The main SCA website went live in April 1996. Now 21 years old, it has received its third makeover.

The effort was led by Marty S., who headed an ad-hoc committee of the International Service Organization to come up with a new design. Over several years, the design was tested and tweaked by a team headed by Marty, a member of Online Intergroup. ISO approved the new design at its annual meeting in Los Angeles.

The site gets a webmaster for the first time in several years, Greg I. of New York Intergroup. The International Meeting List has also received an overhaul, now being handled by a database administered by Matthias P. of Berlin Intergroup. 

The online store also has a new look, and puts into effect the Wholesale Pricing Policy adopted by ISO. Orders will go to the new Literature Distribution Coordinator, Doyle of Los Angeles Intergroup.

These active members of the Fiduciary Committee, along with the stalwart David N. (former Archivist, former Literature Distribution Coordinator, and all-around good guy), are the volunteers who make ISO’s “back office” function. 

If you are interested in joining us, we will have a telephone conference call on Saturday, Oct. 7. Use the “Contact Us” form on the SCA site to get information.

In service,

John F., fiduciary chair, ISO
Paris Intergroup

 

Beginning on Saturday October 14 we will have a new meeting in Huntsville Alabama.  Here is the meeting info:

Time: Saturday 5-6pm

Location:
All Saints Lutheran Church
12100 Bailey Cove Rd
Huntsville, AL 35803
(enter through door on west side of bldg, opposite of Bailey Cove Rd)

Contact Info:
256-200-4449
huntsvillesca@gmail.com

 

The annual meeting of the International Service Organization will be held the weekend of April 20-22, 2018, in St. Louis. ISO had tentatively approved St. Louis as the site, contingent on approval from the local Intergroup. After the intergroup approved, the Executive Committee, on behalf of ISO, voted to accept the offer.

Further details will be forthcomin in the weeks and months ahead.

 

by John F., fiduciary chair, ISO

Effective immediately, the Fiduciary Committee is implementing the new wholesale pricing structure approved at the most recent ISO meeting in Los Angeles.

Registered SCA groups and intergroups qualify for a wholesale discount of 40%, as do retail bookstores. Once you register, you will receive a special code that needs to be included with each order, as well as a special page for placing the order.

Individuals, families, friends, and helping professionals do not qualify for the discount. 

The wholesale price of the Starter Kit will drop substantially. Additionally, we will now notify prospective purchasers that they might qualify for a free Starter Kit if they are starting a meeting in an area that doesn’t already have one.

The wholesale price of pamphlets (four-folds) will rise slightly to cover our costs; previously some of them had sold at a loss.

These changes will enable intergroups and meetings to charge a fair retail price to members, the same that ISO will charge the general public.  As a result, ISO will no longer be competing with groups in selling literature. (Previously, groups paid the same price as the general public, plus shipping costs, meaning groups had to sell literature at a loss, or else charge a price higher than ISO’s website.)

Shipping charges will remain the same and are based on the retail price, not the wholesale price.

Pamphlets will now retail for $20 for a pack of 25; with the wholesale discount the price is $12. Brochures (5×8 size) will be standardized at a retail cost of $3.50; wholesale $2.10.

The Starter Kit, previously $48.50, will now cost $25 wholesale. Retail sales are discouraged. People who wish to start a meeting in an area that doesn’t have one will probably qualify for a free Starter Kit and should contact the Inreach Committee. Those wishing to start a meeting where one already exists can get the wholesale price if they go through the existing meeting; otherwise they can pay $41.66 retail.

The Little Blue Book’s retail price remains unchanged at $7.50. It can now be ordered at that price directly from Amazon.com. (We do not endorse or lend the SCA name to Amazon but merely use it as a retail channel.) Significantly, the wholesale price will be $4.50.

For other items, the retail prices (and wholesale) are:

• Radio PSA Kit $10 (and $6)
• El Librito Azul $6 (and $3.60)
• Best of the SCAnner $5 (and $3)
• How to Start an SCA Meeting $1.25 (and $0.75)

To inquire about how to register for a wholesale discount, contact your ISO Regional Coordinator, the ISO Inreach Chair, or me as ISO Fiduciary Chair.

Madrid will be the site of a weekend conference for sex addicts in Spain. The conference is being held by Sex Addicts Anonymous and will be held Oct. 6-8.

SAA is not affiliated with Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, but we in SCA cooperate with them in keeping with the Sixth Tradition. Historically, both SCA and SAA have participated in the Interfellowship Forum and have decided by Group Conscience to mutually accept their Third Traditions as equivalent.

The flier is in Spanish, and presumably the conference will be in Spanish as well. For further information, contact the organizers as listed in the flier below.

SAA_Convivencia_MADRID2017.pdf

A new SCA meeting has begun in Baltimore, the first one in that city, so naturally it will need support. The details, from the International Meeting List, are as follows:

CONTACT: scabaltimore@gmail.com
When: WEDNESDAY at 7:00 PM 
Where: Room 2 at GLCCB, 3rd Floor, 2530 N. Charles St., Bank of America Building. Ring the 3rd floor reception to gain access.

 

Berlin SCA has a new website.

Check it out here: http://sca-berlin.org/

Matthias reports from Berlin…

Beginning in August 2017, Berlin will offer a “barrier-free” SCA meeting that can accommodate those who are hearing impaired. The meeting will take place on Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. and is open to all. The meeting format will be based on a reading from the daily meditation book “Answers in the Heart.”

The founder of this meeting is a professional sign-language interpreter who signs and interprets in both German and English. Hearing-impaired addicts will have a chance to share, be “heard,” and “listen” to the other participants.

To find out more about this meeting, please see the SCA International Meeting List. In the event the interpreter cannot make a meeting, you will be informed in advance.

We hope to see you soon!

SCA Berlin Intergroup

The Fiduciary Committee has two service positions open. If you’re interested in either, or have a sponsee who might be, please contact the committee through the ISO site, http://sca-recovery.org/iso.htm 

1) Webmaster. This person will supervise the transition to our new website design, with the assistance of John F (interim web helper) and Marty S (chair of ad-hoc website redesign committee). After the transition is complete, the webmaster will be responsible for keeping the content current, implementing any desired changes after consultation with the Fiduciary Committee, and generally being responsible for the site. Over the past two years, changes have been minimal, so this position can have a small commitment of time or a large one, depending on the desires of the webmaster. This position may be filled from anywhere, the person does not need to be a US resident. The webmaster will be expected to participate in the Fiduciary Committee, including its quarterly phone calls, and to present an annual written report. 

2) International Meeting List updater. This requires a commitment of perhaps an hour a month to keep the International Meeting List current. Notice of changes come from the Inreach Committee. This position may be filled from anywhere, the person does not need to be a US resident. If he or she wishes, the updater may participate in the Fiduciary Committee, including its quarterly phone calls, and present an annual written report, although this is neither expected nor required. 

 SCA members,

The annual conference for SCA’s International Service Organization (ISO) took place from March 24th-26th in Los Angeles CA. 

Among other business matters, the ISO did the following:

—approved the new  design for our international SCA website  www.sca-recovery.org. We expect this to become operational later this spring, replacing the current format that exists on that site. Our thanks to the website redesign committee, headed by Marty S.(Online Intergroup) who worked so diligently on this over the past several years. 

Our needs: a webmaster to put the finishing touches on this work and to oversee the site, going forward.

—approved a pamphlet on sponsorship. This was originally submitted by SCA’s LA fellowship and has been extensively worked on by the Literature Development Committee. It will be published later this year, after final editing details, such as chapter headings and cover design are completed. We also welcomed Peter C (LA) as Literature Development Chair.

—conditionally approved a “draft version” of a commentary on the 12 Traditions of SCA. This will be published and made available for distribution quickly, which will allow time for further review and comments by the membership, pending possible final approval at next year’s ISO. Our thanks to Mike O. (Chicago)  and the Recovery Book Subcommittee, which labored over this literature. One of our goals is for existing and new literature to eventually be  compiled into the making of SCA’s own Big Book, which is an ongoing multi-year project.

–The Fiduciary Committee, chaired by John F. (Paris) proposed a new policy regarding the wholesale pricing on literature (which was approved unanimously). Among other things, this will cut the price of the Little Blue Book for Intergroups and Meetings by 40 %.  In addition, we authorized “printing on demand” of the Little Blue Book. Our first copies are being made by a subsidiary of Amazon, and will be sold via Amazon and its extensive network of affiliated online retailers. This will raise SCA’s profile in the Recovery literature world.

–The ISO gratefully heard and accepted a report from the History & Unity Committee, (chaired by Jim M., St. Louis) and read by Bill E. (San Diego). The existing histories in the Little Blue Book focus on LA and NY, with several gaps.  This report provided new and interesting information which was well received by all. It is still a work in progress. 

Our needs: someone to serve as SCA’s Archivist, whose expertise can help in this work.

–The ISO also approved a slight change in the well known “4-Fold”, which will provide a section on how to donate to SCA directly through our website: http://www.sca-recovery.org/donate. It will also have space for the various Intergroups and Meetings to add labels with their own contact and website information.

–ISO also amended  one section of its By-Laws, eliminating the 2nd Outside Director position, which had never been filled. It also increased the Director-at-Large’s term from one-year to two-years , starting in 2018, and who will be elected in even-numbered years thereafter. ISO thanked Kevin B. (Toronto)  for completing his 4 years of serving as Director-at Large.

–ISO elected the following to serve 2-year terms on the Executive Committee:

Gordon B. (NYK)  Chair

RIch K. (LA) Outreach Chair

Linda Engstrom (non-SCA) Outside Director

–ISO elected Dan W. (LA) to serve a 1-year term as Director-at Large

–Our Literature Distribution Chair, Phideaux X (LA) is stepping down after several years of service. David N. (Nyk) has agreed to serve in that capacity, as needed, also to write a service manual on that position, and to train Phideaux’s successor. Our thanks to both.

–ISO has tentatively selected St. Louis, MO to host its 2018 Annual Conference (pending final approval by the St Louis Intergroup). It also selected Chicago, IL to host the 2019 Annual Conference.

Finally, may I remind everyone that ISO is YOUR service organization. If you would like to contribute ideas, start new meetings, work on literature, serve on our various committees, distribute literature, etc, we would love to hear from you. 

Our needs: people who would like to help stay in contact with and provide support for  Intergroups and meetings throughout the world. I am happy to report that Rich H. (St. Louis) has agreed  to serve as Regional Coordinator for the Midwest (USA), and Victor M. (NY) to serve as the Regional Coordinator for Asia-Pacific.

Our needs: people who would be willing to serve as Out-of-Meeting Sponsors, to help members who don’t live near, or who cannot attend SCA meetings. Over the past year, we have seen an increase in volunteers for this service.

Our needs: money. We ask each Intergroup to mindfully consider regular donations to the ISO, and we also welcome donations from Individuals. This can be done on our website — http://www.sca-recovery.org/donate.

Thanks again to all those who worked so hard to make the ISO Conference a success, beginning with the LA Host Committee (Rich K.) and to all those who attended, either in person or via conference call.

yours in service,

Gordon B. (NY)

ISO Chair