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Volume 1

September 2009

Number 9

Delegate’s Report – July 16, 2009 to District 19
Dean S, Delegate, Panel 59, Southern Illinois Area 21(SIA-21)

59th General Service Conference (GSC):

I arrived in New York City about 2:00 PM EST on April 25, 2009 at the Times Square Crowne Plaza where the 59th General Service Conference (GSC) was held. After checking in and cleaning up I met with my Conference Buddy, Rad M from Area 92 (WA-E). He welcomed me and introduced me to Phyllis H, new GSO Manager and others. Rad also explained procedures of the Conference.

Bob M, East Central Region (ECR)Trustee and all fourteen Area delegates from the region consisting of the five states of WI, IL, IN, MI and OH went to dinner at Ted Turner’s restaurant in Manhattan. The menu included buffalo which I passed on. Conversation included the activities of the upcoming week.

That evening at 7:00 PM was the first Delegates Only Meeting. This meeting was opened by Joe B, Delegate Chair. This was an opportunity to meet the other delegates. Panel 58, last year’s, delegates shared their past conference experience.

On Sunday morning, April 26th, I attended the Remote Communities Committee meeting. This committee is not part of the Conference. I learned that barriers to carrying the message included not only geographical distance but also language and culture. However, we must go to where the alcoholic is reaching out to us. Danny F from OH-NE Area was elected chair of this committee for next year.

At 11:00 AM that morning we received our Conference binder and name tags during registration. During lunch there was delegate orientation by region. In the afternoon we were welcomed by the Chairman of the Board, Leonard Blumenthal. He also welcomed Phyllis H to her first Conference as General Manager. Phyllis opened the session with roll call. We were to answer "here" or "present". For me being present was more important than just being there. I did not miss any votes while at the Conference.

The Conference approved that Claudio M. T. S. from the General Service Board of Brazil, Mario V. C. from the General Service Board of Columbia and Plinio B. P., Manager, GSO, Columbia be admitted as observers.

This was an historical conference. It may be the last one held in Manhattan. Next year's Conference will be in Rye, NY where it was held once before. Other than that, the only other time out of NYC was when it was held in St. Louis, MO. It was the longest Conference. We adjourned at 2:17 AM, Saturday, May 2, 2009.

Leonard Blumenthal rotated from the General Service Board. Ward Ewing, DD is the new Chairman of the Board. Leonard also reported that the Archivist position is temporarily vacant. Other trustees rotating from the board include Paul C, Herb Goodman (A), Howard L, Bob M, Ray M and Dorothy W.

John Kane, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services (AAWS) Treasurer, reported that contributions were 3.2% less than budgeted for 2008 and 1% less than 2007. Expenses were 2.7% more than budgeted and 9% more than 2007 for a net loss of $275,300.00. Contributions significantly fell off in the 4th quarter 2008 and still were down in 2009 for the first couple months. Literature sales were only up less than 1% (.6%). Effective July 1, 2009, Big Book prices will increase by $2.00 each and other books by $1.00 each. These increases are effective for English, French and Spanish translations. The last Big Book increase was in 1997 when the price increased from $5.00 to $6.00. Prior to the 4th edition being introduced the price was decreased from $6.00 to $ 5.00 to deplete stocks of the 3rd edition. There is no planned increase in prices of pamphlets.

AAWS reported that As Bill Sees It was published in Russian. AA Fact Sheet was published in Vietnamese. Living Sober was published in Croatian. And, the 12 Steps pamphlet was published in Macedonian. The Big Book and 12 x 12 will be available in electronic Kendall Reader format later in the year .

Grapevine (GV) experienced a loss of $ 138,456 for 2008. La Vina experienced a loss also. La Vina is published at the request of the Conference and is funded by the General Service Board. GV book prices were increased by $ 2.00 each in February 2009. Effective July 1, 2009 a subscription to Grapevine will be $27.00/year; LaVina $12.00/year. In Illinois, between April 2008 and April 2009, subscriptions dropped by 342.

I was on the Treatment Facilities Conference Committee. We reviewed the revised video, Hope: Alcoholics Anonymous. We recommended the Conference approve this. And ultimately it was. We recommended that the scope of the committee be broadened to include special needs and be named the Conference Committee on Treatment Facilities/Special Needs/Accessibility. The conference accepted this. We also discussed use of the Grapevine in treatment facilities. Also addressed was how to use our literature with professionals and patients of outpatient facilities. We reviewed the work kit.

During my area highlights presentation I informed the conference about SIA-21. I also indicated that we cooperated with NIA-20 and Chicago Area-19 with Corrections issues including hosting a Corrections Conference in Bloomington, IL in October 2008.

On Tuesday we visited General Service Office (GSO) and Grapevine offices. While at Grapevine I saw the boardroom where the 65th anniversary issue (June 2009) was being set up. I met some of the staff there. Grapevine always needs and welcomes stories from the Fellowship.

We first visited the Archives at GSO. Here I saw the Lasker Award and other items of historical significance. On display was a coffee pot from the first Russian AA group.

At the East Central Region (ECR) luncheon, a working lunch, the region elected Jeff C (N. WI/UP MI-74) as their candidate for Trustee at Large (US). Also a selection was made for the 2012 additional ECR Forum. NIA-20, SIA-21 and SEMI-33 made bids. Selected was Mt. Vernon, IL of SIA-21.

Elections were held for Southeast Region Trustee, our East Central Region Trustee and Trustee at Large (US) all Class B. The new ECR Trustee is Pamela R from SEMI-33(20-8). New Southeast Region Trustee is Eleanor N from SC (the hat) and the new Trustee at Large (US) is Don M from LA (the hat).

Some Advisory Actions of the Conference of particular interest are:

Agenda – that the theme of the 2010 General Service Conference be “Practicing AA’s Principles – the Pathway to Unity”.

CPC- the video segment directed to professionals in the employment/human relations field be streamlined on GSO’s AA website be approved.

Corrections – that the pamphlet “It Sure Beats Sitting in a Cell” be revised with more stories, current photos and less directive language. That the current edition of this pamphlet have the photo showing a rolled cigarette be replaced with a photo of the current edition of the Big book.

Finance – that the trustees’ finance Committee gather input from the Fellowship about: if we continue to use literature profits to partially fund service, should there be a limit and if there is a limit, how do we continue to pay for services if there is a shortfall in contributions.

International Conventions/Regional Forums - that there be an anonymity protected photograph of and an encrypted anonymity protected Internet broadcast of the opening flag ceremony 2010 International Convention.

Literature – the draft pamphlet, “AA for the Native North American was approved, a Special Needs recovery pamphlets for newcomers be developed.

Public Information – wall poster for young people with info about AA was approved with minor changes. Four selected AA Videos for Young People were approved. “AA – Rap with Us” and “Young People” and AA be discontinued.

Some other items considered/discussed:

Ways to make our archives more available to the fellowship

That the Corrections Correspondence Service fliers and forms be placed in the kit

Finance Committee discussed the idea of a 7th Tradition poster and thought visual aides were good but hoped local areas could produce them and share with others

Literature Committee discussed publishing a book of stories from members in remote communities and took no action. A second volume of Daily Reflections was discussed but no action taken.

Treatment Facilities/Special Needs/ Accessibilities Committee encouraged the gathering of more shared area experience in working with out-patient facilities. An annual Treatment issue of GV was encouraged similar to the Corrections issue.

Check out Pictures from the 59th General Service Conference

Thanks to the Following Groups for Continuing Support of District 19
Opening the Door Group
Discovery - Noon Group

(Group Contributions based on District Treasurers Report from July, 2009)

Click below to download the Group Contribution Form

Word | PDF

New Meetings
TGIF Group - Closed Discussion meeting at
St. Joseph's Church - 700 E. Spruce St.
Chatham, IL
Fridays at 7:00 PM

Cancelled Meetings
No cancelled meetings at this time.

Meeting Changes
No meeting changes at this time.

If your group has any changes, or cancellations, please email info@aaspringfield.org

Alano
Every Friday
Night Speaker - 8pm

Discovery Noon Group
Last Friday of Month
Birthday Pizza Pie Speaker Meeting
Noon

Discovery
2nd Saturday of Month
Potluck - 6:30pm
Speaker - 7:30pm

Easy Does It
3rd Saturday of Month
Potluck - 6pm
Speaker - 7pm

R-Club
1st Saturday of Month
Potluck - 7pm Speaker - 8pm

To see who is speaking, please check out our Calendar





Congratulations! One Day at a Time If you would like your anniversary or birthday posted on the website, please email info@aaspringfield.org

District 19 Business Meeting Minutes from July 2009

The continuation of District 19 history continues here. Read more....

****Discovery ~ Noon Group****

The Noon Group celebrates it's 10 year anniversary this month. The group was started early in 1999 and registered with the General Service Office as the Nooners Group on July 1, 1999 with 20 members. Early in 2009 the group changed its name to the Noon Group.

The Noon Group meets at Discovery 7 days a week at, you guessed it, NOON!

The Noon Group offers a variety of meetings including regular discussion, step specific, and a 12 step/tradition meeting rounding out the week on Sunday. The group is home to many a old-timer and newcomers alike with a host of members in between.

The Group also hosts a monthly birthday/speaker meeting on the last Friday of each month. The meeting speaker is one who's birthday falls within the same month as the meeting. A pizza pie is served for lunch in place of the traditional cake.

Events Committee

The District 19 Events Committee was formed to take on the responsibilities of overseeing AA related events that fall within our District. These events include Area Assemblies and Conferences as well as other Area and District events.

In addition, the District 19 Events Committee oversees the Fall and Spring District picnics as well as other events that the District is involved in.

District 19's Event Committee is headed up by Leo S. who's leadership and organizational skills are a great asset. In addition to organizing the events, Leo usually serves as the master chef for District Picnics and Assemblies. Ask any member who has attended a Leo catered event and they will probably tell you that this is the District to be in if you enjoy good food. We are blessed to have you Leo.

Recently, District 19 has hosted the Southern Illinois Area 21 Assembly held in December of 2008. Upcoming events include a Picnic to be held in September (look for further details on the calendar soon), and the Southern Illinois Area 21 Spring Conference to be held in March of 2010.

I consider myself blessed to be part of such an active District with events taking place locally throughout the year on the Area, District, and Group levels. It's happening in District 19!


September 2009
26th Annual Fall Classic September 4 - 6			SIA 21 September Assembly September 13

District 19 Annual Fall Picnic at Lincoln Park - Area 4 11am - Bean Bag Tournament 12:30pm - Lunch Served - $7.00 2:00pm - Speaker (Fish)			Alano Picnic at Southern View Park - East Pavilion If you are bringing a dish, please sign the board at Alano Hall The Hall will provide the meat and drinks

For Additional Events:			Please Check out our Calendar.
Remember - Coming Up in 2010


September 2009 Bridging the Gap Newsletter Here's What's Going On: Our meeting attendance at our last meeting on August 27th was 14. We have been maintaining that number the last couple of months. This is a good number so, “thank you” to everyone who has been attending and for those who haven’t we hope to see you at our next meeting which will be on September 24th at 6:45 in the basement of the Alano Hall. Pam has been embarking on a new frontier at treatment centers in hopes of the residents making a connection with a member of AA before they leave treatment. This is through names and numbers of temporary sponsors/ contacts for the residents. Although the residents have not caught on to this yet the treatment centers love the idea and would like for it to keep going. If you are facilitating a group you are to ask before you start if anyone is interested in obtaining a temporary sponsor. If so then you call Pam and she will give you the name and number of a temporary sponsor for each person that is requesting one . The Triangle Center is really expressing an interest in becoming more involved in the outside recovery community. They are recognizing more and more how important the AA community is for those coming out of treatment. This is great news for all parties concerned! There is a need for individuals to volunteer to take those in treatment to beginner’s meetings. These meetings in particular are very important to the formation of how to do the first three steps. If you can do this please call Pam and let her know. B.L. (a newcomer to our recovery community) has volunteered to take on the responsibility of either going himself or finding men to go into the ARC the last Saturday of every month. Thanks B.L. for really taking the lead and getting some things going (he also has a new beginner’s meeting at Discovery as well). Please let either he or Pam know if you would be willing to lead or go in with a panel at this location, this is men only. 12-step calls are being done regularly at St. John’s. Memorial has slowed down somewhat but they are both utilizing AA, which is the good news! A suggestion that was made by Pam is that if you go to a regular physician you may want to ask them about providing Information Pamphlets for their office so that those who may need help can find it. Volunteering Triangle Center groups are every Saturday from 1 until 2 p.m. They require one person to have two or more years of sobriety the rest of the panel does not need to have a certain amount of sobriety. The group on the 5th will be taken in by Fred, on the 12th it will be Amber, on the 19th it will be Lee, and the 26th Pam still needs a volunteer. Gateway groups are the first and third Sunday of every month from 6:30 until 8 p.m. They do ask that those coming in to speak have two or more years of sobriety. This month Pam will be facilitating a group on the 6th and Charla on the 20th. Please contact B.L. C. if you are a man who would like to either facilitate or be a part of a group that goes into the Salvation Army ARC on the last Saturday of the month from 6 until 7 p.m. McFarland’s is on Monday evenings. Please contact Dan C. if you are willing to go to McFarland’s so that you can get the proper paperwork needed. Please make sure that I (Amber E.), Pam S., or Ruth W. has all of your contact information. If your information has changed recently, contact Pam or Amber to look at the most recent updated contact form to make sure we have you updated. If you have signed up and have not been called by a facilitator please watch news letter and contact the facilitator on the day you may be able to help out. Please feel free to contact info@aaspringfield.org if you need to get forms or anything else! We want you to feel a part of this group! If you are feeling left out than reach out and we can better help you. Thanks for all that you do and please remember that our next BTG meeting will be the Alano Hall on September 24th at 6:45 . Please come and bring someone along! The more the merrier! Note from Pam: “Service” is the Secret. “Unity” in the community. “Recovery” plant a seed A sad side note from Amber (your secretary). As we all know the budget of this state is affecting so many people’s lives. These are scary times to live in. I had heard rumor that the Well’s Center may be closing its doors for a time. I spoke with them today and they are talking about closing both detox and main treatment facility. They will have more answers within the next few weeks. Let’s all keep them and all of the treatment centers in our prayers. I will pass along any new information that I receive about any treatment center closings.

Alano 516 Bryn Mawr Springfield, Il (Between 5th and 6th) (217)789-0789	Cherry and Bates First Congregational United Church of Christ 2100 S Bates Springfield, Il	Discovery 313 W Cook Springfield, Il (Settlers Row), Enter in rear (217)544-9049	Easy Does it Club 514 N Walnut Springfield, Il Enter through alley off Reynolds Street (217)528-0332	Second Timothy Baptist Church 1122 E. Pine Springfield, Il
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