Election of Area 15 Trusted Servants for Panel 75 |
Good service leaders, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety. – From the long form of Concept IX
We will be electing trusted servants at the October 2024 Election Assembly to fulfill a two-year term beginning January 2025 for the positions listed below. Click on the links to see position descriptions and suggested qualifications.
If you would like to learn more about what it’s like to serve in one of the positions listed above, please reach out to the individuals currently serving.
Delegate: delegate@area15aa.org
Alternate Delegate: delegate@area15aa.org
Area Chairperson: chair@area15aa.org
Area Treasurer: treasurer@area15aa.org
Area Registrar: registrar@area15aa.org
Area Recording Secretary: secretary@area15aa.org
We will be electing trusted servants using Third Legacy Procedure as outlined in the A.A. Service Manual. You can read about Third Legacy Procedure here.
You can view a graphic illustration of Third Legacy Procedure here.
You can read what A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson had to say about leadership in A.A. here.
You can read what A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson had to say about the spirit of rotation here.
Additional resources
What Area 15 current practice says about election assemblies
Motion 224, January 1990
Any present or past DCM standing for an Area office must have 5 continuous years of sobriety at the time of election.
Motion 347, July 1997
That the ballot slips for each round of balloting at all Third Legacy elections be kept separate and not commingled or discarded until a clear winner is announced for the office being voted upon.
Motion 430, October 2000
Use Third Legacy procedure from the current AA Service Manual as a guideline for the October Assembly election.
What the Charter of South Florida Area 15 Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous says about election assemblies
From Article 3: Purpose
South Florida Area Conference shall convene in Area assemblies every two years for the purpose of election of area committee members, from which is elected a delegate to the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous.
From Article 5: Electing Area Committee Members
Elected members of the South Florida Area 15 Conference Committee are so elected by written ballot without personal nomination from among the Conference membership by a two-thirds written ballot or by lot as provided in the Third Legacy Procedure of the A.A. Service Manual.
From Article 6: Terms of Office of Area Committee Members
Unless otherwise directed by the Conference, the terms of Area committee members shall be concurrent and two years’ duration each, with elections to be held for terms beginning in odd years as further described in the A.A. Service Manual.
Here is additional information about electing trusted servants and Third Legacy Procedure from the A.A. Service Manual. These passages speak to election of Delegate, but it can be applied to election of all trusted servants.
By 1951, when the General Service Conference was put into experimental operation, these attitudes of trust already were an essential part of A.A. life. In drafting the Charter for our Conference, therefore, we naturally infused that document with provisions which would insure protection and respect for minorities. This is exemplified, for instance, in our “Third Legacy” method of selecting Delegates.
Unless the majority candidate can poll a two-thirds vote of his State or Provincial Assembly, he must place his name in a hat with one or more of the choices of the Assembly minority. By thus drawing lots, the minority candidates have an equal chance with the majority’s choice. Strictly speaking, a democracy operates on the will of the majority, no matter how slim that majority may be.
So, when making special concessions to the feelings and the often-demonstrated wisdom of minorities, we occasionally may deny democracy’s cherished principle of final decision by a simple majority vote. Nevertheless, we actually have found that our Third Legacy method of electing Delegates has much strengthened the spirit of democracy among us. Unity has been cemented, cooperation has been increased, and when the Delegate is finally chosen, no discontented minority can trail in his wake. To increase the actual spirit of democracy by special deference to minority opinion is, we think, better than to follow blindly the rule which always insists on an unqualified dominance by a slight majority vote” (c-17). From Concept V
Thus far, our Third Legacy method of naming Delegates by a two-thirds vote or by lot has proved highly satisfactory. This system of choosing has greatly reduced political friction; it has made each Delegate feel that he or she is truly a world servant rather than just the winner of a contest. In Committee Members and Delegates alike, our Third Legacy methods have generally produced people of a high level of dedication and competence. In this area of service, we are in good shape. Our area Assemblies need only to continue to act with care and in selfless good spirit (c-27). From Concept IX
