Minutes of District 17/Area93 Meeting Minutes September 1, 2008
6:30pm – Meeting called to order (Serenity Prayer) Maureen M.
Read 12 Concepts-Faith
Introduced ourselves and the AA Group we represent. Maureen passed a list around to sign-in.
Introduction of new GSRs/Alternates – Michael: Barbara (NoHo Big Book for Chicks) and Alexandria (Try God alternate). No Guests or Visitors.
Total attendees: 17
Secretary Report. August minutes were will be reviewed by DCM and submitted and then approved at October meeting.
DCM Report: Maureen
I just returned last night from the Pacific Regional Forum in Spokane and will present you with a report shortly.
I attended the Area Assembly in Solvang on August 17th The 2008 Conference Reports are in and you should all read these and share this information with your meeting. The “Additional Considerations” on page 65 is information you can share for many months to come. You can also leave a copy with your literature person so others can read as well. At the DCM sharing we discussed taking a District Inventory and I have information on this if you feel you would like to conduct one in our District. We also discussed the upcoming November elections at the Area level and the District level.
At the finance committee meeting we discussed the changes we were presenting to the Area for meal allowance and mileage reimbursement. These were both voted on at the assembly and will be voted on again in November. The changes include increasing the meal allowance to the IRS standard business allowance to be determined annually on January 1. And for the mileage 65% of the IRS rate and excluding the 50 mile excess each month. We need two consecutive Assembly votes to make changes to the G&P. When they pass, I would suggest we adapt these changes at the District level as well.
The finance committee also presented the 2008 budget for review and we will vote on this in November. You all have a copy please share with your meetings
Debbie shared some of the countries that have newly translated AA literature – Vietnam Croatia, Greece, Madagascar, Russia, Malta and Sri Lanka. This is information to share with your meetings so they know how far their contributions carry the message.
The Delegate Day is Saturday, September 6th at 5657 Lindley Avenue in Tarzana from 11:30 – 1pm. This is a potluck so please bring deserts!!! Please let your meetings know about this event – this is there chance to hear the Delegate report back from the New York Conference which took place in April. Michael F. will represent District 17 in the share portion as I will be unable to attend.
Thank you for letting me to be of service.
Report from August 29, 30 & 31 Pacific Regional Forum – Spokane, WA: Maureen
First I would like to thank you all and please thank your groups for their contributions to District 17 which helped fund this trip. I am so humbled and full of gratitude for the Program of Alcoholics Ammoniums. I flew to Seattle then to Spokane with Jeff J., Ken S, Joe V. and Lisa P. We met at Burbank at 7am and arrived in Spokane around 2pm. We checked into the Double Tree Hotel and walked around to find a place to eat lunch. We were introduced to the “Pig out in the Park” by Matt and Kevin from District 22 but Jeff and I opted to go to a real restaurant and had lunch with our Delegate Debbie.
The Forum began at 7pm with the Forum Charperson Madeline P. our Pacific Regional Trustee. She began with the purpose of a Forum – it is a weekend of sharing information on carrying the message of Alcoholics Anonymous and no formal actions are taken. She is such a beautiful example of this program and a true inspiration.
She then introduced Leonard M. Blumenthal our Class A Trustee and Chairman of the General Service Board who gave the “Opening Remarks.” (Hand-out) What an honor to hear him speak.
Madeline then introduced the other panel members: Judge Rogelio Flores (Class A) Trustee; Doug R; GSO Staff.
Madeline P. continued and explained the roll of the Class B Trustees (alcoholic). (Hand-out) She joked the roll of a class B trustee is “What’s it all About Alkie.” She said “the Regional Trustees bring regional perspective to the Board.” All of this is to make that 12 step happen. Let it begin with me so everything I have in my arsenal will help the still suffering alcoholic. There is so much work still to do.
