentations. Coffee and pastry will be provided. 

Useful background reading on the delegate's role: the LifeRing Bylaws.  Copies available at the Congress.  One copy free to delegates and convenors.  Price $1 for others.

On this page:

• What Do Delegates Do?
• Meeting reports from non-delegates
• Ideas for a report format
• Provisional Agenda for the Delegates' Assembly
• Draft Motion(s) for discussion and decision
• Board of Directors candidates
• Rules of procedure

LifeRing is a democratically run organization. Our basic structure and rules of procedure are laid out in the LifeRing Bylaws. The Bylaws are a slim pamphlet of only 8 pages. The LifeRing Constitutional Congress, which adopted the Bylaws in 2001, wanted to keep them short and simple. Here are some key points from the Bylaws that you will want to know as we approach the 2006 LifeRing Congress.

“The LifeRing Congress is the supreme deliberative and legislative body of the organization.” (§ 5.7) When you attend the Congress proper – the Delegates' Assembly on Sunday morning – you are participating in the government of your organization. There is no power higher than the Congress in LifeRing. The Congress elects the Board of Directors and sets over-all policy for the organization. However, in order to have a vote in the Delegates' Assembly, you must first become a Delegate.

How can you become a Delegate? There are three ways:

(1) Your meeting elects you as Delegate. (§ 5.2)

(2) You are the convenor of a meeting where elections are not practical, such as at inpatient treatment facilities with highly transient populations. You automatically become the Delegate. (§ 5.4, second sentence).

(3) You are a member of the LifeRing Board of Directors or an officer. (§ 5.6)

Please note that face-to-face meetings and online meetings including email lists are treated the same under the Bylaws. (§ 4.2) Small meetings and large meetings are also treated the same: each meeting gets one Delegate. (§ 5.2) 

If yours is a brand-new meeting, make sure that the meeting is “in place” 45 days before the Congress – that is, by Feb. 11, 2006. (§ 5.2.2) Although the Bylaws do not spell it out, it's good practice to also hold Delegate elections before that date. You want the Delegates to have time to prepare themselves before the Congress and to make the necessary arrangements.

The Bylaws don't specify how Delegate elections in meetings should be held, other than that they “shall be consistent with generally accepted principles of democracy and fairness, striving for simplicity and consensus.” (§ 5.4)

One important point, though, is spelled out very clearly: each participant in a meeting has one vote to cast for Delegate, no matter how many different meetings they may attend. (§5.3) If a member attends more than one meeting, they get to decide in which meeting they will cast their vote for Delegate. (§5.3) If the member has already cast their vote for Delegate in another meeting (online or f2f) they are ineligible to vote again. We rely on the honor system to enforce this important rule.

At the Congress, each Delegate has one vote.  A person cannot be a Delegate from more than one meeting.  Proxies are not recognized. A person who is a member of the LifeRing Board of Directors or an officer and also the convenor of a meeting or meetings still has only one vote.  If you are a director/officer and also a convenor, or if you are the convenor of more than one meeting, you can speak for the other meeting(s) as a non-delegate reporter, see below. 

Among the powers of the Congress is to elect the Board of Directors. This year, two seats on the Board of Directors will be up for election. To serve on the Board, you must be in recovery from a substance addiction, at least 21 years old, and have at least two continuous years clean and sober. (§ 6.5) Board terms run for three years. (§ 6.2)

So you've become a Delegate! Congratulations. Now what do you do? First, let the Service Center know ASAP that you've become a Delegate, and identify the meeting you represent. (LifeRing Service Center, Tel. 510-763-0779, or toll-free 1-800-811-4142, service@lifering.org.) Be sure to provide your mailing address, telephone, and email address if applicable.

(1) Before the Congress, ask the members of your meeting what their issues and concerns are. LifeRing is a member-driven organization, and Delegates are the ones with the power to shape the organization to serve the members better. Make notes. If it looks like your members' concerns will require action by the entire Congress, draft a motion or a Bylaws amendment and provide a copy to the Service Center as early as possible so that it can be circulated.

If you want to nominate someone for the Board of Directors, including yourself, advise the Service Center ASAP so that the information can be circulated.

Inform yourself of motions pending and other business items. Join pre-Congress discussions on the lsrcon email list.

(2) At the Congress, be prepared to give a brief oral report on the history and current status of your meeting, and on any other matters your members would like to share with the Delegates' Assembly.  If you like, put your report (or a summary of it) in writing.

(3) After the Congress, prepare a report back to your members about the Congress: what you saw and learned and what the Congress decided. Once you have reported back to your meeting, your Delegate duties are done.

The Bylaws are available for downloading or you can get them ready-made. The Bylaws normally sells for one dollar but a delegate or convenor is entitled to a free copy. Contact the Service Center 510-763-0779, toll-free 1-800-811-4142 or service@lifering.org                   

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To ensure the widest possible sharing of information and experience, the Delegates' Assembly encourages participation by non-delegate reporters.  For example:

• The convenor of a meeting in a special setting where no delegate election is possible is also an officer or a member of the LifeRing Board of Directors, and therefore automatically a delegate already.  This convenor can give a report on the meeting as a non-delegate reporter.
• A convenor convenes two meetings.  One of the meetings does not have a delegate present.  The convenor reports on one meeting as its delegate, and on the other meeting as a non-delegate reporter.
• A meeting was formed too recently to qualify to send a delegate.  Anyone present who participates in that meeting or has other knowledge about it may present a report on the meeting as a non-delegate reporter. 
• A meeting is represented at the Congress by its delegate, but a non-delegate participant in the meeting wants to present additional information about it, or has a different viewpoint than the delegate. That person may present a report as a non-delegate reporter. 

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There is no required format for a meeting report. Here are some ideas of topics that might go into a meeting report:

• The day, time, and geographical location (or url) of the meeting.
• History of the meeting:  who was the founding convenor, how long has it been in existence, what other locations did it used to meet at before its current location, if any.  How many different members have been convenors of this meeting? 
• What kind of place or facility or webserver hosts the meeting?  Is this a good location or are there problems with it? Are there other recovery meetings in the same time slot at the same location? 
• Does the meeting have a special public that it serves?  For example, women only, LGBT, prisoners, dual diagnosis, etc. 
• About how many people have attend the meeting on the average during the past year?  Is attendance growing, holding, or shrinking; how many men, how many women, the approximate age spread.  In an online group: how many different countries and states of the US are represented? 
• About how many people who attend the meeting are regulars? About how many people tend to show up only once or a few times? 
• What range of sobriety times are represented?  About how many people have more than six months clean and sober?  About how many people have more than one year, more than two years?  Do you have a lot of people who need attendance sheets signed (f2f)?  Do you have a lot of people who are court-ordered?  Do you have a lot of people who also attend 12-step meetings?
• Do you use sign-up sheets (f2f)?  Do you circulate member phone lists and email lists?  About what percentage of the participants in a face meeting also participate in LifeRing online?  About what percentage of the participants in an online meeting also participate in an f2f LifeRing meeting? 
• What range of "drugs of choice" are represented? 
• What opening statement does the meeting use, if any?  Who usually reads it? 
• Is LifeRing literature normally displayed at the meeting?  Does the meeting have a supply of pamphlets and books to give out, lend, and sell?  If online, is there a regular reminder or referral to LifeRing literature?  How does the meeting treat newcomers? 
• What is the usual meeting format?  Do you use the "How Was Your Week" format?  Do you use a topic, and if so, how do you select it?  How do you handle crosstalk?  Do you ask people to say how long they've been clean and sober?  Do you usually applaud them when they state their sober time?  What do you do to mark the close of the meeting?
• Has the meeting experienced any particular problems, issues, challenges, events, or victories?  For example, has it been flooded with Salvation Army folks, has there been a problem with disruptive individuals, have counselors or students monitored the meeting, has it had good word of mouth from referral sources, have any of its members distinguished themselves in the world, have people met and got married in the meeting, etc. etc.
• What if anything does the meeting do to get out the word about its existence?  Do members speak to audiences, do you post flyers or signs around your meeting place, etc.
• What kind of relations does the meeting have with referral sources such as treatment professionals, counselors, etc.?  Does the meeting have any contacts with media? 
• Does the meeting normally pass the basket?  How does the meeting handle the money it collects and what expenditures, if any, has the meeting encountered?   Does the meeting contribute to the Service Center?
• Does the meeting hold any social events such as going out to a restaurant after the meeting, or going to movies or on outings together?
• Does the meeting maintain contacts with other LifeRing meetings?  Does the convenor attend convenor workshops?  Do participants in this meeting also attend other LifeRing meetings? 

