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Alcoholics Anonymous in Southern Wisconsin
Alcoholic’s Anonymous – Area 75
Alcoholic’s Anonymous – Area 75
11:40 am, 1/24/10
Winter Service Assembly
Madison Senior Center

MINUTES


2010 - Winter Service Assembly

OFFICERS PRESENT:
Nancy H., Area Chairperson; Stu E, Delegate; John B, Alt Delegate/Literature; JD O., Secretary ; Cynthia H., Alt Secretary; Todd U., Treasurer; Doreen H., Alt. Treasurer

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON PRESENT:
George P., Grapevine Chair; Les M., Corrections Chair; George B., Conf. Adv. Com. Chair; Randy R., CPC Chair; Liz Y, PI Chair; Fred K., Treatment Chair; Lee Ann F., Special Needs Chair; David K., Archives Chair; Kathy W., Registrar; Alan B., Area Webmaster

DCM’S PRESENT:
D1-Birdie R.; D3-Marv S.; D4-Ryan G.; D7-Brenda A.; D8- Bridgett A.; D9-Ted K.; D12-Terry H.; D13-Leslie F.; D15-Brent W.; D17-Rob H.; D19-Linda W.; D20-Jessica S.(alt); D22-Clayton S.; D24-Matt K.; D27-Marty S.; D28-Dave F.; D29-Mike T.; D30-Dick S.; D31 – Kris C. (alt); D32-John C.; D34-Linda Y.;D36-Pete W. (alt)

GSR’S PRESENT:
D1- SCOTT J., JESSIE V., BEA D.; D2- BOB T.; D3- LORI S., JARROD S., MELISSA M., JASON J.; D8-DAWN W.; D10- ARTURO H., JULIAN G., DONITIA V., OSTER, JOSE F.; D11-RAY K.; D12- TONY G., JACLYN Y., CATHI W.; D13- DONNA W., GARY K., PERRY C., PHYLLIS R., SYLVIA Y., MARK G.; D15- JASON G., JEFF P.; D16-CHERYL M.; D17- JAMES R., MATTHEW W., TARA H.; D20- LISA T., JASMINE S., DAVE J.; D23- ENOS B., AMBER N.; D24- JARED R., CAROL A., JUNE B.; D25- DAVE D., JOHN O., BOB K., KATIE H., SCOTT A., JEFF Z.; D27- DOC MC ., DENNIS O.; D30- JOE S., JOE H., JOANNE S., SHARON G.; D32- R J E., JIM M., THOMAS W., ROBIN S., GEORGE D., DAVID E., KURT H., HOWARD P.; D34- EDEREEN R., JOANN K., BILL K., JIM S.

Alt GSRs and OTHERS PRESENT: Past Delegates: John B., Joan J., Ken G., Nancy G., George P.; Past ECR Trustee – Bob M.; Fall Conf. Chair 2009 – Jeff Z., Spring Conf. 2010 Chair – Robert S., Spring Conf .2011 Chair – Ken N.; Central Offices – Milwaukee Central Office (Jim F.), MAICO (Jessica S.), Racine (Tara H.); D1- JOE S.(ALT), JEANETTE S. (ALT); D2- JIM D. (Alt); D4 & 22- JULIE L. (CPC), MEGAN P.; D7- BETH M. (LIT. CHAIR); D11- WENDY A. (ALT); D12- JOE M., (ALT), CHERYL G. (ALT CPC); D13-KEN Y. (GUEST), BOB M. (ALT) RICK BOISVERT (ALT); D15- T. MICHAEL (ALT), JOSIAH P. (ALT), TODD LUND (ALT), AARON MENDEZ (ALT); D16- RICHARD H. (P.I.), GERALD W. (TREATMENT); D17-ANDY M. (Alt); D20-LAURA W.; D25-MARTY P. (Alt); D27 – NELLY R. (Special Needs); D28- TERRY R. (GUEST) MARY R. (ALT), KEN N., BOB HEAD(ALT); D29-DENNIS D. (Alt); D32- PHIL D. (ALT), CHRIS P. (GUEST), JOHN P. (ALT), JIM E. (ALT), BRENDA A. (PI CHAIR); D34- TAMI I. (SPECIAL NEEDS), E.S. P. (ALT), DREW A. (ALT); D36- JEREMIAH B. (ALT); Area 74 – Kathy L.; Guests – Mike P., Jim K., Lester W., Christy G., Sara S.





SECRETARIES REPORT - JD O.

Minutes approved as with the changes noted by JD.

Kathy asked for District 7 DCM to give her new information.

Kathy asked for information for updating the groups and DCMs for information on Chairs. Kathy will need this information by mid-February. New group information needs to be updated by Kathy by April 8th, 2010. She will need information in advance for new groups to be listed in the directory.

TREASURERS REPORT – Todd U.

Todd U, Doreen H, Drew A, Nancy & Ken G, Ryan G,
  1. The Finance committee would like to welcome Nancy G, past delegate, past treasurer, Ken G past delegate, and Ryan G DCM District 4.
  2. I would like to thank Leo M, Joan J and Matt Z for their help last year.
  3. Our last Committee met on January 10th. The Finance committee reviewed checks and approved the budget. Currently only the Overhead and the Alt. Secretary’s’ budget need assembly approval.
  4. The Grapevine lost $132k the first nine months of last year. Buy more grapevine subscriptions!
  5. The Count on Us fund is at $7.46. Give to the COU fund so we can buy more grapevine subscriptions!
  6. GSO made a little over $1 million the first nine months of last year.
  7. Our Current Checking balance is $ 26,546.07
  8. Contributions continue to be received without any indication of the, GSO number, District number, or the name of Group that is making the contribution.
  9. Remember Chairs all expense reports must have corresponding receipts before payments can be made or a written explanation, especially when dealing with Central Office literature.
  10. Please also make a note that checks should be made out to Area 75 Treasurer, not SWAC, Rainbow Fund or Count on Us
  11. I will need confirmation from Les M before I issue any checks for Area Rainbow funds.
  12. There are financial reports on the back table
    1. A year end general financial report, which I have made 100 copies of
    2. A year end contributions report, which I have made 2 copies of, please leave these on the table.
    3. A year end Area Chair expense report, which I have made 2 copies of, please leave these on the table.
  13. Are there any Questions?
  14. Year End Expenses and contributions:

