Self Support Area 83 - I am responsible..........: August 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

A Few Reminders

I will be participating in a Service Panel at the Brockville Service Day, September 13th, I will be having two speakers as well as an open discussion on Self Support. I have confirmed Brian MC of Ottawa as one of the speakers and I am still awaiting confirmation from the second speaker. Those of you close to Brockville could be a valuable asset during our open discussion on Self Support.

The next Area Meeting is Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. for directions or the address please email me.

Please support your Local Service Days and enjoy sobriety and the fellowship at these events.

Please contact me if I can be of any assistance.

Yours in Love and Service,

Sheree N
Area 83 Self Support Chairperson

Fall Elections

Fall Elections

“Our Twelfth Step - carrying the message - is the basic service that the A.A. Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence.

Therefore, A.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven't been given the truth may die.

Hence, an A.A. service is anything whatever that helps us to reach a fellow sufferer ranging all the way from the Twelfth Step itself to a ten-cent phone call and a cup of coffee, and to A.A.'s General Service Office for national and international action. The sum total of all these services is our Third Legacy of Service.”

Bill Wilson 1951

This fall Area 83 International as well as many of the groups and districts will be holding their elections for new service positions.

Our principle of rotation ensures that we never become experts in our position and allows new members opportunity to serve Alcoholics Anonymous.

Standing for, electing, and voting for these positions is an important part of giving back to Alcoholics Anonymous, and must be taken seriously.

It is the important to put “personalities before the principles” from our 12^th Tradition (12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.) when election and/or voting.

There are many things to consider when nominating and/or voting someone into a service position.

1) Do they want the position?

2) Do they have the capacity to fulfill the position?

3) Are they the right person for the position?

Unique to A.A. is our 3^rd Legacy voting procedures which can found in our Service Manual. While each group/district is autonomous, following these procedures can help ensure that “gods will” prevails in our elections.

Time and time again have I seen fairness prevail when 3^rd legacy voting procedures were followed.

Many groups/districts invite an active members from outside their group who knowledgeable on the traditions and/or concepts to facilitate their elections. This is a great idea.

It is a good idea to pass out copies of the 3^rd legacy voting procedures to your group/district to ensure that members are aware of the procedures this also gives newer member a chance to learn more about our spiritual voting procedures.

Please remember that the GSR is one of the most important roles in your group they are the final part of a communication link from our General Service Office. Without an active GSR your group may not be informed on what is happening in A.A. as a whole.

GSO→Area→District→Group (GSR is the link)

Remember to ensure that your GSR is eager to do the job and also has the capacity and time to perform the job. Enthusiasm is only half the job, the second half requires commitment, discipline and hard work.

Sheree Nicholson

Area 83 Self Support Chairperson

12 Concepts of World Service (Short Form)

I. Final Responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole fellowship.
II. The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole society in its world affairs.
III. To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A. – the conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives – with a traditional “Right of Decision”.
IV. At all reasonable levels, we ought to maintain traditional “Right of Participation”, allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.
V. Throughout our structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, so that minority opinion will be heard and personal grievances receive careful consideration.
VI. The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the Conference acting as the General Service Board.
VII. The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness.
VIII. The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities.
IX. Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.
X. Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined.
XI. The trustees should always have the best possible committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Composition, qualifications, induction procedures, and rights and duties will always be matters of serious concern.
XII. The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible , by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

Thanks to the contributions of groups such as yours in 2006 General Service Office was able to ..

G.S.O.'s Records Department continues to be able to keep track of all those group trusted servants you tell us about, and to send them literature and materials that may be useful in their Twelfth Step service. This includes G.S.R. kits, D.C.M. Kits, Box 4-5-9 and other materials that show up in group mailboxes.
A. A. members who may be: working on a seagoing vessel for long periods; living in remote areas with no A.A. meetings; or confined to their homes by serious illness or physical incapacity are able to stay sober through correspondence and a bimonthly bulletin sent from the General Service Office.
A television public service announcement (P.S.A.) featuring actors in brief scenes in which the still-suffering alcoholic may recognize himself or herself followed by information on how to contact A.A. if the person wishes, was made available for Public Information Committee service around the United States and Canada. Sometimes a bleary eyed drinker gets a message of hope through these PSA,s
A.A. Literature was translated into Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Croatian, Hindi, Kazakh, and Turkish, among other lanugages, enabling the hand of A.A. to reach across language barriers and carry the message of recovery.
Approx. 2175 inmates of jails, prisons and other correctional facilities will be able to be linked to outside A.A. members this year for corresondence that will help them stay in touch with a sober A.A. member. This service is percieved as such a life-saving one to inmates that the requests from male inmates continue to exceed the number of outside male volunteers. The corrections assignment at G.S.O. would be happy to hear from more volunteers.

Final General Service Conference Agenda Items (Dealing with Finance)

E. Discuss a request to incorporate shipping costs into literature pricing.
D. Discuss a request “to eliminate volume discounts on literature orders.”
C. Discuss a request to “Develop a communication plan for the purpose of increasing the level of group participation and self-support within the Conference structure.”
B. Consider two suggestions to add text regarding reimbursement for G.S.R. (general service representative) travel expenses from group funds to the pamphlet “Self-Support: Where Money and Spirituality Mix.”
A. Discuss a request to increase the maximum annual contribution (or a one time bequest) that the General Service Board can receive from an A.A. member from $2,000 to $3,000.

Self Support Area 83 - I am responsible..........

Monday, August 18, 2008

A Few Reminders

Fall Elections

Self Support Cans

Blog Archive

Other Area 83 Blogs & Web Pages

Useful Links

12 Concepts of World Service (Short Form)

Thanks to the contributions of groups such as yours in 2006 General Service Office was able to ..

Final General Service Conference Agenda Items (Dealing with Finance)

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