Announcing Our First Hybrid CoDA Service Conference!

(Internet And In Person)

August 22-25 Rapid City, South Dakota And on the Internet!

Representing Your Area at The CoDA Service Conference (CSC)

What Is A Voting Entity? (VE)

It is a region, state or country that represents the CoDA meetings in a given area. VE’s are each allowed to send up to 2 delegates.

We are excited to share that our intent for 2022 and moving forward is to have a hybrid (Internet AND in person) CSC!

The starting date is August 22st, 2022 in Rapid City, South Dakota, And on the internet. It is important that delegates have sufficient time to collect the group conscience of the VE they are representing. The first version of the delegate packet is scheduled to be available no later than June 13th. At that time, it may be viewed at https://coda.org/delegate-package-2022/ .Motions will largely be uploaded as they come in; some items will be available before 6/13. One major change this year, is that Voting Entitys (VE's) will be submitting motions in the same manner as World Service Committees. Blank Motion Forms can be found here, https://coda.org/wp-content/uploads/Motion_Form_2022.docx and need to be submitted by email to submitcsc@coda.org  .There is also more information here: https://coda.org/2022-csc-info/  .  We’d like you to know that there is no admissions charge for the Service Conference.

Who Are Delegates and Alternate Delegates?

How Do We Select Them and What Is Their Term Lengths?

Delegates are a Voting Entity's (VE) voting representatives who are sent to CoDA’s yearly Service Conference (CSC). They are selected by a VE’s group conscience decision making process at the yearly VE Assembly or Conference. Every Voting Entity may send up to two Delegates to Conference. To register, please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-coda-service-conference-and-international-coda-convention-registration-177404239857 . After registering, we ask that you please fill out this form: Delegates will also need to fill out a 2nd online form, called a VESB, which is not up yet.

For questions regarding the VESB or other delegate issues,  please email Chris, our VE liaison, at imcvel@coda.org.

Delegates are expected to serve as a liaison between CoDA, Inc. and its Voting Entity. Delegates serve as a communication link between CoDA, Inc. and its local Fellowship, providing key information on Conference and VE updates, changes, etc. At Conference, Delegates may be asked to give a brief oral report on their local VEs. After the Conference experience, a Delegate is expected by their VE to either prepare or present an oral and/or written report of their overall experience at Conference with detailed information on presented motions and reports. A typical Delegate's term is for 2 years.

An important goal of a Voting Entity is to be represented at Conference and to send a Delegate(s) for voting purposes. If financially possible, Delegates get reimbursed by their VE for their travel expenses.

An Alternate Delegate may serve in the absence of a Delegate at CSC. When the Delegate is not able to serve on the floor or steps out of the Conference room for a short period of time, the Delegate “passes his/her badge” to the Alternate to vote in his/her place. An Alternate may or may not be reimbursed by its local VE. An Alternate's term is usually 1-2 years. Alternate Delegates often become Delegates for a future CSC.

Some Voting Entities select a Junior and Senior Delegate to go to Conference the same year. A Senior Delegate would have gone to Conference the year prior. A Junior Delegate would have not and would be attending Conference for the first time. The reason for this method is to have a ‘seasoned’ Delegate ‘showing the ropes’ to a new Delegate at Conference.

It may be recommended that a Delegate have served previously as an Alternate Delegate.

What Are the Expectations and Responsibilities of a Delegate?

CoDA, Inc.’s Events Committee put together “A Delegates Checklist” for all delegates at Conference. Below are listed the expectations and responsibilities outlined on this checklist which can be useful knowledge for delegates prior to going to Conference.

Delegate Checklist

First and foremost, a delegate is responsible for being a conduit for communication between the CSC and the fellowship.

The following is a checklist that we hope will help delegates ensure that they have completed all their duties before, during and after Conference.

All motions must now be sent in to submitcsc@coda.org 75 days before conference (June 8th, 2022)

This is to allow adequate time for the delegates to retrieve these items and pass them on to their respective communities so that the communities and meetings can know what is happening and share their group conscience on each matter. Thus, the voice of the CoDA membership may be heard and voted by delegates at Conference.

1. Check the CoDA.org website early and often to acquire all items (e.g., VEIs, motions, Board and Committee's Reports, Goals/Objectives and Budget submissions) to be brought to the Conference floor and provide these to the communities' reps for group conscience at the meetings.

2. Check with the communities for all membership group conscience on items to be brought to the Conference (from the CoDA website: https://coda.org/delegate-package-2022/).

3. Preparation for Conference: have all group conscience decisions for items and be familiar with the delegate package provided on the CoDA website.

4. At Conference, be sure to vote as your VE's collective group conscience has determined. Also, keep good notes and collect any handouts to show to your VE.

5. After Conference, write a report on all that transpired, including the status of your VE's motions, if any, and the status of all motions voted on or tabled at the Conference. Understand that the database does not often give much detail about the motions, so any detail you can provide will be helpful.

6. Emphasize to the Voting Entity secretary, intergroup officers, and the Voting Entity Liaison (IMC) and group representatives the importance of sending current directory information to CoDA as changes occur.

7. Act as a liaison for the Voting Entity and CoDA Board of Trustees.

8. Keep the alternate Delegate informed and engaged with all activities, correspondence, and events to build the alternate's expertise in Intergroup, Voting Entity, and CoDA matters.

9. When your term is over, be sure to pass this checklist and all pertinent information to your successor.

Here is another useful link: The Service Conference section of the Fellowship Service Manual:

https://coda.org/wp-content/uploads/FSM-Part-4-Service-Conference-Procedures.pdf

Please send any questions to the the Voting Entity/Delegate liaison: imcvel@coda.org, the CSC Preparation Workgroup: cscprep@codependents.org, the CoDA Board: board@coda.org or the CoDA Events Committee, cec@coda.org.

Thank You,
The CoDA CSC Preparation Workgroup
cscprep@codependents.org

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