New Developments in the LifeRing Election Contest
There are now four seats open on the LifeRing Board of Directors. Troy Spears, a Modesto, CA, member. has announced his decision to step down from the BOD before the end of his term. This means that the current five candidates will be vying for four seats in the election that begins at the LifeRing Congress on June 2 in Denver. The fourth place finisher will serve out the rest of Troy’s term while the top three take the three full-term spots. Others may, of course, enter the race. We strongly urge anyone still considering running to let the Service Center know that they’re interested by May 15 — an email to service@lifering.org will suffice nicely and the office will respond with a simple form to fill out giving very basic information so that we know how to contact you.
We have a page on this website for use by candidates to make clear why they’re running and for interested members to make comments or ask questions. Four candidates are using the pages, which can be accessed at https://lifering.org/lifering-election-central/. Those four are Mahala Kephart, Jeff Koch, Joe Mott and Tim Reith. The other announced candidate, Bob Omohundro, has opted not to have his own page at this time but has been posting comments on the pages of the other candidates.
We’re having some technical problems with the comment system, so please bear with us — if your comment disappears into the ether, send a copy to cswhalley@lifering.org and he’ll be sure it gets posted ASAP
Participation at that level isn’t appealing at all to me. However, it is at a meeting level.
The more I have been involved with Life Ring the more I believe that many of its written and unwritten rules are based on its inception during a time when AA was the only game in town. That’s probably why so many older member have the belief that, as you put it, “being different from AA is not something we try to avoid”.
Life Ring would be better served in its quest to grow if it stood on its own rather than staunchly regarding itself as some sort of “alternative to 12 Steps”.
Thanks. The links don’t explain any of the inner workings of Life RIng though. What do all these people do other than work to vote to change by-laws that pertain to voting? One of my pet peeves about Life Ring is that it isn’t more like AA where newcomers are welcomed to join in and even encouraged to become “members” and get active within the organization. Meetings are facilitated by groups, rather than individuals.
Chris,
It’s true the path to further participation isn’t mapped out for you, but it does exist. You could, for example, join the email group LifeRingBOD, where governmental matters and current issues are discussed. Comparisons with AA, a 75 year old organization with a couple of million members aren’t really fair, plus being different from AA is not something we try to avoid. Our definition of “member” is anyone who chooses to be involved.
Craig
It would be nice to understand what the Loife Ring organization is all about. What is the Congress, BOD, etc.?
Chris,
Go here to read about this year’s Congress and Elections: https://lifering.org/lifering-election-central/ and you’ll find information about the organization and the role of the Congress at https://lifering.org/about-us-menu/the-organization/ In particular, follow the links to our bylaws, which set forth the nature of the Congress.