Alcoholics Anonymous Area E AGM 2017
Minutes of Meeting: Saturday, 5th Feb 2017 @ 1:00 PM
_________________________________
Chair: Andrew I (RtR Kirribilli Fri PM)
Attendance:
| Andrew I | Area Chair | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| Rosemary P | Area Secretary | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Present |
| John B | Area Delegate | Seaforth Tue PM | Present |
| Anna S | Area Alternate Delegate | Dee Why Thu PM | Present |
| Peter | Area Treasurer | North Sydney Mon PM | Present |
| Michael S | Area Group Liaison | RtR Kirribilli Tue PM | Present |
| John G | Area Public Information Coordinator | Narrabeen Sun PM | Not Present |
| Lachlan B | Area Webmaster | Royal North Shore Thu PM | Present |
| Christopher L | GSR | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| Garry T | GSR | Gordon Mon PM | Present |
| John R | GSR | Royal North Shore Thu PM | Present |
| Caroline E | GSR | Cremorne Mon Thu | Apology |
| David C | GSR | Epping Mon PM & Thu PM | Present |
| Rowena R | GSR | Seaforth Tue PM & Dee Why B’fast | Apology |
| Tina S | GSR | Mona Vale Sun AM | Apology |
| David P | GSR | Chatswood Sun AM | Present |
| Sally C | GSR | Neutral Bay Tue PM | Present |
| Sue | Member | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Apology |
| Peter T | GSR | Long Reef Tue AM | Present |
| Michael B | Member | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Present |
| Andy (Party Hire) | Member | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| Jim R | Member | Waverton Sun PM | Present |
| Bruce M | Trustee | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Apology |
| Mike N | Member | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| RJ | Member | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Present |
| Mary H | Member | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| Sean H | Member | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Present |
| Simon K | Member | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Present |
| Martina | Member | RtR Kirribilli Fri PM | Apology |
| Gary B | Member | RtR North Syd Tue PM | Present |
| Peter Je | Member | Dee Why Thu PM | Present |
Meeting Opened: 01:00pm
12 Traditions Read By: Michael B (RtR North Syd Tue PM)
Previous Minutes: Accepted (Garry/Lachlan)
Chairman’s Report: Andrew I
Andrew I tabled the report highlighting:
It is an absolute honour to have been accepted in the role of Chairman of the Area E committee.
Although the mail chimp mailing list communication system was wisely and well established by previous members of the Area E committee, with a focus on clear communication and continuing to move the Area E committee further into the digital age I thought it a priority to activate the Area E Website. Lachlan B was kind enough to accept the role of Webmaster and as luck would have it already had much of the website built just for this purpose.
On this medium we have been able to include the meeting dates for next 2 years, upload the monthly meeting minutes and post promotional material both for Area E as well as communications from the other facets of AA nationally. Additionally, members are able to sign up to the Area E mailing list directly from the site.
As part of my duties as Area E Chairman I have been fortunate enough to be involved with the organisation of 3 Area E assemblies.
With numbers around the 20 mark on the 28th of May our first assembly held at the Ku Ring Gai Community Centre in St Ives included acceptance of topics from the members of Area E as well as a presentation of the first concept of world service. Three topics were put forward and two were accepted by the assembly. This was followed by a presentation of the concepts put together by Anna S with the different facets of first concept being the main topic of discussion.
On the 28th of August, our second assembly was held at the North Curl Curl Community
Centre but was slightly less well attended that the first with around 12 attendees. At this assembly, the presentation of the remaining 11 concepts was expertly presented by Chris H of the Road to Recovery group. Anna’s wonderful and well thought out presentation evoked lively discussion and deep thought around all of the AA’s 12 concepts of World Service and associated topics. My most marked take home message of the day was that Gratitude can best be expressed as the action of participating in service in AA, especially at Area level.
Our third assembly for the year was held at the Doherty Centre in Chatswood on October 15th attracting around 15 members with activities including discussion of Area E’s topics for conference and a chance to meet and chat with a Trustee on the National Service Board. It was a very enlightening activity to see where AA is at as a nation. It was a take home here that the Conference Agenda Committee should be given more ability to streamline the topics that come in as many were the same or similar and it could save time and energy to refine and distil these topics into larger broader topics. I will put this forward as a topic for discussion at the 2017 conference.
Moving forward into 2017 the Committee has decided to embark on an Area Reach Out project. This project is designed to improve the lines of communication between Area E and the groups by allocating a Committee Member to firstly distribute information regarding the National Structure Review, then once established these new lines of communication promise to increase group engagement in Area Activities.
I have really been enjoying the last 12 months as Chairman of the Area E committee and feel confident that over the next 12 months myself and the committee will be able to create extra enthusiasm for Area work and entice more GSR’s of Area E to attend our monthly meetings and special events.
Andrew I
Area E Chairman
Delegate’s Report: John B
John B tabled the report highlighting:
Area E spans all of the Northern Sydney and Northern Beaches suburbs. There are over 100 registered meetings throughout the area, with some groups having multiple meetings.
The service contributions during the year of all Area E office holders and GSRs are greatly appreciated.
Members are rotating off the Treasurer and Group Liaison jobs this year and volunteers for these positions are needed. In addition, a new job of Editor is being established. This job’s duties include encouraging members in Area E to submit articles to the new national E-Magazine called The Mixer, first edition due in March, and help edit contributions.
Area E is very well serviced by the Northern Sydney Central Service Office (NSCSO), its committee and volunteers. The NSCSO is open five days a week, sells literature, produces a monthly newsletter, maintains rosters for telephone support outside of office hours and for the AA 1800 number, supports visitations to seven H&I, participates in programs for Bridging The Gap at three hospitals and Court Service.
In addition to the 2016 Annual General Meeting, Area E held three Assemblies during this year. – On 28 May, 2016 at St. Ives : Interactive workshop on the Concepts (Introduction and Concept 1) and discussion of drafts of topics prepared by groups and members for submission to Conference – On 28 August, 2016 at North Curl Curl : Interactive workshop on Concepts 2-4. – On 15 October, 2016 at Chatswood : Discussion of Topics submitted to the 2016 General Service Conference, with participation by the Eastern Region Trustee. The assistance from members and Groups in holding these Assemblies is appreciated.
Participation in AA activities outside of Area E: – Area E, the NSCSO and members supported the Fiji Convention’s function to serve the primary purpose of carrying the AA message to all who need it and want it. This support included members’ attendance at the convention, the NSCSO providing literature for the convention and financial contributions by Groups and Area E; – Members attended the Eastern Region Forum held on 24 September at Caringbah and made a presentation on an Introduction to the Concepts.
Separate reports will be made at the Annual General Meeting by: – myself in relation to the 2016 General Service Conference; and – the Alternate Delegate in relation to a particular request from Conference seeking members and Groups views on the functionality of the current model of the AA Service Structure in Australia.
Later in the year there will be workshops and an Area E Assembly on the AA Service Structure.
Yours in Service, Unity and Fellowship,
John B. Delegate
Alternate Delegate Report: Anna S
Anna S tabled her report as a special report at the end of the meeting.
Secretary’s Report: Rosemary P
Rosemary P tabled the report highlighting:
- Have enjoyed the opportunity to fill the Area E Secretary position.
- Enjoyed the company of the other Area E members and GSR’s and the energy filled discussions we sometimes have.
- Being a part of the Area committee certainly has instilled in me that AA is bigger than just the meetings and it is important we all play our part at Area level.
Treasurer’s Report: Peter
Peter tabled the report highlighting:
Opening Balance @ 07/02/2016 $5661.18
Income $5,340.26
Expenses $4,534.69 (National Conference Levies & Fiji Donations being $3,710)
Closing Balance @ 04/02/2017 $6,466.75
Group Liaison Report: Michael S
Michael S tabled the report highlighting:
- This is my final report & in the last two years what I have concluded that the groups/meetings didn’t have enough members to fill all the position and the ones that did may have not seen the interest in filling all of them, only mainly the ones that kept the meeting open and running.
- Some members had dual service positions. I wasn’t able to get to all the meetings in Area E but there seemed to be a theme.
- My role was to introduce myself, supply information material, knowledge, take best contact info and pass on my information to assist in any queries anything else was not required on asked off.Yours in service
S
Web Master Report: Lachlan B
Area E Website http://areaeeraa.info
Lachlan B tabled the report highlighting:
- This year saw the inauguration of the webmaster position on the Area E committee.
- A website was built to host all of the Area E documents and meeting minutes and notices at the web address http://areaeeraa.info/.
- The launch of the website has been well received with a number of features added during the year as members have requested.
- The website also acts as a central point of reference for members of the fellowship and they can join the area E mailing list from the homepage.
- The use of the homepage has been integrated into the mailchimp email distribution system. I am looking forward to rolling out more improvements this year.
PI Report: John G
John G was not present hence a report not tabled:
Area E Service Position Rotations:
14 Voting Members:
| Service Position | Newly Appointed for 2017 |
| Area E Treasurer | Michael S |
| Area Group Liaison | Sally |
| Mixer Editor | Peter |
Alternate Delegate Special Report: Anna S
Anna S tabled a special report:
Australian General Service Conference is the group conscience of the whole AA Fellowship in Australia. It’s purpose is to make sure that a voice of every AA member can be heard and responded to wherever welfare of the Fellowship is concerned.
In 2015 Conference received a topic requesting review of our current service structure. ‘The 2015 Topic implied that lack of unity is a threat to AA in Australia’ ( in Topic : 001/2017) and it affects members participation in carrying AA message.
The 2015 Conference formed Structure Review Committee to respond to the topic.
The 2016 Conference was presented with documents containing investigations to the background of the 2015 Topic and a proposition of a structure review plan.
The Conference is now inviting AA members to voice their stand (Topic: 001/2017) on proposal produced by the Structure Review Committee.
At area meeting in December 2016 area E committee members agreed that in order to best respond to invitation from Conference presented to us by our area delegate we needed to make sure that every AA member in area E will be provided with an opportunity to make an informed decision on issue that is critical to the future of AA in this country.
Boarders of Area E are demarcated by North Sydney, Baulkham Hills, Galston, Brooklyn and Northern Beaches, with central service office NSCSO fairly central at St Ives. Personal interaction of area delegate with groups is limited since only about 1 in 10 groups elect a GSR, i.e., service representative.
To reach every group in area e, the area has been divided into 11 geographically determined districts. Members of area e committee have taken responsibility to deliver copies of the conference document to secretaries of groups. By now all committee members have received material for distribution.
We aim to finish distribution of the conference document by the end of February, and between mid April and end of May to provide groups with a brief interactive presentation to clarify the purpose and importance of this project.
We are hoping that AA members will read, discuss and vote on the proposal at group conscience by June, July.
In August Area E will hold the Assembly where the results of your group conscience can be presented should you wish your voices are heard.
Our Delegate will present Area E group conscience to the 2017 Australian General Service Conference in early November.
All above information is contained in the document ‘AA survey’ and cover letters to members and group secretaries currently available on AA area e information website: areaeeraa.info
For any further enquirers please contact John B. our Area E delegate on email : john3743@outlook.com
Delegate’s Special Report: John B
John B tabled the report highlighting:
Delegates Notes for report on 2016 General Service Conference:
General Service Conference 2016
Topics are submitted on the TOPIC FORM by Members, Groups and the General Service Board and then allocated to the Conference Committees. The Committees discuss their allocated topics and submit their recommendations to the Conference Floor for discussion and voting on recommended actions.
Some observations in relation to the Topics considered by the Conference Committees and Advisory Actions adopted at the 2016 Conference:
Trustees
Trustees Emeritus – not a Board member, does not have full participation rights at the Conference and at the Board, source of knowledge pertaining to issues Conference members may be unaware of
Charter and Service Manual
Clarification of matters in the Service Manual
Policies and Admissions
Pre-Conference provided advice to members seeking to re-activate an Area, recommended Structure Review Committee Report be updated and circulated as a 2017 Conference Topic, recommended to Conference Agenda Committee that a 4-hour session be allocated at the beginning of the 2017 Conference for discussion of this Topic
Correctional Facilities
Provided suggestions, having watched CD Rom
International Committee
Support carrying the message to Fiji and to support organised regular visitations to carry the message to countries in our zone where there is little or no AA, recommended if no bid for Conference options, bring forward existing Conference, hold event within Asia/Oceania zone, do nothing, ask Fellowship to submit their other ideas
Finance
Improve financial disclosure
Literature
Support GSB action to establish national E-magazine, 12 Step banners to be printed same as Big Book, Edit and improve format of Big Book, establish committee to discuss production of brochure on 12 Steps for indigenous Australians
Remote Community
Workout how to carry the message to members/groups and prefessionals in remote Australia
Topics for 2017 to be submitted by 30 June, Theme for 2017 Conference : A Vision for You
