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Spacecoast Intergroup By-Laws
Adopted 9/25/04; Revised 8/6/08
ARTICLE I Name
The name of this organization shall be the Space Coast Intergroup, hereinafter known as Intergroup.
ARTICLE II Purpose
ARTICLE II: Section 1
The Specific and primary purpose of this organization is to aid those with the problem of compulsive eating, to overcome that problem through the 12 steps of Overeaters Anonymous and to serve and represent the OA groups from which the intergroup is formed. The general purpose and power is to promote the public health and to work with and furnish charitable and cultural assistance to those with problems of compulsive eating. This intergroup is in compliance with and qualifies as an exempt organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding section of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).
ARTICLE II: Section 2 The Twelve Steps
The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous are:
1. We admitted we were powerless over food-that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Note: The Twelve Steps cannot be amended by an intergroup.
ARTICLE II: Section 3 The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous
The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous are:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon O.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority–a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for O.A. membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or O.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose–to carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers.
6. An O.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the O.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every O.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. O.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the O.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television, and other public media of communication.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Note: The Twelve Traditions cannot be amended by an intergroup.
ARTICLE II: Section 4 The Twelve Concepts
The Twelve Concepts of Overeaters Anonymous Service are:
1. The ultimate responsibility and authority for OA world services reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
2. The OA groups have delegated to the World Service Business Conference the active maintenance of our world services; thus, the World Service Business Conference is the voice, authority and effective conscience of OA as a whole.
3. The right of decision, based on trust, makes effective leadership possible.
4. The right of participation ensures equality of opportunity for all in the decision-making process.
5. Individuals have the right of appeal and petition in order to ensure that their opinions and personal grievances will be carefully considered.
6. The World Service Business Conference has entrusted the Board of Trustees with the primary responsibility for the administration of Overeaters Anonymous.
7. The Board of Trustees has legal rights and responsibilities accorded to them by OA Bylaws, Subpart A; the rights and responsibilities of the World Service Business Conference are accorded to it by Tradition and by OA Bylaws, Subpart B.
8. The Board of Trustees has delegated to its Executive Committee the responsibility to administer the OA World Service Office.
9. Able, trusted servants, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are indispensable for effective functioning at all service levels.
10. Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service authority; therefore, duplication of efforts is avoided.
11. Trustee administration of the World Service Office should always be assisted by the best standing committees, executives, staffs and consultants.
12. The spiritual foundation for OA service ensures that:
(a) no OA committee or service body shall ever become the seat of perilous wealth or power;
(b) sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, shall be OA’s prudent financial principle;
(c) no OA member shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority;
(d) all important decisions shall be reached by discussion, vote and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity;
(e) no service action shall ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy; and
(f) no OA service committee or service board shall ever perform acts of government, and each shall always remain democratic in thought and action.
Note: The Twelve Concepts cannot be amended by an intergroup.
ARTICLE III Members
Article III: Section 1 Membership of the Intergroup shall consist of the following:
A. The Intergroup board.
B. Intergroup Representatives (IR) which shall consist of one member from each group within the geographic area.
1) Geographic area shall be defined as Brevard and Indian River Counties
Article III: Section 2 Qualifications or eligibility for membership in the Intergroup.
A. Those groups within the geographic definition of Intergroup that have formally registered with the World Service Office and indicated their intention to belong to Intergroup may be considered members.
1) These points shall define an Overeaters Anonymous group:
- a. As a group, they meet to practice the Twelve Steps and twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous
b. All who have the desire to stop eating compulsively are welcome in the group
c. .No member is required to practice any actions in order to remain a member or to have a voice (share in a meeting)
d. As a group they have no affiliation other than Overeaters Anonymous.
e. A group may be formed by two (2) or more persons meeting together as set forth in Section 2 A 1a and as given in OA, Inc. Bylaws, Subpart B, Article V, Section 1.
B. Each group shall be entitled to one vote through its elected IR.C. No group may be registered with another Intergroup.
