(Unsubscription instructions are included at the end of this message.)
January 2010 e-AA Newsletter
This newsletter includes reports submitted from: Group Secretary, Russell; Treasurer, Ketra; Online Intergroup Representative, Susan; Grapevine Rep, Scott; Literature Committee Chair, Sheila; Twelve Step Coordinator, Todd; Email Coordinator, Ian; Forums Coordinator, Juanita; Links Editor, Arlena; and Listkeeper, Trish O.
1. Group Secretary's Report, Russell
As an estimate the Members list received around 600 emails (a guestimate) during January.
Group business this month:
The motion on 'Unelected Service Positions" passed and opportunity for Minority opinion to be heard was made.
Some questions were asked to understand the voting process.
I took leave and Ian assisted the Group in an Acting Secretary role.
Elections for the Chat Coordinator occurred - eventually (during Feb) Scott and Bill stood, with Scott being elected.
Bonnie stepped up to be chairperson of the Webteam.
2. Treasurer's Report, Ketra
Follow this link
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8FVry85kLj6MWY0ZTJmZGEtNGNjOC00YWVmLWE3ZTItZjY4ZGE5Mjc2MTM4&hl=en to view the Januray detail sheet.
For January we had 5 members make a financial contribution to the group totaling $76.95 with expenses of $154.52. Our current balance is $1606.98.
I'll be making distributions to the service structure that supports our work in Feb. and it will show up on the Mar. report.
During the transition to Chatblazer a member stepped up to contribute the $29.95/mo. on his credit card. That 6-month commitment has ended and we'll now be paying Pendulab/Chatblazer with an advance check 2x/yr. Notes are in the treasurer's calendar on the attached .pdf report.
Just a note: the much-discussed amazon prime $80 annual fee has offset itself by about $30 just in January, so it should be paid for within a couple months, as Trish & I anticipated by analyzing historic use patterns and all shipping options over the late summer/early fall 2009. You're welcome. :-)
For your convenience, contribution methods are:
PayPal:
http://www.e-aa.org/group_seventh.php
Mail:
The e-AA Group
732 Viader Ct.
Santa Clara, CA 95050
USA
3. Online Intergroup Representative's Report, Susan
The following is the report from the Chair of the Online Intergroup, Jan.
December Reports were submitted or questions answered by the following: OIAA Historian, OIAA Listkeeper, OIAA Treasurer, OIAA Chair, 12th Step Committee, Cooperation With the Professional Community Committee, Policy & Admissions Committee, Public Information Committee, Unity Committee, Web Committee, Convention Committee, Ad-Hoc Sponsor Committee, Ad-Hoc Welcome Committee, Ad-Hoc Directory Listing Update Committee (last report).
The Steering Committee gave its support to moderation on a trial basis. From January 8th to January 31st the OIAA Assembly was run as a moderated list. The February Agenda reverts to the usual un-moderated list and Wacky Wednesday resumes. I know that the concept of moderation troubled some members but temporary moderation was an impartial and objective exercise, using on-topic and decorum guidelines as the criteria. It was a labor-intensive undertaking to read all posts prior to forwarding them onto the main list and placing each topic separately also created extra work, yet the January agenda flowed in a orderly, seamless manner and focus was evident in the content of discussion. Thank you to all for not sending in extraneous or unnecessary posts. We excluded seven spam emails that made it through our filters and only a three of posts were moderated because of not being on topic. We have a topic discussion this month to find out what you thought of the January moderat
ion experiment. I hope everyone has something constructive to share and that the discerning and thoughtful will of the assembly appears during the course of discussion.
In January, the Assembly held eight discussions on:
Tradition One and Concept I, Review Of Unity PPP, OIAA WWW Outreach, Email Harassment, Trusted Servant, Right of Decision, Online Anonymity.
All posts and summaries of above topics are available in the business email list archives and within the OIAA Secretary's February report. Special Election OIAA alternate-Chair reached conclusion and Don W. was elected OIAA alt. Chair to complete the term of the previous alt. Chair (December 2010). Welcome, Don, and thank you for being of service to OIAA.
One motion has been put forward: that an ad-hoc committee for WWW OIAA Outreach should be created (see New Business within this month's agenda).
Thank you to Mike L. and Bob S. who shared on the Concept I and Tradition I, respectively. Both lead shares were excellent and led to some interesting discussion.
Special note for IGR's and Alt.-IGR's. Please try to find a way to make the agenda as well as committee reports, available to everyone in your group or meeting. While the entire group/meeting may not be interested in all items, there may be some individual members who will see something that will inspire them to join an OIAA committee or to join OIAA as a non-voting member.
Please, let's all stick to the February agenda as set out, noting the exception of Wacky Wednesday. The Open Forum may be used at anytime as a venue for off-topic sharing of ideas or off-agenda items of discussion. IGR's you will want to take the discussion topics back to your groups, particularly Coffee service at International Convention.
As always, the sharing of your thoughts, concerns, problems, etc., are welcome and may be directed to me privately.
4. Grapevine Representative's Report, Scott and Pam
We had 39 entries to this months grapevine drawing with weekly reminders sent on Sunday or Monday.
This months grapevine giveaway winner was Teresa
January's Issue
The stories in this issue's special section each describe a critical moment in the lives of AA members: the moment when they first knew, deep in their souls, that they were alcoholic, that they had an irreversible mortal illness. For some, like the author of "A drunk, pure and simple," it was a matter-of-fact realization, after years of hard drinking and hard living, that the party was over. "The party had been over for a long, long time." Peering into the window of an upscale bistro, it finally dawns on her: "I couldn't drink like these people, all refined and civilized. I was a drunk, pure and simple. I was powerless over alcohol." For others, like the author of "It could have been me," it was a shock of recognition that came in harrowing circumstances. "In an instant, I knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that alcohol would never be the solution again," he writes, describing what it was like to see the empty body of a frien
d who'd relapsed and thrown herself off a roof. "It was my moment of truth. She was the same as me, and this is where her alcohol solution took her."
For the author of "My turning point," it was the inexplicable moment when he stands up at a meeting, says his first name, and then despite himself stutters, "and I'm an alcoholic." He writes, 32 years later: "That admission was a life-changing proclamation." For the author of "A grander mission?" who's itching to do great things, it's the understanding of just what a profound thing it is to be sober. "When you think about it, this really is the greatest thing you could do with your life. Help another alcoholic."
I can't think of a more fitting topic for the beginning of the New Year.
Subscriptions to the Grapevine can be ordered here:
http://www.aagrapevine.org/catalog/shop/gvsuborder.php
The cost for a 1 year subscription is $27 for the USA, $31 for Canada and $39 for all other international orders.
Call for Articles: The AA Grapevine is your meeting. Please feel free to share. We are always looking for new stories to share with our readers, especially for our Special Sections. If you would like to share a story with us, please keep in mind that we need to receive it at least three months prior to publication. The Grapevine welcomes articles on every aspect of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous
We are always glad to get stories about helping others and working with professionals. In addition, we always welcome articles about the Traditions and the Twelve Steps. Suggested manuscript length is three to seven double-spaced pages. Include your full name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Please keep a copy of your work because manuscripts cannot be returned. Refer to our Submission Guidelines for more information.
Mail to:
Editorial department, Grapevine,
475 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10115
or by email to gveditorial@aagrapevine.org
5. Literature Committee Chair's Report, Sheila
The following are recipients of Big Books in January, (always a busy month)
1/7 - James - Chicago, IL - Webform
1/11 - Winnie - Cumberland, RI - Webform
1/23 - Lisa - Ft. Wayne, IN - Womens/WSL
1/24 - Annie - Australia - Webform
1/30 - Paul - Bloomington, MN - Webform
1/30 - Cindy - Southington, CT - Webform (Scott)
Please remember to offer a Big Book to the e-AA newcomers you meet!!
Here is a quote from a grateful customer: "Thank you for taking my order -- soon as the big book comes i will email you asap -- thank you." (and another) : Dear ms pat just to let you know i received my big book on Friday Jan 8th -- thank you very much."
Our Stories
Thank you to Karl who so graciously offered to write and post his story of hope in January. Tina C., who has just celebrated her 2nd AAniversary, promises that she is working on her story and we hope to post it in February. The new Webteam Chair, Bonnie, has stepped up and offered to learn how to post the individual stories into the forum. Thank you Webteam and thank you Dean and Ian for past services rendered.
6. Twelve Step Coordinator's Report, Todd
Thank you to members of Step-12 email list: Alex, Bonnie, Deb, Jenny, Russell G, Susan, Tina C.
If you would like read or respond to Get-Help-Now emails, please contact the list-keeper.
Talley Jan10
Requests: 107
e-AA Replies: 119
I am responsible . . .
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
I want the hand of A.A. always to be there.
And for that: I am responsible.
7. Email Coordinator's Report, Ian
January was a fairly quiet month in the email meetings, although activity is steady in the 12&12 meeting. Due to urgent offline
commitments, Michael stepped down as secretary of NB, so we are looking for a new secretary there. If anyone is interested, please contact me. We're also discussing how NB could best function to help the newcomer.
Discussion is ongoing, sporadically, about what to do with SV. One suggestion has been to create a "Lounge" meeting, perhaps similar to WL but open to all members of the group. This could be considered like a lounge area outside all our email meetings. We're open to feedback on this, particularly ideas about how such a list could be structured.
8. Forum Coordinator's Report, Juanita
The forums are active and operating soundly without disruption.
9. Links Editor's Report, Arlena
During the month of January we have added the following two links:
AA Oshawa Lakeshore Intergroup
8th Carolinas Spring Fling
The link to AA China (Shanghai) has been updated, and 20 bad links have been deleted.
Special thanks to Todd who has been very helpful in checking links and helping us to keep our links site current.
10. Listkeeper's Report, Trish O.
Things have been running smoothly in the listkeeping department.
--
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
http://www.e-aa.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/eNews/
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
http://www.e-aa.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?f=list&l=eNews
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at: newsroom@e-aa.org
Web site address:
The e-AA Group
PO Box 712073
San Diego, CA 92171
256-825-1919
http://www.e-aa.org
Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail
