District 7 Workshop

Fostering a Healthy Homegroup

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May 2024

Agenda

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Active Engagement

• What is the GSO?

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• What is Intergroup?

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• Contribution breakdown….

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How the Group Fits into A.A.

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Active Engagement

• What is the link from

Groups . . .

Area . . .

General Service Office (GSO)?

General Service Office Overview

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GSO Overview

• The upside down triangle is a communication vehicle.

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• The communication starts and stops with the General Service Representative (GSR). If your group does not have a GSR then your group is not fully participating or is informed of what is happening at the General Service Board (GSB) or A.A. World Services (AAWS). Your group would not be a part of triangle as it wouldn’t be communicating or participating through the service structure.

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• This structure is the framework in which “general services” are carried out.

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• It is a powerful method by which A.A.’s collective group conscience can speak and put its desires for the conference-wide services into effect.

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• It is the structure that takes the place of government in Alcoholics Anonymous, ensuring that the full voice of A.A. will be heard and guaranteeing that the desired services will continue to function.

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GSO Overview

• Our conference structure provides constant communication throughout all elements of the structure.

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• A.A. groups are at the top of this upside-down triangle – meaning, your home group is the basic unit of A.A.

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• Group needs, attitudes and support determine the type and amount of service our General Service Office can render.

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• This structure allows each member of a group to have a voice and then allows each group to have a group conscience.

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GSO Overview

• Your group elects a General Service Representative (GSR) to represent it and make sure the groups wishes are heard at the District and Area levels.

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• This voice is part of the Delegate’s thinking at the Conference.

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• It is said that a GSR “may be the most important job in A.A.”

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• It is the GSR who keeps your group connected to A.A. as a whole.

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• There are more groups than districts in our Area so that’s why GSRs are the most important. They collectively have more votes and are a stronger voice than any other service position.

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GSO Overview

• Groups located near each other are organized into districts.

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• GSRs of these groups elect a District Committee Member (DCM), who becomes part of the Area Committee.

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• The DCM is exposed to the group conscience of that district.

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• As a member of the Area Committee, the DCM can pass on the District’s thinking to the Delegate and the Area Committee.

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GSO Overview

• BC/Yukon Area 79 holds four meetings per year.

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• The first one, held in January, is a Quarterly.

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• The second, in April, is the Pre-Conference Assembly. At this meeting, the Delegate can receive an “informed conscience” based on discussion with those present regarding the Agenda items for the General Service Conference. It is at this assembly that Districts bid to host upcoming Area events.

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• The third Area meeting, held in June, is another Quarterly.

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• The fourth, in September, is a Voting Assembly, at which motions are presented and voted on. The last Assembly in the second year of the term is a Voting and Election Assembly. This is when elections take place for the seven elected positions on the Area Committee.

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GSO Overview

• A schedule of Area meetings, along with detailed meeting information and an agenda package for the upcoming meeting, is posted under the Events/Quarterlies and Assemblies tab on our Area 79 website, www.bcyukonaa.org.

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• Districts take turns bidding to host these Assemblies and Quarterlies all over the BC/Yukon Area. When was the last time your district put in a bid to host a quarterly/assembly?

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• The next event is the June 25, 28-30 Quarterly. Are you coming?

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GSO Overview

• DCMs report to these Quarterlies and Assemblies, attending to all matters that have an effect on the Area itself or a direct impact on all the groups.

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• Issues, whether raised on the floor of an Assembly or coming out of the Area Committee process, are presented and ratified, rejected or revised by the Assembly.

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• We become informed about what is going on by attending these meetings, by sharing and discussing issues with others who are in a good position to have experience.

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• In this way, the Assemblies meet their purpose in strengthening A.A. as a whole by carrying our message in the best way possible. We are very grateful to have over 90% District participation in Area 79, with an average of 250 members attending these meetings.

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GSO Overview

Photo of the 63^rd Annual General Service Conference

• Our Delegate serves as a continuing link between Area 79 and the General Service Office (GSO) and General Service Board (GSB) by attending the General Service Conference and by maintaining the two-way communication. The same thing happens with all Areas in the structure.

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• At the Conference, Delegates review reports on activities of GSO and the GSB, and on service needs all over the world.

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• At the Conference, the Delegates consider and vote on all questions. Delegates bring to the deliberations the experience and viewpoints of their own Areas, yet not as representatives of their Areas, but as members of the Conference, whose duty it is to act in the best interests of A.A. as a whole.

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• Conference Advisory Actions that are referred to the Trustees (our General Service Board) are sent to the appropriate Trustees’ Committee, A.A. World Services (AAWS) or the A.A. Grapevine Board for implementation.

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GSO Overview

• The Delegate returns and reports back to Area 79.

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• The Delegate is very busy over the next few months, travelling all over the Area giving the Delegate’s Conference Report to any district or group that requests it.

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• The report can also be heard at the June Quarterly.

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• Have you scheduled a Delegate’s Report for your district?

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GSO Overview

The General Service Conference Structure of Committees

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• Our Area 79 Committee mirrors the General Service Conference to better prepare our Delegate for the Conference.

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• Our Area Committee is made up of the DCMs from all the 48 Districts plus the 14 Area officers.

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GSO Overview

Area Assemblies close up

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• The Area Committee is a vital A.A. service link in that, through its members, it is close to District and local affairs, and through the Delegate, it participates in A.A. worldwide.

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GSO Overview

BC/Yukon Area 79

Area Service Committee (ASC)

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• The Area Service Committee (ASC) reports to, and takes direction from, the full Area 79 Committee. It has 14 members, consisting of seven elected officers and seven appointed officers, who sit as chairs of designated Area Standing Committees. ASC members serve two-year terms on the same rotation schedule as the Conference Panel.

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• Your ASC is here to serve you. We will do all that we can to support you, your groups and your Districts in our shared efforts to fulfill A.A.’s life-saving primary purpose.

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GSO Overview

• Concept One states that “Final responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. World Services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.”

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• Bill W. went on to say, “The A.A. groups today hold ultimate responsibility and final authority for our world services — those special elements of overall service activity which make it possible for our Society to function as a whole.

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GSO Overview

So, what is the link?

YOU are the link!

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• Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous has a voice and that starts at the group level.

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• You don’t need to be a in service position like GSR, DCM, Area Committee Member, etc. to have a voice.

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• But, in order for your voice to be carried down the service structure (the upside-down triangle), it’s helpful to have a GSR or a “group contact” for your home group and a DCM for your district to ensure that the two-way communication happens down and back up the triangle.

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Break-out Sessions

• Breakout into groups (15 min)

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• Assign a recorder/reporter in each group

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• Answer questions as a group

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• Recorder/Reporter to share group answers (15 min)

Feedback/Input

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Active Engagement

• An A.A. service office that involves partnership among groups in a community.

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• Here are some of the services your local intergroup offers:
• Meeting Lists
• 12-Step Calls
• Literature
• Public Information
• Daytime Office Manager and Volunteers
• Web Site
• Special Event Information
• Referrals for community resources
• Custom requests (financial and technical consultation)

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• NOTE: Integroup exists to support the individual groups. Participation is key so that the collective voice is heard. If your group doesn’t have a Rep, find out why and join the team!

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Intergroup

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Contribution Disbursement

• Groups are autonomous and can determine their own distribution profile.

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• General suggestions are as follows:

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Where do your contributions go?

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Running a meeting

• Prepare mentally and physically
• Arrive early
• Check in with your higher power
• Be organized!
• Have your literature and readings ready

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• Guiding the meeting
• Start and end ON TIME
• Follow the theme of the meeting and keep folks on track
• Honour the meeting type (topic, speaker, step, etc.)
• Have some trusted servants to share when needed
• Positive message to the newcomer and ending the meeting are powerful

Meeting Types:

• Open vs Closed
• Discussion
• Speaker
• Beginner
• Step/Tradition
• Business
• Service
• Grapevine

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Running a meeting

• Guiding the meeting
• General communication guidelines:
• Look at members when they share
• Speak clearly
• Use names whenever possible
• Use sharing reflection when needed, but keep it short
• Try to avoid cursing
• Use spontaneous models for sharing versus following a path
• Remember to collect the 7^th (don’t count until after the meeting)
• Close with prayer/saying
• Don’t force hand holding, use judgement

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Running a meeting

• Meeting Wrap Up
• Ask for help cleaning up
• Don’t rush clean-up. Allow the ‘meeting after the meeting’ to happen and for additional fellowship
• Leave the room as clean or cleaner than you found it
• Thank your higher power

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• Things to avoid
• Engaging in controversary
• Offering advice or help
• Controling members
• Offering religious services or advice.

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Using Technology

• Benefits of a Hybrid Meeting
• Provides members and non-members easy access when conditions hinder in-person attendance (medical issues, weather, scheduling, etc.)
• Extends the reach of the group for member that move away but want to maintain their home group
• Adds a method to include non-members for cakes (i.e. family members)
• Adds a service opportunity to setup/takedown technology

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• Considerations of a Hybrid Meeting
• There is an additional technical responsibility
• Prepare for tech failures
• Prepare for potential disruptions
• Don’t forget the on-line folks when doing intros and sharing

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Using Technology

• Other technology benefits
• Setting up email transfer or Paypal benefit options
• Increase contributions for in-persona and hybrid members

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• Promote access to literature and resources
• See QR codes for Area 79 and MIIS resource libraries
• Email distribution group
• Shared drives for group related material

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Intergroup can assist with ALL of these!!!

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Interactive Feedback

• Literature
• Notes from Presenter

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• Signage (interior/exterior)
• Notes from presenter

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• Meeting etiquette
• Language/phrases to use
• Language/phrases to avoid

General Topics

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Resources

Literature Resources

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• Is Your Group Linked to A.A. as a Whole?
• The A.A. Service Manual and 12 Concepts for World Service
• GSR Infosheet
• GSR Kit
• GSR Handbook
• Area 79 Literature Tool app / QR Code
• The Twelve Traditions
• Everything AA app (not AA Conference-Approved Literature)

• The A.A. Group where it all begins
• Responsibility Statement
• Safety Card for A.A. Groups
• G.S.R. - General Service Representative
• A.A. Grapevine
• Box 4-5-9
• www.nanaimoaa.org
• www.bcyukonaa.org

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Wrap

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Feedback

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Are you ready?

Q & A

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