March 6, 2010
DELTAMeeting was chaired by Mary Jo & began with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were Kevin J, Ken L, Roy E, Gail B, Jen J, Neil H, Dawn M, Sue, Bob, Jean, Jeanne R., Tony C, Brian, Mark, Jeff, Bill, Jerry, Bruce L, Jacob, Ken, John, Larry, Kathy, Derek, Clifford, Tom C., Jim, Gary, Bill, Brian, & Chris.
Last month’s minutes were read & accepted as read. Bob: Just starting to come back around since being disenfranchised for awhile … He didn’t get drunk, but stopped participating for a bit. Larry: Unfortunately, the Area 74 Assembly is scheduled for the same date as the Iron Mountain/Kingsford Intergroup. Sometimes these things happen & people just need to pick their event. Neil: Having sober options is nice. Maybe put together a Master Calendar that would help keep things ordered. Kevin: It’s tough to keep track when the Area changes dates on us. Ken: Note all these people (32 ... count ‘em … 32 GSRs!!! A new record!) … He’s hoping when October rolls around that they get this many in Newberry. Jim: His district’s GSR meeting went well last month. Opinions were discussed intelligently with cooperation from all the GSRs. Mary Jo wants to know how the Intergroup bids are now made … Jen: If groups wish to make a bid for a month, they email the Intergroup Secretary (Dawn M.
emarx@jamadots.com) before the June Intergroup in Manistique. She will have a list going, & if there are any conflicts with a month, she will get the two people in contact (See Intergroup contact list below) to discuss this between them. If their conflict cannot be resolved, this will be discussed at the August Intergroup, when bids are finalized. The 2010 Intergroup bids: January - Ishpeming, February - Palmer, March - Delta Area, April - Iron Mountain/Kingsford, May - Houghton, June - Manistique, July - L’Anse, August - Gwinn, September - Niagara, Oct - Newberry, November - Ishpeming, December - Marquette Jerry: The Area Newsletter is the Now & Then which has the dates for all Area affairs. This should be used when scheduling Intergroups or other District/Area functions. Mark: Thanks to all on the Bridging the Gap list. They’ll be instituting it soon.The most current Intergroup contact numbers follow:
(Please email me with any changes in the contact list!) emarx@jamadots.comIntergroup Contacts
:Crystal Falls/Alpha - Joanne B. 906-367-2036 Ishpeming - Len D. 906-475-6262 Houghton - Andrea J. 906-296-0830 Manistique - Terri C. 906-341-8377 Iron Mountain/Kingsford - Jennifer J. 906-542-7021 Munising - Lyle S. 906-452-5252 Gwinn/Palmer - Sue H. 906-360-6393 Newberry - Ken U. 906-293-9916 Marquette - Brad V. 906-228-3229 L’Anse/Baraga - Joe P. 906-524-7027 Ontonagon - Pam T. 906-884-6338 Delta Area - Louie 906-428-1184 Niagara - Kevin J. 906-221-6288
There’s a
Delegate’s Workshop on the 13th of March, 8:30 AM EST, United Methodist Church in Marquette (Ridge Street). … This is when the Area committee chairs will meet with the GSRs & the GSRs can give their input. If you are a GSR & NOT getting the Now & Then, email Torv (torv@jamadots.com). The meeting ended with the Our Father.2010 Intergroups:
Ø
Saturday, April 10th, - Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Knights of Columbus Hall, Kingsford, 4, 5, 6, 7, Dance to follow, All times EST.FEBRUARY 6, 2010 PALMER
Meeting was chaired by Sue H. & began with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were Gary T, Sue H, Ken L., Jen J.,
Clifford, Surf, Brian, Mary Jo J., Joanne B., Bruce L., Carol H., Kelvin, Bill J., Larry, Rob, Jen, John L., Dawn M., Kathy, Roy, Ken (“The Finnish Genius”), Mark, Jim, Paul P., Kathy, Derek, Bridget, Kay (“as in K-Y-Jelly”), & Jim.Brian: Marquette meetings seem to be doing well. Larry has been getting complaints about meetings listed on the webpage that are non-existent. He thinks they have that problem licked. Sue H: Discussing the purpose of the GSR meetings at the Traveling Intergroups: In the beginning there was no dinner, there were no speakers, no dance & they’d (The GSRs) just get together to talk about their district’s meetings to keep the communication going & meet face-to-face. This is a set-up unique to the U.P., & Sue hopes that the Intergroup GSR meetings continue to stay simple. Jim: Likes the way the meeting has started, since in the past too much time has been spent on unimportant stuff. He sent around an agenda that may be the best thing to put in place to keep the focus on the topic. Ken: Agrees completely. Mark has been invited to give a small report on “Bridging the Gap”, which should probably be discussed at the Corrections meeting. Gary (Surf): Agrees with the agenda idea. He remembers talking about the primary purpose … How are we carrying the message? Bruce: Would like to talk about starting a “First-Three-Steps” meeting in his district (17). He’s wondering if this could be district supported, temporarily….since they can’t be self-supporting to begin with. Can the district do this as an outreach to the beginner (read: Often court-ordered?) Can other group’s donations be used to start this meeting? Larry: That sort of thing has been going on in Marquette Area for almost ten years now. It’s an Open meeting, everyone is welcome. Jen: Each group is autonomous … it should go back to the groups & they should vote on the idea. Carol: Yes. Get a group conscience. Kathy: Why do they want to start this meeting? Is it because too many old-timers don’t want the court-appointed people there? Bruce: Not really … It’d be more like an open meeting that focuses on the first three steps…Sounds like it should go back to the groups. Gary: In 1976 he was given a Big Book, but wasn’t ready to quit drinking. His feeling is that the steps are suggested progress that should be worked with a sponsor. It’s tough in Gwinn since the old-timers tend to sometimes be over-whelming. Paul: Only two groups in Michigamee & court-ordered folks have to attend one or the other. They do go over the first few steps & they always go through the basics. Mark: To clear up … he used to go to a beginners meeting in Marquette on a regular basis. Their success is in that it’s an Open Meeting, but run like AA. Family is welcome …not seminar-like or workshop-based. Jim: Sees no problem with the district financing as long as the groups agree. He thinks it’s a great idea. As far as the “old-timers”, there are too many “Bleeding Deacons”. They need to remember where they came from. Ron: Old-timers meeting run by new-comers. Mark: How do your groups handle the “Bleeding Deacon” (Reference from the 12X12): They want to run the AA meetings the way they’ve always been run. Gary: Discussing the financial breakdown … The group is saying that they should send a set amount to GSO, Area, & District (10-30-60). Ken: AA started with the groups … should take care of the group FIRST … then district… then Area…then GSO. But only if there’s enough money left over, it can be sent to the Area & GSO. Jim: Groups come first. Should have enough for operating expenses & a prudent reserve. (6 months operating expenses). Larry: Reminds ALL GSRs … There’s a Delegate’s Workshop on the 13th of March, 8:30 AM EST, United Methodist Church in Marquette (Ridge Street). … This is when the Area committee chairs will meet with the GSRs & give their input.