Rogelio explained the role of the Class B Trustee. (see Hand-out) As a Superior Court Judge he is used to people doing things for him. Serving on the AAWS Board and attending his 1st General Service Conference has humbled him and taught him so much. He was very funny explaining what it would be like if a defendant stood up in his court room and ask that the minority opinion be heard and could he please ask the jury for a re-vote. He said his fellow board members have named him “Rocking Rogelio” because he just keeps saying how much AA ROCKS!
Doug R. (Class B) Trustee gave a presentation on the GSO Staff Assignments. He was just as charming and funny giving the details of how hard these folks work with funny examples of irate members calling because a meeting is not following the traditions and what are “you” going to do about it. Their primary mission is to facilitate the 12 step work done by the fellowship.
I was so moved and felt so blessed to be part of the fellowship. I don’t think I can properly convey the enormous feeling of support and love I felt from these people. The Board of Trustees’ is completely there to serve this fellowship. The amount of self-sacrifice these Trustees give to this fellowship is amazing. They are not compensated for their time - it’s their love of the program and carrying the message. It certainly humbled me and it was truly an honor to be there with them. Leonard was away from home for AA business 150 nights this year and Madeline was away 77 nights.
We then had open mike with questions from the floor. Many were for Rogelio and he suggested on a local level to make contact with your local Judge and educate him on what AA is.
Leonard was asked if Class A Trustees do the Steps? His reply was after step one everyone could use the steps. This program is a miraculous program for living - How to stay sober one day at a time using spiritual principals. He said there are currently 300 12 Step Programs modeled after AA.
Madeline was asked - how does a committee move forward with a floor action. She sad there is no rule they discuss each item and if there is a wide express need they will take action.
We then had a coffee break and when we returned we watched a video called “The Markings on The Journey.” Which was a history of AA - this would be great for our District movie night.
We then had a general sharing session with Greg M. GSO General Manager.
Where does AAWS need the most help? Greg said financial support for the vital services and the voices and participation from the fellowship.
When were the Areas developed? 1951 and as the fellow ship grew so did the areas.
August 1st the AA.org web site was re-done.
There was much discussion on “are we losing our way” and making fear based decisions. Greg believes we are self correcting and we need to trust the process. He said there is so much work to do and the only reason for our existence is to carry the message.
There were silly questions about 13th stepping predators and should be have a pamphlet about this. This came up several times during the weekend until on man shared that when he came into the rooms he behavior was not right and he’s so grateful that no-one asked him to leave because he was hitting on woman.
We broke for the night at 10pm and all had ice cream.
Saturday began at 9am with a presentation by the Jim B. Grapevine Director; Robin B., executive editor Grapevine and Paz P. La Vina Advisory Board.
The Grapevine is completely supported by subscriptions, there is no ad revenue. Jim made a funny joke about 13th stepping saying “My life is unmanageable and I want to share it with you.”
He explained the role of Grapevine Director (see Hand-out) what I learned about this presentation is that the Grapevine is considered the International Journal for Alcoholics Anonymous and it is utilized by many in the professional and international professional communities. They work on a 5 year plan; they have 60,000 stories archived with 12-15 new each month; in 64 years they have never missed an issue; they are looking into publishing with-out the staples for the corrections facilities (there are 2.6 million alcoholics behind the walls) but the cost for “Perfect Bound” is $2,200 per issue. (this came up several times in the general sharing)
Robin the executive editor, answered many questions. The Grapevine is an invaluable tool in carrying the message. They have been working with a designer to re-do the look to reach the newer members as the demographic of current subscribers is older.
There was a presentation on La Vina by Paz with a very fun PowerPoint presentation with hilarious sound effects. La Vina is growing very quickly but is still not self-supporting and is helped out by AAWS.
We had a coffee break and returned for more presentations:
Five Pacific Regional Delegates gave presentations (see-Hand-out) including our Delegate Debbie J. who was awesome. These were so informative. I especially enjoyed the presentation by Gail H. from Area 72 “How Well Are We Fulfilling our Primary Purpose.” The presentations were followed by questions from the floor.
This was followed up by more open mike questions and the Ask it Basket with Leonard answering the questions.
We broke for lunch –
At 1:30 George M. the AAWS Director gave a presentation. (see-Hand-out)
Greg M. gave a terrific presentation titled “Self-support: A Spiritual Journey” with a great presentation hand-out.
This was followed by more questions from the floor.
We had a coffee break-
The next presentation was “AA around the World” by Dorothy W. the Trustee at Large U.S. This was emotional and very moving. In 4 years she has traveled 150,000 air miles and visited 15 countries. The World Service meeting which will be held this fall will include 60 delegates from 40 countries. She shared about a recent trip to Kuwait where they held a forum in a hotel and had to cover the literature every time the service staff entered the room for fear they would see the literature. There are NA meetings in Iran but they do not allow AA it is just not acceptable. She was in Russia for the 20th anniversary convention of AA; Trinidad-Tobago for their 52nd annual convention, Croatia; Turkey; Greece and Hungry. When she visits these countries they are so very grateful to her and to Alcoholics Anonymous. This past year she was away from home 350 nights with 15 days being the longest stretch.
The self-sacrifice of these people is so humbling.
We broke for dinner –
After dinner there were workshops: I attended two workshops one on the History of AA, which really didn’t cover that and a second one on The Group Conscience and Self-Support. I heard a good quote about judgment. In the mid-‘60s the so called “hippies” began attending the meetings - someone complained to Bill W. that a “hippie” was in his meeting and what are we going to do about this.” Bill replied “good we have one – we’ll need him in case we get another one.”
The Workshops were a bit disappointing however; by this time I’m not sure my head could absorb any more information.
The Workshops wrapped at 9:45 pm we again had ice cream.
Sunday, we had breakfast and met again for Madeline and the “Ask it Basket” session. At the 10:30 break Jeff, Lisa, Joe and Ken left to get the 11am shuttle to the airport. Our flight was delayed in Spokane and we ran to catch our connecting flight in Seattle only to be delayed yet again.
It was great spending time with fellow Area 93 service friends all the talk was about the November elections and who was standing.
This was a wonderful, humbling, spiritual experience. The best quote I heard was “none of us is smarter that all of us”
Thank you all for allowing me to serve as your DCM and trusted servant.
Alternate DCM Report--Michael F: October Event/Parolee update to follow.
Treasurer Report -- Jeff-.established 50 for Delegate Day form and paid-out bus bench balance $38 to complete commitment. Final payment of $272 was made. Deposits and checks have a new format. $154.50 last month is up and $1,214 for first 7 months. Unanimously approved.
Area Standing Committee Reports: From August 17th Area 93 Assembly – Solvang, CA:
Archives: Helen – Still a lot of meetings with no history of existence so, ask own meeting and get info to archivist. Example of New Mexico GSR interviewed old-timers.
CPC: Raul – 1st meeting (strange). Plenty of information but only one huge pamphlet. Concern regarding state budget cuts.
Treatment Facilities: Simon – (Stephen)-Bridging the Gap (INSERT FROM Simon EMAIL HERE)
At the area assembly Simon sat
on the treatment centers panel on behalf of District 17. The business discussed
was exploring the interest/feasibility of a program called Bridging the Gap.
This program would operate similar to a 12th Step
call by establishing a roster of AA members available to help people who have
completed in-patient treatment find meetings (and accompany them if necessary)
after they leave treatment.
The Treatment Center panel doesn’t want to step into
H&I business with this program and H&I guidelines vary by region. SFV seems
receptive to the Bridging the Gap program—they would dovetail it with the
current “Contact Upon Release” program (puts institutionalized alcoholics in
touch with an individual who will take a released inmate to their first
meeting), but would like it clearly outlined as to how it would function.
Simon is going to speak to Central Office to see if they would be amenable to
having a roster from the Bridging group and referring people to it if they
receive calls from people looking for someone to take them to a meeting.
