“big book” named by library of - aahmbny.org · [email protected] 518/725-4278 treasurer—dave c....
TRANSCRIPT
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Monthly Newsletter, Hudson-Mohawk-Berkshire Area 48, District 4
September, 2012
A.A. GENERAL SERVICE OFFICE—GSO
Box 459 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163
HMB AREA 48 Area Chair-Pat L. [email protected] Area Treasurer Box 114, Route 30 118 Polar Plaza Amsterdam, NY
HMB DISTRICT 4 PMB 159 61 Elmwood Avenue Gloversville, NY 12078 TRUSTED SERVANTS: DCM—Debbie W. [email protected] 518/xxx-xxxx Alt DCM—Hawk R. [email protected]
518/xxx-xxxx
Secretary—xxxx. [email protected]
518/725-4278
Treasurer—Dave C. [email protected]
518/xxx-xxxx COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Answering Service-Marianne B.
518/xxx-xxxx
Archives—Eric S.
518/xxx-xxxx
Bridging The Gap– Marianne B.
518/xxx-xxxx (Continued Page 2)
“BIG BOOK” Named By Library of
Congress as one of the Nation’s
88 Most Influential Books
NOTE: This is an extremely “A.A.
positive mage building” article
originally slated for publication in
this September issue. It is a
perfect example the very thing
which can be a helpful tool for
Committees like Treatment and
CPC/CI to use enhance the image
of A.A. with outsiders. It can be a
source of pride for regular
members. On the other hand, this
event is worthless if people are not
made aware.
Because distribution of this issue
Concerns for Mailing Expense and Anonymity
Non-Email Recipients and “Friends of A.A. District 4”
Excluded from “Bulletin Board” Distribution in September
During the Budget Committee hearings preceding the September 10 GSR Meeting,
significant controversy broke out over newsletter mailing costs to non-email
recipients of the “Bulletin Board.” This included concern over mailing costs even to
those GSR’s and Committee Chairs who do not have email. They are expected to
get a friend to receive their email and print them a copy of our 8-page newsletter
and then deliver it to them.
Concern of some GSRs & Committee Chairs was also expressed over anonymity.
There was concern that the newsletter has also been sent to “Friends of District 4.”
This is a category of persons, (entirely recovering alcoholics) who are coffee
makers, serve as Committee volunteers (like jail visitations, help with set up-for AA
functions like picnics and do other “behind the scenes” AA Work. Many of these
are people who were invited to put their name on the email mailing list sign-up
sheet passed around at meetings. (Continued on bottom of page 2)
is limited to only a small select few,
(only those GSR’S or Committee
Chairs having email), this article is
being held back until such time it’s
positive benefit might be put to
broader use.
Why preach only to the choir only
when the rest of the congregation
is excluded?
-
According to District 4
minutes for the August
GSR Meeting, here’s
exactly what District 4’s
Committees reported
doing during the month
of August.
“Archives: Eric S. No
Report.
“CPC/PI: Kirsten P.
Absent.
“Bridging the Gap:
Marianne. Absent, Ann
reported all is well.
“Grapevine: Position
Open.
“Newsletter: Bob B.,
Absent, he reported to
Deb that all is well.
“Records Keeper: Hawk
is getting caught up on
things, the news letter
has some phone
numbers wrong and two
numbers posted for
Hawk. New group
Sunday’s at noon for
YPAA at Club 24, Deb
will contact Bob to put
i n S e p t e m b e r ’ s
newsletter.
“Special Needs. XXXX
(This person requested
their name not be shown
in newsletter) reported it
is going well.
“Treatment: Dave C.
reported there are 6
teams in treatment, 2
speakers for each team,
they attend St. Mary’s in-
patient and out-patient
e ve ry we ek , an d
Montgomery County drug
court every other month.
Pat L. (Area 48 Chair) will
b e a t t e n d i n g
Montgomery County drug
court on the 16th.
Fulton County Drug Court
will be Dave’s focus after
Labor Day.
