ARTICLE I NAME
The name of the organization shall be HOUSTON METRO INTERGROUP (HMI).
ARTICLE II PURPOSE
(a) The purpose of HMI shall be to serve by administering and coordinating OA activities common to the groups composing its membership and to further the Overeaters Anonymous program in accordance with the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, in order to carry the message to all compulsive overeaters.
(b) The purpose of HMI shall be exclusively charitable and educational within the meaning of Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986, as amended, and similar statutes.
Section 2 Prohibitions
(a) HMI shall be a non-profit organization, and no part of its net earnings shall inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. The organization shall not distribute propaganda, attempt to influence legislation, or intervene in any political campaign. This organization shall have no capital stock, and is not organized for business or for pecuniary profit, but solely for the purpose stated in our Charter and Bylaws.
ARTICLE III TWELVE STEPS
The Twelve Steps are suggested for recovery in the Fellowship of Overeaters Anonymous. The Twelve Steps are:
1. We admitted we were powerless over food - that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore
us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care
of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when
to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact
with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for
us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps,
we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice
these principles in all our affairs.
ARTICLE IV TWELVE TRADITIONS
The Twelve Traditions are:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon
OA unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving
God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are
but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for OA membership is a desire to stop eating
compulsively.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other
groups or OA as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to
the compulsive overeater who still suffers.
6. An OA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the OA name to
any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property,
and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every OA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside
contributions.
8. Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but
our service centers may employ special workers.
9. OA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service
boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the
OA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than
promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press,
radio, films, television, and other public media of communication.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these traditions,
ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
ARTICLE V TWELVE CONCEPTS
The Twelve Concepts of OA Service are:
1. The ultimate responsibility and authority for OA world services reside
in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
2. The OA groups have delegated to the World Service Business Conference
the active maintenance of our world services; thus, the World Service Business
Conference is the voice, authority and effective conscience of OA as a
whole.
3. The Right of Decision, based on trust, makes effective leadership
possible.
4. The Right of Participation ensures equality of opportunity for all
in the decision-making process.
5. Individuals have the right of appeal and petition in order to ensure
that their opinions and personal grievances will be carefully considered.
6. The World Service Business Conference has entrusted the Board of
Trustees with the primary responsibility for the administration of Overeaters
Anonymous.
7. The Board of Trustees has legal rights and responsibilities accorded
to them by OA Bylaws Subpart A; the rights and responsibilities of the
World Service Business Conference are accorded to it by Tradition and by
OA Bylaws Subpart B.
8. The Board of Trustees has delegated to its Executive Committee the
responsibility to administer the OA World Service Office.
9. Able, trusted servants, together with sound and appropriate methods
of choosing them, are indispensable for effective functioning at all service
levels.
10. Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service
authority; therefore, duplication of efforts is avoided.
11. Trustee administration of the World Service Office should always
be assisted by the best standing committees, executives, staffs and consultants.
12. The spiritual foundation for OA service ensures that:
A. no OA committee or service body shall ever become the seat of perilous
wealth or power;
B. sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, shall be OA's
prudent financial principle;
C. no OA member shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority;
D. all important decisions shall be reached by discussion, vote and,
whenever possible, by substantial unanimity;
E. no service action shall ever be personally punitive or an incitement
to public controversy; and
F. no OA service committee or service board shall ever perform acts
of government, and each shall always remain democratic in thought and action.
ARTICLE VI HEADQUARTERS
The headquarters of HMI shall be in Harris County, Texas, and be located as designated by a majority vote of HMI. HMI may establish offices within its boundaries as required for the conduct of its affairs.
ARTICLE VII OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS HMI ORGANIZATION
Section 1 Qualifications
(a) Those groups within the region or the geographic definition of HMI that have formally registered with World Service Office and indicated their intention to belong to HMI may be considered members.
An OA group is defined as the following:
1. As a group, they meet together to practice the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions of OA.
2. All who have a desire to stop eating compulsively are welcome in
the group.
3. No member is required to practice any actions in order to remain
a member or to have a voice (share at a meeting).
4. As a group, they have no affiliation other than OA.
5. A group may be formed by two (2) or more persons meeting together
as set forth in Article IV, Section 1 of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc., Bylaws
Subpart B.
(b) Each group shall be entitled to vote through its elected Intergroup Representative.
(c) No group may be registered with another Intergroup.
Section 2 Membership
(a) Membership of the Intergroup shall consist of the following.
These members are considered voting members at all HMI meetings.
A. The Intergroup Board
B. Intergroup representatives (IRs), which shall consist of one member
from each group within the geographic area. Visitors are welcome and are
encouraged to participate in the discussion.
(b) Intergroup Representatives
A. Intergroup representatives shall be selected by the group conscience
of the group they represent. Each IR shall be selected by any method deemed
appropriate by their group. These IRs shall serve for a period designated
by their group, always subject to recall by the group they represent.