Income

12/31/08

12/31/09

YTD Income

$ 21,064.19

$ 33,799.28

Rainbow Out

$ 5,011.27

$ 3,634.38

Count on us Out

$ 0

$ 1,001.72

2008 Checks


$ 1,570.93

Area Expenses

$ 17653.46

$ 22,801.65

Conferences

$ 2,500.00

$ 3,000.00

Expense Totals

$ 17,653.46

$ 32,008.68

Checking Balance

$ 16,804.37

$ 21,262.27

Rainbow Balance

$ 435.86

$ 1,584.24

COU Balance

$ 660.56

$ 7.03

Prudent Reserve

$ 5,000.00

$ 5,000.00

Usable Balance

$ 11,804.37

$ 14,671.00

  1. Expenses by category

12/31/08

YTD Total

12/31/09

$ 450.00

Conference Booth Fee

$ 450.00

$ 1,200.00

GSO Fee

$ 1,200.00

$ 227.00

Literature

$ 132.26

$ 1,895.07

Lodging

$ 3,425.01

$ 560.25

Meals

$ 1,140.33

$ 3,096.14

Mileage

$ 8,712.60

$ 748.09

Misc / Office expense

$ 1,238.74

$ 824.44

Postage

$ 1,002.44

$ 801.29

Printing / Copies

$ 2,288.52

$ 228.00

Registration Fees

$ 427.00

$ 2,347.50

Rent

$ 2,784.75


Web Site





$ 12,377.78

Total

$ 22,801.65


  1. Expenses compared to budget:


Chair Totals

2008 Actual

2009 Actual

2009 Budget

Variance

% used

Overhead

$2,455.02

$ 2,693.57

$ 3,417.00

$ 723.43

0.79

Delegate

$2,767.12

$ 4,491.32

$ 3,991.32

$ (500.00)

1.13

Alt Delegate

$1,996.67

$ 1,468.76

$ 2,423.00

$ 954.24

0.61

Chair

$323.17

$ 1,428.12

$ 1,899.00

$ 470.88

0.75

Secretary

$1,492.80

$ 1,158.27

$ 1,795.80

$ 637.53

0.64

Treasurer

$1,184.62

$ 842.79

$ 1,416.00

$ 573.21

0.60

CPC

$850.16

$ 1,562.18

$ 1,650.00

$ 87.82

0.95

Corrections

$1,145.88

$ 1,866.51

$ 1,899.50

$ 32.99

.98

Grapevine

$824.81

$ 1,475.00

$ 1,475.00

$ -

1.00

Public Info

$556.49

$ 656.57

$ 991.00

$ 334.43

0.66

Treatment

$238.19

$ 483.19

$ 1,008.00

$ 524.81

0.48

Special Needs

$617.68

$ 837.73

$ 1,039.00

$ 201.27

0.81

Archivist

$2,920.39

$ 3,116.90

$ 3,033.00

$ (83.90)

1.03

Alt Chair

$108.79

$ 124.58

$ 816.69

$ 692.11

0.15

Alt Secretary

$171.67

$ -

$ 321.00

$ 321.00


Alt Treasurer

$0.00

$ 179.69

$ 213.00

$ 33.31

0.84

Archives Chair

$0.00

$ 416.47

$ 804.00

$ 387.53

0.52







Total

$17,653.46

$ 22,801.66

$ 28,192.31

$ 5,390.66

0.81



Todd would be happy to help with any District Treasurers and share his experience.

Question from Floor: What is our current useable balance for today in our checking? Answer: from the last report 12/31/09 was $14,638.

Motion to accept Treasurer’s report carried.

DELEGATE’S REPORT – Stu E.

Announcements from Stu:

GSO staff member passed away.

Area 74 Past Delegate John C. is in a nursing home in Oshkosh. Stu has an address if people would like to get in touch.

January 23, 2010

Good morning and welcome all. A special welcome is extended to all of our new GSR’s and DCM’s. Seeing all of you here this morning gives rise to hope for an excellent start to another year of service to A.A. in southern Wisconsin, or Area 75, as we know it. A look at the calendar reminded me that today is the 39th anniversary of the death of our Fellowship's co-founder, Bill W. Bill passed away on this date in 1971. Before we go on, could we please spend a moment in silence, in gratitude and reflection, for Bill's life and for this A.A. inheritance which he lovingly crafted and then selflessly passed on to all of us?

Especially for those new to the Area 75 Assembly, I have the honor and the privilege this term of serving you as your Area 75 Delegate. My duties are well described in the A.A. Service Manual and in the Area 75 Assembly Actions. The latter can be found online under Area Business on the website www.area75.org . My most important duties involve representing this area through participation in the General Service Conference in Rye, New York later this spring. Following the Conference, I then go about reporting the results back to you. That is done at our Area 75 Spring Conference to be held April 30th-May 2 in Oconomowoc, and it will be done in district and other visits in the course of the year. I try to get out and about quite a lot as we carry A.A.’s message of experience, strength, and hope forward together. Likewise, I hope we can all grow together as we actively serve this wonderful Fellowship.