“Treasurer’s Report:
Page 2
A.A.’s “Helping Hands” at Work in District 4
District 4 Service Committee Updates: (Continued from Page 1)
HMB AREA 48,
District 4
Committee Chairs
Corrections-Kean T.
518/xxx-xxxx
CPC/PI-Kirsten P.
518/xxx-xxxx
Functions-Mary Ellen N.
518/xxx-xxxx
Grapevine-Position Open (Please consider volunteering for this interesting assignment.)
Newsletter Editor-Bob B.
District4.newsletter@
gmail.com
518/xxx-xxxx
Records Keeper-Hawk R. [email protected]
518/xxx-xxxx
Special Needs-xxxx.x
518/xxx-xxxx
Treatment-Dave C.
518/842-6848
(See Repor t Be low)
Treasurer’s position needs
to be filled. Dave C. still
performing those duties due
to lack of interest of
potential volunteers.”
Answering Service: Not
mentioned.
Corrections: Not mentioned.
Functions: Not Mentioned.
NOTE: Please refer to Page 2 of
previous issues of previous copies of the
“Bulletin Board” to see how this same
material is presented in effort to build
a more positive image of District 4.
This page CAN be an tool for
praising volunteers, and spotlighting
A.A. accomplishments in the quest
to be “The Helping Hands of AA.”
“Bulletin Board” Distribution (Continued from Page 1 )
In effect, this is the group of people in District 4 who COULD be cultivated to be our next leaders
when required rotation occurs in 14 months. It was recommended that before any further
mailings, the Editor “receive guidance” as to who can be sent a newsletter. With that “guidance,”
not having yet occurred, this mailing is being sent only those 24 GSRs (out of 33) and 9
Committee Chairs (out of 11) who have email. All others recovering Alcoholics (in the “Friends of
A.A.” list) were excluded. No hard copies were printed or mailed. This limited email to “inside
elites” provided an opportunity for me, as your Editor, to include content that, in the interest of
District 4 “image,” otherwise would not have been included in a mailing.
NOTE:
I do not routinely
receive address
updates from our
Record Keeper.
It would be
appreciated if
Recordkeeping
followed through with
this responsibility and
let me know which
addresses need
updating.
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Page 3 Page 3
A Message from Your DCM — Debbie W.
Update on Phone Book
Hello and a little update about the time of year. As
you know the summer is almost over and the leaves
are changing color. It makes me sad to say good-by to
the warm weather and welcome the cool days of
autumn. One is because I don’t like change, two
because I am lazy and don’t like all the work it takes
to get ready for the winter. But all kidding aside,
upstate New York is a wonderful place to live and get
sober!
Phone Book Update: I attended the business meeting
at the central office in Menands. At the meeting they
tabled District 4 joining because they only had a
handful of participants and felt that night they would
not be able to make a decision. So I will be going to
next month’s business meeting and will follow
through with District 4. It was a productive meeting
though a lot of questions were asked and a lot of
questions were answered.
In order to complete the request of the central office
we need to pull together a list of volunteers for the 12
step phone calls. What that is, if a person calls the
hotline and is from our area then the person who
received the call would then review District 4 list and
call a person from our area and give them the number
of the caller so they can follow through with the call.
The second part of the request is a list of volunteers
who would be willing to take on the Night Owl Shift,
where they would have the number forwarded to their
phone and answer the calls for the evening. When the
shift is done they would forward the number back to
the Central Office. The Night Owl Shift is every other
week on a specific day so 52 weeks divided by 2
equals 26 times per year. There will be training for
the Night Owl Shift as well as responding to the 12
step calls so don’t shy away from volunteering
because you’re not sure how. It is a great way to give
back to A.A. and make your area strong with long
lasting friendships, keeping our own sobriety by
giving it away. So what I am asking is anyone that has
questions or is interested please contact myself @
(518) xxx-xxxx or their GSR so I am prepared
with two lists for the next business meeting with
Central Office on September 17, at 7 P.M.
Just a reminder the budget meeting is 1 hour
before our regularly scheduled business meeting
on September 10, 2012. I hope to see everyone
there!!
