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ARTICLE I
PURPOSE OF MSCYPAA
The Mississippi Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (MSCYPAA) is a group of young sober people that put on a conference for all AA's in the spring of every year. Our mission statement is much like the singleness of purpose: that through service to our conference, we can stay sober and help spread the message to other alcoholics
ARTICLE II
STRUCTURE
Section 1 MSCYPAA shall be structured into two entities - the Advisory
Council and the Conference Committee
Section 2 The conference committee shall be made up of all those who
wish to participate in MSCYPAA. Each attendee shall have one
vote. Absentee voting is not allowed.
Section 3 The advisory council shall be made up of eight members and four
alternates. Each member shall have one vote. Alternates do not
have a vote unless substituting for a member. Absentee voting is
not allowed.
The purpose of the Advisory council is to advise the current conference
committee and share experience on how successful conferences
have been put on in the past. The council shall make itself
available to the conference committee to answer questions and
assist in hotel accommodations, outreach, and speakers.
Additionally the Advisory Council will serve as the guardian of
these by-laws.
Section 1 No officer or any other member of the MSCYPAA advisory
council shall receive compensation for services rendered, but
may be reimbursed for any out of pocket expenditures properly
made.
Section 2 Advisory Council meetings shall be limited to current members
only and will occur the Saturday morning of the conference.
Section 3 The first thirty minutes of said meeting will be open to the
general conference membership for the purpose of stating
concerns, making suggestions, or presenting comments related
to the Conference and/or Advisory Council. Such concerns and
suggestions will be discussed later by the Advisory Council.
Section 4 The Council, at its meetings, shall have the sole authority in
choosing the Conference sites. In the event that no city presents
a bid, the advisory council shall find a suitable site for the
Conference or determine if the Conference should be suspended.
Section 5 At this meeting, the council shall approve distributions of funds
while maintaining a proper prudent reserve. The conference
committee for the next year's conference shall receive $500
above the prudent reserve and the rest of the funds shall be
distributed at the discretion of the Advisory Council.
Section 6 The council shall be foremost aware of the welfare of AA as a
whole. The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous shall be
followed strictly. The council act as a single body, with no single
member making decisions for the whole.
Section 7 No member of the Advisory council shall serve as a officer in the
conference committee.
Section 8 The officers of the advisory council shall consist of a Chairman, a
treasurer, and a secretary whose duties are as follows
Section 9 A quorum of six (6) members shall be present to bring any vote
to the floor and all voting shall be done on issues passed by a
majority of those present.
Section 10
The advisory council shall act as a liaison between all other
YPAA conferences and shall assist other YPAAs in common issues
of outreach and sobriety.
The conference committee is responsible for putting on all fundraisers and
the Spring Conference every year.
Section 1 A new conference committee shall be formed within 6 weeks
after the closing of the previous conference.
Section 2 The conference committee shall involve as many groups in the
area and shall be open to all those who wish to participate.
Section 3 All voting shall be done on issues passed by a majority of those
present.
Section 4 Election of officers shall follow 3
rd
Legacy procedure as outlined
in the General Service Manual of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Section 5 The conference committee shall be solely responsible for putting
on all fund raisers and will be ultimately responsible for putting
on the conference on Memorial Day weekend in May.
Section 6 Regular meetings of Conference shall be held on the first Sunday
of each month, at such place as from time to time designated.
Section 7 Special meetings may called with a majority of members present
and with appropriate notice to those members not present.
Section 8 Conference Committee officers shall be as follows:
Section 1 These By-Laws are enacted to provide a basic structure for the
operation of MSCYPAA and it is not intended that they constitute
permanent inflexible rules. Tradition Two should be our ultimate
guide in all matters.
Section 2 All MSCYPAA actions shall be the ultimate expression of the
group's conscience.
These By-Laws may be amended from time to time upon six months
notice given to the Advisory Council and Conference Committee before any
regular or special meeting, and such amendments shall be made by a
majority of both the Advisory Council and the Conference Committee
Subsection a Each operating committee shall elect two (2) people to
serve on the Advisory Council and one (1) Alternate six
weeks prior to the conference.
Subsection b Each Advisory Council candidate must have served on
the operating committee for at least six (6) months
prior to the election and be sober at least one (1) year.
They must be under the age of forty (40).
Subsection c Each advisory council member shall serve for a period
of four conferences.
Subsection d Braking sobriety or failure to attend two consecutive
conferences will be considered a voluntary resignation.
Subsection e Council seats vacated due to resignation shall be filled
by previously designated alternates and approved by
the Council.ARTICLE III
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Subsection a The CHAIRMAN shall arrange and announce the
agenda for all council meetings, shall state and put
forth all motions properly made and seconded and
shall announce the results of all votes, and shall be the
general representative for the council and all of its
decisions.
Subsection b The TREASURER shall keep accurate financial records
of all Council transactions, shall five financial reports
and council meetings and submit a financial statement
a, and shall be responsible for all bank statements,
deposit slips, and checkbooks related to council
business.
Subsection c The SECRETARY shall act as a custodian for all council
materials, shall keep minutes of council meetings, and
shall respond promptly to any requests regarding
council business.ARTICE IV
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Subsection a Each officer shall have at least one (1) year of sobriety
and be under the age of forty (40).
Section 9 The Conference Committee Chair, with the approval of the
committee, shall from time to time establish such other
committees (Ad-Hoc) as deemed necessary for fundraisers or for
any other purpose. The chairs of these committees shall be
elected by a simple majority of those present.
Subsection b The conference committee shall have the right to
replace any officer if said officer is not present at three
consecutive meetings without cause or if said officer
breaks sobriety.
Subsection c The CHAIRPERSON shall open all committee
meetings, maintain order, recognize persons entitled to
the floor, state and put to vote all motions properly
made and seconded, and announce the results of all
votes. The chairperson will be the public
representative of the conference and shall strictly
adhere to the Twelve Traditions. The chairperson shall
additionally coordinate the work of all subcommittees
and keep informed on the progress of all
arrangements.
Subsection d The SECRETARY shall establish and maintain a post
office box, maintain a current membership list, record
and date minutes of each meeting and distribute said
minutes.
Subsection e The TREASURER shall keep an up to date treasurer's
report, shall maintain all financial information
including bank statements, checks and deposit slips
and make said information available to the committee.
The treasurer shall additionally advise the chairperson
and the council on all financial matters, shall be
responsible for recruiting volunteers to collect money
at all fundraising events, and shall sign hotel contract.
The treasurer shall have an additional sobriety
requirement of four (4) years.
Subsection f
The HOTEL LIASON shall ensure that a financially
feasible hotel is contracted, shall act as liaison
between conference committee and hotel, and shall
coordinate audio/visual equipment and taping for the
conference.
Subsection g The PROGRAM chair shall work closely with all officers
to develop a format for entire program of the
conference, shall find chairpersons for all
meetings/panels at the conference, and shall develop a
registration packet.
Subsection h The SPEAKER chair shall find speakers and the voice
(announcer) for the conference, shall be responsible
for arranging speaker travel and travel
reimbursements, shall be responsible for setting up
hosts for the speakers, and shall be responsible for
thank you notes and gifts to all speakers.
Subsection i
The PUBLIC RELATIONS chair shall coordinate all
displays and posters at all fundraisers and events, shall
make flyers for all events, shall create the logo for the
conference, shall be responsible for all novelty items
and t-shirts for the conference, and shall create and
maintain a website for the conference. The Public
Relations chair shall additionally serve as the media
contact for the conference and shall strictly adhere to
the Twelve Traditions in all media contact.
Subsection j
The OUTREACH chair shall distribute all flyers to
clubhouses, groups, treatment centers, and other AA
functions, shall attend or appoint someone to attend all
local intergroup meetings, and shall distribute
information for the conference to AA publications such
as the Grapevine.
Subsection k The ENTERTAINMENT chair shall develop ideas for
fundraisers and monitor and advise all fundraiser
committee, shall develop and implement all activities
at the conference, shall organize and implement plans
for the Saturday Banquet, and shall recruit volunteers
to help with setting up, selling refreshments, and
cleaning up afterward.
Subsection l
The HOSPITALITY chair shall determine menu items
for each meal (except the banquet) and shall recruit
volunteers to work in the hospitality room.
Subsection m ALL OFFICERS are responsibly for creating and
submitting a budget of estimated expenses, shall
cooperate with all other officers and with the
committee as a whole, and shall not receive
compensation for services rendered, but may be
reimbursed for any out of pocket expenditures properly
made.ARTILCE V
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTILCE VI