Attendance: Beth B., Erin F., Gary S., Janey, Kathleen B. , Kerri L., Kristy M. , Liz F., Melinda S., Pam L.
Pam, acting as Alternate DCM, opened the meeting (June 11, 2017 at Boulder City Lost & Found) at 10:15 AM with the serenity prayer. Liz took minutes.
I. Pam read Joan’s email to the group, the contents of which are as follows:
Hi everyone,
Over the last few days, I have gotten some feedback from members of our district that concerns me. Unfortunately, I will be attending another training this weekend, so I will be unable to attend our meeting this Sunday, but I would like you to consider some of the following responses to these concerns.
Any decisions about money or finances, especially those that deal with our (as of now theoretical) budget should be set aside from committee reports and dealt with in New Business. The proposal should be stated in writing for that month and then voted on the following month. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we must also be prudent stewards of the donations our groups give to us. Our primary purpose is to support GSR and DCM attendance to assembly, so we need to make certain we have money for that before we do anything else. The District Treasurer should be consulted before any changes to our financial commitments occur. Of course group conscience prevails, but it should be an informed group conscience.
On that note, I also see in the minutes that someone was elected for a position, and that person was not present to accept or decline the nomination. According to Tradition Two, “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as he may express himself in our group conscience.” How can the person most directly involved be a part of the group conscience if they are not present? Volunteering a person who is not attending the meeting is presumptuous and disrespectful. If someone has to step down from a committee, that person should approach someone personally and directly and ask them to step in. If it is an elected officer, then we need to make nominations and hold the election at the following meeting.
Finally, if you read the minutes and find an issue of concern or something you disagree with, I beg of you to not complain to the Secretary. Don’t shoot the messenger! The appropriate action is to ask for your concern to be put on the Agenda for the next meeting and then the group can discuss it and apply informed group conscience to the issue.
Thank you for your passion and excitement for AA and General Service. I know you want the best for AA and our District, so I highly recommend that each of you read our District Guidelines, which I have attached to this email. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Yours in service,
Joan Robinson
There was discussion on this as to how the confusions occurred and to how the May minutes were adjusted, based on Joan’s comments.
II. Minutes: The District 1 May 2017 Minutes were approved.
III. Treasurer’s Report (Erin):
- Traditions workshop: There were 25 people in attendance and we collected $76.50 for the 7th After paying $22.50 for rent and $6.00 for coffee, we were left with $48, which was deposited into our checking account.
- As of today, we have a checking account balance of $939.01 and a savings account balance of $503.70 .
- Although this may seem like a lot of money, Erin is concerned about spending, since the Ad Hoc Finance Committee has not yet decided on a prudent reserve amount and we do have some large periodic expenses.
- Pam asked whether there is a minimum balance in checking/savings which we need to keep in order to avoid fees. Erin said there are no fees because we are non-profit.
- Erin is still having trouble accessing statements from the bank. We may want to obtain a Tax ID number and open an account at a new bank. This will be discussed at the Ad Hoc Finance Committee meeting.
IV. Committee Reports
A. Picnic (Kerri):
- Kerri received a $450 invoice from the DJ for the upcoming picnic (October 14 from 11AM to 4PM). We have not paid him anything yet.
- Kerri has the binder of picnic info and will use the 2016 shopping list as a guide. She will be in touch with Erin on this.
- Kerri will figure out where the picnic supplies (eg., coffee pot, coolers, etc.) are that we have used in the past.
B. Workshops (Kathleen):
- The next workshop is still scheduled for July 22, 2017, at the 51 Club from 2 to 4 pm. The topic is Safety in the Rooms. We still need speakers on safety. We will need to pay $55 up front ($30 for rent and $25 for cleaning), but then the 7th Tradition will be ours to keep.
- Some speakers are confirmed and the room is reserved. Although the district voted to look for alternate dates, the workshop chair cannot reschedule for July. We are blessed with a very active AA community and conflicts with other events are bound to happen. Rescheduling workshops that were already voted on and approved in a previous meeting is counterproductive. If the group is against the July date, then we will cancel the upcoming workshop and someone else can plan an event in August because Kathleen has other commitments in August.
- After Kathleen explained this, a motion to stick with the original date for the next workshop passed unanimously.
- Kathleen will try to find a venue for the November Workshop by the SAGSC meeting. Pam suggested the church on Valle Verde.
C. Archives (Kristy): There was no meeting last month. The District One Archives is pretty well set up. Can people please bring info from groups to this meeting? For example, any meeting changes, who founded the group, who were original members, etc.) Kristy will share all info with Area 42 Archives. And again, DON’T THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!
D. H&I (Steve): Steve was absent but Janey reported that all is well.
E. Grapevine (Liz): Liz was unable to go to the May meeting, so no report.
F. Hotline (Bobby): Bobby was absent but Gary reported that the Hotline is in very good shape! Our District One hotline commitments are filled for this year. Kristy will get our District One hotline sign up sheet from Libby.
G. PI/CPC (Janey): Janey was unable to attend the Founders Day event, but we had a table there. The PI/CPC meeting is tomorrow. Janey assumes that everything is on track and she believes that we are well represented at events. If anyone is interested in participating, please call Janey at 702-534-8530.
H. Intergroup (Jake): Jake was absent but he emailed that, since there has been no intergroup meeting since the last district meeting, there is no report. Kristy pointed out that anyone can get the Silver Streak on line for free. It lists intergroup and district events; the step, tradition and concept for each month; and the Intergroup phone call data. It was also brought up that Ken can make a flyer for any event and post it in the Silver Streak, and he can post any flyer that you make.
I. Accessibilities (Barbie): Absent, no report.
V. Old Business
A. District One proposal to SAGSC for PRAASA funding (Marita): Since Marita is not here, we will discuss this at that next meeting.
VI. New Business:
A. Proposal to record district one meetings for better notes: Kristy proposed recording our meetings for more accurate minutes. The issue of anonymity came up. Pam pointed out that SAGSC meetings are recorded. We need to look into the traditions on this issue.
B. November workshop:
- Discussion produced the weekend of November 4/5 as probably the best time for the workshop. Kathleen cannot do Sundays but if she gets a new co-chair a Sunday might be possible. Pam suggested that someone call people who are not here to see if that weekend will work for them. We will vote at the next meeting on it.
- Kathleen is exploring possible topics. Step 11? Spirituality? Discussion brought up the idea of getting lots of different views on spirituality. Kristy suggested getting people from intertribal meetings to speak. Someone else suggested getting the “Free Thinkers” (aka atheists?). Pam read the last two paragraphs of Bob’s Nightmare (“If you think you are….”) from the Big Book. Pam asked everyone to write down their ideas to discuss at the next meeting.
C. Alternate workshop chair: Although Claudia had expressed an interest in doing it, she is unable to do so. Kerri offered to do it! A motion for Kerri to be the new Alternate Workshop Chair passed unanimously.
D. Picnic Budget Estimate: Erin asked whether there exists a past picnic budget to give us some idea of what the expenses will be. Kerri has not found one. It was suggested that Kerri look at picnic notes from past minutes, which are posted on our website. Erin will also explore past treasurer notes and statements from Tom to see if she can find any useful info on past picnic expenses.