Yours in Unity,
Debbie W. DCM
Updated Hotline Service Shared With Other
Districts in HMB Area 48.
Volunteers urgently needed.
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Page 4
The Carpenter’s Square of Positive Image
Simplest or Most Complex Tool in the Toolbox?
The “carpenter’s square” is sometimes called a “steel square” or “framing square.” It is a tool commonly used to lay out "square"
corners. On the surface it is an easy-to-use tool for creating 90 degree angles. It’s usually made of steel, and when used for
making simple square corners, is simple and intuitive.
With a closer look, however, we find the “Steel Square” can perform many more
functions essential to laying out a complete building. Some functions are quite complex.
For example the Carpenter’s Square is used by skilled carpenters for laying out the angles
in common rafters, hip rafters and stairs. It has a diagonal scale, a board foot scale and an
octagonal scale. On the newer framing squares there is also a degree conversion scale for
different pitches and fractional equivalents. All-in-all, this seemingly simple tool may
actually be one of the most complex and also most essential tool a builder can own.
The purpose of this article is to encourage using the “Bulletin Board” for tasks beyond making 90 degree angles — to be more than
just a listing of events and anniversaries. I am writing in response to the recent budget meeting and to encourage you to think of
the newsletter as a carpenter’s square that can provide the District with a host of tools for addressing a much broader array of
Public Relations (Image) challenges the District faces. This is not a criticism of those who have come before. They have provided
a strong foundation for where we are today. We can continue living on the “footprint” of that foundation or today we can choose to
look squarely in the face of the image challenges (our proverbial “white elephants”) that everyone wants to pretend are not there.
When appointed Editor of the Bulletin Board but long before writing the first word of any newsletter, I had a purposeful meeting
with Debbie W., our DCM. She openly discuss challenges she faced in her new term of office and we discussed ways the “Bulletin
Board” might help “peck away” at them.
SITUATIONS AND CHALLENGES WHICH WERE IDENIFIED: (The White Elephant List)
List A — District 4—Percieved Challenges:
1) Lackluster image of the District within some groups. Some people openly voiced their opinion that both the Area and the
District “do nothing.” The “do nothing” image of District 4 may have been a factor contributing to low voluntary
contributions to support committee work and District and Area functions.
2) Difficulty of the District to attract new volunteers to service. Some groups had no GSR and a number of critical service
positions in the District were open and could not be filled. Also, the “pool” of prospective, up-and-coming persons (like
coffee makers, volunteers at functions like Picnics, Fellowship Days, etc.) was quite shallow. No steps were being taken to
cultivate a new group of people to step up to a next level of service. It was noted that these prospective leaders were often not
included in the information pipeline (recipients of the Bulletin Board) and rarely were they “thanked publically” for their
volunteer work helping the District.
3) Problems with anonymity within some groups, It was felt by AA Members that in some groups that “informants” were
being planted in some meetings. This was affecting attendance and also having a negative impact on peopls’ willingness to
share at meetings. It was speculated that people mandated to AA and some of the people who referred them may not
understand A.A.’s spiritual principles of anonymity. It appeared that education about Anonymity was needed both for
Recovering Alcoholics at the individual member level as well as with the policy makers at the levels within the focus of
Treatment and CPC/PI Committees.
4) “In Crowd” Syndrome: Concern was expressed that the District holds too many functions in the east and groups located in
the west are largely overlooked. They feel “left out” and therefore tend to shun involvement.
List B — Newsletter:_ Perceived Challenges:
5) “First Impression” Appearance of the Newsletter was poor. Prior versions were created through low quality software and
reproduction was fuzzy and unreadable. Also, no one wanted to challenge the “status quo” of the existing 2-page publication.
There seemed to be no specifically targeted objectives. Distribution was primarily limited to Committee Chairs and GSRs.
(Continued on page 8)
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A Message from Your Area Chair-Pat L. If you are new to service in your home group
or district, you might have a lot of questions
about getting started. Your first resource
could be your sponsor, who might
recommend that you get a service sponsor to
help with your service activities. You would
be doubly blessed if your sobriety sponsor is
also very active in service and could then do
double duty!