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• 8:30 a.m.  Report from the Board of Directors, including Financial Report. 
• 9:00 a.m.  Reports from the Meetings
• Approx 11:00 a.m. Discussion and Decision of Motions
• Approx 11:30 a.m. Elections to Board of Directors
• Noon at the latest: Adjournment
• Directly following Adjournment:  Board of Directors' Meeting
• Afternoon: Board of Directors Retreat (See Agenda, PDF)

Normally the Delegates' Assembly is open to all LifeRing participants and guests, but the Assembly has the power to restrict participation and/or attendance at the gathering to Delegates only. 

All LifeRing participants are invited to audit the Board of Directors' meeting and to speak during the open comment period, except if the Board is discussing personnel matters, at which time the meeting may be closed.

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A.  Expand Board of Directors from Seven to Nine Members

This proposal would amend the LifeRing Bylaws at Article 6, Sections 6.1 and 6.3 as follows:

Current text:

6.1. LifeRing Inc. shall have a Board of Directors consisting of seven members.

6.2. Board members shall serve three-year terms.

6.3. Two members of the Board shall be elected at each Congress, except that three members of the Board shall be elected at the founding Congress and at every third Congress thereafter.

Proposed amendment:

6.1. LifeRing Inc. shall have a Board of Directors consisting of seven nine members.

6.2. Board members shall serve three-year terms.

6.3. Two Three members of the Board shall be elected at each Congress. , except that three members of the Board shall be elected at the founding Congress and at every third Congress thereafter.

The proposal requires a two-thirds vote of the delegates to pass.

B.  Establish a Professional Advisory Board

This proposal would add Article 8.4 to the Bylaws, as follows:

8.4  Professional Advisory Board

8.4.1  The Board of Directors shall establish the LifeRing Professional Advisory Board, consisting of professionals in the chemical dependency treatment field and in related areas who are sympathetic to the aims of LifeRing Secular Recovery and are in a position to assist with the progress of the LifeRing organization. 

8.4.2  The powers of the LifeRing Professional Advisory Board shall be advisory only. Members shall serve without compensation. 

The proposal requires a two-thirds vote of the delegates to pass.

C.  Delegates To Have At Least Six Months Clean and Sober

This proposal would add Section 5.4.1 to the Bylaws, as follows:

5.4.1.  To be seated as a delegate, a person shall have abstained from alcohol and illicit or non-medically indicated drugs continuously for at least six months prior to the Delegate's Assembly.

The proposal requires a two-thirds vote of the delegates to pass.

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Candidates for the Board of Directors must be in recovery from a substance addiction, at least 21 years old, and have at least two years clean and sober. (§ 6.5) Board terms run for three years. (§ 6.2)  The Board meets face-to-face once a year directly after the Delegates' Assembly.  Thereafter, the Board meets whenever required using an online chat room.  In recent years the Board has met online about five times a year on the average.  Online Board meetings usually last an hour.  There is a Board of Directors email list where discussion can take place between Board meetings.  A list of current Board members is here. 

The terms of two current directors will expire at the 2006 Congress: Diane Jeanette and Chet Gardiner. 

The Bylaws currently do not spell out a procedure for nominating Board members, and are silent on the matter of election campaigns, speeches, etc.  The manner of balloting is left open.  At past Congresses, nominations were made orally at the Delegates' Assembly.  There was no campaigning and minimal speechmaking. Voting was by secret paper ballot. 

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The Bylaws provide generally that "Robert's Rules of Order shall apply to the procedures of the Congress to the extent they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws or with procedural rules the Congress may adopt."  §5.10.  In practice, past Congresses have run on a consensus-building model, and parliamentary maneuvering (point of order, point of personal privilege, etc.) has been absent.

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