Now, some news from the General Service Office and from the General Service Board:
  1. At the November meeting of the General Service Board, one hot topic remained full-face photography of actors portraying A.A. members in our videos and in our Public Service Announcements (PSA's). At that meeting in particular, the Board took up a minority appeal from a Regional Trustee which was aimed at stopping distribution of the video, Hope: Alcoholics Anonymous. Before the Board meeting, there were many emails back and forth between delegates and members of the Board. Immediately following the Board meeting, all members of the General Service Conference received an email from the Chairman of the General Service Board notifying us that the majority of the Board felt that the distribution of that video ought to go ahead. I quote: "we concluded that given the action of the Conference, which approved this video by substantial majority, the video would be released as soon as possible.  It is now released.  I believe as a body the Trustees affirmed both the importance of minority views and the primacy of the Conference.  We took the time to hear the minority, but clearly understand that we are bound by the Conference action." Just a reminder--we will be viewing that video later today. I am eager to hear your comments.
  2. The various committees within the General Service Board and within A.A.W.S., Inc. and The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. have undertaken work on a request by the General Service Conference Report & Charter Committee to update the chapters of The A.A. Service Manual Combined With Twelve Concepts for World Service. Some of those parts of the service manual badly need updating. The committee made the request so that all members involved in service to A.A. would have better, more current information at hand on the functions and responsibilities of our various General Service entities. Our own East Central Regional Trustee, Pamela R., has been involved in the effort. She told me that she thinks we will particularly like the proposed revisions to Chapter 9.
  3. The General Manager of G.S.O. reported that the physical upgrades to ceiling and lighting, as well as the expansion of the Archives were all completed on time and on budget!
  4. There is a new focus within the scope of our efforts to carry A.A.'s message to those in treatment settings. That new focus is on outpatient facilities. It clears up some very old myths that treatment just occurs in inpatient facilities. I expect Fred will have more throughout the year on that.
  5. Service members and veterans: It looks like an update to the pamphlet "A.A. and the Armed Services" will be in the works. It will include newer experiences from more recent wars. Our ECR Trustee tells me too that consideration is being actively given to a special section within that pamphlet for stories written by A.A. members who are veterans. So, veterans, get your stories ready for submission! More to follow when more becomes available.
  6. On October 11-18, 2009, our two Trustees-at-Large attended the REDELA (the Meeting of the Americas) in Peru on our behalf. Two other members of the G.S.O. staff attended the European Service Meeting in Frankfurt, Germany October 19-26.
  7. Very early in November, G.S.O.'s computers were attacked by what proved to be a very persistent virus. At no time during that ordeal were any of the records, database, the repository of shared experiences from groups, members, and committees ever at risk. Day-to-day operations were hindered. Communications were slowed because only a very small number of terminals separate from the main system were authorized for connection to the internet. Staff members were allotted time slots at these terminals only and email communications suffered hugely. If any of you emailed G.S.O. in November or December and did not receive a timely reply, that was the cause. Afterwards a communications backlog remained, and many electronically delivered items did not appear on their usual schedule. If you did not get an answer to a question at all, your tolerance is asked. Things are back to normal now, as far as I know. The whole ordeal also exposed the additional strain some of our staff has been under to answer a burgeoning number of electronic requests and communications. I sometimes get staff emails with time stamps late in the evening, well after normal business hours. Apparently, a lot of our staff works very late or does some work from home. A work-study is underway to seek solutions for the over-burden.
  8. Finance--Economic pressures are still present. A basic summary would be that finances held their own in the first nine months of 2009, but just barely. Contributions were 6.5% under budget and 6% less than the same period in 2008. The Reserve Fund stood at "approximately nine months of operating expenses."

I have with me a copy of the November 2009 Quarterly Report from G.S.O. and of the December 11, 2009 A.A.W.S. Highlights for those who wish additional information.

My activities since my last activities report include:
  1. Visits to district meetings in Districts 36, 31, 12, 29, 16, 24, 17, and 3.
  2. Participating in and attending workshops in Districts 17, 24, 12.
  3. Attendance and service at the Districts 30 & 8 Mini-Conference in Janesville and the 2nd Annual A.A. at the VA Mini-Conference.
  4. Attending and participating in the Wisconsin State Hispanic A.A. Convention in Milwaukee. There I was invited by the committee to give the Delegate's Report on The General Service Conference in the main Saturday morning session. I reasoned that listening to forty minutes through an interpreter might not be the best use of that rare opportunity to share with our Spanish-speaking members. So I asked the committee whether it might not serve us all better for me to spend five to ten minutes on the need for all members to participate in all three of our legacies and for me to share some current events in A.A. and in Area 75. Not often does an English-speaking delegate get such an invitation, and I sincerely thank the Conference Committee and the leadership in District 10 for such an honor.
  5. Of course, attending and participating in the Area 75 Fall Conference.
  6. Attending and participating in the East Central Regional Forum in Kalamazoo, MI November 13-15. As a delegate from within the region, I had been invited to give a presentation on Linking Our Groups With G.S.O. I was humbled later when a number of DCM's and district or Area Standing Committee chairs from out of state asked for copies. While there, I had opportunities for private discussions with ECR Trustee Pamela R. and with General Manager of the General Service Office Phyllis H. Phyllis and I talked about the level of service knowledge being shown in the Ask-It Basket questions and in the sharing sessions. I specifically asked that A.A.W.S. and G.S.O. please try to get Box 4-5-9 back on a bi-monthly publication schedule. Based on Phyllis's response, I believe that matter will get some consideration. Also at the Forum, I attended two workshops on Saturday evening. The second was a Spanish Group session, conducted all in Spanish. Three members jumped at the opportunity to interpret for this delegate whose Spanish classes were so long ago. One was a bi-lingual panelist. The second was Marco G., Past Delegate from Northern Indiana, an old acquaintance of mine, and the third was the Senior Editor of LaVina magazine, Amalia C. After the discussion was over, during the sharing session, I voiced my request for help with my upcoming service remarks to the Wisconsin Hispanic A.A. Convention two weeks hence. For over a half hour, I gratefully listened while the difficulties, challenges, and the solutions flowed, representing the accumulated experience, strength, and hope of those who had encountered it all before.

Now for a few matters of a direct nature here at home:
First, a deep and sincere thank you to all for allowing me to serve you as the Area 75 Delegate. Many of us have met and shared and talked during the course of 2009. You gave me the opportunity to participate in our Third Legacy with your enthusiastic support and with your wise counsel. You shared your good moments, and you shared your concerns with me. I am in awe of you.

Second, a matter for DCM's--please encourage your District Standing Committee Chairs to order the current year's kit for their respective committees. Many of these contain more and new material, particularly in those areas where videos have been released to support your service efforts. I expect the committee meetings this morning highlighted some of that content, but I know that all DCM's could not have gotten to all of those meetings. So I share that here.

Third, the discussion of full-face photography in our video products continues. It will be an item at the 60th GSC and at the Delegate's Workshop here on March 21st. I expect it to appear in the PI Agenda. While I did fight strenuously for the release of the "Hope" video, as you told me to through your various committees and privately as well, I am truly troubled by the chasm between the two sides of the discussion. For any not aware, the central question is whether full-face photography of ACTORS portraying A.A. members in our videos is allowable, as long as disclaimers are included stating they are actors, not actual A.A. members. One side says we need full face photography to show people normally and to show emotion as these actors portray receiving the message of experience, strength, and hope. The other side says that anonymity concerns dictate that we ought NEVER show a recognizable face, except in the case of Class A (non-alcoholic) trustees speaking about A.A. There seems to be no middle ground, no willingness to reach a compromise at all in the discussion. That gap bothers me seriously. I invite your input and your committee's input before the General Service Conference.

Fourth, the Delegate's Workshop: Last year we experienced Winter Storm Warnings on that day. Though the warnings were a bit more than the actual event turned out to be, we found out we have no effective means of calling off the event the day before. So, regardless of weather, it will happen. If I cannot get here on time, John B, our very capable Alternate Delegate will get things started. I have flyers today. The agenda will follow the General service Conference Agenda, and all committees will report. Questions will be taken and answered. Please plan on attending.

In recognition of some excellent cooperation in carrying our message together, I would like to thank our several Central Offices which made a special effort to get into stock certain newly released items. After learning that a few district Public Information Committees planned to order fairly large copies of the new Young People's Poster and that there was keen interest in several districts in the revised "Hope: Alcoholics Anonymous" and in the brand new Young People's Videos, I communicated the information to the nearest central offices. As a result, those district committees have the new material in hand and are actively using it locally. We really do good work when we communicate!

Finally, I know our Standing Committee Chairs have a lot of new information to share with you. Please do give them your undivided attention when they report.

Thank you.

Yours in Recovery and Service,


Stu E.

Panel 59 Area 75 (So. WI) Delegate



Question from the floor from D17: Our GSO directory doesn’t have any times for the meetings. Stu will make a note of it.

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT – Nancy H.

Activities since the Fall Conference have included

I want to give a special welcome to any new DCM’s and GSR’s who are here today.

Please contact me if you would like me to visit your District Meeting or participate in an event. I would love to visit each district during this rotation.



Yours in service, Nancy H.

Question from Floor: Nealy is listed as a GSR and she is a committee chair. Note to JD to correct the minutes.

ALT DELEGATE/LITERATURE CHAIR – John B.
From the minutes of the Trustee’s Committee on Literature meeting held on October 31, 2009:

“The A.A. Member – Medications & Other Drugs”: The committee reviewed the report and suggestions from the Publications Department on the pamphlet “The A.A. Member – Medications & Other Drugs” with appreciation and asked the Publications Department to develop a new introduction to the pamphlet and bring a final draft for review to the next Quarterly meeting of the trustees’ Committee on Literature.



“Frequently Asked Questions About A.A.”: The committee agreed to forward to the Conference Committee on Literature one Area’s request to change a sentence in the pamphlet, “Frequently Asked Questions About A.A.”


General Service Conference-approved brochure or pamphlet for military veterans suffering from alcoholism: The committee considered one Area’s request to develop an A.A. General Service Conference-approved brochure or pamphlet for military veterans suffering from alcoholism and took no action on the request as presented.


The committee expressed appreciation for the existing pamphlet “A.A. and the Armed Services,” noting that the pamphlet includes stories from A.A. members who are veterans and who are on active duty. Nevertheless, the committee noted that the experience of recent years of A.A. members in this field may not be fully reflected in the pamphlet.



To enhance the scope of the pamphlet the committee agreed to forward the suggestion that the Conference Committee on Literature consider a revision of the pamphlet, “A.A. and the Armed Services” that would include new stories reflecting more recent experience and a review of the title to reflect past and active duty while keeping the length of the pamphlet the same.


New Business: The committee briefly discussed one area’s request to develop a book about the pioneer women in A.A. and agreed to table the discussion until their next quarterly meeting.

The 2010 International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous will be held July 1-4 in San Antonio, Texas with the theme “A Vision for You.”  A.A. members and guests from around the world will celebrate A.A.’s 75th year at this event with big meetings held Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning in the Alamodome.  Other meetings, scheduled or informal, will take place throughout the weekend in the San Antonio Convention Center and local hotels. 
 
Convention pre-registration began on September 1 and will continue through May 14, 2010; the pre-registration fee is $95.  After that date you must register onsite at the Convention Center; onsite registration will be $110.

Housing information will be sent out only after you register; in the same manner used for registration. The downtown core hotels are sold out at this time, but rooms are still available in the outlying areas. As at previous International Conventions, shuttle bus service will be provided at no charge to the outlying properties booked through the Convention Housing Bureau. Shuttle service will begin on Thursday around noon, and will run until the conclusion of the closing Big Meeting on Sunday. The shuttle schedule will be provided onsite at the Convention.

Please see the A.A. website; www.aa.org for additional conference information and online registration. In addition there is an extensive article on Conference preparations in the Winter 2009 edition of the publication box 459.

I have a limited number of printed registration forms here today by the Literature display.

If you haven’t attended an International Convention, now’s you chance to participate in an awesome spiritual experience. I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the district secretaries that forward copies of their meeting minutes to me. It’s an invaluable tool to me, all the Area officers and Standing Committee Chairs in determining the needs of our A.A. community

In Service,

John B. – Area 75 Alternate Delegate & Literature Chair

CORRECTIONS CHAIR – Les M.

Been working on temporary contacts. I’m receiving about 10 to 12 requests per week so we need people to become contacts to get people to their first meeting.

Correspondence – I have been in touch with the corrections desk at GSO and there is a need for writers as there are a lot of inmates that don’t have meetings.

Literature:
John Burke Center: Big Books, 12x12s, and Daily Reflections
FDL County Jail: Big Books, Inmate to Inmate
Ellsworth: Big Books
Waupun Prison: Big Books, Inmate to Inmate

Last Saturday I was at the District 12 Sponsorship Workshop talking about temporary contacts and correspondence.

Waushara County Jail – I sent a letter to the sheriff about trying to get a meeting in their jail.

