FA WSI Terminology
I. GENERAL TERMS
World Service, Inc. (WSI): FA’s central operating organization
World Service Board (WSB): the board of trustees of FA
World Service Office (WSO): the central FA office in Massachusetts
World Service Conference (WSC): the voting members of FA, the “voice of FA”
World Service Business Convention (WSBC): the annual business meeting of FA
Therefore: conference = voting members; convention = meeting
The WSC consists of “members,” not “delegates,” because those elected to serve are asked to think of the needs of the whole of FA. They are not delegates who represent individual meetings even though they have been elected by those meetings.
WSI Standing Committees: committees that serve the World Service Conference (bylaws, Connection, convention planning, literature, office, public information, service group support, traditions review, and twelfth step).
WSB Standing Committees: committees that serve the World Service Board (such as board motions review, design, finance, inquiry response, project review, and personnel).
Special Committees: short-term or ad hoc committees that provide essential services for WSI or WSB.
II. ACRONYMS RELATED TO COMMITTEES
BMRC: Board Motions Review Committee
IRC: Inquiry Response Committee
MESA: Meeting Effectiveness Support and Assistance Subcommittee of Twelfth- Step Committee
PI: Public Information Committee
SGSC: Service Group Support Committee
TOR: The Only Requirement Subcommittee of the Twelfth-Step Committee
TRC: Traditions Review Committee
III. ACRONYMS RELATED TO SERVICE GROUPS
EAI: Eastern Area Intergroup
LSG: Local Service Group
WAI: Western Area Intergroup
IV. TERMS RELATED TO MEETINGS
Contact: a person acting as a direct liaison between their meeting and World Service, an intergroup, or a chapter (e.g., WSI contact, intergroup contact, chapter contact, and meeting contact).
FA Information Session: A special meeting designed to educate the general public about FA. Information Sessions were formerly called "PI Sessions" or "PI Meetings."
Representative or “Rep”: a person acting as a direct liaison between their meeting and a WSI committee (e.g., Connection rep, MESA rep, and PI rep).
Qualification Meeting: A meeting where a member shares how they qualify as a food addict, sharing experience, strength, and hope.
V. TERMS RELATED TO FA-WSI GOVERNING DOCUMENTS & LITERATURE
FA-WSI Bylaws: Our primary governing document.
Standing Rules of Order (SRO): New terminology replacing Continuing Effect Motions Manual. Contains all motions unrelated to bylaws that have been adopted by the World Service Conference over the years.
WSB Manual: contains responsibilities and procedures related to all activities of the WSB.
WSC Member Manual: contains all pertinent information related to being a World Service Conference member.
WSI Standing Committees Manuals: Each WSI standing committee has a procedure manual that can be found on the website under governing documents.
Conference-Approved Literature: works approved by the conference and intended for the entire FA fellowship. They are also made available to the public at large. The FA book and FA pamphlets are written or revised by or under the direct supervision of the Literature Committee. Includes Twenty-Four Hours A Day (Hazelden), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), The Little Red Book (Hazelden), Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (AA), and all FA pamphlets, both those in English and those translated into languages other than English.
Conference-Recognized Material: material intended for the entire fellowship and made available to the public at large, but has not been written or revised under the direct supervision of the literature committee. An example of such material is Connection (the FA magazine).
WSI Board-Approved Material: material intended for the entire fellowship and sometimes made available to the public at large. Such works are not considered by the conference prior to distribution, e.g., Your FA Seventh Tradition: Reaching the Suffering Food Addict.