If you are a GSR & NOT getting the Now & Then, email Torv
(torv@jamadots.com). The meeting ended with Serenity Prayer.2010 Intergroups:
Ø Saturday,
March 6th, - Delta Area - Memorial United Methodist Church, 1920 Lake Shore Drive, Gladstone, 4, 5, 6, 7, Then 9:00 PM Dance at the Delta Alano Club (601 Michigan Ave., Gladstone) All times EST.Ø
Saturday, April 10th, - Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Knights of Columbus Hall, Kingsford, 4, 5, 6, 7, Then 9:00 PM Dance, All times EST.Ø May - Houghton, June - Manistique, July - L’Anse, August - Gwinn, September - Niagara, October - Newberry, November - Ishpeming, December - Marquette s
January 9, 2010 Ishpeming
Meeting was chaired by Ken & began with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were James B., Jeanne R., Ken, Len D., Mary Jo, Dawn, Kathy, Bill, Jim, Bruce L., Jen J., Jill M., Jimmy, John, Roy, Kevin, Brian, Paul, Kathy, & Chris. Last months minutes were read … Ken: one correction: “…
150-200 inmates will be coming out of Marquette (released) each year. Mark would like to get a list of (regular AA members) to volunteer to get them to their first meeting & connected to the recovering community.Roy: There is an on-line registry for inmates coming out of prison so they can be checked out (kind of like a sex-offender registry). Jimmy: concerned about sex-offenders. Ken: need to use common sense. Like any other twelve step call, shouldn’t go on it alone. Chris: Who’s running this program? Mark from the Marquette area (
markmqt@yahoo.com) & Ken (aharleyrider54@yahoo.com) are gathering volunteer names. Jim: at the Fall Assembly there was a vote to form a new committee for this & it was voted down. James: Suggested that each district send a letter to Mark (“Dear parolee”…) which has a meeting list with phone numbers. Len: each district is autonomous, so they can do what they want, but this really isn’t how the “Bridging the Gap” program is set up. It’s a U.P. wide program in which the parolee (prison) gets a hold of Mark who will set him up with an AA contact (gives the AA member the parolee’s number) only if they’re interested in going to AA. Jim: So Mark contacts the volunteer & gives the volunteer the parolee’s name & number. Jeanne: The volunteer’s ONLY responsibility is to get the parolee to their first meeting on the outside. Len: That raises a problem … Where am I being responsible to AA? Bruce: He’s also confused … In his mind, the person getting paroled first comes home, then gets in contact with the parole officer. Then what? Jill: While living in Vermont, was contacted to get the parolee to his meeting, but was never contacted again. Mary Jo does a jail meeting & has offered her services to get them to meetings when they’re released, but has never been contacted. Ken: It’s just to get the parolee to their first meeting … THAT’S it. Kevin: Is confused by Len’s confusion … What “guidelines” is he talking about? Guidelines for AA or guidelines for “Bridging the Gap”? It’s really up to the individual how much he/she does for the parolee. Dawn: What she understands is that your name goes on the list, ONLY IF YOU WANT … & that’s that! Keep it simple, people.Jen:
Gloria O. is the new alternate DCM for district 9. They’re doing an educational panel/service workshop (New Hope Christian Fellowship in Wausaukee) Saturday, April 24, 2010 (9 AM-3PM), & will be doing this in cooperation with district 17. (Their theme is “Cooperation.”) Please remember this date, & more information will follow. Remember the Delegate’s Workshop beginning at 8-9 AM on March 13th, 1st United Methodist Church, 111 East Ridge St, Marquette. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS FOR ALL AREA GSRS!!! ($7.50) The new delegate is Steve H. from the Appleton area, & he needs input from the Area’s AA members. He’ll ask us for our input on the questions that will be covered in the General Service Conference.Secretary for the Area wants a list of all new GSRs in our Area. Len: We need to make sure all the
GSRs are getting the Now & Then. If not, email Torv (torv@jamadots.com). The meeting ended with The Our Father.December 5, 2009 Marquette
Meeting was chaired by Ken L & began with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were James B., Marion H., Jeanne R., Ken, Mark, Bob S., Tom C., Ken L., John, Gail, Len D., three Jims, Joe, Joan, Bridgette, Rachel, Dave, Derek, Roy, Bruce L., Kevin, Jen J., & Calvin.