Met with Area 74 Corrections Chair last Friday. Been working on the 15th annual corrections conference.

Need more volunteers for corrections in Facilities.

Les M., Area 75 Corrections Chair

Question: If you want to write to an inmate who do you send the form to? Answer: There is an address on the form. For GSO you can send it to the Corrections desk. Contact Les if you want to volunteer.

Question: Who do we get in touch with for people getting released. Answer: Information comes to Les. Les’ goal is to get 3 male and 3 female temporary contacts for each District.

Question: Any Special Needs inmates? Answer – no haven’t received any information along those lines. Question? Is there a way to know. Answer – no.

TREATMENT CHAIR – Fred K.

Today we had a good committee meeting. New rotations and putting faces with names. I would like to thank Jo Mc. For helping put together many new volunteers on a list she gathered at Green Lake.

Recently the number of requests for Bridging the Gap has dropped. 2 so far in January. Most of the exchanges I’ve had have been updating new people rotating into District positions. Please inform Kathy so GSO has your info as well.

I’m impressed with how well some Districts are involved and doing the job at carrying the message. I’ve had no requests to go to District meetings. I am available by request, just call.

One tool that should not be forgotten is the new Hope DVD, it can easily be given or loaned to a Treatment Facility to be used on their time.

Fred K., Area 75 Treatment Chair


Question from the floor? How much is the New Hope video? Answer - $10.

Question from the floor? How are we handling Bridging the Gap now that we no longer have a BTG Chair. Fred has a list of volunteers for Bridging. Goal is compile the lists and share with the Central offices.

PI CHAIR – Liz Y.

Area 75 events calendar: updated, user friendly!

We are coordinating with the central offices and utilizing a web-based, central calendar. There is a form on our website where you can enter your AA event. It will then be approved by the PI chair or webmaster and posted on the calendar. We share our calendars with Milwaukee, Racine, Winnebagoland and Madison’s central offices. This means that they can post AA events to their calendars that we can see from our calendars. Our website already linked to these websites, so we will be utilizing only existing channels. As a result, we are beginning to work more closely with our area’s central offices. We will be meeting again at the spring conference to troubleshoot any calendar issues and to keep keeping in touch with each other.

We also hope that, as this process evolves, we may use this or a similar system for our meeting schedules. This is a big first step in making our area website more user friendly for the fellowship.


CPC CHAIR – Randy R.

Things have been a little slow since the last report at the Fall Conference. The standing committee members who met with us (PI and CPC Chairs) energized me beyond belief, you had to be their. Since the Fall Conference I canceled District 24 in November and District 24 canceled me in December.
Speaking of December I did keep my appointment with District 3. Marv S. the DCM of District 3 invited me to attend there district meeting and I must say they had a good turn out. District 3 in my opinion has something special happening, after the meeting I was approached by three individuals who were positioning themselves to be the District CPC Chair (never seen that before), keep up the great work District 3. The year 2009 ended on a good note for me personally because I was able to refurbish the literature through GSO. The Area 75 CPC Chair is sitting well stocked for the next WAAODA Conference (sometime after the Spring Conference) in May.

I was invited to display the Area 75 CPC literature (January 9th, 2010) at the Tri-District Workshop hosted by District 13, 32 and 34 where I had my first chance to run the new “A.A. Cooperation with the Professional Community” DVD. A lot of people had a chance to listen and view the new DVD. I was also invited by District 13, 32 and 34 to attend a Breakfast Meeting with there district CPC (and others) on January 30th, 2010 at the Maxim’s Restaurant on Capitol Drive in Brookfield.

On February 11th I was invited to attend (as a visitor) District 4 and 22’s Districts Meeting, and I will do ever thing possible so I can attend.

On February 12th I will be attending the Delegates Past and Present Workshop in Kalamazoo, MI for my second year.

On March 16th I will be at the District 24 meeting as an Area 75 Chair. Matt and I have been having some difficulty at getting this done but I will admit it was mostly my schedule that hampered this event, although Matt did cancel me in December.

I will be attending the Delegates Workshop in Madison on March 21st, 2010.

On April 10th, 2010 I have been invited to attend District 27 workshop.
On April 11th, 2010 I will be back here in Madison attending the Pre-Conference Meeting.

On April 30th, I will be attending the 59th Annual Spring Conference “The Age of Miracles is Still with Us” Conference held at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc. Just a reminder if you haven’t registered, please does so soon.

Sometime in May 2010 I will be at the Wisconsin Association of Alcoholics and Other Drug Addictions (WAAODA) Conference. I have not been notified as to when or where this event will be taking place. Rest assured that I will not get mowed down in the first 4 hours like last year. I will be ready. I plan on running the new DVD “A.A. Cooperation with the Professional Community” and the “Hope” DVD if possible.

Today we welcomed 3 new CPC District Chairs. We had a combining (PI and CPC) total of 13. We also had two visitors from Area 74. We had an informative meeting and I will be looking forward to helping our new CPC’s anytime they ask. To the CPC Chairs stepping down, PLEASE don’t disappear; your current chair can use all the support and knowledge you can give them.

I will accomplish updating the new and current CPC data base for all the participating districts. My goal is to send monthly updates to all the CPC’s in Area 75 and to let them know that I am available to them anytime.

Yours in Service
Randy R., Area 75 CPC


SPECIAL NEEDS CHAIR – Lee Ann F.

First I’d like to update you regarding the status of the GSO Special Needs Pamphlet. My contact at GSO advised me they have received so many Special Need Stories for consideration. In fact, she told me GSO is very surprised and pleased with the response of stories which is letting GSO know A.A. members with Special Needs really want their stories told to help others with Special Needs. I know of at least 3 excellent stores sent by members of Area 75. We don’t know when the Special Needs pamphlet will be available for distribution. I’d like to thank all of those who have helped by either submitting your stories or helping my Committee with editing of the stories before I sent them to GSO! Stay tuned and I will keep you updated when I learn more.