Each group shall be free to designate an alternate IR when the necessity
arises.
B. IRs should be selected for willingness to serve and commitment
to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA.
C. The primary responsibility of the IR, or alternate, is to represent
their group at all meetings of HMI, to act as a liaison between HMI and
their group, to see that all communications pertaining to HMI are made
available and, where requested, read aloud to the group.
Section 3 Boundaries
(a) HMI serves registered groups in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area not affiliated with any other Intergroup that chooses to affiliate with HMI.
(b) Registered groups outside the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area may petition HMI for membership and be accepted by a majority vote.
Section 4 Meetings
(a) HMI shall meet monthly on a day voted upon by a majority of voting
members.
(b) A special meeting may be called at any time by a majority vote
of the HMI board, or by petition of four (4) HMI members.
(c) Notification of such a special meeting must be given at least 24
hours prior to the meeting to board members, delegates, AND Intergroup
Reps.
Section 5 Quorum
Those voting members present at any meeting of this Intergroup and at least two (2) board members shall constitute a quorum for all proceedings of the Intergroup.
Section 6 Majority
A majority will be established when the greater number of voting members present at an HMI meeting is in agreement.
ARTICLE VIII HMI BOARD
Section 1 HMI Board Qualifications
(a) All voting members of the Intergroup shall elect by a majority vote the following: CHAIRPERSON, VICE-CHAIRPERSON, RECORDING SECRETARY, TREASURER, PARLIAMENTARIAN, AND HISTORIAN, plus any officers deemed necessary by the HMI Board. Elected officers shall be referred to as the HMI Board.
(b) An HMI Board nominee shall have, at the time of election, a one (1) year current abstinence/recovery, be working a Twelve Step program, have completed the fifth (5th) step, and be active in HMI a minimum of four (4) months within the last six (6) month period.
(c) In the event that there is no qualified candidate for a Board position, the Chairperson (incoming) may appoint, with the approval of voting members of the Intergroup, a volunteer to fill the position until such time as a qualified candidate is available and duly elected. This temporary position may be filled by a delegate.
Section 2 Term of Office
(a) One (1) term of office shall be one (1) year. Length of service shall not exceed two (2) consecutive terms in one (1) office.
(b) When a vacancy occurs, the voting members present shall elect by a majority vote a successor to serve the remaining period. Ten (10) months remaining will constitute a full term.
An HMI board member, WSO Delegate, or Regional Representative shall be deemed to have resigned if absent for two (2) consecutive regular meetings of the Intergroup without having provided notification to the board.
Section 3 HMI Board Job Descriptions
(a) Chairperson
1. Prepares agenda and presides over each HMI meeting.
2. Chairperson of New Group Welcoming Committee.
3. Supervises office staff.
4. Appoints and coordinates HMI committees.
5. Requests in writing funding for delegates attending Region III events
in accordance with Region III policy.
6. Submits names of delegates who will attend the WSBC (World Service
Business Conference) 120 days prior to Conference date.
7. May cast the deciding vote to make or break a tie.
May not participate in a ballot vote.
(b) Vice-Chairperson
1. In the event of absence, incapacity or inability of the Chairperson,
the Vice-Chairperson shall perform all duties of the Chairperson and exercise
the powers of the office.
2. Organizes the Annual Newcomer Workshop with the help of HMI.
(c) Recording Secretary
1. Shall keep accurate records of all meetings and of all votes and
actions.
2. Shall keep the official corrected and approved copy of all minutes
and distribute a copy to all present at the HMI meetings.
(d) Treasurer
1. Shall account for all funds of the organization and make a at each
HMI meeting. This report is also distributed to all present at HMI
meetings.
2. Direct an audit of the books annually in June with the help of an
Internal Audit Committee.
(e) Parliamentarian Shall insure all monthly HMI meetings are conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order and current HMI bylaws.
(f) Historian Shall maintain a scrapbook with copies of announcements and flyers of any OA special events and any publicity concerning OA. The scrapbook is the property of HMI. Materials may be filed at the HMI office until incorporated into the scrapbook.
(g) World Service Delegate(s)/Region III Representative(s)
1. Attends, votes for HMI, and gives reports on the WSBC (World Service
Business Conference) and Region III Assemblies.
2. Organizes workshops and retreats with the help of HMI.
Section 4 Election
The election of officers will be held in January and June of each year, to take effect in February and July of the same year. Election of VICE-CHAIRPERSON, RECORDING SECRETARY, and PARLIAMENTARIAN will be held in January to take effect in February of the same year. Election of CHAIRPERSON, TREASURER, and HISTORIAN will be held in June to take effect in July of the same year.
ARTICLE IX WSO DELEGATES/REGION III REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1 Qualifications
A Region III Representative shall have at the time of election a one (1) year current abstinence, be working a Twelve Step program, have completed the fifth (5th) step, and be active in HMI a minimum of four (4) months within the last six (6) month period. Any current Region III Representative who meets the World Service qualification for a World Service Delegate may serve in both positions concurrently in accordance with the World Service Delegate qualifications.
