ICYBLOG Introduction

Welcome to the first installment of the ICYPAA.org blog! We hope to bring you informative, interesting stuff to read on a range of topics, including ICYPAA in general, Bid Requirements, what it's like to be on a Host Committee, AA's Steps & Traditions and more!

The ICYPAA Advisory Council has been hard at work since the 53rd ICYPAA in San Francisco on a number of initiatives, including the complete redesign of the ICYPAA website, implementation of new Bid Requirements, the roll-out of ICYPAA University, and the refinement of the Site Selection process.

In June 2011 Council unanimously approved a change that increased the number of Bid Requirements from eight to thirteen, to take effect for the 54th ICYPAA conference year. The intent behind this change was to help committees think about everything that goes in to hosting ICYPAA, so they can work on becoming not only the best Bid Committee, but also the best future Host Committee possible. The spiritual payoff is more than worth it, but there's a lot of work involved with bidding for ICYPAA, and even more work goes into hosting! New Bid Requirements include:

• Documentation detailing the committee's involvement in General Service;
• Proposed host committee guidelines and/or structure;
• Proposed conference budget; and
  
• Proposed conference program.

Thankfully, you can now take advantage of the ICYPAA University webinars to learn everything you ever wanted to know about all of the Bid Requirements! The webinars take place once a month but are available for viewing at any time. The presentations take you in depth through all the fundamentals, elements, particularities and considerations you'll need to think about for each Bid Requirement.

The Site Selection process has also been refined, which Council believes will improve everyone's bidding experience. Final .pdf bid packages are now due fourteen days before the bid session, as opposed to ten, to give Council more time to fully acquaint ourselves with everyone's hard work. We've also rescheduled the bid table sessions to give everyone more time to talk, ask questions, and discuss their bids with Council. See the ICYPAA Bid Center for more details.

We hope these new processes and procedures will improve your experience of ICYPAA, whether you're a first-timer at the conference, a long-term attendee, a bidder, or a member of the Host Committee. Advisory Council is here to serve the ICYPAA Nation, and ICYPAA is here to serve the alcoholic wishing to find recovery and sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous. Thank you for allowing us to be of service, and please let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see addressed in this blog!

In Love & Service,
Lauren A.-V.