If you are at a loss as to how to get started or
what to do...try attending a district meeting or
an Area event, especially a Fellowship Day.
You can find about when and where your
district meetings are by looking at page 66 in
the HMB Area Meeting schedule book,
which list all of the District Business
Meetings held in our Area.
On the very next page is a listing of Area
events, with dates and locations; there is also
a list of clusters...districts geographically
close to each other have been melded into
clusters for the purpose of rotation of Area
events. Each cluster (of 2 to 6 districts) has
an opportunity to host at least one Area event
Page 5
per year.
More info is at your fingertips if you have a computer and
Internet access. If you don’t have a computer, look no
farther than your nearest library...most have computers
with Internet Access. They should be free to use, but
sometimes there will be a charge if you decide to make a
copy of an article you want.
A good place to start would be GSO’s website, accessed
at www.aa.org.
If you are interested in a specific service area, do a search
on the website for “list of service material.” The first few
pages have information on AA and service. They are not
literature inventory items and must be downloaded and
printed. Pages 57 shows published fliers, leaflets and
pamphlets that are available at no charge and can be
ordered from GSO.
Respectfully submitted,
Pat L.
HMB Area Chair/Alternate Delegate
Service: The “Glue” that Binds Many of Us to A.A.
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Page 6
Corrections and Addendum
H-M-B Area 48 Meeting Schedule
Book Updates
NEW GROUPS:
1) A.A. Big Book Meeting at Club 24 in Gloversville (218
Kingsboro Ave.) Sunday Mornings at 9:00 AM.
2) Anonymity First Group: Closed Discussion. 7:00 PM at 292
East Main, Amsterdam, NY.
3) YPAA Sunday, Club 24
NAME CHANGES AND CHANGES IN MEETING FORMAT:
1) Journey Into Sobriety: Open Discussion, Wednesdays, 6:30
PM, Club @4, 218 Kingsboro Avenue, Gloversville. (Name
Changed from “Simple But Easy” Group, to “”Wednesday
Night Speaker’s Group”, and now to Journey Into Sobriety”
Group. Now it is a Speaker Meeting only on the first
Wednesday of each month.
RELOCATED GROUP:
1) The Open Arms Group has moved from 15 West Fulton
Street to the North Main Street United Methodist Church at 316
N. Main St., Gloversville. (Corner of North Main and 7th
Avenue) . Enter at the 7th Avenue wheelchair ramp.
Stay Informed
of Important
District 4
Matters.
On page 570 of the Big Book Herbert Spencer is quoted as saying, “There is a principle which is bar against all information,
which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is
contempt prior to investigation.” Before heated controversy continues to escalate, further slamming shut for objectivity, there
seems to be a need to address three misperceptions about the newsletter.
1) For Recovering Alcoholics Only: To the Editor’s knowledge EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the mailing list for the
“Bulletin Board” is a recovering Alcoholic. Of 100 percent of the names, people on the list were grouped into two lists: 1)
Official family (GSR, Committee Chairs) only, and the rest I labeled as “Friends of District 4”. In hindsight, I should have
called it other recovering people. The list is really “Recovering Alcoholics who Attended A.A. Meetings in District 4 and
signed up to get their free email newsletter and/or other Recovering People Like our Area 48 Chair, YPAA persons in
Saratoga who are assisting District 4 set up new Young People’s Meetings, Editors of Other Districts Newsletters
including the Area 48 publication, and, of course, the District 48 Webmaster (who may or may not be in recovery).”
Further, each of those lists were grouped into those receiving email and those who did not. Regarding anonymity, it should
be noted, however that the name of this publication is the “BULLETIN BOARD” and we encourage GSR’s to place the
announcements in the Bulletin Board on their group’s bulletin board. Once emailed, we cannot control whomever might send
a copy to whomever.