Bylaws of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc., SUBPART B, ARTICLE IX, Section
3, Item (c) (1): Qualifications for selection of World Service delegates/alternates
shall be set by each intergroup or national/language service board provided
that each delegate/alternate shall have at least one (1) year of current
abstinence and at least two (2) years of service above the group level.Item
(c) (2): Delegate must meet qualifications of Section 3, Item (c) (1) from
OA Bylaws, Subpart B.
Section 2 Term of Office
(a) One (1) term of office shall be two (2) years. Length of service shall not exceed two (2) consecutive terms.
(b) When a vacancy occurs, the voting members present shall elect by majority vote a successor to serve the remaining period. Eighteen (18) months shall constitute a full term.
(c) A World Service Delegate/Region III Representative shall be deemed to have resigned if absent for two (2) consecutive regular meetings of the Intergroup without having provided notification to the Board.
Section 3 Elections
The election of World Service Delegate(s)/Region III Representative(s) and alternate(s) will be held in June of each year to take effect in July of the same year.
Section 4 Alternates
(a) Every two (2) Region III Representatives shall have one (1) alternate to serve for a period of two (2) years.
(b) Alternates are subject to the same requirements as Region III Representative(s)/ World Service Delegate(s).
ARTICLE X COMMITTEES
Section 1 Standing Committees
The following standing committees may be established as required to carry out the purposes of Intergroup in the most effective and efficient manner. Standing committees may include but not be limited to:
1. Convention
2. Public Information
3. Newsletter
4. Special Events/Workshops
5. Retreats
6. Meeting Lists
7. Bylaws
8. Budget
9. HIPM
10. Web Site
Section 2 Special Committees
The board shall designate such special committees as are deemed necessary for the welfare and operation of the Intergroup.
Section 3 Committee Appointments
The chairperson shall appoint a committee chairperson from those members present.
Section 4 Committee Procedures
Each standing or special committee shall be responsible for calling and holding meetings, and establishing its method of procedures, subject to the approval of the Intergroup board and the guidelines of the Twelve Traditions of OA.
Section 5 Committee Responsibility
Any committee decision and/or vote which establishes or changes a policy, sets a procedural plan for a special event, or expends funds in excess of the approved budget, shall require approval by the Intergroup prior to implementation. Each standing committee chair shall submit a verbal report to the Intergroup at the regular monthly meetings. If any monies are expended from an approved budget, a detailed and itemized report shall be included with a written committee report at the end of the specific event coordinated by that committee.
Section 6 Committee Bank Account
If it is deemed necessary by the board that a committee shall open a bank account, the following procedure shall be followed:
1. The committee chair (or appointed treasurer for the committee) and
the treasurer of the Intergroup shall be cosigners on the account.
2. The committee chair shall keep all financial records and shall present
a detailed, itemized report of transactions to the Intergroup within 60
days following any event for which monies were expended or received.
The committee chair may appoint a committee treasurer to perform these
duties.
ARTICLE XI FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
Section 1 Source of Funds
(a) The activities of the Intergroup office shall be financed primarily by the contributions of its member groups.
(b) Secondary source of financial income to the HMI office may be from such occasional projects or activities as may be authorized by the HMI Board.
(c) The HMI Board may accept donations from OA members conforming with the Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous up to $1,000 per year.
(d) The acceptance of bequests or donations from any outside source is prohibited.
(e) The HMI Board shall not accept the responsibility, trusteeship, or enter into the distribution or allocation of funds set up outside of the HMI Board.
(f) Upon dissolution of this organization after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of this organization, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a non-profit fund, foundation, or corporation which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or religious and/or scientific purposes and which has established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(g) No part of the net earnings of this organization shall inure to or be for the benefit of or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payment and distributions in furtherance of the exempt purposes for which it was formed.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the organization shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Section 2 Prudent Reserve
There shall be no accumulation of funds beyond current necessities, with retention of only a prudent reserve for all contingencies. Funds in excess shall be donated to Region III and the World Service Office as budgeted and directed by the Intergroup.
ARTICLE XII AMENDMENTS
(a) The bylaws committee shall be comprised of Officers and Delegates and other interested OA members and shall meet at least once per year (in time to file the Bylaws with the World Service Office in April) for the purpose of reviewing the Bylaws and proposing amendments to HMI.
(b) These Bylaws may be amended at any regular monthly meeting by simple majority vote provided that the proposal shall have been presented to the group at the prior monthly meeting.
(c) Articles III, IV, and V cannot be amended.
ARTICLE XIII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
(a) The Rules contained in the current edition of Roberts Rules of
Order Newly Revised shall govern this Intergroup in all cases to which
they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws,
the Twelve Tradtions or any special ruls of order the Intergroup may adopt.
Furthermore, the Intergoups Bylaws must conform to OA, Inc. Bylaws.