ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS / AREA 93 / DISTRICT 17

Monthly District Meeting /May 7, 2007

Maureen called meeting to order at 6:30

A Moment of Silence followed by the serenity prayer

12 Concepts read by Darrin

Attendance -

DCM – 1

Alt. DCM - Absent

GSR’s – 14

Area 93 Chairman – Jeff J.

Area 93 Secretary – Sharon G.

SFV Intergroup 2^nd Alternate: Tom T.

New GSR’s – Jeremy G. from North Hollywood Saturday Night

Secretary Report – Karen A.

The April minutes were approved. It was noted by Jeff J. the minutes needed to be scrubbed of last names as they are posted on the Website. This is in keeping with the tradition.

DCM Report – Maureen M.

I attended the Area Committee Meeting in Goleta on April 14^th. The Area Treasurer, Val stepped down and Vicki is the interim treasurer until the election in May. If any of your groups are inquiring as to why their contribution checks have not cleared she is in the process of processing all these and this should be up to date very shortly. Vicki gave a report on three locations in the running in Santa Paula which will be the future location for the ACMs beginning in 2008.

There was much discussion on changing the wording on the G&P regarding inactive officers. After much discussion the matter was referred back to the G&P committee for further revision and clarification. Fernando announced that he had translated the G&P into Spanish and an ad hoc committed will be formed to review the translation. A motion was presented to put the Area 93 G&P on the Are 93 website in English and Spanish and the motion carried.

BTG - It was discovered in the Ad-Hoc fact finding committee that in Area 05 many years back there was some friction between H & I – BTG and General Service. So as to not step on toes or duplicate any work already being done as H & I is already active with BTG, Alberto will bring this dialogue to Southern California H & I.

It was brought up to the Area as to why the Archivist doesn’t have a vote. Debbie did much research with other areas and the results were mixed which is to say “each area is autonomous.” There was no overwhelming consensus either way.

There will be a grapevine celebration at the May assembly in Lake Isabella.

I regret to inform you that our District Registrar Ernie is rotating out of service. We thank him for his service and we will miss him.

Thank you all for allowing me to be of Service.

Alt DCM Report – Michael F.

No report.

Treasurer Report – Leslie C.

The treasurer’s report was read and approved.

Area Standing Committee Reports:

Archives –

No report.

CPC/Treatment Facilities – Barry

No report.

Finance - Maureen M.

No report.

Grapevine/La Vina – Karen A.

No report.

Guidelines and Policies – Sharon G.

No report

Literature/Audio Visual/Newsletter –

No report.

Public Information / Accessibility/ Website –

No report.

Registration –

No report.

SFV Liaison: Jeffrey –

No report

H&I Liaison - Mark V.

H&I panels are open to everyone’ participation. For more information on how to get involved, attend the monthly business meeting held the 3^rd Monday of the every month at St. Innocent Orthodox Church, 5657 Lindley Avenue, Tarzana, at 7:30 pm. There is an orientation session held at 7:00 pm. Mark wanted to dispel the notion that there is a conflict between H&I and the AA groups in the San Fernando Valley. According to him, this is false and there is indeed cooperation between the two entities. Mark also clarified the difference between the “Bridging the Gap” and “Contact on Release” programs, the former dealing with treatment facilities and the latter with prisons.

SFV Inter-group Liaison –

No report.

Newcomer packets –

No report.

Old Business:

1. Bus Bench fund allocation approximately $200 production plus $60 x 6 months + $560

There were concerns raised regarding funding the project because District 17’s coffers are low. The following suggestions were made:

a. Groups can pass the basket specifically for this project.

b. Use a portion of the prudent reserve

c. There was a motion to re-allocate the Book Project money to the Bus Bench Project. The motion passed.

The wording for the benches is not finalized and suggestions are still being accepted. Email them to Maureen. Her email address is on the district roster. Lastly, it was clarified that the commitment to this project is for 6 months only.

New Business:

1. Registrar Election – Ernie F. has rotated out of service. Maureen listed the duties of the District Registrar: To ensure all meetings in District 17 are registered correctly here and at the General Service Office in New York. This will be critical when the new software is implanted in New York. The registrar is the lead in reaching out to inactive groups. Mark V. made himself available and was voted in as the new registrar for District 17.

2. Outreach Inactive Groups Committee – Mark V. has been actively pursuing this by educating the groups he visits and urging them to get GSR’s. He talks to the groups secretary, gives them hand-outs (“Inside AA”, “The AA Group”, “The GSR”, and the suggested contributions document). He tells them how important it is to be “plugged into all of AA”, and generally gets a positive response. It was suggested that “Delegate Day” on June 16^th can be used as a hook. When the new list of meetings compiled in New York is ready, Mark will work to “divvy up” the unrepresented meetings.

3. Open Discussion –

a. Mike remarked how much easier it is to get his group’s attention and participation when there is a tangible project he can present to them; i.e., Big Book Drive.

b. Robert voiced his concern regarding how uncomfortable he feels about the pitiful income on the financial statement. Suggestions were made to improve this state of affairs: 1) At the group’s business meeting, discuss the importance and why contributions are needed. Also, explain that the GSR is an important link in the information exchange between the group and New York. 2) Have the group pass the hat for District 17. 3) Each month, take a set amount “off the top” or a percentage, as suggested by the distribution breakdown from GSO. 4) Encourage the group to put 2 bucks in the basket instead of 1.Increased group income means more for distribution of contributions.

c. May 20^th we’ll make a 12 Step Call on Lake Isabella!

Good and Welfare: We sang Happy Birthday to Rosemary S. who’ll be 17 on May 25^th!

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 with the responsibility declaration.

Next District meeting is Monday, June 4^th.

Submitted and prepared by Karen A.

Thank you for allowing me to be of service.