District 2 GSR Meeting Minutes

Alcoholics Anonymous

District 2 GSR Meeting Minutes

March 22, 2015

Meeting call to order:

Chairperson Trudy D. called the meeting to order at 2:00pm, a moment of silence was observed, followed by the Serenity Prayer.

The 12 Traditions:Read by Darren S.

The 12 Concepts:Read by Rick H.

Interpretation of Concept 1 & 2:Read by Garth M.

Interpretation of Concept 3& 4:Will be done in April by Cathy M.

7th Tradition was observed

Group Report/ Roll Call:

- Dave D., gave his GSR Report on behalf of the Cole Harbour Group, he indicated that their group is maintaining 1 meeting per week, Sunday nights at 8:00pm, averaging 30-40 people per meeting and has 30 members at this present time. The next group Birthdays for the Cole Harbour group are held on the first Sunday of each month and the next scheduled group birthdays for April 5, 2015, with 7 members celebrating various lengths of sobriety.

- Phil B., GSR of the Sunrise Groupgave a report on behalf of his Group, he indicated that their group is maintaining 1 meeting per week on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm. The attendance has been down at the Sunrise Group recently due to inclement weather but Phil was hopeful that the attendance numbers would rebound to the usual 40 – 50 per meeting after the inclement weather passes. The Sunrise Group celebrate their GroupBirthdays on the last Tuesday of every month and the next group Birthdays for the group are scheduled for March 31, 2015, with Sandy B., Russell M. and one other carry over from the previous month celebrating various lengths of sobriety.Phil said that the group was doing well.

- Cathy M., District 2 Alternate DCM and acting GSR of the Downtown Dartmouth Group. Cathy indicated that their group is maintaining 4 meetings per week with meetings held on Monday night at 8:00pm, Tuesday night at 7:30pm, Friday night at 8:00pm and Sunday morning at 11:00am. The DDG is averaging 10 – 80 people per meeting and has 70 members at this present time. The DDG celebrate their group birthdays on the last Monday of each month and the next group birthdays are scheduled for March 30, 2015, with Alan H. celebrating 25 years of sobriety. Cathy went on to say that the DDG didn’t have a full time GSR at this present time and that most members of the group that participate in the business meeting were busy with other jobs in service in the home group or at the district level, Cathy acknowledged that she was the DDG DCM as well as acting GSR and wasn’t sure if she should be holding the two service positions. Cathy also wasn’t sure what to do with the DDG’s contribution for New York. Trudy said that this could be discussed later on new business, Cathy agreed.

- William P. - Member of the Sunday Night Serenity Group and Public Information Co-Chair.

- Darren S.–Member of the Atlantic group and Treatment Facility Chair.

- Carol-Anne D. - Member of the Back to Basics Groups and Corrections Co-Chair.

- Garth M.- Member of the Sunrise group and District 2 outgoing Treasurer.

- John M. - District 1 Alternate DCM.

- Rick H. - Member of the DDG.

- Raquel R. - GSR for the Living in the Solution Group and Corrections Chair.

- Trudy D. - DCM District 2 and member of the Cole Harbour Group.

Treasurers Report:

Treasurer Garth M. gave presented the District 2 Financial report for February, the report showed an opening balance $ 1,665.43, and the monthly credit were $ 500.00.Expenses for the month were $ 3.75. The district is doing well financially. Trudy made a motion to have the Treasurers report accepted, all were in favor and report was accepted.

Secretary Report:

Trudy D.gave the Secretary report. Trudy was acting Secretary at the last meeting and wasn’t able to take minutes because she was the chairperson for that meeting, so no minutes were presented. Trudy did report that she had submitted expenses for printing cost. Trudy made a motion to have the report accepted as is, the motion was accepted by Garth M., all were in favor and the report was accepted.

Corrections Report:

Districts One and Two

We've had a good month with corrections meetings, inmate attendance has been positive and we've only had one meeting cancellation due to extremeweather.We have met our quota with volunteerapplications going out but to date none have been returned. Therefore, we are still running with a shortage of female volunteers.Yours in Service,Racquel R.,Corrections Chair

Trudy made a motion to have the Corrections report accepted as is, the motion was accepted by Cathy M., all were in favor and the report was accepted.

CPC Report:

No Report.

