Board of Trustees Interim Chair’s Message – Prepared for the September 2026 F.W.S. Newsletter
Hi Friends,
It’s the day after our fantastic International Recovery Convention (IRC) held in Baltimore, Maryland; Castletown, Laois, Ireland; and virtual attendance from 20-23 August. The first day was a pre-event called the Fantasy Forum, hosted by the Conference Fantasy Committee (CFaC).
The IRC was co-hosted by the Greater Delaware Valley Intergroup (GDVI) and Ireland Intergroup. 278 members attended through the three participation options and four days. It was our first IRC in ten years and it was a wonderful way to celebrate our 50th anniversary. A special treat was hearing our original member and author of the Basic Text, Rich, speak to us on Zoom and virtually participate in the reverse sobriety countdown! Finally, our Executive Director, Pam Reyes, represented F.W.S. at the Ireland location and had a great time!!
We were very happy to hear that the judge in the lawsuit brought against us and the N.Y. Intergroup (Jiaci Liu v. The Augustine Fellowship SLAA Fellowship-Wide Services Inc and Greater NY Intergroup Inc) dismissed the plaintiff’s case. Subsequently, we received a notice of appeal which means that the plaintiff is planning to file an actual appeal within six to nine months. We’re grateful to our insurance carrier which provided for our successful defense. They decided to not continue our coverage so we’re looking for another carrier.
Some highlights of recent BOT actions include:
- We appointed Kathleen A. to the Board of Trustees.
- As mentioned previously, the BOT voted to direct the F.W.S. Treasurer to process repayment of the $50,000 USD Prudent Reserve loan. That has now been paid back. The $50,000 USD was borrowed to pay for cost overruns of the 2023 ABC/M.
- The BOT met on Zoom on 12 July and 26 July 2026 for at least eight hours each day to conduct pre-ABC/M business.
- We approved flight costs of up to $1,000 and costs up to $600 for food and four single room accommodations for Pam Reyes, our Executive Director, to attend the 2026 IRC in Ireland.
- We approved the fiscal year (1 October – 30 September) second quarter financials.
- F.W.S. started selling the Framework for Living internationally from that office.
- We approved up to $1,500 USD reimbursement for travel and attendance costs of F.W.S.’s IT Contractor to attend the National AA Technology Workshop on 11-13 September 2026 in Concord, CA.
- F.W.S. started selling brass or gold-plated 50th Anniversary tokens at the webstore.
- Replaced the “Whistle Blower Complaint (WBC) Investigator Position Description,” approved by the Board of Trustees on 11 November 2023, with the “Whistleblower Complaint (WBC) Investigator Recommended Guidelines,” updated by the Board Development Committee on 16 June 2026.
- We approved changing the Board Copyright Translation Committee to the Board Copyright and Translation Committee.
- Approved renewing IT Contractor’s (John D.’s) contract for another 12 months.
We also held our 2026 Annual Business Conference/Meeting (ABC/M) virtually on 6-9 August 2026. Delegates from around the world conducted Fellowship business. One business item at every ABC/M is to vote in Trustees for the Board of Trustees (BOT). This year we elected Alba U. (TX), Ari F. (NJ/CA) and Chris D. (CA) to three-year terms ending in 2029. Ari F. and Chris D. are returning Trustees and Alba U. is a new Trustee! A big welcome to Alba! Kathleen A. (CA) was also confirmed after being appointed a few months ago. Kathleen’s term ends in 2028. You’ll find the Board of Trustee’s annual report to the ABC/M in this Newsletter.
Here are our 2026-2027 trustees: Ari F. (NJ/CA), Alba U. (TX), Chris D. (CA), Jeff R. (WA), John S. (CA), Kathleen A. (CA) and Max B. (CA). Our officers, Board Committee Chairs (see pages 21-24 of the Conference Service Manual available in the right-hand column of this page, https://slaafws.org/abminfo/, for more information) and Conference Committee Liaisons are listed here:
- Board Interim Chair & President of the F.W.S. Corporation: Chris D. (CA)
- Treasurer of the F.W.S. Corporation: Jeff R. (WA)
- Secretary of the F.W.S. Corporation: Ari F. (NJ/CA)
Board Committees
- Board Annual Business Meeting Planning Committee Chair: Temporarily vacant
- Board Copyright and Translation Committee Chair: Kathleen A. (CA)
- Board Development Committee Chair: Chris D. (CA)
- Board Finance Committee Chair: Jeff R. (WA)
- Board Human Resources Personnel Committee Chair
- and Office Supervisor: Alba A. (TX)
- Board Outreach Committee Chair: Max B. (CA)
- Board Publishing and Distribution Committee Chair: Temporarily vacant
- Board Seventh Tradition Committee Chair: John S. (CA)
- Board Technology Committee Interim Chair: Ari F. (NJ/CA)
Liaisons to the Conference Committees
- Conference Anorexia Committee (CAC): Kathleen A. (CA)
- Conference By-Laws Committee (CBC): Max B. (CA)
- Conference Charter Committee (CCC): Jeff R. (WA)
- Conference Diversity Committee (CDC): Alba U. (TX)
- Conference Fantasy Committee (CFaC): John S. (CA)
- Conference Finance Committee (CFC): Ari F. (NJ/CA)
- Conference Healthy Relationships Committee (CHRC): Kathleen A. (CA)
- Conference Translation and International Outreach
- Committee (CTIOC): Alba U. (TX)
- Conference Journal Committee (CJC): Ari F. (NJ/CA)
- Conference Literature Committee (CLC): John S. (CA)
- Conference Member Retention Committee (CMRC): Chris D. (CA)
- Conference Public Information Committee (CPIC): Max B. (CA)
- Conference Service Committee (CSC): Chris D. (CA)
- Conference Sponsorship Committee (CSPC): Ari F. (NJ/CA)
- Conference Steps, Traditions and Concepts Comm. (CSTCC): Max B. (CA)
- Conference Chairs Committee Chris D. (CA)
Three Trustees resigned or completed their term of service since the last Newsletter and we’re very grateful for their service. Patrick D. (UK) and Rochelle C. (OH) resigned and James B. (UT) completed his term of service. Thank you all!!
I’m always amazed at our amazing F.W.S. team: Pam, our Executive Director; Hector, our Logistics Manager; Christina, our Administrative Assistant. John D., our IT Contractor, is an invaluable help as well.
Thank you all!
Chris D. (CA)
BOT Interim Chair
29 August 2026