Jim: Had a District 20 GSR meeting on the 15 at least 75% of the groups now have GSRs so the district is doing pretty well. Prison people include Ken & Jim. Len: Are there any Munising people here? Jim knows that Kathy P. is the alternate DCM but will probably end up being DCM. Jeanne: The district map shows that Munising is in district 19 but some of the meetings are in 19 & some are in 20. Jeanne suggests that they register as part of district 20. Jim has invited Manistique & Munising to the District meetings just so they get active again. Len: The Area delegate’s workshop is planned for March 13. However, Len mentioned that last month it was talked about having a service workshop. Jen & James: Maybe we could hold this in April in Iron Mountain, before the IM/Kingsford Intergroup? Dates for Fall Conference are scheduled for the second weekend in September (Delta Area). We need to contact Kevin J. to schedule Niagara’s Intergroup around the Fall Conference. Mark - District correction chair for District 18 (Larry is the Area Corrections chair)… They are planning to re-institute the Bridge the Gap program … 150-200 inmates will be coming out of Marquette (released) each year. Mark would like to get a list of GSRs to volunteer to get them to their first meeting & connected to the recovering community. He requests a list of volunteers from each district to help with Bridging the Gap. It won’t be known why these inmates have been in prison. Rachel: How would someone for her group who was interested get on the list? Ken is the new DCM so it would be emailed to his email address (
aharleyrider54@yahoo.com) James: His district has an 0900 number with volunteer names to call to contact for rides etc. Bruce: James as the PI person has a pamphlet for court-ordered people to introduce them to AA. Mark (Markmqt@yahoo.com): This is for males & females … The idea is to get these people to their first meeting ... Many of them are afraid … to ask for rides, to ask for meeting lists, etc. The inmate will not have your phone number but will be contacted by you. Jim: Instead of each meeting sending a list, have each district send a list. Mark suggests that each list give a town name to help with getting the people together. Derek: From District 19 originally they had a sign-up form. (Mark has this form). Ken: This is really for AA members who are coming out for jail. Not every prisoner coming out will be going to meetings … only those who may want recovery (or to continue with recovery). Len: We do have a lot of autonomy as this program develops. Mark wants lots of input from the whole U.P. Ken: These contacts should be treated as any other twelve step call, & should never be attended alone. Gail: No one in the meeting would (should) know where the person comes from. That information can be volunteered, but will not be asked about. James B. (PI Iron Mountain): Their district has a packet that contains a letter for patients coming out of treatment or detoxication. The letter has a few numbers for the patient to contact if they are interested in attending AA meetings. This has just started & they are learning as they go. Bruce: James also has a packet for the parole officers so they also have a letter with some numbers to call for twelve step work. Len: There’s a similar program in Marquette County that seems to be working well. Brian: Isn’t the one in Marquette targeted towards misdemeanor cases? Len: Depends on who’s doing it. Len will include felons including life-time sentences. The meeting ended with The Our Father.NOVEMBER 2009
IshpemingNo Report
October 10, 2009 Newberry
Present: Dawn M., Chris P., Gary G., Bruce F., Tom C., Glen F., Len D., Ken U., & Jim S.
Question on the table was; where were the servants of AA at the Newberry Intergroup?
Jim opened the meeting by asking, "How can we improve Intergroup & problems with service in general. He went on to state; "Attending all service meetings is important, if for no other reason than learning something new, plus bringing new people into service (sponsoring) them. This keeps all of us fresh!" Dawn gave us her experiences in Hawaii saying, "Service is offered to everybody at every meeting!" Ken's words of wisdom; "Service allows us to give back,-"
Dawn followed with, "If each GSR gives a report - people like Bruce (a person new to service) would not know they are always invited to all service meetings!”
Dawn shared another Hawaiian experience "stick meetings;" if you show up in Ishpeming at St John’s on November 7th, at 5:00 PM at our next GSR meeting perhaps Dawn will again share her experience. Perhaps we can bring this idea into our monthly Intergroup GSR meetings? Tom stressed the need for more people at our Intergroup GSR meetings. Dawn expressed the need for all DCM's to be at these monthly meetings. The DCM's could then discuss the Intergroup ideas (like the stick meetings) at there District meetings! Chris followed this with a thought; "DCM's and GSR's have huge commitment, sometimes these commitments create problems of meeting our other obligations. This quickly followed with: How do we "educate" our Service people? What’s your sobriety worth? We need better communication in the U.P. Gary ended the GSR meeting with: "We need to bring this meeting to the 'assembly' next weekend at Three Lakes, WI.”
The meeting was closed with the "Our Father" at 6:00PM
For those not there; they missed as good a talk on recovery through the use of our Big Book as I have heard in a long time. The talk was enjoyed further on the way home by recalling the many things Gary S. from Curtis Mi. said about his "Experience, strength, and hope!!!"
Respectfully submitted by
Len D.
September 12, 2009 Crystal Falls/Iron River at Sagola
Meeting was chaired by Joanne B. In attendance were Bruce L., Ken, Ken L., Paul, Joe, Jim S (DCM district 20), Cliff W. (DCM district 17), Bill, Ken W., Gary, Robert A., Kay, Jen J., & Jerry J.
Last months’ minutes were read.
Joe: They have a new DCM (Kay) & a couple of new GSRs.
