Introduction

This document briefly describes the process for starting up a COSA telemeeting. If you have questions or want additional support in starting a COSA telemeeting you can:

1. Contact the COSA Telemeetings Coordinator at COSATelemeetingCoordinator@gmail.com or by calling the COSA Telemeeting Intergroup voicemail at 641-715-3900 ext. 743942#
2. Attend a Telemeeting Intergroup Meeting (part of Intergroup's mission is to support exiting and new COSA Telemeetings). For details about the Telemeeting Intergroup contact the COSA Telemeetings Coordinator.
3. Attend a Sober & Sustainable COSA Meeting Conference Call. Go to http://cosa-recovery.org/special.html for date/times of the next available meeting.

Telemeeting purpose

Telemeetings were established to provide an opportunity for COSAs to attend a meeting when:

1. no face-to-face meetings were available,
2. people were traveling and could not attend their home meeting, and
3. as an adjunct to face-to-face meetings.

Telemeeting history

The first COSA telemeeting was held in January 2006 and we are grateful to SAA for generously sharing information and tools from their telemeetings.

Step 1. Secure a Teleconference Number for your meeting

Contact the COSA Telemeetings Coordinator to receive a Conference Call Phone Number and Access Code for your new meeting.Advantages of teleconferencing:

• No cost to set up an account or to create meetings
• Only cost to attendees is their usual long distance rate
• Service is reliable.
• Audio quality is good

Step 2. Create an E-mail account for your meeting

Each COSA Telemeeting is autonomous and has its own email account. Contact the Telemeetings Coordinator when you have set up an email address for your new meeting. Typical e-mails include:

• Questions about joining a telemeeting
• Requests for help when people are struggling
• Announcements made on your telemeeting

Step 3. Register Your Meeting with ISO of COSA

Complete the Meeting Registration Form at www.cosa-recovery.org which will get your new meeting posted on the International Service Organization of COSA website (a critical way to spread the word about your meeting's existence to COSAs worldwide).

Step 4. Get your Telemeeting added to the Telemeetings Schedule on the cosacall.com website

Once you have registered your meeting with ISO of COSA contact the COSA Telemeetings Coordinator to have your meeting added to the Telemeeting Schedule posted on the cosacall.com website. Note: the cosacall.com website was created to support the telemeetings and as of 2009 the website is maintained by ISO of COSA. Website Content includes:

• Telemeetings Schedule
• COSA approved Meeting Readings
• Frequently Asked Questions
• How to Make a Seventh Tradition Donation
• Being of Service (on the telemeetings at the ISO level)
• Telemeeting Tools Templates (materials for Meeting Secretary, Email Coordinator and/or Speaker Seeker)
• Sober & Sustainable Meeting Support

Step 5. Identify a Meeting Secretary

The role of the secretary is a bit different than in a face-to-face meeting. Because participants cannot see each other, it takes a while to learn how to manage a telemeeting. Each meeting is free to set the term length for Secretary service and in keeping with our Traditions we encourage an individual's term not to exceed 6 months so the meeting can grow in strength and sobriety. We also recommend having Sobriety Requirements for the meeting Secretary. Some meetings use the following:

• Actively working the steps in COSA
• Currently working with a sponsor, cosponsor or temporary sponsor
• Have attended 6 or more telemeetings

Step 6. Set Up Email Contact List & Find an Email Coordinator for your meeting

We encourage COSAs to find at least one other person committed to regularly attend the meeting for the first 6 months. If you have been a Telemeeting Secretary for an existing meeting it may be manageable to have the Secretary serve as the E-mail Coordinator in the beginning, but we recommend dividing the service work as soon as possible. The Meeting Secretary and the Meeting Email Coordinator are the most critical positions to fill to get the meeting started. As more people attend the meeting you will have the ability to add other service positions. Note; a meeting's email list is typically used to announce:

• Business Meeting Notes
  
• New meetings
  
• Special events at a meeting, e.g., guest speaker, someone sharing a First Step
  
• Changes in access code or phone number, etc.

General Information

Since meetings may be added at any time we encourage you to regularly check the schedule posted at cosacall.com to see if there are other meetings that conflict with the day and time you would like to add a meeting.