Key to Harmony Blog

May 2020 KeyBiz Meeting Minutes

Members Participating

1.   Adrienne
2.   Arlene -
3.   Barb - yes
4.   BJ - yes
5.   Buddy - yes
6.   Cathy - yes
7.   Kate - yes
8.   Joyce- yes
9.   Paul- yes

10. Rose - yes 11. Shelley- yes 12. Sophie- yes

REPORTS 1. AlternateChair (Buddy):

2. BusinessChair (BJ) The quarterly donation appeal came in the mail today from the WSO. In service,BJ

3. CALCordinator : Cathy

4. Gentle Reminder Committee : Position Open From January 2020

5. Chair Coordinator (Cathy) :

6. Secretary/Archivist (Joyce):. The April 2020 KeyBiz Meeting Minutes have been posted to the blog. In Service, Joyce

7. SponsorCoordinator (Sophie) :

8. StatesideTreasurer (Shelley) : The stateside Treasurer report has been posted to the blog.

Our balance at the end of April was $452.15

BJ is a secondary signature on the account

I have received checks.

I can transfer from the PayPal Account.

Expected upcoming bills: around 230$ in May

A report was sent to the membership with a Tradition 7 appeal for donations.

Shelley

9. Treasurer( Kate) : A big HI to all on the Biz Committee, and a big welcome to those who have joined during my time away. And a big ))to you as well because I need hugs right now!

You must have all been wondering what has happened to your treasurer, and a big thank you for the Stateside treasurer for carrying on so well, and to you all for your patience, understanding and love. I hope I can now start back with all the service work I have so enjoyed over the many past years. Health and head stuff happens to us all at times, I have not been doing much more than getting into my garden, struggling with a very nasty underlying lung problem (I would not survive COVOD-19!) with many doctors appointments, tests etc, and doing stuff which doesn’t mean responsibility or thinking much!

But here I am and nothing has gone astray! I have been following and reading the many posts and issues that have come up. Good to see that the tax issue seems to have been sorted in the US. Thankfully I have Rose on side and I occasionally call her to let her know I’m still here! As she has already explained to the business committee, the exchange rate between the US and Australia is not at all good at the moment, as well as the bank fees to cover the cost of transactions. When the exchange rate is favourable, the cost of the transfer doesn’t matter as much as it does right now. So, due to the very adverse exchange rate conditions, along with the cost of money transfer sending money to WSO at this time, you, the K2H business Committee have suggested donating to the Australian General Service Office the sum of $300. So, with Rose’s assistance, we can get that done early next week.

As you can see the interest level here in Australia has dropped to almost zero and we have not had any incoming donations for some considerable time. If there are any Australian or NZ members who could throw into the bag, we would be very grateful. I've even deposited a donation from India in the past.

We are in uncertain times with COVID19 and with F2F groups unable to open WSO and the Australian General Service Office are pleading for electronic donations as group donations are not happening and the usual fundraisers and Round-ups are not happening, so I thank those who still donate.

I am so fortunate to be in a position to re-open my f2f group after CV-19 restrictions and get my thinking back on track!

Love to all and thanks you so much for your patience, love and understanding, I am getting my head and body back with the love of Al-Anon members. Kate

Bendigo Bank: BSB 633000 A/C 132832924

Aug 2019 Open $344.55 Interest .09 Close $344.64

Sept 2019 Open $344.64 Interest .04 Close $344.68

October 2019 Open $344.68 Interest .03 Close $344.71

November 2019 Open $344.71 Interest .02 Close $344.73

December 2019 Open $344.73 Interest .01 Close $344.74

January 2020 Open $344.74 Interest .02 Close $344.76

February 2020 Open $344.76 Interest .01 Close $344.77

March 2020 Open $344.77 Interest .02 Close $344.79

April 2020 Open $344.79 Interest .01 Close $344.80

May Statement will arrive next week..

10. Webmaster (Buddy) The April 2020 Activity Report has been posted to the Key blog:

https://keytoharmony.org/files/index.php?post/April-2020-Activity-Report

As you can see there was an increase in activity on the website probably due to the Covid-19 situation shutting down many face-to-face meetings and members seeking alternatives.

However, we had a net loss of membership. We had 41 members unsubscribe during the month and we removed 19 members who had "paused" their email messages months ago.

There were 237 messages posted to the Key list last month, compared to 166 the month before. Usually, an increase like that will bring an increase in unsubs. People just "can't keep up" with that volume of email. At least that's what some of them said when they unsubscribed.

Buddy

BJ opened the May meeting on May 3rd

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Cosignatory on Treasurer Account: From July 2019 - discussion begun Cosignatories on Treasurer and Stateside Assistant accounts. .From January, 2020 : Committee Chair (BJ) has completed paperwork to be our Cosignatory on the Stateside account and Stateside Treasurer will advise when process is completed. From March 2020: new online stateside bank account opened with Ally Bank which requires no minimum balance and has no fees. Paperwork for co-signatory going to BJ. When paperwork complete, this account will be tagged to PayPal . BJ indicates :Two signatures are not necessary on stateside checks,.  We also have no need for debit cards. Awaiting feedback from Shelley on this. From April 2020: Stateside Account has 430$ with 15 $ in donations yet to be deposited. and a account to be added to the PayPal account.. PayPal donations need to be electronically deposited. Stateside Treasurer (Shelley) received checks for the Ally Bank account. Awaiting confirmation from Ally Bank that BJ is Cosignatory on Stateside Account. From May 2020 : see Stateside Treasurer Report (above). This is now Finished Business

B. Donation to WSO From August 2019- Treasurer suggested $200 (Australian dollars) donation to WSO. Awaiting information re how to transfer electronically. From March 2020: Question of donation to WSO from stateside account under discussion. Exchange rate dropping...question of whether to wait to donate. (From Sept 2018minutes AU Balance was $342.64). (AU Balance November 2019 “less than $350 ) From April 2020: Continued discussion of donating money. US treasury- 430$ with 15 $ in donations to deposit. AU Bank Balance $344.77 Decision pending re:making donation from AU account to AU GSO. From May 2020: Stateside Treasurer appealed to membership for donations, mentioning KeyBiz considering donation to WSO after upcoming bills paid. Several donations received. Suggestion from Stateside Treasurer to donate $250 from Stateside account (which allows funds to pay upcoming bill) . Stateside treasury currently has $653.09 as of May 11, 2020. It has been previously approved by KeyBiz to keep a prudent reserve of $300 in the stateside treasury. Per Kate: K2H business Committee have suggested donating to GSO $300 AU and Kate, with Rose assistance, will work to get that done in the first week of June.

C. GR Coordinator Position : From January 2020: GR Coordinator position remains open/ unfilled until this committee decides otherwise. (Schedule written through June for who will send GR’s)

Questions and Asides Welcome new member: Paul Member sponsorship questions answered by Sophie Re: mention of Amazon as source of Al-Anon Literature..Mentioning where a person personally obtained CAL is their business, their story. Might be best mentioned in a one on one email. Does not need a Gentle Reminder Back up list for Chair Coordinator...volunteers from KeyBiz - Total for Gaggle services for the next 12 months: $201.66.

BJ closed the meeting on May 29, 2020