Jerry: We’ve been talking a lot about service work, etc. He feels we should secede from Area 74 & form our own Area. He thinks it would simplify things & be much cheaper than driving all the way to Marshfield or other points in WI for Area meetings. He doesn’t think our current system is working for us. Ken: Feels that would be a great idea. The traveling is getting to him & it’s hard to afford the gas. Bruce: Was reading their “newsletter” which is directed towards Wisconsin. Why is our Area not behind us on the PI stuff? His district (17) has to foot the cost of the Big Books their PI is putting in motels, etc. Why can’t the Area send the literature to disseminate? Kevin: Agrees with Jerry. For years he’s been on all sorts of committees etc. & everyone gets caught up in the complicated B.S. & it seems to be all about $$. Let’s get back to the basics. Are we keeping it simple or getting too darn complicated for our own good? Jerry: Our Intergroup GSR meeting could serve as a service meeting (for our new U.P. Area designation). It would be easier. Joanne: Getting the Big Books etc for our PI is a district problem & the district should be paying the bill … But she agrees that we’re doing fine without the Area. No one can motivate anyone else to get into service. Ken W.: It’s important to think about this. We have to look at ourselves first & clean our own side of the street. Gary: Forming our own Area was discussed once before in the ‘80s … It couldn’t be done because of population or something. The GSO won’t recognize us. He thinks we need to tell the Area how we’re feeling up here … We’re a strong minority & need to make our thoughts heard. Jerry: Committee system messed us up since the committees started meeting at different times & places & the regular alcoholic had no say in what was going on. He feels that we’re small enough that we can represent ourselves. Ken: There was a service workshop prior to an Intergroup a few years back & it worked well. He thinks we should do that again. It would be beneficial. Joe: The “Now & Then” is all business that has NOTHING to do with us. Joe thinks that seceding is a good idea. Joanne: What are we expecting from the Area? Joe expects information. Since many districts up here don’t have a DCM or enough $$ to send them to the assemblies, we’d like to know what’s going on at the assemblies/conferences. Kevin: We should try ASKING the Area for what we need. Jim: It’s important to find out if we’d be recognized if we decided to separate. Also, he feels we need to let the Area know what we want & need. Otherwise they won’t have a clue what we are thinking. Jerry: Our past two Area delegates were from the U.P., so information should have gotten to the Area. The groups are the power (the ultimate authority & autonomous), so Jerry feels that we don’t need the GSO’s approval. The assembly isn’t where we get the information since the committees come to the assembly after they’ve already met & made their decisions. We as individual AA members have no input anymore. Bruce: Like Joe said … he doesn’t feel that he’s getting information that he needs from the Area. We can’t have a say in something if we don’t know what’s going on. Joanne: How do we get Area 74’s attention? Kevin: Through the DCM. Joanne’s been a GSR for two years & has never gotten a “Now & Then”. Ken: Sent in a contribution to the Area with his group number & he got a message back that they had no idea who he was & wanted to put the contribution under another group. Ken can’t afford to travel down to Wisconsin for the assemblies. He feels that something should be done. Kay (acting DCM): She sent Dodie A. an email stating that she needed information & has not heard from her. The Area 74 website is a good reference; however, Jen mentioned that their meeting list is very wrong. (Meetings are listed that haven’t existed for years).
The meeting adjourned with The Lord’s Prayer.
August 15, 2009
GwinnMeeting was chaired by Jeff. In attendance were Joe P., Jerry J., Jim S., Kevin J., Bill L., Doris V., Tom C., Ken U. Kathy B., Dawn M., Bruce L., Len D., Tim S., Ken T, Jen J., Gary, John H., Big Al, & Brian M.
Last months’ minutes were read.
Len apologizes for not coming to the last Intergroup & wants to correct some misinformation from last month: (“…We send our Area delegate to GSO to vote for us, but they have no idea about our concerns …”) Delegate goes to the General Service Conference … NOT to GSO as was written in the last minutes. The Delegate then instructs the GS Board & after the conference, there’s a meeting to go over the conference reports. The CONFERENCE is the relationship between the GSO & the board. We DO need to get back to the basics & come to a consensus as to what that is … He went to two meetings with newcomers & no one talked about the steps until he shared. The steps are what keep us together. He doesn’t think most people even know what’s in the Service Manual. People don’t like to go to district meetings because they’re like mini-governments. We need to talk about the steps & stop talking about our “problems” at the meetings. Len: Jerry has been trying to impress upon us the importance of service. At the assembly they decided to have a Service Workshop on the Friday before the Fall Assembly (October 17th in Three Lakes, WI). Brian: Used to be the GSR for Marquette Saturday 9 a.m. underground meeting but stepped down to become GSR for the TGIF group on Fridays. He has mentioned this for months, but no one has stepped up to the plate. The most recent Now & Then has a good article by Dodie on the duties of a GSR. Brian is glad to be part of the service structure. Jerry: Hey, it’s not so bad … He remembers when we had three people at our GSR meetings & look at us now! We have new people & some great enthusiasm. He feels the Area is letting us down … we should be having service workshops closer to home, as was done in the past. We seem to be dropping the ball. Len: If everyone here went to the next assembly, stood up & told them they’re not serving us here in the U.P., it would help. However if we expect a delegate to come talk to us, we’ll have to pay, BUT if anyone comes from the AREA, they’re paid by the AREA. Tom: Only one service workshop that he thought was worth while … that’s the one held in Iron Mountain a few years back. But if we try to hold it during an Intergroup, there’s not enough time … Len thinks there would be plenty of time, if we started early enough. Ken: Aren’t our DCMs supposed to be here? We have two DCMs here … Joe P (alt DCM district 16) & Jim S (district 20). Jim: From Grand Marais …their meetings etc. went to heck for a long while until some really interested people got involved … now they have a really good group which uses the 12X12. Now EVERYONE in their group has a sponsor & it’s really important to them. His sponsor direct from treatment was tough & helped keep him sober. It’s important that people know that the sponsor benefits from the relationship since she/he must study the Big Book to be a good one. Joe: He’s not getting people to volunteer no matter what he does. No one seems to be interested. No one is taking responsibility. Now there are people who want to hold district meeting every two months & not contribute $$ to the District or Area. If we don’t start giving back what’s been given to us, we’re in trouble. We need to get back to “What it was like, what happened, & what it’s like now”. Ken: Did some reading on old AA & they used to take a newcomer through the steps in their first few meetings. It’s not happening now. Dawn: This is just her third Intergroup GSR meeting … When she goes to her meetings, she always discusses a step, her sponsor, the Big Book etc. She’ll be taking her enthusiasm back to her Home Group. Jerry: For some reason, we think we’ve failed if everyone isn’t jumping into service. Remember there is but one ultimate authority & that’s God, as we understand God. Gary: Learned early about the Big Book, Sponsors, etc. Now it seems there are problem with cross addicted, addicts, dual-diagnosed, etc … as long as were talking about AA, who cares? He feels it’s his responsibility to bring things back around to AA when things get off topic.
We went on to new business… Confirming 2010 Intergroup bids … SEE FINAL SCHEDULE BELOW … Kevin: Niagara wants to take the SEPTEMBER Intergroup. Thanks, Niagara.
The meeting adjourned with The Lord’s Prayer.