2) Publication of Last Name: No one’s last name is published in the Newsletter. This has been the practice for years. The
first names and initial of last names are included along with phone numbers for Committee Chairs and GSR’s. I was also
directed by GSR’s to return to the former practice of including email addresses of Committee Chairs. I personally expressed
my reservations about this as we have email addresses like [email protected] and D. Walters @gmail.com. My concerns
were overridden and I followed YOUR directive to include email addresses.
3) Money, Money, Money: Beginning with the year 2012, GSR’s cut the annual budget for the newsletter to half of the
amount it had been for previous years. As newsletter editor, I committed to remain within in this “half-previous-year
budget,” and thus far have stayed well below that amount. I’ve done this by subsidizing the newsletter from my personal
pocket. I do this this out of the belief that expanded use of the newsletter will bring positive PR results for the District. I look
upon this as a “Grand Experiment” for the betterment of District 4. The District has therefore received the current 8-page
newsletter with its expanded distribution at LESS than one-half the amount you budged for the previous year’s newsletter. If
you feel the current newsletter “Experiment” is not worthwhile, it would be much easier for me to scale back the newsletter to
its former limited objectives and small distribution. (By the way, how many Committees have not turned in any expense for
the year and do not intend to do so? What happens to all of this excess at year end?)
Request your free
personal email copy of
the District 4
Newsletter.
Send your name and email address to
the Newsletter Editor at
We will gladly place you on the
mailing list for future issues. Bob B.
Setting the Record Straight:
MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER:
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Page 7 Upcoming Events:
District 4 GSR Meeting (Monday, August 13, 2012) Meeting begins at 7:00 PM,
3rd Floor, St. Mary’s Hospital, 527 Guy Park Avenue, Amsterdam, NY. All
GSR’s should plan to attend or send an alternate from your group. IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT EACH GROUP HAVE A GSR OR ALTERNATE AT
THIS MEETING DUE TO THE IMPORTANT VOTE SCHEDULED FOR
MAJOR CHANGES WITH DISTRICT 4 TELEPPHONE HOTLINE
SERVICE.
BASEBALL CHALLENGE: District 2 (Utica) versus District 4. Please call Eric S. at (518) /xxx-xxxx for more information.
2012 NYS Informational Workshop, (Fri, Aug 17 thru Sun, Aug 19, 2012)
“Anonymity: Our Spiritual Responsibility in the Digital Age,” 4421 Lower River
Rd, Stella Niagara, NY 14144.
Open Arms Group Dance, Johnstown Community Center, (1095 East Main,
Johnstown, NY, Sat. Sept 1.) Admission of $5.00.
Fellowship Day (Saturday, September 15, 2012) Hosted by HMB Area 48 Districts
1, 2 and 18 in the Eastern Cluster. 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. St. John ‘s Episcopal
Church, 146 1St Street (at Liberty St.), Troy, N Y 12180. [See tentative agenda
on page 6.]
HMB Area 48 October Assembly (Saturday, October 13, 2012) 9:00 AM—3:00
PM. Hosted by Districts 4, 8, and 14. Scotia United Methodist Church, 201
North Ten Broeck Street, Scotia, NY 12302
Only One
Group
Celebrates Its
Anniversary
in September
Northville Women’s
Group:
Northville
9/28/86
Congratulations on 26
years of continuous
service to the A.A.
Community!
Announcements:
GET YOUR OWN COPY OF THE DISTRICT 4 NEWSLETTER (Free): District 4 would like to see every
person with an email address receive a copy of this newsletter. Please pass around a sheet at
your meetings getting first names , initial of last name, and email address and forward this either
by email to [email protected] or send it snail mail to Bob B., 204 Guy Park Avenue,
Amsterdam, NY. 12010 or call Bob at (518) /xxx-xxxx.
YOUNG PEOPLE IN AA: Saratoga On-going in Area 48 (TOGYPAA)—Meetings are held Wednesdays
at 8:30 P.M. after the Saratoga Young People’s Meeting at 36 Phila St. (2nd Floor) Saratoga
Springs, NY 12866. We are looking for supportive people with all levels of service or for those who
are interested in increasing the involvement of YPAA in Area 48. Contacts: Maria (518) /xxx-xxxx;
Will (419) 518/xxx-xxxx; Tori, (518) /xxx-xxxx.