PI Report:

The Committee met on March 14, 2015 with Bill, Karen and myself in attendance. One member resigned from the Committee. There are two other prospective members awaiting coordinating schedules.The Committee agreed to the purchase of stationery and stamps as we will need to make numerous contacts in a formal manner.The Committee was invited by the Workshop Committee to put on a workshop in May. This was discussed and we would use materials from the GSO workbook to develop the format and content.Initial contact was made with Eastlink and Global. There are technical details associated with putting on the Public Service Announcements as to formats etc. We will need the help of GSO as decisions for Global are made in Toronto. Contacts with CTV and the CBC are pending.Contacts have been made with radio stations through e-mails and phone calls. We have learned that only some stations broadcast Public Service Announcements others broadcast only special events i.e. church suppers, etc. We are pressing on to narrow the field of interested stations.A meeting is up-coming with Halifax Transit concerning bus signs. We would like to be strategic to favour routes heavily travelled and others used by youths predominately.We have contact with 811 Health Help line who provide health and medical information to the public. They would like a presentation to their staff of AA and its resources. This will be followed up in liaison with the CPC Committee.On the matter of the AA stamps the Committee discussed the possibility of buying a supply for groups who wish to use them.

Respectfully in ServiceJamie Q.

Trudy made a motion to have the PI report accepted, Phil R. accepted the motion, all were in favor and the report was accepted.

Treatment Report:

Chair: Darren S. Co-chair: Bruce B.

The Marguerite Centre: Everything is going smoothly. Forensics: Co-chair Bruce B. has taken on the task resurrecting this meeting. We have a meeting scheduled with the directors LeAnn Nixon and Angela Conrad on March 18. A concern of some AA members in the past was that there were no Forensic facility staff present in the AA Meeting. There also was no panic button in case of emergencies. It will be discussed to have a trained professional in the room with the patients during the AA meeting in case there is a disturbance. We have a couple of our members interested in helping to put on the meetings. If all goes well with the directors meeting on March 18th we will canvass more AA members to help facilitate meetings. Detox: Bruce B. and I met with Rachel Boehm, Addictions Program Leader and Charlene CaseyGomes, Inpatient Unit Manager at the Dartmouth Detox Facility. They were very accommodating. I have personally attended every AA detox meeting in the last month. With one exception the AA members and the patients have got along famously. On two Thursday nights no AA members showed up but since I was there the meetings still took place. I am in the process of resolving the no show issue. I have stocked up the AA pamphlet supply at the institution. I do need big books and more pamphlets however. I have put an Al-Anon member in touch with the staff at detox and they are working on starting a meeting. This sounds marvellous to me.I contacted Doug P. from “The Only Requirement Meeting” and explained that his group has been added to the Sunday night rotation to put on meetings. As with all Sunday night meetings I will personally attend to observe the meeting. The detox nurses are very grateful to have an AA 'regular' present.

Trudy made a motion to have the Treatment Facility report accepted, Dave D. accepted the motion, all were in favor and the report was accepted.

Workshops Report:

Cathy M. reported that attendance was good at the Workshop in March with 32 people in attendance. The topic was The AA Group and was put on by District 1. The April workshop will be held in District 2 on April 12th from 2-4 pm at Club 24. The topic will be AA Unity through the 12 Traditions. Mays workshop will be in District 1 on May 9th at the George Dixon Centre 1-3 pm. The topic will be The P.I. Committee. June’s workshop will be in District 2 on June 14th 1-3 pm. The topic is The 7th Tradition & Spirituality. There will not be workshops for July and August, allowing for a summer break. September 12th will be in District 1, October 3rd in District 2, November 14th in District 1 and December 12th in District 2. Topics TBA.

Trudy made a motion to have Cathy’s reports accepted, Carol-Ann D. accepted the motion, all were in favor and the reports was accepted.

DCM District 2 Report:

My name is Trudy and I am an Alcoholic. It is my pleasure to serve District 2 as DCM. Cathy, Phil and I attended the Steering Committee meeting and some great communication from everyone involved brought about some ideas for us to go forward in the future with. We decided to rename the Steering Committee to the Executive Sharing Committee. We will meet quarterly to share thoughts and ideas as to how we can best serve our districts. We agree that the Groups and their needs are the most important concern for our districts at this time. We will collectively try to address any group concerns by actively speaking with the groups and their representatives. Our budget for District 2 has been increased this year to allow for travel to the Assembly this year in Corner Brook, NL. This is a concern as we would be using our Prudent Report if it were not for the generous contribution from Central Service and one of our groups. We will need to talk to the groups and try to impress the importance of getting group contribution support from them in the upcoming year.I have been trying to get to the groups in my District and familiarize myself with the members of District 2. I hope to get to know the GSRs better and for the groups without a GSR I hope to get a contact name and information so that all groups and meetings can stay informed. I believe that an informed district is a healthy district. Even if a group does not have a GSR sitting at our table, we can, and must, make the effort to include all in our decisions so no one who wants to know what’s happening is left out. This has been difficult in February and March due to inclement weather. I am hoping with the arrival of spring this will get better. If anyone has any questions, comments or concerns they wish to speak with me about please do not hesitate to call me or email me. My phone number is 902-293-3117and my email is . I have voicemail and will return any missed calls hopefully in the same day!

Trudy made a motion to have Trudy’s reports accepted, Darren S. accepted the motion, all were in favor and the reports was accepted.

DCM District 1 Report:

Things are going well in District 1. The four committees continue to be very active. CPC is still in need of a co-chair and the Corrections committee is still looking for female volunteers to put on meetings.The workshops for this term have started with a very well received workshop on the "A.A. Group... Where It All Begins." Attendance was 25-30 members and was great information and questions from everyone who attended.Several new GSRs have received their GSR Kits from GSO. Let the learning continue!District 1 voted against hosting a round-up with the 2016 Area Assembly. If District 2 of course can still decide if they are interesting in forming a committee to take this on and work with Area.District 1 2015 budget has been approved.The executive of District 1 met with executives from District 2 and Central Service regarding the steering committee. It was open and positive from District 1's perspective and minutes are available.Yours in Service,John M. Highland Park, Alt. DCM District 1

Trudy made a motion to have John’s reports accepted, Darren S. accepted the motion, all were in favor and the reports was accepted.

Central Service Report:

Greetings from the Central Service Committee. March has been busy to date. Unfortunately our Hospital Visitation Chair, Paula, has had to step aside for personal reasons. In the absence of a co-chair for all emails for this committee are redirected to myself until such time as we can elect a new Chair. I have had three requests for visits this past week, two from District 17.Our website had 1770 visits in February with the Mid-Winter Roundup and Bluenose Bulletin leading the way. There are now 449 subscribers to the mailing list. The online Help Email option is becoming an increasing point of contact for both individuals and professionals seeking information on AA. The Mid-Winter Roundup was a great success in terms of attendance and enthusiasm. As well, although the final numbers are not crunched, it is clear all the bills will be paid. Comments on the weekend were positive and our thanks to the organizing committee for a job well done. The Telephone Committee is in dire need of people to work the phones on all shifts. Please consider this worthwhile service. On March 7th the executive committees of District 1, District 2 and Central Service met to discuss how we may work closer together. The initial concept of a steering committee has been discarded in favour of an Executive Sharing Committee that will provide a forum in which we can all support each other who are volunteering their time in service. We will meet formally on a quarterly basis. Approved funds held at Central Service will be distributed to the Districts to support the outreach activities of the four subcommittees. District 2 will receive $1,000 and District 2 $800 per the requests of the respective DCMs and the consensus of the Sharing Committee. Our March minutes should now be on the website, feel free to access them.I regret to say that Barry H, for personal reasons, has resigned as committee co-chair. We will begin accepting nominations to fill this position at our next meeting.I will be away March 20th to April 6th. Arlene P will be minding the fort and can be reached via email at .

Old Business:

1. Nomination for open service positions – Secretary, Treasurer and CPC Co-Chair- Trudy read the qualifications and responsibilities of the person seeking nomination for the Secretary position. Trudy asked for nominations for the Secretary position and Cathy M nominated Rick H, Rick H accepted the nomination. Rick qualified and GSR’s were given a chance to ask questions. A vote was brought to the table and all were in favor. Rick H was voted in as District 2 Secretary.

-Trudy read the qualifications and responsibilities of the person seeking nomination for the Treasurer position. Trudy asked for nominations for the Treasurer position and Garth M nominated Phil B., Phil B. accepted the nomination. Phil qualified and GSR’s were given a chance to ask questions.A vote was brought to the table and all were in favor. Phil B. was voted in as District 2 Treasurer.

-Trudy asked if there were any nominations for CPC Co-Chair. No nominations were made for this position.

2. Budget- Phil B. tabled his district 2 2015 budget. The proposed Budget for 2015 was called for vote and all were in favor to accept. The budget was accepted.

3. 2016 Area 82 Assembly Round up or not- A vote was taken to decide if District 2 would put on a Round up during the Area 82 Assembly in 2016. The vote was 0 for and 3 against. District 2 will not host a Round up at the 2016 Area Assembly.

New Business:

1. Service weekend agenda items- Any groups who have items for the Agenda please submit them to Trudy by email or in writing by the April meeting.

2. 2015 Area 82 Assembly- flyer was given out for the GSR’s who will be attending.

3. GSR/Alt. DCM- Cathy wondered if it is ok for her to remain as GSR while she is Alt. DCM. It is the group conscience of DDG.

4. Treasurers report posted online- should not post the whole report, just the balance and activity.

Announcements:

Carol-Ann D mentioned that Barry will be celebrating 22 years and Wade will be celebrating 34 years at the Back to Basics group this month and there a many more Birthdays coming up in April

The meeting was closed at 4:00 pm with the Responsibility Pledge.Next Meeting – April 19th, 2015