July 11, 2009 L’Anse
The meeting was chaired by Kay & attended by Cathy, Deb, Ken, Cliff, Bruce, Keith, Neil, Mary, Tom, Jim, Pete, Dawn, Ken, Joe, Jerry, Pam, & Jen. Last months’ minutes were read & we went on to new business. Discussion topic: For last month …. Questions: What does the Area do for us? How can we get the service structure back to working for us? Do we need to throw out the whole service structure? Pete: Keep it Simple … used to be all business was taken care of at the two assemblies … Simplicity isn’t there. Neil: Committees aren’t working the way they’re supposed to. Is GSO parceling out information… little bits at a time? Neil’s District is struggling as far as service work. Good part of this is the awareness which is getting out to the groups. District 16 is having difficulty get volunteers to be GSRs. How do we stimulate interest? The same people are doing all the work, as usual. Kay attended the conference, enjoyed it, & got lots of good information. Dawn has the pamphlet about GSRs. She can’t believe that there’s not more excitement & interest in the service structure. The GSR represents everyone at the tables & is the voice of the individual group member. Joe: Has been a GSR for the last 16 years & he’s tired of it. He can’t get people to volunteer. Even if people volunteer, they don’t show up to the District meetings. Dawn’s enthusiasm is great … can she pass some on to District 16? Ken (Newberry): Has there been report from the Spring Conference? (Yes … Minutes are in the Now & Then). Ken’s worried about AA meetings not being AA (or related to alcohol) … At times it feels like you’re beating your head against the wall. Another thing that happened: One person was sharing for too long & the chairperson tried to cut her off. He was told he was wrong. Keith: Seems that the younger people aren’t joiners. Many are complacent. They’d rather sit back & not work the steps. When he came into AA his sponsor TOLD him he would be a GSR. Now that won’t happen. Even though the GSR is the core of the group, it’s so hard to get ‘em to volunteer. If it weren’t for the GSRs, our program would fold. Court people leave after they get their papers signed. Suggestion: Dust off the GSR Hand-books & put them on the table. Take hold of the reins & straighten this out. We have a responsibility to sponsor people. Now-a-days, no one wants to sponsor or be sponsored. Dawn: Her solution is to communicate about how AA originally started … she plans to lead by example, so that in two years time someone else will be excited about being a GSR. They’ll want what she has. Kay: Has a pamphlet called “Guide to the Twelve Steps of AA” which helps keep treatment people etc focused & on topic. Neil: Solutions … Last time we talked about getting away from the service structure. When he signs a court paper, he asks them who their sponsor is … Most don’t have a clue what he’s talking about. He’s trying to rectify that. Keep chipping away at getting back to the way it was. Jim: Service manual has the solutions … Pull out your service manual & READ it! He feels the assemblies are more important than the conferences (According to the service manual). Also pay attention to the suggestions for service. (Years of sobriety required etc) He finds it’s difficult to get people to rotate out. Give it up & let someone new do it. Jerry: Are we missing the boat? He feels his responsibility is to carry the message & not worry about the other people. As individuals we must show up & do what we’re supposed to do. As far as the committee structure …. It’s failing due to lack of communication: We send our Area delegate to GSO to vote for us, but they have no idea about our concerns, due to a lack of communication between the delegate, the Districts & the individual meeting’s GSRs. Neil: Bring suggestions to next Intergroup GSR meeting that have worked to get people interested in service. Pam: handed out a survey about using full faces shown in video projects produced by AA. Kay: Carries the message to the hospital & treatment centers. That’s a great way to get the message out. Bruce’s District has a PI (Public Information) person ... His job is to get the word out to the public. That’s what he feels our responsibility is. Now what is the AREA’S responsibility in all this??? The Area should be tying us together. The meeting adjourned with The Responsibility Statement. We’ll finalize the 2010 Intergroup bids at the August Intergroup in Gwinn … See you there!
June 13, 2009 MANISTIQUE
Thanks for a great Intergroup, Manistique!
The meeting was chaired by Bob & attended by Dawn, Ken, Ken, Gary, Gary, Neil, Bruce, Charlemagne, Len, Jeanne, Jerry, & Jen.
Last months’ minutes were read & we went on to new business.
Discussion topic: Len - Assemblies are generally held in August & April & business is never completed. There is now talk of having a two day assembly. Bruce: He was treasurer for the Spring Conference which was a two day event & ended up costing big bucks! Area business took up lots of time & room (& they still didn’t get it all done), however there wasn’t a report to any of the groups on what happened! Jerry: By-laws for Area were done many years ago & it was decided that no business was to be done at the conferences - all business was to be done at the assemblies. Committees were to be formed to make the whole process more efficient, however it hasn’t worked out that way. Jerry doesn’t see any problem with going back to doing business at the conferences too. Len: We’ve lost sight of what the service structure is all about. He thinks that the committee structure has failed us. It was supposed to streamline things but hasn’t. Len thinks there should be a District Committee System to help the GSRs understand their role in the service structure. Gary: Years ago there were no assemblies - only Spring & Fall Conferences. Then the assemblies were started & made things more complicated. What happened to “Keep it Simple?” He thinks we need to get back to basics, & simplify service structure. Get back to basic AA & carrying the message. Jerry: Committee system took the GSRs right out of the equation. Now the GSRs don’t know what the heck is going on at the Area level. The fancy business stuff has been taken away from us common, ordinary drunks. Bruce: His district used to have a DCM that would go to conferences/assemblies but wouldn’t bring back the info to the District. Bruce hears people in his district asking why we are sending $$ to the Area or the GSO when our district doesn’t get anything from them? Shouldn’t the district be on the mailing list for the Area minutes? (That’d be the “Now & Then”) Area has these business meetings (at the conference, etc) & they’re making decisions for our districts, but we aren’t informed about what’s going on. Neil: The question “What does the Area do for me?” is a good one! He hasn’t found the answer to that yet. He’d like to see the little $$ coming into the groups being spent on getting the message out to the local drunks. Jerry & Gary: Intergroup was started so the GSRs could get together (the GSR meeting IS AA), but the Intergroup itself is NOT AA. Len wants to see us continue this discussion at the next two or three Intergroup GSR meetings. Questions: What does the Area do for us? How can we get the service structure back to working for us? Do we need to throw out the whole service structure? He thinks that when this discussion is brought back to the Area they won’t want to hear it. Ken: When he first started coming to the GSR meetings he was told by an old timer that this group has no power … so he wants to know … then why are we here? He was also told when he started that when a twelve step call comes in, you darn well better go … The meeting adjourned with The Lord's Prayer.