GROUP SEEKING SUPPORT:
Tough Love Group: Wednesdays 7:30 pm, Amsterdam (Scotch Church UPC, W. Charlton, NY)
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: - Last Friday of Every Month. Thank you. Bob B. (518) /xxx-xxxx or email your article or information to [email protected]. Thank you.
Individual
Anniversaries
Thank You to our
“Anniversary Angels”
who supplied us with
this month’s list of
Celebrants.
If names of your
group are not
routinely appearing
here, in future months
please have our GSR
call them in to the
newsletter editor.
(518) /xxx-xxxx.
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Page 8
6) Limited ‘newsworthy” content The content was limited to announcements of events and anniversaries. It overlooked
situations where it could capitalize on public-relations-building opportunities such as the Big Book’s recent recognition by the
Library of Congress as one of the Nation’s 88 most influential books. Also, Newsletters should contain “News”. Routinely
reciting passages of the 12 & 12 or Big Book is not news nor does it fulfill the purpose of an AA newsletter. The name
“Bulletin Board” infers it is to be tacked up on a bulletin board where all can see announcements of upcoming items of interest.
7) Limited audience of the Newsletter. Generally the “Bulletin Board” reached only the small audience of GSR’s and Committee
Chairs. Therefore it “preached only to the ’choir’ excluding the full congregation of recovering alcoholics (Friends of District 4).
These are the people who constitute the pool of existing volunteers and future new District Leaders. With regard to distributing
the newsletter and educating new-comers, there are two philosophies: Either we “circle them in”, or we “circle them out.” A
restrictive distribution policy not only “circles out” prospective volunteers and potential new leaders, but also thwarts the ability
to build a positive image of AA with treatment facilities, and all others not in the elite group of GSRs and Committee Chairs with
email.
8) Missed opportunities to retain existing volunteers and cultivate new ones. Volunteers like their efforts to be recognized and
like to be praised for their contributions. A sincere “Thank You” and acknowledgement of service encourages a person to keep
volunteering to help with functions Perhaps, these temporary volunteers step up to accept permanent positions within the District
when rotation occurs. Having your first name/last initial put in print is a demonstration of a sincere “thank you.” When
volunteers are invited to be on the newsletter mailing list they are more likely to learn more about the District and Area they are
also more likely to feel “circled in,” rather than “circled out.”
On page 9, you will find a list of a few examples of how, in recent issues, the newsletter has been used to address some of the “white
elephants” listed on page 4. With each issue (until now), we have been “pecking away” at addressing each of those concerns. Your
DCM and I realize that “Rome was not built in a day,” but we each believe that we are making noticeable progress in many of those
areas. We also believe that the District needs to apply every tool available to “grow” the pool of volunteers and potential leaders. We
believe that until our District becomes proactive in providing education about A.A. and anonymity, we will continue to live in the
shadow of uninformed treatment facilities and government programs. We therefore believe that Committees like CPC/PI, Treatment
need the benefit of the educational tool a widely distributed newsletter can provide and also that these Committees need your authority
to distribute that information where they feel it will do the most good.
(Continued from Page 4)
The Carpenter’s Square of Positive Image
“Contempt Prior to Investigation” —
Who Was Herbert Spencer? Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English
philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and theorist Spencer developed an all-
embracing conception of evolution as the progressive development of the
physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and
societies. He was "an enthusiastic exponent of evolution" and even "wrote
about evolution before Darwin did." As a polymath, he contributed to a wide
range of subjects, including ethics, religion, anthropology, economics, political
theory, philosophy, biology, sociology, and psychology.
During his lifetime he achieved tremendous authority, mainly in English-
speaking academia.
He is quoted in page 570 in the 3rd edition of the Big Book:
“There is a principle which is bar against all information, which is proof
against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting
ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”
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Page 9 The Carpenter Square at Work:
Page-By-Page Strategy of the Bulletin Board Each section of the present newsletter has a specific objective with regard to the list of challenges Debbie W. and I identified in our
meeting in early January. You may find it useful to refer to previous issues of your Bulletin Board as you read down this list.