Article III: Section 3 Intergroup Representatives (IR)
A. Intergroup representatives shall be selected by the group conscience of the group they shall represent. Each IR shall be selected by any method deemed appropriate by their group. The IRs shall serve for a period designated by their group, always subject to recall by the group they represent. Each group shall be free to designate an alternate delegate when the necessity arises.
B. The primary responsibility of the IR, or alternate, is to represent their group at all meetings of the Intergroup, to act as a liaison between this Intergroup and their groups, to see that all communications pertaining to Intergroup are made available and , where requested, read aloud to the group.
Article III: Section 4 Membership with voice and no vote may be:
A. Any employee
B. Any member of the Fellowship who is not a duly elected representative or alternate.
ARTICLE IV The Intergroup Board
Article IV: Section 1 The Intergroup Board
A. The Board shall consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, treasurer, World Service (WS) Business Conference delegate(s), regional representative(s). The immediate past chair person may serve as an ex-officio member of the Intergroup Board for one year. This Intergroup Board shall serve as the executive board.
Article IV: Section 2 Nominations to the Intergroup Board
A. Nominations to the Board shall be made from the floor at the November intergroup meeting and can be presented until the actual time of elections in December (See Article IV A). A nominating committee shall also be formed, at the discretion of the Intergroup.
Article IV: Section 3 Qualifications for the Intergroup Board
A. To be eligible to be a member of the Intergroup Board, a person shall be a member of a local OA group, one year in program, actively working the program by living faithful adherence to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA.
B. A member must have six months of current abstinence
Article IV: Section 4 Method of Election
A. Elections shall be held annually at a meeting specified for that purpose.
B. To be eligible for election to the board, nominee must:
1) meet all qualifications as defined in Article IV, Section 3
2) understand the responsibilities of the position as defined in Article IV, Section 6
C. In order to be elected to membership on the Intergroup Board, a nominee must be present at the election meeting and must receive a majority vote of the IRs.
D. Elections for Chairperson and Secretary are scheduled on even numbered years. (i.e. 2004, 2006 …); elections for Vice-Chairperson and Treasurer are scheduled on odd numbered years (i.e. 2005, 2007 …).
Article IV: Section 5 Term of Office
A. Board members shall be elected to serve for a period of two (2) years, including the WS Conference delegate(s) and the region representative(s) (RRs) who shall also be elected for a two (2) year term.
B. Upon election to the Board, members shall cease to be a representative of their group; and that group shall elect a new intergroup representative (IR).
Article IV: Section 6 Responsibilities of the Intergroup Board
A. Chairperson:
1) Shall preside at all regular and special meetings of this Intergroup.
2) Shall be responsible for establishing the agenda for all Intergroup meetings.
3) May vote only in event of a tie.
4) May attend all standing committee meetings.
5) May be removed after two (2) consecutive and unexcused absences from meetings of this Intergroup. (See Article IV, Section 7 – Vacancies.)
B. Vice-chairperson:
1) Shall serve in the absence of the chairperson
2) Shall assist the chairperson whenever needed
3) May attend all standing committee meetings
4) May be removed after two (2) consecutive and unexcused absences from meetings of this Intergroup. (See Article IV, Section 7)
C. Secretary:
1) Shall see that minutes are kept of all Intergroup meetings and that a copy of said minutes is printed and mailed to each Intergroup Representative (IR). As a cooperative gesture, a copy of minutes may be sent to the regional trustee.
2) Shall maintain a file of all minutes of past meetings.
3) Shall direct correspondence to the appropriate officer or committee chairperson and maintain a file of outgoing correspondence.
4) Shall distribute notices of all meetings of the Intergroup as described in Article V.
5) Shall keep WSO informed of all changes to group information.
6) May attend all standing committee meetings.
7) May be removed after two (2) consecutive and unexcused absences from meetings of this Intergroup. (See Article IV, Section 7)
D. Treasurer:
1) Shall maintain a checking and savings account, if necessary, for dispersal of Intergroup funds.
2) Shall submit financial reports each month at the Intergroup meetings.
3) Shall serve as chairperson of the Budget Committee.