We’ll finalize the 2010 Intergroup bids at the August Intergroup in Gwinn … See you there!2010 Intergroup bids: January - Ishpeming, February - Palmer, March - Delta Area, April - Iron Mountain/Kingsford, May - Houghton, June - Manistique, July - L’Anse, August - Gwinn,
September - OPEN, Oct - Newberry, November - Ishpeming, December - Marquette2009 Intergroups:
July 11th, 2009 - L’Anse, American Legion Building 4, 5, 6, 7, (EST) October - Newberry
August 15th, 2009 - Gwinn - VFW, 4, 5, 6, 7, (EST) November - Ishpeming
September - Crystal Falls/Iron River (West District 17) December - Marquette
Intergroup Contacts: (Please email me with any changes in the contact list!)
jljezylo@uplogon.comCrystal Falls/Alpha - Joanne B. 906-367-2036 Ishpeming - Len D. 906-475-6262 Houghton - Andrea J. 906-296-0830 Manistique - Terri C. 906-341-8377
Iron Mountain/Kingsford - Jennifer J. 906-542-7021 Munising - Lyle S. 906-452-5252
Gwinn/Palmer - Sue H. 906-360-6393 Newberry - Ken U. 906-293-9916
Marquette - Brad V. 906-228-3229 L’Anse/Baraga - Joe P. 906-524-7027
Ontonagon - Pam T. 906-884-6338 Delta Area - Louie 906-428-1184
May 30th, 2009 Houghton (South Range)
The meeting was chaired by Mike G. (DCM district 21), & attended by Tom V., Jim S., Ken, Bruce L, Dan B., Tom C., Jerry J., Gary, Ken W., Robert A., Len D., & Joe P.
Participants discussed their group’s difficulties/problems/solutions. Tom (Hancock) started the meeting. His meeting is doing well, but at the district level, service participation is terrible. Jim (Grand Marais): His meeting has recently started again, since a couple relapsers are back. They had lost all the newcomers & had only old-timers … & the meetings were getting stale. At the district level, good shape financially, but haven’t had a district meeting in ~ 20 years. Hopefully, now the newcomers will get interested. Ken (Newberry) … Meetings are picking up … relapsers are coming back & so far, seem to be staying. Bruce (Iron Mountain): Steady group of 20-30 people. Do have a problem with one old-timer that seems to chase away the new-comers. (& go after the new women). At district level, (He is district 17 treasurer) things are steady … phone hot-line & web-site are going strong. The district now has a PI person who is quite enthusiastic. He’ll get the message out to the community. Spring Conference (in IM) also went well. The web site is very helpful & is recommended to any district, especially areas with lots of travelers. Ken: How do you handle a 13th stepper (Men harassing the new-comer women)? Jen mentioned that her district has a group of old-timer men that watch out for that & will head it off at the pass. If an old timer woman sees it happening, they’ll bring it to the attention of one of these men. Seems to work for them. Dan (Houghton) new Tuesday/Thursday noon meeting which is doing really well. Their treasurer is AWOL, so that’s a bit disturbing. Joe (Skanee/Bruce’s Crossing): Meetings are doing really. Finances are great. They send $$ every month to Area 74 & New York. Tom (Hancock) has a question about organization of an Alano club. Bruce … Look for a place, look for $$, & volunteers. Jerry: Gladstone bought their own building, charge $10.00/month for membership & provide meeting space, coffee, literature. They get some help from the paper mill. Remember, it’s not AA … It’s a social club that provides space for meetings, & must be kept separate from AA. Hard to keep them going unless there’s a good strong group of core members. Mike DCM (District 21): Service work … How do we get people interested? How do we get ‘em in the door? One thing that’s seemed to have helped, is the minutes & having them disseminated out to the meetings. Tom: That’s another good reason for sponsorship. Get your sponsees out into service work ASAP. Mike: At the Area 74 Conference there was a panel specifically on Sponsorship. Had some good suggestions … But how does that information get out? Jim S. suggests that it should be spoken about at meetings. Tom V. suggests that you introduce yourself to the newcomer, give them your phone number, & GET THEIRS! Ken W. … Have a new person chair a meeting & praise them for a job well done. Dan’s meeting has newcomers chair the meeting on a regular basis. Bruce: Having new ideas helps to keep the subjects fresh! Joe P. has a GSR at a bunch of meetings who ALWAYS mentions the importance of sponsorship. Len D.: Get groups together & travel to the various Intergroups. Jerry J. & Gary … Stick to the primary purpose (The solution ... not the problem)!
Len: Tried to get someone to go on a 12 step call last weekend & no one would go. What happened to us?? Jerry: We’ve turned over our responsibilities to the treatment centers.
The meeting adjourned with the Lord's Prayer. *****DON’T FORGET TO GET YOUR BIDS TO ME IN BEFORE JUNE for discussion of THE 2010 INTERGROUPS! I’ll send out the list of Intergroup contacts next month, & we’ll be doing the finalizing at the August Intergroup in Gwinn.HEY!! If you’re still getting your minutes snail mail, I NEED STAMP $$$!!
Jen Jezylo, W-9011 Sunset Lane, Sagola, MI. 49881 … or to save $$$, & receive minutes via email: Send email address to jljezylo@uplogon.comApril 11th, 2009 Iron Mountain/Kingsford
The GSR meeting was chaired by Cliff W. (DCM District 17) & opened with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were Jeanne, Cliff, Tom, Joanne, Libby, Cliff, Aaron, Ken, Jen, Paul & Jerry. Spring Area Conference will be at the Pine Mountain Lodge, Iron Mountain, MI. May 15-17. A flyer is included with this email/snail mail. Please join us at the conference. It’ll be fun! After previous minutes were read & accepted as read, Jeanne opened (GSR Gladstone). They had eight people at the last GSR district meeting (most in a long time!) Some people actually volunteered for stuff (Secretary etc) … She got tricky & mentioned in the minutes that the first person to call her would win a PRIZE! ONE person called & won a copy of “Came to Believe”. So … are people even reading the minutes? They’ve got 17 groups & who knows if the minutes are even read. Paul … Michigamee/Champion getting newcomers … very solid core group … finally got another Al-anon meeting which is going well. Jerry J. Randville meeting member: Glad to see participation at the Intergroup GSR meetings … It’s nice to see more new people. Remember the conference that will be here (Iron Mountain) in May … Bring a newcomer. Aaron VA meetings: Lots of newcomers! Joanne GSR Amasa: Her meeting saw a spurt of growth after move from Tuesday to Sunday & up an hour. 12-14 people. Clifford (alternate from Newberry): Groups doing well …lots of people coming in. New Al-anon group on Fridays nights with great participation. Ken just got back from Arizona. Welcome back Ken. Libby (GSR from IR): Many changes lately. People died or moved away …meeting attendance is very low … WAY DOWN … She sees two distinct meeting attendee types: Staunch AA Big Book thumpers (swear, smoke, rowdy crowd) … the other group real churchy (no swearing, laid back) … It’s good to have such a choice. Alano club board meeting on Friday was held to decide whether to close the club in IR. It WILL stay open (At least for another six months.) Trying to survive day to day. Joanne suggested to email the flyers for social events, so district people can attend. Libby still can’t get anyone to go into service work. Getting the emails is the best they can do. Jen J. (GSR Randville) having a bit of controversy with the meeting but it’s an internal issue & since each group is autonomous, it doesn’t need to be talked about here. Ken suggests to speak up & make people aware of problems. Cliff wondering about why IR is having problems … Could it be lack of sponsorship? IM/ Kingsford seem to have seen a growth spurt in meeting attendance. There’s some seriously strong sponsorship. HOWEVER, service work commitment is still very poor. GSRs seem to be absent … 26 groups (17 GSRs are listed) & 36 meetings weekly & they only get 6-8 people at a district meeting. Of course meeting attendance is always yo-yoing. District 17 AA hotline has been HOT! (pardon the pun). Jeanne … Gladstone's Intergroup had a raffle of two quilts & made over $140.00 for corrections. WOW! Their Drop-in Alano club had a business meeting for their club decided to keep all club meetings as smoking meetings. Jerry: Why is service work participation so low? The Big Book says our #1 problem is self-centeredness … Perhaps people coming in now aren’t as desperate as they used to be … maybe not as dedicated &/or as grateful & don’t have the over-whelming sense of responsibility anymore. Area level …a few years back went to a committee system which is maybe more efficient, but has eliminated a lot of people from becoming involved … before this, more people were aware of the issues important in AA. The regular alcoholic is no longer becoming involved. Shout out to one really dedicated AA service member from Iron River … Hey CHUCK W… We’re still thinking of you, & appreciate all you’ve done for AA in our district & elsewhere. Meeting adjourned with the Lord's Prayer.
March 14th, 2009 Delta Area
The meeting was chaired by Jeanne R. (GSR, Gladstone) & opened with the Serenity Prayer. In attendance were Brian, Ramona, Joanne, Bruce, Cliff, Doug, Ken, Jen, Tom, & Jerry. Upcoming events: Area Assembly April 4th, Three Lakes WI. Spring Area Conference will be at the Pine Mountain Lodge, Iron Mountain, MI. May 15-17. Flyers are on the District 17 website
(http://district17a74.org)After previous minutes were read & accepted as read, Doug M. (GSR Escanaba) opened … He’s very enthusiastic about his Alano Club meetings. They have been doing quite well, especially the pot luck at the end of the month. Jeanne is on the board of the Alano Club, which is installing a handicap-accessible bathroom. (Interesting Fact: Escanaba Alano club is called the Delta Drop-in & Gladstone club is the Delta Alano Club.) Joanne (GSR Amasa) Alano club in Iron River is having lots of problems … including people showing up for meetings with no one there to open the door. Her Amasa meeting is doing very well … Getting much larger with a nice mix of people. Good family feel & great growth. Ken (GSR for all meetings in Newberry): His meetings doing well … people seem to be sticking around. One newcomer even got to take his neighbor … two for the price of one. There are no NA meetings in the area, so AA meetings include addicts as well. At group conscience meetings any change seem to be resisted (AA members don’t like change … nothing new there), & Ken is interested in doing a couple step/tradition &/or Big Book meetings. Jeanne suggested first Sunday of the month being a step meeting. Jerry recommended the chairperson pick a topic … discuss the solution rather than the problem. Doug suggested bringing out books & literature, possibly giving more direction to the meetings. Jen (GSR Randville): Her group is doing well. They have a core group of long time members & two or three new members with less than a year who are sticking around. Bruce (GSR Iron Mountain): His Monday night group is one of the most stable groups in the area … 20-30 people … Often Daily Reflections or 24 Hour book will be used to pick the topic. This is one of the meetings in the area that gives away Big Books & Twelve & Twelve. Tom (Newberry): Meetings are growing a lot & they will have more people than they can handle by summer time … they’ll need to split meetings up or open new ones. Jerry - If people leave the meeting feeling better than when they came, they’ll generally come back. Stick to the proven stuff (the Big Book & conference approved literature). Brian’s (GSR Marquette) meetings are going very well. A meeting being too large is never an issue. Some Saturdays there are 40-50 people at the meeting. Often they do talk about problems, but they’ll discuss solutions as well. Cliff (GSR VA New Hope Group Iron Mountain). No treatment center there at this time. Four meetings weekly which are open AA meetings. They’re getting AA, NA, & spouses as well as people who don’t know if they’re alcoholic. They have the Big Book on the table & do ALL the readings. Cliff is also DCM of District 17, trying to get out to more meetings & get people involved in service work. This has become the backbone of his sobriety. Meeting adjourned with the Lord's Prayer.
February 14, 2009 Palmer
Thanks to Jeanne R. for the great notes! Due to space problems, the corrections notes were not included here. Sorry (I’m still sending several snail mail minutes & need to keep to 1 page!)
The meeting opened with the Serenity Prayer by Sue (GSR, Palmer). There were approximately 12 people in attendance.
Upcoming events: Spring Area Conference will be at the Pine Mountain Lodge, May 15-17. Flyers are on the District 17 website (http://district17a74.org)Meetings:
New meeting at the KI Sawyer Community Action building, 9AM M-F. Also at Sawyer is a meeting at “W” on Wednesdays at 6-7PM & Victory Lutheran Church, Sawyer, Friday PM [7 meetings per week in the Sawyer area] Important to get the word out about these meetings especially for those who are getting out of jail or treatment in Marquette.--New meeting in Grand Marais, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Sunday, 6PM. Contact 293-9916.
Corrections: PLEASE NOTE:
Delta County is looking for someone to chair the Corrections meeting at the March 14 Intergroup. Larry, Area UP Corrections chair, will be at an Area meeting that day. Larry is willing to do a Corrections Workshop in Iron Mountain or Escanaba on what resources the GSO provides and how he can help. Attendance at District meetings: An ongoing problem - low attendance at District Meetings. These meetings are an opportunity to let GSRs know what the District does with their money. GSRs need to hear how the AA message is carried to places where the individual & group cannot do it. How is information disseminated to GSRs who don't attend? Jeanne sends minutes via e-mail, snail mail & hand delivery. Iron Mountain & Marquette post the information on their web page. Delta County is the only UP district without a web page. If minutes are posted on a web page does anyone read them & take action? Do they read printed minutes? What about district meetings via phone?Service workshop alternative:
It was agreed that if you call it a service workshop, few will come. An alternative way to get members informed about AA & service was suggested. At each Intergroup, allow about 10 minutes before the main speaker to have the DCM or some person enthusiastic about their service experience to tell their story - & don't call it a workshop. Over the course of a year, AA members would hear 120 minutes of service information! A handout listing service opportunities would be useful too.Alternative to face to face Area Assembly meeting--discussion:
Face to face meetings do have their advantages, but it is hard to get everyone together. Distances in our district are too great to expect participation from all GSRs. For example, Newberry to Three Lakes, Wisconsin. What about doing the business via e-mail? What about a conference call as an alternative? Can discussion of proposals be done effectively without face to face meetings? Meetings can be conducted by mail/e-mail. Everyone responds and votes electronically. Lately issues have been tabled over & over with no resolution.Larry will bring up this discussion at the next Area Assembly.
Meeting adjourned with the Lord's Prayer.
January 10th, 2009 Ishpeming
The meeting began with the Serenity Prayer & Dave S. chaired. In attendance were Jeanne (Dist 19 Treasurer), Cliff W. (DCM district 17), Bruce L. (GSR Monday night Chicken church IM & district 17 treasurer) John, Joanne, Jen (District 17 secretary & Intergroup secretary), Neil (DCM District 19) Ken, Tom, Calvin (Corrections committee). Old business regarding contacts/meeting lists for fifth floor Marquette General Hospital. Currently, they have no area meeting cards or contacts for alcoholics leaving treatment. A contact list is important for patients returning home. The idea was to get the newcomer to their first meetings when they get home. Several lists were turned in to John. Thanks for the response. Bruce/Cliff brought many meeting cards from District 17 for Marquette. Other district meeting cards are also needed. (They have Escanaba, Newberry, Marquette …They need Houghton area) Marquette County’s website is www.aa-marquettecounty.org. There is also a link on the Area 74 website (http://area74.org). District 17 has a contact number … (906)-774-0900 … with all meetings & contact names & numbers. The software is Easyvoice3.2®. Jeanne asked about whether the software allows for a human being to break in answering it. Yes, it does, but it’s often better to let them hear the options. They have an option of getting contact numbers. Some business from the January special assembly in Three Lakes: Our Area (74) sent a letter to GSO about protesting tampering with the content of the Service Manuel.Bruce, Dave, Cliff, Jeanne, & Neil mentioned the problem with getting people involved in service work. Also problems with getting donations from groups when people don’t attend the district meetings. Jeanne feels the problem is apathy & it’s hard to over-come this. Ken discussed having trouble getting people to volunteer for chairing & speaking at the open speaker meeting once monthly. Then he made up a sign-up sheet & it filled up!
Cliff talked about sending district minutes out every month to the 22 GSRs in district 17. The minutes most likely are not making it to their Home Group meeting.
Ken wondered about confidential meeting phone lists ... How often are they updated? Many people update them often … It was suggested that if people aren’t attending the meeting regularly, they should be crossed off the phone list.Bruce brought flyers for the Spring Conference in Iron Mountain. This is an AREA-WIDE event Hosted by District 17, so PLEASE consider volunteering for a panel or working on the event somehow. The next meeting is at the Iron Mountain Alano Club (105 W. Fleshiem, IM) Saturday Jan, 24th, 2009 11:30AM. For more information, call Jen J 906-396-2668. ATTACHED (INCLUDED for snail mailers) IS A CONFERENCE FLYER. Please feel free to make copies if needed.
Jen needs stamp $, so if you receive minutes by snail mail, please send $ for stamps & printing!
(Jon B., Joe P., Gordie P., Tom C., Ken W., Marion H., Lyle S., Rose K., John S., Joe S., Kathy M.)! Please send stamp $$ to Jen Jezylo, W-9011 Sunset Lane, Sagola, MI. 49881 … or to save $$$, & receive minutes via email: Send email address to
jljezylo@uplogon.com The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer.