District 4 – Virtual District Meeting Minutes
Aug 8, 2023 6:30 p.m.
Mtg. ID: 863 7353 3658
Password: 230403
KEEP THE DISTRICT ROLLING!!!
Chair, Sue B calls the meeting to order at 6:32 with the Unity Declaration.
Secretary calls the roll. Present are Sue B., Stephen, Jill, Andrew, Sue L., Genie, Annette, Ann, Denny, JoAnn (DCMC),Brian B. (Area Treasurer/Inventory Action Ad Hoc Chair) and Amy.
Andrew moved that the reading of the June minutes be waived, seconded by Ann.
DCM report: Sue B.
1. Our Newsletter is ready for distribution. Click here to see the Final Summer 2023 Edition. Hard copies are available for distribution. The idea is to take 2 hard copies to your home group and to the meetings that don’t have GSRs. Announce that they are available and that anyone interested can contact you or attend our next District meeting.
2. Be welcoming and tell the groups we need their help to carry the message in District 4. Don’t try to sell General Service work, just let them read the newsletter and ask questions. The goal is to have all copies distributed by August 20.
3. Our DCMC, Jo-Ann T, will attend the August meeting along with Brian B, Chair of the Committee to implement the suggestions from the 2022 Area inventory.
4. The Area developed a Service PowerPoint for use by GSRs with their home groups. A copy of the PowerPoint is attached. See original meeting agenda to see the Victor E. PowerPoint.
5. Next GSR Coffee hour is scheduled for September 11. All GSRs, Alt GSR’s or home group members interested in General Service are encouraged to attend.
6. Battle of the Bowls!!! – District 4 Chili Cook Off and Day of Sharing – October 21. All groups in District 4 are invited to participate in our first annual Chili Cook Off and Day of Sharing. We are adding an additional category – Other Districts Chili. All members of AA will be invited to attend a day of fun, food, and inspiration. In addition to our food and fellowship, we will have a panel on the importance of GSRs in the AA General Service Structure.
7. Attached is a draft policy for reimbursement of GSR expenses for attending General Service in and outside of Area 50. The draft policy is attached. Hopefully, this will be finalized on the 8th.
In love of service, Sue B District 4, DCM
Treasurer Report: Stephen
1. Treasury balance: $2534.42
2. Steve is working on a Venmo account. Contributions can be mailed to: Stephen Gabris, 230 Huntington Ave., Buffalo, NY 14214
Archives Report: emailed CPC Report: Dave N. (written)
1. We met recently with Friends of the Night People in Allentown. They would like to have an AA meeting at their site. If anyone knows a home group that would be interested in setting up such a meeting, let me know.
2. We met with Best Self on zoom.
3. We are hoping to set up a meeting with Cazenovia Recovery Systems soon.
Web Chair Report: Genie
1. Updated Battle of the Bowls post to include date of event
2. Edited Local Meetings and Groups posts to remove Step Action, add New Destiny and change Easy Does It (removed zoom meeting information) 3. Posted July Meeting Minutes
4. Posted August Meeting Agenda
5. Posted GSO message
6. Consolidated the “Groups” and “District Maps” page and renamed “Find D4 Meetings”
7. Created Newsletter page and converted Steve’s newsletter to a format I could edit and insert onto our web editor- quite a challenge requiring lots of cutting/pasting, it’s far from perfect ☹ I was hoping to be able to insert something that could be downloaded and printed but it just didn’t work that way. I may be able to problem-solve this in the future. But first, let me know if you think it’s worthwhile to have this on its own page or if I should have just included it in posts.
8. Reordered home page menu to draw more attention to “Share Your Story” (which has had no submissions so far- should we even keep it? Please check out the site and let me know what you think of the changes or if you have any likes/dislikes or suggestions. Also- just a thought- for Battle of the Bowls and possibly other upcoming events, there is a Ticket widget available so we could theoretically “sell” tickets for the event online. I don’t know whether the planning team was considering charging admission or keeping it totally free but in either case, the ticket app could be used to register people so we would have an approximate head count ahead of time and therefore be prepared with enough supplies and accompaniments… Just a thought.
Place of Worship distribution Sub-Committee report: Andrew
No news to report other than continuation of efforts to contact places of worship in the district.
Update from JoAnn (DCMC) and Brian (Inventory Action Committee Ad Hoc Chair) Brian and JoAnn shared with us the ongoing efforts to meet the goals of the Area 50 2022 Inventory Report issued by Nikki O., our facilitator. Among the recommendations were:
• Update and implement the “Turning the Lights On” effort.
• Revive districts- JoAnn shared that of the 22 districts, 12 have acting DCM’s.
• Encourage Service Sponsorship
• Re-imagine Area Assemblies to make them more attractive and motivational.
• Continue Area Committee Meetings to keep business at Assemblies to a minimum.
• Carry a vision forward to Panel 74 to continue efforts to connect to the home groups. Brian’s committee meets weekly on Wednesday evenings (area calendar) @ 8pm. Their efforts focus on fostering unity within the area by working toward the stated goals above. One of the new projects is the “Help Chat” project which would place live chat pop-ups on the Intergroup websites within the area. This is being done successfully as an alternative to calling the intergroup offices and would be staffed by active A.A. members ready to chat with and encourage anyone looking to learn more about A.A. or attend a meeting. The Help-chat committee is being reconvened and is putting together a presentation to help inform members and encourage them to volunteer to staff the chat.
Old Business:
1. Newsletter update – Please see the newsletter on our District 4 website.
2. Day of Sharing/Chili Cookoff – We have a date!! October 21st from 1-4 at St. Andrews Church. Genie will work on a save the date flier. Chili will be contributed by the home groups within the district, and they will be judged for prizes. The event will be a day of fellowship among the home groups in District 4 with a panel on the responsibilities of the GSR. We are hoping to have Dan M. entertain with some comedy as well. Sue L. and her committee have details mapped out, but we can always use extra hands!
3. We have no official NYSIW report yet, but it was well attended and the few members who attended had great things to say.
4. Please see the reimbursement policy draft attached and we will discuss at our next D4 meeting.
5. Victor E. Power Point is ready and is a welcome addition to help inform new trusted servants about service outside the home group. Please see the original agenda for the link.
The meeting closed at 8:14 with the Responsibility Declaration.
Respectfully submitted by Amy Hardick, District 4 Secretary