Secretary Guidelines for Zoom Meetings

  • The Secretary is the “host” of the Zoom meeting. The host has access to all

  • Secretary Guidelines for Zoom Meetings

  • of the controls, including granting co-hosts, access to in-meeting controls, and managing participants.

  • Secretary terms are 3-month service positions (whether Zoom or in-person). When you agree to be a secretary you are committing to a 3-month term. When your term is coming up to rotate, announce it at the next few meetings so that the group can vote in a new secretary. If the new secretary is nervous about hosting a Zoom meeting – offer to be the co-host at the first few meetings until they feel comfortable. If you need to miss a meeting during your term, it is your responsibility to find another secretary who is familiar with Zoom to cover for you.


BEFORE THE MEETING

  1. Log into the host account 20 minutes before the meeting begins. If there are any technical difficulties this will give you a chance to fix them before the meeting starts. (It is a good idea, and will save you a lot of stress to have a phone number handy of a fellow member/secretary who is familiar with Zoom that you can call in the event that you cannot log into the account)


IMPORTANT…if you use Zoom for other meetings outside of AA, please make sure to log out of your personal account before logging into the host account. When clicking the link, you will be asked if you want to log in as the host. Click that you do want to log in and place the proper host credentials.


EGF Zoom Account:


Password:


  1. For larger meetings it is a good idea to assign a Co-Host. This allows the secretary to focus on the meeting, while the co-host monitors the waiting room, and also keeps an eye out for Zoom-bombers and inappropriate or offensive content. The co-host is also available to take over the meeting if the host has technical difficulties and provide technical support to meeting participants through private chat.


  1. If your meeting requires a “Chair” please remind that person either the day before or at least a couple of hours before the meeting, so that if something comes up, you have time to find a replacement. Make sure that the Chair knows the Zoom meeting ID, the format of the meeting and the length of time they will speak. Ask your Chair to log into Zoom 15 minutes before the meeting so that you can confirm that their computer video and sound is working.


  1. The Elk Grove Fellowship website, egfmeet.com is your resource for all Meeting Formats and Readings, as well as a schedule of all active Elk Grove Fellowship meetings, both Zoom and In-Person. Please review the website for any announcements and make sure to read them during the meeting. Tip: print out the format for your meeting so that in the event you have a computer glitch you have a paper copy.


  1. When the meeting starts, announce that you are MUTING all participants and that they will need to unmute when they speak. Remind them to re-mute after they have finished sharing to eliminate background noise.


  1. Please be patient with everyone, especially the newcomer. It is tough enough to walk into a physical AA meeting, but the Zoom rooms can be especially intimidating. Be loving, tolerant, helpful, and kind. Remember back to when you were new. Slow down when you are reading the meeting formats – and if necessary, hold up the Big Book and other AA literature, and refer to page numbers when needed. This is very helpful to newcomers. As the Secretary, you set the tone for the meeting.


  1. When you announce the 7th Tradition, give the Venmo account and address of the hall for mailing checks. You can also put this information in the chat.

Venmo: @ElkGrove-Fellowship


Mail checks: 9151 Grove St. Elk Grove, CA 95624


BIG BOOKS – If a new member would like a Big Book, they are available at our cost and can either be picked up at the Native Sons Hall or can be delivered. If they cannot afford one, one will be provided for them. Please contact Dale Maack and he will coordinate meeting them or the delivery.

Dale Maack 916-813-9824 demaack@yahoo.com


MEETING ETIQUETTE AND INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR


“Love and tolerance of others is our code.” Safety, however, is important to the functioning of the group. By maintaining order and safety in meetings, the group as a whole will benefit and members will be able to focus on recovery from alcoholism and a life of sobriety.


As the Secretary and Host of the Zoom Meeting it is important that you do not allow any inappropriate or disruptive behavior before, during or after the meeting. Sharing derogatory images or comments on chat, disclosing confidential information, or using discriminatory language toward a member will not be tolerated. Depending on the situation, you can mute the offending member, remove them from the meeting or send them a chat asking them to stay after the meeting so that you can address the issue with them privately. Persistent offenders can be reported to the steering committee.

HANDLING ZOOM-BOMBERS


In the unlikely event that your meeting is Zoom bombed, do not end, or leave the meeting. Instruct members to stay in the meeting, and the Zoom-bombers will be removed by yourself or the co-host. Use the meeting controls to:

  • Stop meeting video.

  • Disable chat.

  • Remove offending participants.

  • Post something in the chat room so that any inappropriate posts get scrolled up and are less visible to participants.


CLOSING THE MEETING

  • Close the actual meeting on-time. If you would like to leave the Zoom link open for a few minutes after the meeting has ended for “the meeting after the meeting” or for members to exchange phone numbers with newcomers that is ok. Just remember that if there is a meeting scheduled after yours – you need to log out before they can start.


  • IMPORTANT…after the meeting, you must end the meeting and SIGN OUT of the EGF Fellowship Zoom account, otherwise the next meeting Zoom host cannot sign in to start a meeting.