Notice that most sections are dependent upon inputs from you, and that the newsletter becomes much more effective when all GSR,
Committee Chairs, Committee Members, Coffee Makers, etc. routinely submit information or suggestions for articles. For example,
Mike S., prominent “Friend of District 4” (because he is not a GSR or a Committee Chair) suggested the article on the Big Book’s
recognition by the Library of Congress as being an ideal first page article for it’s PR value for A.A.’ers and other’s such as the
audiences of CPC/PI.
FRONT PAGE:
1) Mast Head which, at the request of GSR’s, includes
phone numbers AND web addresses to assist in
communications. Professional style comes from a Microsoft
Template in MS Publisher, otherwise, adheres to the logo
style of the previous “Bulletin Board.”
2) Lead Article(s) are the most NEWSWORTHY
currencies during the month. A “Newsletter” contains “news”
not reprinted steps or big book passages (unless they are an
integral part of the article’s content). In July and March the
“Bulletin” included updates on the deaths of several members.
Since we generally don’t know last names, we may miss a
person’s passing by relying on reading obituaries in local
news letters.
3) Headlines attempt to convey “Doing Something,” and
are to the greatest extent possible are upbeat and positive.
This is to dispel the myth that the District/Area are “doing
nothing.”
HELPING HANDS PAGE: A.A’s Helping Hands At
Work: This is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox
and certainly is my favorite. We have only begun to tap its
potential benefit.
1) Committee Reports: Listing of each standing committee
with a brief s of accomplishments during the month. How
many people who attend meetings could name the District
Committees or describe what they do. Imagine the powerful
impact if each Committee Chair brought a brief report which
read something like the following hypothetical examples:
Closing the Gap: This month we helped two people get oriented to local A.A. meetings. One was referred from Arizona, one from Houston, Texas. Both have now attended more than 6 meetings and one has found a temporary sponsor. Corrections: This month there were four visitations to jails in Montgomery County by four volunteers, (first names and last initial in bold type) who collectively conducted meetings for an estimated 27 people. This is a fun experience. We need more volunteers, contact (name of contact).
Imagine a similar report from each Committee Chair. This
would let our newcomers see, detractors, and others see what
happening and help dispel the notion that the District is “do
nothing”
Our Secretary does a nice job reporting the minutes. Read
those minutes (reported on page 2 of this newsletter) and see
what your impression of the District would be if you read them
as printed.
2) Committee Under The Spotlight: Almost every month,
the “Bulletin Board” features the work of one or more of the
Committees. This gives general A.A. membership (AND
GSRs) a more in depth understanding of what Committees like
CPC’PI do, provides an opportunity to recognize the hard work
of those committees, and helps dispel the myth that the District
is “do nothing.” Spotlighted Committees: February:
Archives; March: Special Needs, Grapevine, and Treasurer’s
Views; April: Special Needs-Outreach to Veterans; May:
Telephone Hotline Service; June: Functions—Summer Picnic
Planning; Etc.
3) Recognizing Service—Retention and Cultivation of
Volunteers and Future Leaders. Volunteers like to be
“Thanked” and recognized for their hard work. All names
appearing on the Helping Hands page are printed in bold text
and extra effort is made to get the names of everyone who
helped with things like preparing food for picnics, setting up
chairs and tables for Assemblies, putting on the Prayer
Breakfast, etc. Committee Chairs should make it a point to
maintain a list of ALL names of people who volunteered. This
helps cultivate more volunteers and expands the pool of
potential new people who might step forward to take positions
when rotation of offices occurs.
(Continued on Next Page)
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Why is it so hard to get new volunteers?
How many of the people who volunteered time, talent, and energy to Dist 4 this month received recognition or any public “Thanks!”? How many A.A.’ers feel they or their Group has been “circled out” rather than “circled in?” How many shy away from service involvement because we have not yet fully dispelled the “do nothing” image of the District? How many are simply uninformed of the opportunities of service in the District or knowledge of what all is going on?
(Continued from previous page)
3) Bright Idea This feature is provided by one of our
Committee Chairs. This give tips for GSR’s, Coffee
Makers, and Greeters for running better meetings.
4) Treasurer’s Corner. This is treated as a Committee
Report, however if get placed on different pages
depending on newsletter layout space considerations.
Content: Self Explanatory. This is an example of a
position that has gone ten months without being filled!
MESSSAGE FROM YOUR DCM: This report is a
very important part of the newsletter. Often it focuses
on resolution of a specific issue or challenge the District
is facing at the particular moment.
MESSAGE FROM YOUR AREA CHAIR: Our Area
Chair puts considerable energy to nudging us to expand
our A.A. knowledge at the District, Area, and GSO
Levels. She frequently includes a list of resources
available for researching A.A. Guidelines, Concepts,
Traditions, and the Steps. She is helpful in helping
District Leaders identify when any of those AA
Guideposts are being “violated” and situations when
people accuse steps, traditions, or concepts of being
“broken” when in fact, they are not.
It is a great complement to District 4 and show of
support for our newsletter that the Area Chair provides
an educational article every month! Additionally, our
Area Chair has been involved behind the scenes helping
to resolve thorny issues such as anonymity within some
groups. H-M-B Area 48 is highly supportive of District
4 in ways that many people are completely unaware.
REGULAR FEATURES:
1) Corrections and Addendums to the HMB Area 48
Meeting Schedule Book. (New Meetings, Change
of Meeting times or locations, etc.)
2) List of Upcoming Events (Both in District, Area,
and Statewide)
3) Announcements (Groups needing support, YPAA,
New Meetings (first couple of months)
4) Group Anniversaries (This could be much more valuable if,
when a group celebrates, it sent the newsletter notice of
when this will occur. Attending Group Anniversary
Celebrations It method of including ALL groups-yes, even
those out west.
5) Individual Anniversaries (Thanks to two “Anniversary
Angles”, we get a “fairly thorough ” list of names.
HOWEVER, it is difficult to imagine that we getting all of
the anniversaries, particularly from our meetings out west.
Our system for recognizing anniversaries would be much
stronger if each GSR took the initiative to also be an Angel
and send the names and anniversaries of each of their home
group members. It would be even better if this
communication was accompanied with the names, date, time
and place of celebrations within their Group. Recognition of
anniversaries is very important for A.A. camaraderie among
“old-timers” as well as motivational for the newcomer.
RECOGNITION OF ALL ANNIVERSARIES can be a good
way to diminish the feeling of being excluded from
mainstream A.A. by our “out west” groups.
6) Invitation to sign up for Free Email Copy of District 4
Newsletter (This has now been removed until further
direction is received)
7) Announcement to Contact Records Keeper pertaining to
changes of address, meeting times, locations, or Group
Offices.
Just as the Carpenter’s Square (Please see
page 4) can be used to “lay out” the many
sophisticated angles to implement a
blueprint, so can careful PR be used to “lay
out” newsletter content and reach people in
such a way that it strategically supports a
systematic plan for addressing long-
standing District 4 image challenges.
At the present time, most of these challenges emanate from
sources outside of the “Choir” of people receiving this particular
mailing of the newsletter. No matter how good or how
comprehensive the newsletter, confining its distribution only
to the “Choir” almost totally negates any opportunity for it to
achieve its potential positive impact.
Your DCM and I both feel very strongly that:
1) most of our challenges have been identified;
2) the correct actions are being implementing through the
newsletter to address these challenges;
3) we are beginning to see instances where these actions have
begun to “peck away” at some of the District’s image
problems;
4) your support and “getting on board” with a master PR plan for
the newsletter can further improve its effectiveness; and
5) if we “stay the course” of “circling them in”, in three to five
years the “then current leadership will be wrestling with a
different set of challenges rather than still wrestling with
those we have today as a result of doing the same thing
over and over again while expecting a different result.
Thank you for your careful consideration of the merits for
supporting a “circle them in” approach to distribution of the
newsletter.
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