ISO’s 2025 Annual Conference in St. Louis

Update from Sharon S., ISO Chair:

In April we convened ISO’s Annual Conference in St. Louis — in person for the first time since 2019! We also welcomed folks from around the world via Zoom. A huge thanks to the planning committee for hosting a great meeting!

ISO’s Annual Conference is our fellowship’s business meeting, where we share how and what SCA meetings and intergroups are doing across the world. We talk about how best to reach newcomers and support members. We note our progress and challenge ourselves to do more.

It was fantastic to be together in person this year! I’ve been on many of Zoom calls with SCA Executive Committee members and fellows I feel quite connected to that I have never actually been in the same room with. Meeting in person strengthened our relationships and deepened trust.

Here are some meeting highlights from our three-day conference:

New Characteristic about sexual anorexia

One of the most significant decisions made at this year’s ISO was to add a new Characteristic about sexual anorexia/avoidance to The Characteristics Most of Us Seem to Have in Common. You can read the history of this decision in the minutes. Here is the new characteristic:

We were sexually anorexic: in despair about our lack of physical and emotional intimacy with ourselves and others, yet unaware of how much we feared and avoided it.

SCA has a YouTube Channel

Gary S. and his Outreach team built a SCA YouTube Channel in 2024! Check it out to see the great content they’re creating and be sure to subscribe! (https://www.youtube.com/@SCA-Recovery)

Audio Recovery Book in development

Gordon B., our Fiduciary Chair, is working to create an audio version of SCA’s Recovery Book that will be available for purchase on Amazon. We’ll keep you posted.

Executive Board Elections

Gary S. was reelected for a two-year term as Outreach Chair

Randy S. was elected as Director at Large, stepping in for Charles D. who resigned the position earlier this year. Thank you, Charles, for your service!

Tami V. was reelected for another one-year term as Outside Director

I was elected for a two-year term as ISO Chair

Emphasis on our 7th Tradition

We budgeted $4,000 for the 2025 ISO Annual Conference, and I’m happy to report that we came in under budget at $3,053!

ISO’s modest budget supports meetings, our website, literature creation and translation, and outreach to newcomers. As we built our 2026 budget, we reflected on the importance of our 7th tradition — that SCA is self-supporting through the contributions of its members. Your gifts help meetings buy literature, rent meeting space, and sponsor workshops. ISO receives a portion of the contributions you make to your meetings and intergroups. Please consider chipping in when you attend a meeting — your donations are vital in helping us reach the still-suffering addict.

If you’d like to read the Minutes from the Conference, contact the SCAnner editor. A Special thanks to Recording Secretary Maranda T. for her efforts!

Officially approved a new characteristic on Sexual Anorexia/Avoidance

Last week a new characteristic was approved at the 2025 International Service Organization (ISO) conference. Here is the language of the newly approved characteristic:

We were sexually anorexic: in despair about our lack of physical and emotional intimacy with ourselves and others, yet unaware of how much we feared and avoided it.

The ISO of SCA also unanimously approved a motion to list this new characteristic as #11 in our list of The Characteristics Most of Us Seem to Have in Common. This new characteristic #11 is now incorporated into all the www.sca-recovery.org characteristic readings, including “Newcomers,” “Program and Tools,” and the SCA Literature store, where individual copies of the Four-Fold and For the Newcomer can be downloaded and printed for free. These include the revised Characteristics. As of this morning, both the SCA NY and the SCA LA websites have also included the revised Characteristics.

Saturday Workshops on the 14 Characteristics

The ISO Recovery Book sub-committee wants your input!

SCA’s International Service Organization (ISO) will hold a series of Saturday afternoon workshops to read and discuss the recently submitted draft commentaries on The 14 Characteristics Most of Us Seem to have in Common.

These drafts have not yet been considered by ISO to become Conference-approved SCA literature. All members of the fellowship are welcome to attend any or all of these sessions. These workshops will be held every Saturday from October 31st through December 12^th. The intent is to read the commentaries on two (2) characteristics at each session, followed by open sharing and a short, simple survey to obtain feedback. Each session will also include a reading of the Prologue and Epilogue, the chapters that introduce and summarize the commentaries.

These workshops will take place on Saturday afternoons, beginning October 31st at 3:00 pm USA Eastern Time in ISO Zoom room #2. Contact Gary S. at sca.iso.inreach@gmail.com for the Zoom room number and password, then use the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7877162543?pwd=bXo3WE1tUVFaSmhPTTJPZWJHUDVMUT09

We look forward to your participation and hearing your comments on the proposed literature.