Because of the potential scope of this program, we believe that each of the four
districts in SFV needs to have a person who would function as
coordinator/architect of the Bridging initiative, responsible for interfacing
with that area’s treatment centers, establishing and maintaining a list of
Bridging volunteers, etc.
First step is to determine if there’s sufficient
interest to pursue and support this proposal across all four SFV districts and
to secure a commitment from those four to attend area assembly and treatment
center panel on a consistent basis. This initial commitment is crucial based on
the potential amount of work this program involves.
.
Finance: Jeff
– Reimbursement of meals, miles, area asset inventory, envelope project
(return envelopes are now right-sized to facilitate return from Area 93
contributions). Looking into moving Area
ceiling into an interest-bearing account.
Grapevine/LaViña: DC – for distribution into prisons, he could give input from his personal experience. Many institutions do not allow any 12-step literature due to staples in the literature (confiscations) for offenders mandated to substance abuse classes. Not until Corcoran opened a “sober yard” was AA literature allowed back in, but only there. Still lots of red tape. County jail OK. Really, only through panels and only if specific will institutions consider if not a “safety” risk. Idea for contacting local parole officers for ideas and leads. July issue is currently published without staples.
Guidelines & Policies: Tom – Small committee went over wording of the area finance changes. Copied SFV Guidelines and Policies Dist 17 came from Area 5. Suggested changes to be tabled to October District Meeting.
Literature/Audio Visual/Newsletter: --
Public Information: Laura --
Accessibility/Website: Michael – 1) One page flier being finalized; checklist for “Handicap Accessible” meeting.. Many meetings don’t meet the standard so coming-up with checklist for “Handicap-Friendly” to inform fellowship of what to expect if going to meeting. 2) Taking meetings to homebound members. Not all meetings are outwardly…so, working on an announcement groups can share periodically at meetings to make fellowship aware, 3) DVD recording of ASL story narration and signing will be happening this month.
Registration: Mark – Enjoys going-out finding more GSRs. People helping with that. Can get regular members to commit to District tasks. Working on new registrations. Organizing alcoholics is an ongoing challenge.
SFV Liaison: Paul –The San Fernando Valley Intergroup meeting was held Monday, August 11, 2008 at 7 pm at St. Innocents Church in Tarzana. I reported to that group the recent “goings-on” of District 17 and Area 93 including upcoming Delegate Day and possible District 17 Workshop for AA Meeting Servants. Upcoming Area 93 and Old-timer’s Event were also reported.
H&I Liaison: --
Old Business:
Host Local Event/Workshop – update Michael, Paul and Mark – work on the details aiming for Janurary or February 2009.
Delegate Day – Saturday, September 6th District 17 bring dessert – Try to read the Final Report before.
New Business
1) Conference Reports --
2) Concept III presentation – Larry C. – detailed on relations between group, conference, and general service board. General authority vs. delegation of leadership at group levels. Effort to reduce “red tap”. The conference document is a general document and broad so, toward Tradition 2 service and leadership by trusted servants will be self correcting, ie: elect better delegates, etc. Trust must be the watchword lest we have no leadership. Mutual trust God, AA, each others, our leaders in service. Raul will present Concept IV in October.
3) November District Elections -- Ken (Area 93 Alternate Delegate) will be present for District 17 Elections and service rotation.
Open Discussion-- What’s going on at your meetings? --
Birthdays/Good & Welfare -- none
7:30pm – Adjourn Responsibility Declaration --
Upcoming Events:
September 6th – Delegate Day – St. Innocence Church, Lindley Ave., Encino.
September 20th- Old-timer’s Event in Morro Bay
October 6th -- District 17 Meeting
October 19th Area Committee Meeting – 5679 Hollister Ave. Goleta, CA
November 3rd -- District 17 Elections
November 15th and 16th – Area 93 Elections and Assembly - Camarillo