MEETING MINUTES: RCA TRAILBLAZERS

DATE:  4/26/2026  TIME:  2:40 EST

BUSINESS LEAD: Ruth B.

IN ATTENDANCE

Ruth & Debbie

Agnes & Dave

Donna & Robin

Don & Robin

Amreeta

Melinda

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES No Minutes available from March meeting.

Current Summary by zoom AI

 

Key Outcomes

The workgroup exploring fifth Sunday meetings continues planning;

Agnes and Dave committed to speak on communication at the June 20th panel (Noon-3:00 PM). The group paused donation decisions pending a financial review meeting to clarify recurring expenses and delegate support.

Website automation for welcome letters and fixing the WSO secretary link were assigned to Ruth/Debbie and Don respectively.

 

Decisions Made

Fifth Sunday format: Workgroup has met – still in progress.

Trail Event: Communication topic scheduled for June 20th, Noon-3:00 PM, using 3-speaker-couple panel.

WSO donation paused: Group voted to defer donation decision until after financial review meeting;  need to account for $400 delegate support and 3-year web hosting cycle.

Welcome process automation approved in principle: Ruth will create flowchart and trial version of automated welcome letter with embedded welcome packet request form.

 

Pending Confirmation

March meeting minutes: No one confirmed taking notes; This meeting – using Zoom AI as test.

Web hosting renewal timing: Last paid ~2 years ago for 3-year term at $300+; due within next year.

Zoom account annual cost: $171 confirmed, but renewal timing unclear.

Delegate couple for Denver: No volunteer identified yet; group will support $400 registration fee.

Welcome packet distribution: Currently handled by Shawna/Gunter (international) and treasurer (US), but ownership unclear.

Passphrase for Web Hosting Hub: Not yet established; needed for phone support access since PayPal account has no credit card.

 

Action Items

Ruth/Debbie: Create flowchart for automated welcome letter process and build trial version for group testing.

Don/Robin (Web couple): Fix broken secretary@rcatrailblazers.org link on WSO website (currently opens blank page).

Ruth: Contact Web Hosting Hub to establish passphrase for phone support and address spam flagging of emails from rcatrailblazers.org domain.

Donna (Treasurer): Schedule financial review meeting with interested service position holders to map annual expenses, 3-year cycles, and delegate support before next business meeting.

Secretary Couple: Announce need for delegate couple for Denver convention in meeting

announcements; note $400 registration support available.

Amreeta/Ruth: Meet to streamline MailChimp contact list process (currently requires manual indexing of each entry).

 

Open Questions

PDF welcome packet: Robin suggested WSO create PDF version for easy distribution; Ruth noted group can create using existing links, but raised ethical question about bypassing WSO packet sales revenue.

Welcome couple position: Currently vacant; unclear if position needed with automation, or if secretary couple handles initial contact adequately.Group inventory questionnaire: Workgroup discussed creating member survey about meeting

improvements but no resolution reached.

 

Technical Issues Identified

Email spam filtering: Replies from Agnes to secretary requests flagged as spam by Google; affects delivery to Gmail users and sometimes sender’s own account.

WSO link broken: Secretary contact button on WSO site opens blank page instead of email client; needs coordination with WSO to fix.

MailChimp workflow: Current contact list process requires manual indexing of every entry; unsustainable for future rotation.

 

Financial Summary

Current balance: $1,367.74 13

Prudent reserve: $400 13

Available after reserve: $967.74 13

Annual expenses (3/25/24-3/26/25): $683.75 including delegate payment and web hosting

Annual 7th Tradition income: $939 20

Net annual surplus: $248.94 20

 

Trail Event Panel Details

Topic: Communication in coupleship recovery

Format: 3 speaker couples sharing experience, strength, and hope; script provided; designed to ease new speakers into service.

Confirmed speakers: Agnes and Dave

Needed: 2 more couples; Ruth/Debbie encouraging participation using their own first-panel experience as example.

 

Announcements

Workgroup continues: Group exploring fifth Sunday format, service meetings, group inventory, and tradition integration still meeting; no final proposal yet.

Zoom transcription active: Meeting transcribed to compensate for missing March minutes