4) Shall preside over meetings in the absence of the chairperson and the Vice-chairperson.
5) May attend all standing committee meetings.
6) May be removed after two (2) consecutive and unexcused absences from meetings of this Intergroup. (Article IV, Section 7)
E. World Service Conference Delegate(s):
1) Shall attend the World Service Conference of Overeaters Anonymous.
2) In all areas, the WS Conference Delegate shall meet qualifications and requirements as outlined and defined in the Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Bylaws, Subpart B, Article X, Section 3c.
a) Qualifications for selection of World Service delegates/alternates shall be set by each intergroup provided that each delegate/alternate shall have at least one (1) year of current abstinence and at least two (2) years of service above the group level.
b) Permission for any exception in qualifications for valid reasons, if deemed credible by the trustees, may be received by application to the World Service Office.
c) As an intergroup we are entitled to have one (1) qualified delegate for up to the first fifteen (15) groups and one for each additional fifteen (15) groups of any fraction thereof. All groups must be registered with WSO and within the intergroup geographical proximity
d) Delegates and alternates should be selected at least one-hundred twenty (120) days before the annual Conference and the names forwarded immediately upon selection to the World Service Office of Overeaters Anonymous.
e) If the intergroup board does not select its delegate(s) and alternate(s) or fails to inform the World Service Office of Overeaters Anonymous before the annual meeting, such delegate(s) and alternate(s) may appear the Conference with evidence of their due selection deemed credible by the trustees and such delegate(s) shall be seated.
3) Shall serve Overeaters Anonymous and the World Service Conference until the following Conference.
4) Shall serve no more than four (4) consecutive years, except for reasons to be decided by the group conscience of the Intergroup with respect to the delegate.
5) Shall report, either orally or in writing as designated by the Intergroup, the actions of the Conference to all groups the Intergroup represents; to keep the Intergroup and represented groups aware of WSO information to the area.
6) Attends all Region 8 meetings and works closely with Region 8 Representative(s).
7) May attend all standing committee meetings.
F. Regional Representative(s) (RRs):
1) Shall attend all region assembly meetings.
2) In all areas, the RR shall meet all qualifications and requirements as outlined in the Region 8 Bylaws. Needs one year of service above group level.
3) Shall serve Overeaters Anonymous and Region 8 for the full term as designated by the region bylaws.
4) Shall serve no more than four (4) consecutive years, except for reasons to be decided by the group conscience of the Intergroup with respect to the RR.
5) Shall report, either orally or in writing as designated by the Intergroup, the actions of the region assembly to all groups they represent; to keep the Intergroup and represented groups aware of region information; to communicate important information to the area.
6) May attend all standing committee meetings.
7) May be removed after two (2) consecutive and unexcused absences from meetings of this Intergroup. (Art IV, Sec 7)
Article IV: Section 7 Vacancies and Resignations
A. If a member of the Intergroup Board fails to attend two (2) consecutive meetings without prior notice, his/her office may be declared vacant by a majority of those members present and voting.
B. Any board member may resign at any time for any reason by giving the chairperson of the Intergroup written notice.
C. Any board member of this Intergroup may be removed from office by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the IRs at a special meeting announced for that purpose.
Article IV: Section 8 Filling of Vacancies
A. Vacancies shall be filled by a majority vote at that meeting in which the vacancy occurred, or at the next meeting or special meeting of the Intergroup. Such persons chosen to fill said vacancies shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
B. A person chosen to fill any vacancy on the board shall meet the qualifications as defined in Article IV, Section 3 and be aware of all responsibilities of that position as described and defined in Article IV.
ARTICLE V Meetings
Article V: Section 1 Regular Meetings
A. The Intergroup shall meet monthly at a time and place designated by a majority of the voting members.
Article V: Section 2 Annual Meetings
A. An annual meeting shall be held in the month of June for the election of officers.
Article V: Section 3 Special Meetings
A. A special meeting may be called at any time by a majority vote of the Intergroup Board by giving notice as prescribed in Article V, Section 4
Article V: Section 4 Method of Notification
A. Notification of all meetings shall consist of notices prepared by the Intergroup secretary and distributed to each group secretary and/or IR ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting. Notification may also be made by placing an announcement in the Intergroup newsletter, if any, or by mail and at the prior Intergroup meeting.
Article V: Section 5 Quorum
A. Those voting members present at any meeting of this Intergroup shall constitute a quorum for all proceedings of the Intergroup.
ARTICLE VI Committees
Article VI: Section 1
The following standing committees may be established as required to carry out the purposes of Intergroup in the most effective and efficient manner.
A. Newsletter
B. Literature/Lifeline
C. Public Information
D. Twelfth Step
E. Budget
F. Special Events [Retreats/marathons]
G. Bylaws
H. Hospitals, Institutions, Professional, Military
I. Cassette/Tape Library
J. Other committees, standing or special deemed necessary to carry on special work)
Article VI: Section 2 Committee Appointments
A. The board shall designate such committees as are deemed necessary for the welfare and operation of the Intergroup. The chairperson shall appoint a committee chairperson from those present who meet IR qualifications. Any OA member present meeting IR qualifications may be appointed to chair a standing committee with approval of the established quorum.
Article VI: Section 3 Committee Procedures
A. Each standing committee may prescribe its own rules for calling and holding meetings and its method of procedures, subject to the guidelines of the twelve traditions of OA.
Article VI: Section 4 Committee Responsibility
A. Each standing committee chairperson shall submit a written or verbal report to the Intergroup preferably monthly but at least quarterly and at the end of any specific event coordinated by that committee. If any monies are expended, a detailed and itemized report shall be included with the report.
Article VI: Section 5 Ex-officio Members
A. Past committee chairperson may serve in an ex-officio capacity in their respective committees.
Article VI: Section 6 Vacancies
A. Should a vacancy, resignation or removal occur in any standing committee, all pertinent information shall be turned over to the Intergroup chairperson. The chairperson shall then appoint a new committee chairperson to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
ARTICLE VII Source of Funds Article VII: Section 1 Source of Funds
A. Voluntary contributions of the member groups shall be the primary source of funds.
B. Secondary source of income may be such occasional projects or activities as may be authorized by the Intergroup according to tradition six.
C. The Intergroup may accept donations from OA members, conforming with the general practice of OA.
D. The maximum allowable annual donation to the Intergroup by OA members is to be limited to five hundred dollars ($500).
E. The acceptance of bequests or donations from any outside source is prohibited.
F. The Intergroup shall not accept the responsibility for trusteeship over, or enter into the distribution or allocation of funds set up outside of Overeaters Anonymous.
Article VII: Section 2
There shall be no accumulation of funds beyond current necessities, with retention of only a prudent reserve for contingencies. Funds in excess will be donated to Region 8 and the World Service Office on a regular basis as directed by the Intergroup.
ARTICLE VIII Parliamentary Authority
Article VIII: Section 1
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern this Intergroup in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws, OA Inc. Bylaws or any special rules of order this Intergroup may adopt.
ARTICLE IX Amendments to These Bylaws
Article IX: Section 1
These bylaws may be amended at any time by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the IRs and board members present at any regular or special meeting of the Intergroup, provided a copy of the proposed amendment has been submitted in writing and received by each group affiliated with this Intergroup at least twenty (20) days prior to the meeting in which action is to be taken on the amendment.
ARTICLE X Major Policy Matters
Article X: Section 1
Matters which affect this Intergroup and /or groups within its service area shall be referred to the Board of this Intergroup. Matters which relate to Overeaters Anonymous as a whole shall be referred to the World Service Board of trustees.
ARTICLE XI Dissolution
Article XI: Section 1
Upon the dissolution of this association, after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the association, the remaining assets shall be distributed to the World Service Office of Overeaters Anonymous, or to a non-profit fund, association, foundation, or corporation, which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable educational or religious and/or scientific purposes and which has established its tax-exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Article XI: Section 2
No part of the net earnings of this association shall ever inure to or be used for the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the association shall be empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payment and distribution in furtherance of the express purposes for which it is formed.