Area 75 Special Needs now has A.A. Conference approved literature: The Big Book, 12 & 12, and some additional pamphlets in Braille, VHS Big Book and 12 & 12 in American Sign Language, and the same in Large Print. This literature was first displayed, as requested, at the Tri District Workshop on 01/09/2010. We are now working on creating a display board relative to A.A. Special Needs to be used as a backdrop for the literature. All of these items are available on loan to our Districts for workshops and conferences as well as Area 75 workshops and conferences. Our goal is to have the display board completed in time for our Spring Conference.

Our Committee met earlier today. Now that we have completed the GSO Story request we are able to get back to our agenda of sending letters to various organizations who may benefit by knowing A.A. is available to people with Special Needs. We looked at some of the example letters to be used for our future mailer. We also reviewed a list of various agencies and organizations as well as identified other agencies to add as prospective recipients of our letter. We were thrilled to receive brief input today from some people from District 10. Unfortunately they left during the fire alarm. I will be following up with Milwaukee Central Office and the other Intergroups as part of our preparation for our future mailing.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any Special Need questions or concerns. I remain willing to attend District Meetings and workshops by your invitation. I will be meeting with Districts 10 and 20 in the near future. I’d like to thank those of you, including my Special Needs Committee members, for your participation today!


Question from the floor: Does it make sense to buy a copy of the Big Book in Braille for Archives? Answer: Committee will look into it.

Question from the floor: Is there a Big Book DVD? Answer: American Sign Language 3rd Edition is out is $32.

Comment from Stu E. – District 10 meets every other Sunday at 9 am at the area on the website. Call the DCM.

Question from the floor: For local conferences is the District SNC responsible for getting a signer? Answer: Yes talk to Special Needs.

ARCHIVE CHAIR – David K.

The Area 75 Archivist and Archives Chair have been working with several District Archives Chairs to develop ideas to keep the Archives room open every Sunday. At our Archives meeting November 22, 2009 it was decided that the Area 75 Archives room will be open every Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. except for the following dates: April 4, May 2, July 4, October 17 and will be closed during the month of December. The first and third Sunday’s of each month the Archivist or the Area Archives chair will continue to be at the Archives room. We have hope that there will be volunteers to cover the 2nd, 4th, and sometimes 5th Sunday of the months.

Volunteers can sign up for one Sunday, or as many Sundays that they are able to commit to. Our goal is to have 2 volunteers per Sunday to staff the Archives room. Volunteers must be open and willing to receive approximately one hour of training to learn basic procedures pertaining to the Archives room. Due to the valuable nature of the materials in the Archives room references may be required.

We are very fortunate to have had room dividers donated that are the size we had hoped for. The cost to transport the room dividers was $50.00. They are grey and in excellent condition.

We are working on putting the newspaper style Grapevines from the 1940’s in archival plastic folders and placing them on the “Area 75 Archives wall”. The Grapevines will not be taken to any functions but you are able to come to the Archives room and read them. The other side of the “wall” will have a picture and information about all of the international conventions beginning in 1950.

There are flyers here today with the 2010 schedule, information pertaining to volunteering, and the list of Grapevines we have. Please take these back to your districts and groups.

We are receiving district meeting minutes from several districts. If your district is one that is not sending minutes please start sending them now. It is important for your districts history. If documentation is not kept, those to come will not know what their district has accomplished in the past. Don’t be afraid to use full names. They are edited for display binders. Please also send any district flyers, letters, meeting listings, or other materials that involve your district.


Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Area 75 Archivist: Nancy S.

Area 75 Archives Chair: Dave K.


Question from the Floor: Any chance of getting District Archives Chair to volunteer? Answer: Will look into this

Comment – Archives hours is now listed on the Area Directory.


GRAPEVINE CHAIR – George P.

Good Morning! My name is George Possley and I am your panel 59 Grapevine Chair. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the fellowship in Area 75.

For the year to date, A.A. Grapevine has distributed 87,283 books, CDs, and other items, and 965,550 copies of our meeting in print, including back issues.
Average monthly print circulation of Grapevine was 103,300. Circulation of AudioGrapevine was 1,344, which is 14% less than last year. Distribution of books was 4.7% higher than last year, while distribution of Grapevine CDs
declined 43.54%. The website drew approximately 45,000 visits a month.
At 9,775, average bimonthly circulation of La Viña is up 155 since last quarter, and 717 lower than September 2008. Year to date, 58,025 copies of La Viña have been distributed along with 3,995 La Viña books and CDs. In October the cash requests from the sale of all A.A. Grapevine magazines and products declined approximately 40 per cent. Grapevine received 30% more story and letter contributions (347) and 50% more contributions to La Viña (45) this
quarter than during the same period last year. The Grapevine controller reported that prepaid subscriptions at September 30, 2009 were valued at $1,846,196. In October 2009 (through October 26) there was a decline in cash receipts from total sales of approximately 40% or $110,000. The A.A. Grapevine controller asked the treasurer of the General Service Board for a temporary draw down of $50,000 from the GSB to meet obligations due the last week of October.

www.aagrapevine.org: Web traffic has held steady. The Web site Content Management System process began in September with the Web think tank and the preliminary web proposal.

Since our last assembly, this is where I've been:
  1. I attended the Fall Conference at the Heidel House in Green Lake on November 6-8 and set up the Area Grapevine Display.
  2. The following weekend, I attended the East Central Regional Forum in Kalamazoo, MI and had lunch with other Area Grapevine Chairs and with Robin Bromley, Grapevine Editor.
  3. On January 9, I attended the AA step workshop in Waukesha sponsored by Districts 13, 32 and 34.
  4. On January 23, I worked my last day at St. Norbert College and am now officially retired. I look forward to the opportunity to better serve Area 75.

Groups are encouraged to make donations to the Count On Us fund. These funds are designated to purchase Grapevine items for use in Corrections activities. The fund is completely depleted at the moment so donations are appreciated.

I want to extend my sincere thanks for the invitations and opportunities I have been given to share my experience, strength and hope and to talk about the AA Grapevine.

Thank you for the privilege of serving the Fellowship of AA in Area 75 as your Grapevine chair. I would be happy to address any questions you may have.

George P., Area 75 Grapevine Chair

Question: Did you have enough money to buy subscriptions for prisons? Answer: No, we have to see how many prisons need renewed subscriptions since they expire at different times. Call George if you have questions.

CONF ADVISORY COMMITTEE – George B.

Hello,

There will be several proposals presented that are just a matter of clarification.

Also, there is a proposal to change the date requiring when conference flyers will be available. This is necessary since the elimination of the fall conference.

Please register for the Spring Conference if you haven’t already done so.

Thank you,

George B.
Conference Advisory Committee Chairperson


FALL 2009 PAST CONFERENCE REPORT – Jeff Z.

Good morning everyone, my name is Jeff Zoch and I am an alcoholic. It’s great to see you all again, and while I have seen some of you at meetings and workshops, I still can’t believe its been 11 weeks since the conference. I still get up once in a while and think I need to write an agenda, call someone on the committee, or keep an appointment in conjunction with the conference. But I don’t, but I do, but not in conjunction with the conference. So anyway down to business. Let me just say, what an Honor and a Privilege it has been to be of Service. This was truly an opportunity of a life time, and I am grateful for the opportunity you have afforded me.


These are the Official numbers of the

2009 Back To Basics Fall Conference.


Attendance was as follows: 338 were Pre-registered / 231 were Walk-ins (of which 21 registered using the Bill W. Fund. Total attendance was 569. Saturday Banquet attendance was 331/ Sunday morning Breakfast attendance was 223. After returning the seed money of $500.00 back to the Area, the committee was then able to send a check in the amount of $ 3695.62 to the Area as a net profit from the conference. While the committee tried to have a break even scenario, ie. ($13 reg. / $9 breakfast/ $19 banquet) it just didn’t happen, and this is part of why? A local speaker who turned in no expenses, a speaker from GSO who did not charge any expenses. Two speakers who did not bring guests and have their expenses to turn in as well, these and the absence of our Trustee Pam R. were factors that accounted for almost 75% of the net profit. Another 20% of that net profit came as the result of higher than budgeted paid registrations (542 compared to 486). The rest was due to the groups extreme generosity in contributing to the hospitality room and the Bill W. Fund and you all should be commended for your generosity. We collected enough in the Bill W. Fund that 72 people could have been afforded the opportunity to attend. And I was still very happy that 21 were able to attend because of the Fund. If there aren’t any questions I thank you all once again for allowing me to be of Service.

Sincerely,

Jeffery J. Zoch
2009 Fall Conference Co-Chair


SPRING 2010 CONFERENCE CHAIR – Bob S.

The Age of Miracles is Still With Us

The conference dates are April 30th to May 2nd, and is being held at the Olympia Resort and Conference Center in Oconomowoc.

We made two mistakes on our flyer. We omitted deadline dates. The first one pertains to the rooms. The conference rate of $99.00 will only be held open until April 9th. The same holds true for our room block. After this date, it will be first come first served. The second deadline we missed was the pre-registration cut-off. Please have any pre-registrations mailed by April 15th. We need time to process these and reserve any requested meals.

Please keep in mind that any request for translators or ASL need to be in by the end of March.

Our scheduled speakers are: Taylor C. from Chicago, IL; Doug R. from Tajunga, CA; Tina H. from Wauskesha, WI; and the Al-Anon speaker is Cissy C. from Brockton, AL. Our Alateen speaker is the most popular speaker out there: TBA.

We’re planning an ice cream social both Friday and Saturday nights after the speakers, and a dance on Saturday night.

Registration is $15.00, the banquet is $30.00, and the brunch is $13.00. The banquet will be buffet style and there will be a choice of entrée in the form of pork or chicken with limited vegetarian. For those interested, Olympia’s meals are gluten free, with the exception of pastas and breads.

People have been contacting us looking for the registration forms on the web site. There was some sort of mix up and it didn’t show up until last weekend. If you go in and open the calendar to either April or May and click on the conference wording, it opens the flyer.

Something else to keep in mind, all of our conference committees work hard to put these together, but it doesn’t mean much if it is poorly attended. I hope to see all of you there. Bring a friend, or two or three.

Respectfully submitted,

Bob S.
2010 Spring Conference Chair

SPRING 2011 CHAIR – Bob

Hello my name is Bob, I am an Alcoholic and Co-Chair of the 2011 Area 75 Conference Planning Committee.

The 2011 Conference will be held on May 20, 21, and 22. The Conference theme will be a Vision for You. The location of the Conference will be the Brookfield Sheraton on Moorland Road one block north of I-94.

All committee chairs are working earnestly together to make the 2011 Area 75 Conference an interesting and enjoyable event.

At our next meeting we will be working on menu and registration fees.

Flyers for the 2011 Conference they will be available in October.

On behalf of all committee members and advisors – thank-you. Bob

SPRING 2012 CONFERENCE CHAIR –
No report given.


MILWAUKEE CENTRAL OFFICE – Jim

My name is Jim and I’m an alcoholic.

I would like to report on a few items that represent some changes that will hopefully better serve the fellowship.

    1. By-Laws Change – each district in the Greater Milwaukee Area will be represented on the Board of Directors. That will eliminate the practice of rotating districts in and out. We will adhere to the By-Laws of having the individual AA groups elect their member representative. This will allow the individual groups an opportunity to have a member serve on the board. Hopefully this will also encourage a commitment to serve.
    2. Between-US Financials – The January Between-Us report the balances in our Checking, Money Market, and Prudent Reserve. It also reported the projected budget for 2010. February’s Between-Us will report December’s Income and Expense Summary and the Gratitude Box income to date.
    3. We will begin to open the Central Office meeting room during non-business hours for group, district, and area business or open meetings and workshops. Once guidelines are finalized they will be published in the Between-Us and communicated at the Secretaries Meeting.
    4. We will be improving the website to include a print option that will allow the printing of meetings by zip code, district, day of the week, and various other selected options. This should allow individual groups to print out and make available at their meetings other meetings in the same vicinity.

Thank-you

MAICO – Jessica S.

Oral report no written report provided.

RACINE – Tara H.

Greetings! My name is Tara H. and I am an alcoholic. I am here representing the Racine Area Central Office, which in turn represents Districts #6, #7, #17, and #36 in southeastern Wisconsin. The Racine Area Central Office has been in existence since March of 1988, beginning in an office only slightly larger than a closet in a basement area of the Elmwood Plaza in Racine. We have since expanded into a suite with sufficient square footage for a bookstore containing AA literature and accessories, two large meeting rooms, an archives room, and a small office. Meetings are held every day at 12:15 PM and at varying times every evening except Sunday.

The Racine Area Central Office hosts a 24/7 hotline for the area providing Twelfth Step services for the alcoholic in need and provides Twelfth Step calls when they are needed. Additionally, RACO has volunteers staffing a monthly newsletter, The Monthly Reprieve, distributed as approximately one hundred fifty paper copies and more than eleven hundred electronic copies distributed electronically as PDF documents sent by email. RACO has also maintained a successful website ( www.racinecentraloffice.com ), currently offline for an upgrade, which has received 1,700,000 hits since going online five years ago.

The Racine Area Central Office provides meeting locations for district functions, provides liaisons to the professional communities and to corrections, and strives to provide the hope of the message of Alcoholics Anonymous to the alcoholic still suffering. Staffed, as it has been for the past twenty-two years, entirely by dedicated volunteers, the Racine Area Central Office is meeting the challenges of today while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.

We also host an annual event called “Fellowship Day” which usual takes place in the fall and an event we call the Candlelight Meeting, which usually takes place in the winter. Recently we host a GSR Workshop, a Corrections Workshop, and next Sunday, January 31, 2010 we will be hosting a “Hotline Workshop” for hotline volunteers and behind the desk volunteers. We have hotline volunteers that man the phones as well as 12 step volunteers that will go out to the home or whatever the case may be. Great to be of service with those who need us.

We also have our steering committee meeting which meets the 3rd Saturday of the month at 9:30 am. Our steering committee consists of a chairperson, treasurer, secretary, newsletter editor, procurement, webmaster, literature, staff coordinator, hotline chair, and several long term advisors, to help us keep things in perspective. RACO also hosts the District #17 meeting every 3rd Sunday of the month at 1 pm which I am happy to report a an active GSR in my homegroup, all positions for right now are filled.


PROPOSALS FOR AGENDA – Nancy H.

10 Proposals for April – some of them are on the table; some we don’t have copies of yet.

Goal is to have them by the end of the week on the website for Area 75. Proposals have either come out of Committee or the Agenda Committee. All have been approved to go forward.

The following proposals are available from the Area 75 website at: http://www.area75.org/business.html and are available as separate attachments to the minutes. The following is the list of Proposals:



NEW BUSINESS

2010 Budget Approval – Todd U

2 Items that need Assembly Approval since there is a 10% Increase


Question: Who is eligible to Vote. Answer: DCMs, Area Officers, Area Standing Committee Chairs.

Motion to Approve 2010 for Overhead of $4,180. Motion Seconded. Motion Approved by Simple Verbal Vote.

Alternate Secretary Budget. Background - we are trying to get more accurate budgets in place year to year as the expenses vary for Alternate Secretary, Alternate Treasurer, and Alternate Chair. Depending on where conferences are located and where they live determines whether they can get expenses for lodging at a Conference.

Motion to Approve Alternate Secretary Budget of $416 for the Alternate Secretary

Discussion on the item.

Call the question – question called.

Motion approved.


Approved Budget





























































CONTRIBUTION TO GSO

Motion to donate $1,000 to GSO in New York immediately. Motion seconded.

Stu E. cited #s related to the GSO per member.

John B. – disagreed that groups have contributed to the Area 75 have already made a split from GSO in New York and to the Area. Also noted that our surplus is primarily due to profits from the conferences and future conferences.

Todd U. – As noted we only had $900 more excluding surplus conferences. The reasons the conferences were profitable is that Chairs and Speakers didn’t submit bills. Treasury Committee discussed and recommended not to donate $1,000 to GSO. The Treasury Committee discussed instead of paying the full cost of sending our delegate to New York of $4,500 instead of the $1,200 required. They would be more behind this recommendation.

Howard P. – District 32 in Waukesha sent $500 to GSO.

Terry H. – DCM District 12 – Area 75 was hurting financially 6 to 8 years ago and District contributed $500 to the Area.

GSR of Badger Group – received note from GSO thanking them for contributions and asked them to spread the word. Did not indicate they were in dire need of money. Suggest we take this back to the groups.

John H. – DCM 17 – Stu E. brought this to us at the Fall Conference. D17 discussed and sent $100 from the D17.

Pete W. – Alt DCM D36 – Voted against at the District against the proposal. We already split the money. They feel the Area money stays in the Area and put the $ back into the Conference.

Tara H. – Important to get more groups to contribute to GSO.

Discussion Ended. Reminder of who is available to vote: GSRs, DCMs, Area Officers, Standing Committee Chairs.

Vote – 31 in favor; 39 opposed – motion defeated.


POSSIBLE EMERGENCY BUSINESS

Motion to consider to pay $4,500 instead $1,200 to GSO for the Delegate’s expenses for the General Service Conference – money will be sent in February.

First we need to decide if this an emergency item? Voted and decided that it is not an emergency item.

COFFEE VOLUNTEER:

Delegate’s Workshop – March 21st – District 29

Preconference Assembly – April 11th – District 20

The coffee volunteer is to take the coffee supplies with them at the end of today’s meeting and replenish supplies from the donation can if needed. Coffee pots are supplied by the Madison Center, which opens at 8:00 AM coffee pots and transfer of supplies to the next volunteer at the end of the day.

ASK IT BASKET QUESTIONS

Question: How do we plan on sharing and implementing items at our Area Inventory? Agenda Committee has looked at items. Feedback is a lot of challenges could be fixed through Sponsorship.

Question: About challenges facing the Grapevine. Bob served on the board. As print media continues to decline and experiencing the same thing with the Grapevine. Grapevine is looking at providing in electronic formats (MP3s, etc.) and charging for these items to be downloaded.


Announcements


Motion to adjourn


The meeting closed at 3:00 pm with the Responsibility Declaration:

“When anyone, anywhere reaches out, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there, and for that; I am responsible!”

Upcoming events: