NORTH FLORIDA AREA AL-ANON / ALATEEN NEWSLETTER PANEL 52 The Legacy North Florida Area Website: www.northfloridaal-anon.org Chairperson: Wendy R. SERVICE UNITY RECOVERY Nov-Dec 2012 Volume-49/ Issue 4 TREASURER: CINDY J. Dear Family, Thank you to all who attended this past Assembly! We so appreciate your service to Al-Anon and the North Florida Area. Exciting things are happening! We have a new District 13, Venice to Punta Gorda, Sarasota County. They will now join North Florida Area #9. We will welcome them at AWSC and Assembly 2013. Our task and thought forces continue to work on Alateen, Position and Event Guidelines, AWSC Inventory and other issues that involve our Area and membership. We handed out the Area inventory at our past Assembly and our Inventory task force will compile the responses to share at Spring 2013 Assembly. Your opinions and ideas are im- portant to us, and we are always looking for ways to improve and to make the Assembly experience (business of Al-Anon) as well commu- nicated, rewarding and interesting as possible (attraction not promotion!) As always I am humbled to be a trusted servant participating in a “group conscience” that is always seeking the best for our fellowship. My personal growth is always en- hanced when I take an active part in the growth of Al-Anon. Love in Service, Wendy R. North Florida Chairperson AFG Panel 52 "Communicate Recovery!" Thank you all for a wonderful Fall Assembly. I really appreciate your attention, your questions and your support! As we go back to our Districts and our Groups, with a Budget approved for 2013 here are some questions to pon- der. As you come up with answers, please share them with me! What can I do to help illumi- nate the service structure and show how these voluntary contri- butions are necessary to the future of Al-Anon as a whole? Do I need more information about how any particular part of the Budget works? What are my Group’s biggest concerns about money? Are there misunderstandings at the personal, Group and Dis- trict Level that the Area Treasurer can help untangle? FINANICAL PERSPECTIVE: LOOKING AHEAD Some of the budget items we will be discussing and working with at the upcoming AWSC and beyond include: NFA Guidelines for Reim- bursements NFA organization of Hospi- tality at AWSC and Assembly Generating interest and en- thusiasm for SPOP (Special Public Outreach Projects) Making time and procedures to deal with the business side of North Florida Area. MY PERSPECTIVE: REACHING IN AND REACHING OUT Reaching in – to me this is about con- necting with individual members, Groups and Districts so that people feel connected to the Area and sup- ported by the Area. Are the reports getting back? Is the free literature get- ting distributed? Do Groups know about the various projects and re- sources that are available? How can we make this reaching in process more meaningful and worthwhile to our members? Reaching out – this is where we prac- tice Step 12 and Tradition 5 by taking our recovery and our program to those who are not members but who suffer the effects of someone else’s drinking. How can we support the efforts of individuals, Groups and Dis- tricts as they reach out in their geo- graphic locations? How can we make our Area meetings more accessible? Are there new ways of doing things that are in harmony with our Lega- cies? Do I carry the message by feel- ing the support and connection to Area (and through Area to WSO)? People are the point. Whether the people are our members, or whether they are people who still suffer with- out recovery. Our financial resources are really here to support the connec- tive process of Step 12 and Tradition 5 … where we try to carry the message to others, and practice these princi- ples in all our affairs. Call me, email me, text me. I want to hear from you. I want to help! Cindy J. NFA Panel 52, Area Treasurer 1700 N. Monroe Street, Suite 11-120 Tallahassee, FL 3303 NFAtreasurer @ live.com
Transcript
NORTH FLORIDA AREA AL-ANON / ALATEEN NEWSLETTER PANEL 52
The Legacy
North Florida Area Website: www.northfloridaal-anon.org
Chairperson:
Wendy R.
SERVICE
UNITY
RECOVERY
Nov-Dec 2012
Volume-49/ Issue 4
TREASURER: CINDY J.
Dear Family,
Thank you to all who attended this
past Assembly! We so appreciate your
service to Al-Anon and the North
Florida Area.
Exciting things are happening! We
have a new District 13, Venice to
Punta Gorda, Sarasota County. They
will now join North Florida Area #9.
We will welcome them at AWSC and
Assembly 2013.
Our task and thought forces continue
to work on Alateen, Position and
Event Guidelines, AWSC Inventory
and other issues that involve our
Area and membership.
We handed out the Area inventory at
our past Assembly and our Inventory
task force will compile the responses
to share at Spring 2013 Assembly.
Your opinions and ideas are im-
portant to us, and we are always
looking for ways to improve and to
make the Assembly experience
(business of Al-Anon) as well commu-
nicated, rewarding and interesting as
possible (attraction not promotion!)
As always I am humbled to be a
trusted servant participating in a
“group conscience” that is always
seeking the best for our fellowship.
My personal growth is always en-
hanced when I take an active part in
the growth of Al-Anon.
Love in Service,
Wendy R. North Florida Chairperson AFG Panel 52 "Communicate Recovery!"
Thank you all for a wonderful Fall Assembly. I really appreciate your attention, your questions and your support!
As we go back to our Districts and our Groups, with a Budget approved for 2013 here are some questions to pon-der. As you come up with answers, please share them with me!
What can I do to help illumi-nate the service structure and show how these voluntary contri-butions are necessary to the future of Al-Anon as a whole?
Do I need more information about how any particular part of the Budget works?
What are my Group’s biggest concerns about money?
Are there misunderstandings at the personal, Group and Dis-trict Level that the Area Treasurer can help untangle?
FINANICAL PERSPECTIVE: LOOKING AHEAD Some of the budget items we will be discussing and working with at the upcoming AWSC and beyond include:
NFA Guidelines for Reim-bursements
NFA organization of Hospi-tality at AWSC and Assembly
Generating interest and en-thusiasm for SPOP (Special Public Outreach Projects)
Making time and procedures to deal with the business side of North Florida Area.
MY PERSPECTIVE: REACHING IN AND REACHING OUT Reaching in – to me this is about con-
necting with individual members, Groups and Districts so that people feel connected to the Area and sup-ported by the Area. Are the reports getting back? Is the free literature get-ting distributed? Do Groups know about the various projects and re-sources that are available? How can we make this reaching in process more meaningful and worthwhile to our members?
Reaching out – this is where we prac-tice Step 12 and Tradition 5 by taking our recovery and our program to those who are not members but who suffer the effects of someone else’s drinking. How can we support the efforts of individuals, Groups and Dis-tricts as they reach out in their geo-graphic locations? How can we make our Area meetings more accessible?
Are there new ways of doing things that are in harmony with our Lega-cies? Do I carry the message by feel-ing the support and connection to Area (and through Area to WSO)? People are the point. Whether the people are our members, or whether they are people who still suffer with-out recovery. Our financial resources are really here to support the connec-
tive process of Step 12 and Tradition 5 … where we try to carry the message to others, and practice these princi-ples in all our affairs. Call me, email me, text me. I want to hear from you. I want to help! Cindy J. NFA Panel 52, Area Treasurer 1700 N. Monroe Street, Suite 11-120 Tallahassee, FL 3303 NFAtreasurer @ live.com
P A G E 2 T H E L E G A C Y
delegate:
Terry K.
When I was first in Al-Anon I’d occa-sionally hear the Group Representa-tive talk about something called Conference. I didn’t pay much atten-tion then, but now that I’m your
trusted servant at the World Service Conference, I have a slightly different view! Here’s how it came about and how it works. As Dr. Bob fell ill, Bill began to worry about the future of the AA fellowship. He feared that newer members might dilute the program that had been so
successful. At the time AA was guided by a General Service Board. Bill worried that the board might become disconnected from the groups. Bill’s answer was a General Service Conference. As Al-Anon grew, we faced the same problems. By this time the Clearing-house had become the World Service
Office. Lois suggested a Conference for us. Up until that time, anything that needed deciding was either left to the World Service Office, or was forwarded to all the groups to decide. This had worked when there were fewer groups, but we’d long out-grown the process. In 1960, 400 Al-Anon members, attending the AA convention in Long Beach Califor-nia approved plans for a conference
fashioned after AA’s General Service Conference. It was to be made up of Delegates from the areas, the Board of Directors, Advisory Board and members of the WSO staff. There is always a ratio of 2/3 +1 delegates to all other members of the conference. The first World Service Conference was held in 1961. One-third of the Areas sent Delegates. A second Third
was added the next year and the last group was added in 1963. Each “Panel” would last for three years, so there’d be some “long timers” around to help the newcomers. Florida was admitted to the confer-ence as one Area. Well not really one geographical area, because the
western part of the panhandle, which was in the central time zone, had been made part of Alabama, when AA set up their areas. So of course we followed AA’s lead.
I always say that the service structure of Al-Anon is an upside down pyra-mid. Everything else is there to sup-port the groups.
Groups were to be the basic building block on top - “the Boss” of Al-Anon.
The groups made their wishes known through area Assemblies.
Once a year a World Service Conference would meet to discuss ideas and problems and bring forward questions by the groups at Assemblies.
In between Assemblies, Dis-trict meetings would allow the groups to handle local situations.
And here’s the real key: each level is a group conscious, where the ultimate authority is a Loving
God. The World Service Conference is the largest group conscious but it’s done in the same spirit as the group con-scious you have in your home group. Terry K. Panel 52
ALT. Delegate:
Shelley C.
Hello North Florida!
As your Forum Coordinator, I am ask-ing for your help. Group Representa-tives (GRs), how have you, as the
Forum Representative for your group, encouraged readership and subscrip-tions? In Al-Anon our strength has always been to reason things out and share our experience. I am sure there are groups and GRs in North Florida who have been very successful with this challenge. Those who still strug-gle would like to hear your strength
and hope. Please send me your ideas so I can share them with the rest! As of April 2012 there were 1.6 subscrip-tions per group in the state of Florida. That means for every two groups, on-
ly three members subscribe. How can we work together to help the Forum continue to be the voice of the fellow-ship? Here are a few ideas that I found on the Forum Coordinator’s e-community:
Base a meeting each week on a
sharing from The Forum.
Pass a basket around for dona-
tions. When you have $11, draw a name and give that person a subscrip-tion.
Collect or purchase old Forums
and include them in newcomer packets.
Invite the Alternate Delegate, me!,
to conduct a Forum writing work-shop.
Buy extra Forums and sell them to
members in the group. After the above request for ideas in my original report for Assembly, I was soooo excited to receive more great ideas from YOU! I will still report on any additional ideas I receive from our strong membership, so please con-tinue to send them in. Here are more
ways you can encourage readership and writings to the Forum magazine in your groups and districts:
The Forum is placed on the
monthly District meeting agenda. The Alternate District Representative gives a plug for the Forum at the beginning
of very District meeting. The District Representative brings a copy of the most recent Forum to the District meeting and members read various Forum articles, especially the articles written on the Tradition and Concept of the month.
Place paid membership subscrip-
tions in raffle baskets for special events in the District such as Gratitude Dinner, Day of Workshops, etc.
Hold a group conscience to
approve a drawing for a free subscrip-tion quarterly.
A member shares: “I chaired a
meeting from an article in the January
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 4 9 / I S S U E 4
2010 Forum titled "Lessons to learn from a penny - my Al-Anon token", page 6. I let everyone pick a penny out of the container (I had carefully picked pennies dated over many
years). It was amazing how our "Higher Power" selected just the right penny for each one. I read the article and then asked each member to reflect on the date on the penny regarding their life and then to share how the program had helped them in their recovery. The last paragraph in the article stated, "Now, whenever I see a penny and pick it up, I get more than a day's luck. I put a little bit of
program into my pocket."
Bring the latest Forum to the
group and mention the subscription form in the back. Provide extra copies of the subscription form on the litera-ture table.
At group meetings pass around a
copy of the Forum Sharing Sheet to encourage members to share in writ-ing, by e-mail, or on-line
At a District meeting the Al-Anon
Information Service Liaison (AISL) read an article from the October 2012 issue of The Forum, page 27, "Congratulations to all the groups!" by the WSO Group Records Coordinator. She thanked the Group Records Chair-person for an excellent job in keeping records up-to-date and shared that
the magazine is full of articles relating to service in the program since the Conference Theme is "Our Spiritual Journey - We Get As We Give."
I encourage you to choose just one of
these ideas to implement in your
group or district. Then let me know
how it goes!
Love in Service, Shelley C. Alternate Delegate Panel 52 N FL Communicate Recovery
Alateen:
Bobbi M.
Hope all of you enjoyed our Fall Assembly as much as I did. It’s always good for me to see familiar faces, and
great to see new ones too! Did everyone get a notice that there were Alateen members in attendance? Thank you for coming “teens,” and thank you to those that brought them
~ Keep Coming Back!
Communication is surely a good mot-to for our Panel 52. After Assembly’s acceptance of District “130” of South Florida Area to join North Florida Area
on a trial basis the phone calls and emails are on going. World Service Office has been contacted for guid-ance with regard to record pro-cessing. District “130” has shared that it is their choice to be District 13 in name. Contact has been made with “District 13’s” District Representative and Alateen Chair; we are in the plan-ning of a schedule for record ex-change. Thank you to neighboring
Districts who have volunteered to schedule training/orientation sessions for “District 13” members to attend. More on this venture as it comes about, and welcome to our new
District!
Saying this again, I continue to be educated by E-communities, the World Service Office site for Area Officers, Coordinators, and District Officers. Recently E-community opened up a site which allows our District Representatives to view their District only Al-Anon Member In-volved in Alateen (AMIAS) members as well as any registered Alateen
groups in their own Districts. The Ar-ea Delegate, Area Alateen Process Person (AAPP), and Area Alateen Coordinator will be able to view all Districts information ~ How exciting is this!! The site is still under construc-
tion, and is a “read only” site.
If you haven’t visited our North Flori-da Area web site please consider do-ing so. Districts, who have plans of training/orientation sessions, please post your news; please no “personal” information such as phone number, or home addresses. Plans are under-way to post questions of what “your” District does and is doing to “communicate” the program of
Alateen to your community, and with-
in your Districts.
The Alateen TASK Force continues it assigned project of background checking for our Al-Anon Member Involved in Alateen Service (AMIAS) members. Thank you to this commit-
tee for your willingness to share your information and knowledge. Let it be known, any District who wants fur-ther information on this, please con-
tact me.
Thank you all for allowing me to serve you, your District, and most of all, thank you Alateen for being here for
me as I am for you.
Love in Service,
Bobbi M. Panel 52
NFA09 Area Alateen Coordinator
Newsletter
“The Legacy”:
Janet o.
Hello North Florida,
I thoroughly enjoyed the Fall
Assembly and look forward to wel-
coming our new District 13 at AWSC
next year. Area business was com-
pleted in a timely manner, as well as,
efficiently. However, I’m still asking
the same question: Are your groups
getting and reading “The Legacy” newsletter? Your groups need the
information coming from our current
Area Panel 52, as well as, information
that is reported from our Delegate to
the World Service Office. Ask your
Group Representative to get a copy
from your District Representative.
Members. Group Representatives
can also download and print “The Legacy” off the North Florida Area
Let’s fill that empty chair! Recently I visited a Trauma hospital with a friend who had an accident. Alcoholism was very apparent in
some of those who were suffering in the facility. Wow! What a great place to leave our literature. Yes, the people in the Emergency room and Intensive Care staff loved the literature, and the nursing staff on the floors enjoyed the Referral pads too. Keep sharing Al-Anon wherever HP sends you. When they do arrive, do we welcome newcomers?
1. Have a regular greeter in the
group. 2. Set aside a Welcome Home Chair
for them.
A pillowcase fits over the back of a chair. Be colorful. Create an exciting welcome message. Decorate your chair with signs, slo-gans, steps, etc. 3. Most groups give Beginners pack-
ets. 4. Some groups even give them a
book. How does your group say Welcome Home?
What do alcohol, suicide, substance abuse, and bullying have in common? Go to www.samhsa.gov then click to the home page and treatment loca-tors. To my surprise within 10 miles of my house there are 20 facilities and
within 25 miles there are 45 treatment centers. November is the month to focus on National Strategies for Sui-cide Prevention, health reform etc. December is one of the hardest months for Alcoholic families. ACOA’s
will tell you stories of their holidays, just ask them. Be courageous—leave literature @ Hospitals, doctors offices, counselor’s
offices, newspapers and your libraries. These places are fertile ground for Public Outreach activities. What’s your district’s Public Outreach Project? Tell me, I love to brag so keep me updated. As I read the reports from each District, I realized a small summation might reinforce us and give us ideas as we share our achieve-ments. Al-Anons visit libraries, schools,
health fairs, churches, jails, newspaper offices, YMCAs, treatment centers, AA meetings, bus stops, etc. with enthusi-asm and literature. How about you? Our Thought Force for Public Out-reach appreciates your other PO ideas! If you have any ideas that are different—and you are able to “ think outside the box” let us know your ide-
as. Ideas that were generated and are being investigated – literature for Bike week, focusing on getting referral pads to counselors in the VA hospi-tals, ads on billboards, ads on bus stops, educating teachers just to name a few of the 15+ ideas. PO Thought Force--Ann Q (7), Cham B (6 )., Sue M ( 11 ), Rod C (1), Michel S ( 10), Freddi T (GIP 6) & Nancy G FROG--- Fully Relying On God,
Ann Q., Your NFA P.O.
Welcome- we have been saving chair for you.
WebSITE:
Shelly F.
In recent years the internet has
changed the way we do a lot of
things. It has become natural for peo-
ple to search for goods and services
online. Maintaining our website’s visi-
bility high in the top 3-5 search results
ensures that people will find us easily.
The next time you are on the internet,
just for fun, type your city and “Al-
Anon” into the address bar and see
what the new person at your meeting
would find. It never hurts to put your-
self in the newcomer’s shoes every
once in a while to see where you
stand. People come to our district and area
websites for many different reasons,
and they arrive from a variety of
sources. But once they find us, what
are they looking for? How do they
know they are in the right place?
Does what we have to say make any
sense to them? Satisfying all of this
uncertainty in the few seconds that a
first time visitor affords us is quite a
challenge.
Online communication is not like the
face-to-face interaction taking place at
our meetings. Although by reading
the experience, strength and hope of
members who have been where they
are, visitors are likely to identify what
they are feeling. Incorporating articles
from The Forum into our area website
may prove to validate why they are
reaching out for help. By attraction we
may compel others to take action and
get to a meeting.
How can you take action? I am glad
you asked. We need someone
who’s willing to make this happen; to
read the monthly Forum magazine or
check the articles published on the
WSO members’ site and then cut and
paste a selection into the WordPress
editor. It can be done once a month
or at your own pace, as long as the
chosen article is reprintable with WSO
permission. Come be a part of our
wonderful Web Team!
Of course you can also be the person sharing your unique experience with The Forum. Go to www.al -anon.alateen.org/members/sharingsheets.php for more information on how to submit your thoughts. Whichever
way you communicate your recovery, whenever “anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, let the hand of Al-Anon
held in Cocoa Beach, FL NFA Assembly held in Ocala, FL
before moving to Orlando, FL
WSO Thought Force for Guideline 30
ARCHIVE STORAGE UNIT:
Our storage area is much too warm
now! We have moved it to the
second floor of main building Metro
Self Storage, 4216 Gunn Hwy, Tampa,
33618; Thursday, August 16, 2012.
STORAGE OF MATERIAL FOR ‘ALL’
AREAS.
The WSO suggested ways for us to
store our “valuables”:
Please keep all material in a cool, dry
place. It is important to put all material
in acid-free sheets, heavy-duty plastic
boxes; photo albums; binders and add
inventory lists with all items that are
included with copies of disks, which
are marked.
Items should be conspicuously dated
and marked on the front, side and
back, i.e. binders — A collection of (all)
World Service Conference Summaries,
etc.
A committee is the best way to work
with Archive Material—request help—
note paper passing around asking for
VOLUNTEERS.
Need storage shelves immediately -
NFA.
Inventory lists always needed. Re-
quest help! (Last inventory for NFA
Archives 1979).
Other items to keep, i.e.:
WSO/AWS all newsletters, district
newsletters, memorabilia, souvenirs,
programs/books of past conventions,
conference materials, where and
when (old and new).
PLEASE make sure there is a disk of
the information with each ‘item’ from
this date 8/18/2012 forward, and use
flash drives too in order to protect our
valuable past and present, which can
handle groups of information….please.
It has been recommended from WSO
that all areas of information be saved
on a flash drive in a separate location.
Please include Groups, Districts, Area.
Newsletters, Where and When, Fly-
ers—All event flyers, anything you
worked on and are proud of.
Recordings and artifacts which are of
historical significance to Al-Anon in
North Florida, District, WSO (please
keep). Anything that gives clues to
“how we did it or how we do it” is
archival material.
Relevant correspondence.
Long-timers’ Questionnaires, Group
History Forms, story of any group.
Conference information from present
and previous delegates, reports, etc.
Items should be conspicuously dated
and marked on the front, side and
back if possible, i.e. 3-ring binders.
A committee is recommended (and
most welcome), redundant.
Collect, preserve, and organize infor-
mation, including inventories.
Items to keep for example:
WSO/AWS newsletters, memorabilia
souvenirs, programs of past conven-
tions, conferences.
Coordinator Reports.
Directories; world and area.
Minutes of AWSC and Assemblies
meetings, which is already in effect i.e.
(motions indexed separately for quick
reference) NFA ahead of the game.
A copy of CAL literature, especially
those that may no longer be availa-
ble…what a great find!.
AA ANNUAL NATIONAL ARCHIVES
WORKSHOP:
This year’s Conservation, Preservation
& Display Chair for the National AA
Archives workshop…on behalf of this
year’s committee for the 16th
Annual
National A.A. Archives Workshop was
held October 4th
thru the 7th
at the
International Palms Resort & Confer-
ence Center in Cocoa Beach Florida.
They have extended an invitation to
the North Florida AFG Archives to
participate with their Archives displays
at this year’s event and learn about
the proper way to treat Archives. I
spoke with many Al-Anon Archivists
across the US who confirmed the
need for this particular workshop and
what it has meant to every attendee. I
attended with Terry F. Others that
at tended were Carolyn H. —
Jacksonville; and Al-Anon Archives,
Arkansas.
NFA AL-ANON "COLORS" CONVEN-
TION; AA ANNUAL NATIONAL AR-
CHIVES WORKSHOP; AND OCTOBER
12-14 ASSEMBLY:
I prepared an Archives “Table of Infor-
mation” from the Area Districts that
included the following:
1. Previous Conventions or events.
2. Extra Al-Anon Books, Pam-
phlets, The Forum (new or old)...like a
lovely blanket.
a. Writings by members from NFA
found in CAL.
3. Items in all Districts' archives stor-
age and GR Groups that repre-
sent the meaning of the principles of
the Al-Anon and Alateen program or
new items.
4. Any item that makes your District
stand out; which helps make NFA and
Al-Anon/Alateen a viable and worth-
while organization.
5. A clear copy of the NFA division
district map dated Panel 34. Effective
Panel 52--October 14, 2012, District
13 has been added on a 3-year trial
basis.
6. Some type of information repre-
sentative of our Spanish groups or any
other language groups.
7. Some type of job material repre-
sentative of any position that is held
now or has been held -- within Al-
Anon guidelines.
V O L U M E 4 9 / I S S U E 4 P A G E 5
8. Al-Anon guidelines old or new that
can be compared.
9. Al-Anon related Art work, pictures
of Lois and Ann.
10. Previous and present Delegates'
Reports and any books that represent
the conference.
11. Information about individual
groups — particularly it's beginning
story.
DIVISION OF FLORIDA NORTH AND
SOUTH — APPROVED 1987—Delegate
Installed 1988
ARCHIVES VISION WRITTEN By Lois W., October 12, 1986 “We have an archives in part to pro-vide a record of our development for future historians…but also because, as time passes and our Fellowship con-tinues to grow and expand, we find ourselves further and further away from the events of our past…we must be assured that the facts will always be available to guard against a misun-derstanding of what has taken place.” Cham B.,
Archives Coordinator
NFA Panel 52
Literature:
DI T.
GROUP
RECORDS:
TONI C.
T H E L E G A C Y P A G E 6
Since the last report there are still only approximately 525 submissions for intimacy in ALCOHOLIC RELATION-SHIPS (working title): Again sharing's from men, parents, siblings, gays, and
lesbians are especially needed if it is to express the diversity of our fellowship and its experiences. How Al-Anon Works (B22, B32): The latest printings of both the hard cover and soft cover editions of How Al-Anon Works now include a full description of “Didn’t cause, Can’t cure, Can’t control” (known by some as the “Three Cs”). It can be found on
pages 16-17 of hardcover printings that have the number “11-11” in the bottom left corner of the copyright page, and in soft cover printings that have the number “12-2.” While the Literature Committee agreed that making this small addition to the book has value, it in no way invalidates pre-vious copies of the book sold over the last 17 years. The Committee felt the
new wording would be helpful, but that does not mean it is essential. CAL Sample Chapter: Each quarter WSO posts a Sample Chapter of Con-ference Approved Literature on both the Public Outreach site, www.al-anon.org and the Members’ site, www.al-anon.org/members. This quarter it is a chapter from Opening Our Hearts, Transforming Our Losses
(B-29). “CAL Corner”: Each month, the “CAL Corner” feature in The Forum includes members’ sharing’s on how a parti-cular piece of our literature has enhanced their recovery. Remember when you open a page of CAL you always get what you need.
Hello to everyone, Attending the recent Fall Assembly re-energized me as a D.R. as our Attend-
ance for my first year as a D.R. was again 20 members. Even though not all our Chair positions are filled at the District level, our members who sup-port the District at our Assembly has increased from maybe 4 or 5 mem-bers to 20. As a D. R., I am very grate-ful for this support. We are planning for our Gratitude Luncheon Saturday November 10,
2012 and a lot of excitement is in the air. I believe the crisp weather may have something to do with this! Some members have approached me in regard to having a Holiday party, and I am looking forward to this Holi-day fellowship as plans are in the works. I will have some details later and will forward the information to
the other Districts. Our Alateen program is getting lots of attention even though we do not have a Chairperson at this time. We will be having an A.M.I.A.S. training meeting February 2, 2013 in Inver-ness. A flyer will go out to the Districts and to the N.FL. Alateen chair per-
sons. We will be adding at least 2 A.M.I.A.S. meetings in 2013 after our District Meetings, for fellowship and resolving issues. We will encourage a (How can I help plan?) at this time. A
new evening Alateen meeting is possi-ble for our Pasco County area as dis-cussion has come up. Members are looking into opening beginner meetings in our District as there is much need in this area. Our District will be doing letters to Doctors along with a packet of infor-mation and Where & Whens for our
Public Outreach project for November 2012. Yes, we are growing in service and ideas! I look forward to the upcoming year. Love in Service, Sharon N. (District 5) Communicate Recovery
Greetings: It doesn't seem possible that we have held five District meetings this year and that the year is almost over. The
average attendance at these meet-ings is about 28 people. District 6 offered $100.00 Grants to Alateens from our District so that they might attend the recent Convention in Melbourne. One took advantage of it. We have 46 active groups and one Alateen group in the district. The two
newest meetings in the Villages are well attended and we hope to be able to start more as the area grows in population. Our Thursday night “Hope & Recovery” group has moved its location to the Community United Methodist Church in Fruitland Park. The District Gratitude Dinner is being planned for March 2013 by the
District 5 Rep:
SHARON N.
District 6 Rep:
EVA N.
Winter Park Winners AFG. The date of the event will be forthcoming. Our District remains financially solvent and we are grateful to all those who
support us. District 6 Public Outreach participated in Lake County Health Fair in Eustis on October 20, 2012. We manned a table acting as a resource and passing out pamphlets, etc. The Fair was very well attended. It is the first of its kind in Lake County. We were graciously wel-comed and obtained leads to future Health Fairs. There were many visitors
to our table. Lots of meeting lists passed out. In addition, we will pro-vide a Literature Table at the AA Cen-tral Florida Intergroup Gratitude Din-ner in November. This is being coordi-nated by our LDC and AA Liaison. Our chair positions of LDC, Website, W&W and Archives are strong. We are weak in Newsletter, Alateen and Pub-
lic Outreach — needing Chair People in these positions. We requested, at our last District Meeting, that the GR’s canvass their groups to see if there were any members interested in these service positions. Even though we do not have an Alateen Chairperson it is expected that we will have a new Alateen Meet-ing in Fruitland Park in the late fall.
There are two members who have been trained willing to sponsor a new meeting. We brought one GIP to the AWSC Meeting in August and one to Fall Assembly. This is to continue to en-courage people in our District to learn about the NFA and AWSC. This builds a healthy service base for the District and we will continue this practice.
Wishing you all Peace and Serenity. Eva N. DR #6
REMEMBER
“WHEN WE GET BUSY
WE GET BETTER”
SERVICE WORKS!
P A G E 8
District 7 Rep:
ANA D.
Hello everyone!
I’m Ana D. Q., your District Represent-
ative for District #7. The Fall Assembly
was my first as DR. Melanie B’s first
Assembly as Alt. DR, and Ginny B.’s
first Assembly as AISL! We have made
it through many changes over the
past 4 months and with flying colors.
Our District is very resilient and com-
mitted to service and I’m very grateful
to everyone for all their wonderful
work!
We hold our District meetings every
month and this year we’ve had any-
where from 24-45 GR’s in attendance.
At our Sept. 8th District meeting we
had 32 GR’s and 2 visitors in attend-
ance. At our Oct. District meeting, we
had 24 GR’s and 3 visitors.
We continue to practice the Area slo-
gan “ Communicate Recovery” when-
ever possible in our verbal as well as
written communications. It is very
important to the success of our District
to be aware of how we communicate
with one another in service and be-
yond.
Currently, our district has 45 regular
meetings and eight Beginner Meet-
ings for a total of 53 groups. We also
have ten Alateen Meetings, and a con-
tinued effort is being made to reach
out to teens in the community. Our
District meeting address is: Largo Alli-
ance Church, 1633 Lake Avenue NE,
Largo, FL
My goal is to visit all of the groups in
our District along with the Alternate
District Representative, Melanie B.
over the next 2 + years. I think it’s im-
portant that the groups are aware
that the District fully supports them
and will also help them if requested. I
recently attended a meeting at my
home group. (I had previously visited
this meeting with our Alt. DR to see
how the District could help them be-
cause they did not have a GR or Alt.
GR or CMA). I again mentioned the
importance having a GR and CMA
and the possibility of the group’s sta-
tus being designated “Inactive,” and
what that meant. A concerned mem-
ber raised her hand cautiously and
volunteered to be GR. She is also a
fairly new member and I took her un-
der my wing, and the next day she
was at her first District meeting. I can
really see the importance of the Dis-
trict visiting groups and the positive
impact we can have on groups.
I also have ideas of how we as a
District can better connect with our
Area in between Assembly and AWSC
meetings. I will be sharing these ideas
during our upcoming Panel meetings
as more will be revealed...
We are also holding monthly District
Panel meetings which are held a
week or two before the District meet-
ing. This way, we can discuss or hash
things out before the District meeting
and not during the District meeting.
We also discuss the agenda for the
upcoming meeting and I encourage
everyone’s input.
We have a District suggestion box
which we place on the front table
during District meetings. We (our
panel) review and discuss the sugges-
tions, during a 15 minute break. Our
Alt. DR., Melanie B. reads them and
presents the panel’s decision of
whether we can utilize the sugges-
tions. We (our panel) want our Chair
people, GR’s, Alt. GR’s, to know that
we are listening and are considering
all their suggestions.
We formed a committee to design a
poster for the LDC Area Archives Pro-
ject for 2012 NFA Convention & AA
Archives Convention. Elizabeth W.
was Chairperson of this project and
formed a committee. We learned that
District #7 was the first District in all of
Florida to have an LDC (Literature
Distribution Center). This information
was very helpful in helping the com-
mittee to design this poster. They did
a super job and the poster really por-
trayed in detail, the history of our
LDC. CAL, our handmade Literature
doll, and bookworm -- that were
made by Ruthie -- were placed next to
the poster which really made the
poster extra special! Such talent we
have in our District! We also had 4
volunteers that presented workshops
at the NFA Al-Anon Colors of Recov-
ery Convention. Thanks to Beth C,
Julie H., Renee E., and Anne A. who
did a wonderful job!
We finally filled our Web Coordinator
position, and we have one position
left - Archivist. Our past Archivist will
work with anyone and accompany
anyone to the storage unit who is
interested in learning more.
Yours in Service, Ana Q. District Representative District #7 / Panel #52
District 9 rep:
JILL O’B.
District 9 had 7 GR’s, the DR & AISL at the Fall Assembly. We are excited to have the Assembly moving to the Orlando area next year. It will be clos-er for us and hopefully we will have
even more GR’s in attendance.
Since our last report the following
things have taken place in District 9:
After our Treasurer had to resign due to her husband’s job change and hav-ing to move, we now have a new
Treasurer in place, and she is ready to
begin her new responsibilities!
Public Outreach continues to impress. More health fairs attended and a large Outreach Project for September Re-covery Month is still under way - 400 AFA’s and Where and When’s were given to groups to take to Profess-
ionals in our area.
The Spanish speaking AFG in Haines City has closed. It has been a difficult process due to not speaking the same language. I had tried to attend the meeting hoping to have some com-munication but was unable to find the meeting. Our Public Outreach chair, Where & When chair & Webmaster had spent a lot of time translating in-
formation and reformatting things for our Spanish community, and then a couple of weeks later we found out it
had closed up.
District 9 did four workshops at the Convention this year. Being a part of that I can say that I watched as others
T H E L E G A C Y
P A G E 9
found healing and spiritual growth and I am thrilled to have been able to
have experienced that myself.
We did not have any volunteers to host our Gratitude Dinner this year. As a District we voted to follow the actions of WSO and NFA and create a District appeal letter that will be read to all the groups at three meetings in November. We are trusting that our members will show their gratitude and donations will increase District
funds.
Our Holiday Party is being planned for December 8
th, after our District
meeting.
We held an AMIAS training session in our District on November 3
rd, 2012.
Marilu did the training – 3 received
the training.
There is talk of a couple of new meet-ings starting in Polk County. I am ex-cited to see progress being made. A meeting place seems to be the big-
gest obstacle at this time.
We have begun talking about our
Spring Workshops. Several GR’s will be talking to their groups about plan-
ning and hosting this event.
Continuing to Communicate Recovery,
Jill O’B. DR and
Betty C. AISL
District 10
rep:
Michel s.
Greetings and Salutations from Dis-trict 10. We are excited to be the new home of the North Florida Area and looking forward to all the new changes.
Fall not only brings long awaited cooler temperatures, but our annual Gratitude Dinner. Our 'Growing in Recovery' gratitude dinner was held Nov.3rd. Nancy C. and her commit-tee did an outstanding job. We had a wonderful AA speaker, and our own
Bob C. was the Al-Anon speaker. We had awesome participation at every level, tons of food, fellowship, and good ‘ole Al-Anon FUN!
District 10 also has some open posi-tions at this time. The Alateen Chair position is open. The Newsletter and Public Outreach are also great service opportunities. Our next District meet-ing is Saturday Nov. 17. I hope to talk about these open positions and see if we can get some willing members to step up. I would like to extend a special WEL-
COME to our newest district. Welcome aboard District 13! Yours in service, Michel S. D-10
Our Three Legacies:
RECOVERY
Through the Steps
UNITY
Through the Traditions
SERVICE
Through the Concepts
AL-ANON 2013
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
VANCOUVER,
BRITISH COLUMBIA,
CANADA
JULY 5 — 7, 2013
Registration and Information
Can be obtained on the
Members’ Web site:
www.al-anon.org/members
V O L U M E 4 9 / I S S U E 4
P A G E 1 0 T H E L E G A C Y
P A G E 1 1
DATES
(2013)
EVENT LOCATION ROOM
RATES ASSIGNMENT DISTRICT NOTES
Feb 15-
16th
AWSC
Sheraton Lake Buena Vista-
12205 South Apopka Vineland Rd.
Orlando, FL 32835
1-800-423-3297
www.sheratonlakebuenavistaresort.com
$95
Hospitality Fri & Sat
Spiritual Meeting Saturday evening
Sgt. At Arms
District 5
District 2
District 9
Remember to get a confirma-
tion number when you make a reservation. When rooming
with someone include both
names on the reservation. Reservations must be made 30
days in advance of the event. There is a 48 hour cancellation
notice. Make sure you inform the hotel you are with NFA
AFG (North Florida Area AFG)
to get the room rate and a reservation for blocked dates.
Tax exempt applies only to payments make by the North
Florida Area Treasurer.
May 3-
5th
Spring
Assem-
bly
Sheraton Lake Buena Vista-
12205 South Apopka Vineland Rd.
Orlando, FL 32835
1-800-423-3297
www.sheratonlakebuenavistaresort.com
$95
Hospitality
Fun Shop Fri
Light Side Sat
Raffle Sat
Registration Fri Sat
Red/Grn Light Sun
Spiritual Mtg Sun
Sgt. At Arms
District 1&3
District 4&2*
District 12
District 10
District 11 &
8
District P5
District 7
District 6
*D4 Traditions 5&6
*D2 Concepts 5&6
Aug. 16-
17th
AWSC
Sheraton Lake Buena Vista-
12205 South Apopka Vineland Rd.
Orlando, FL 32835
1-800-423-3297
www.sheratonlakebuenavistaresort.com
$95
Hospitality
Spiritual Meeting Sat
Sgt At Arms
District 10
District 3
District 1
Oct 4-6th
Fall
Assem-
bly
Sheraton Lake Buena Vista-
12205 South Apopka Vineland Rd.
Orlando, FL 32835
1-800-423-3297
www.sheratonlakebuenavistaresort.com
$95
Hospitality
Fun Shop Fri
Light Side Sat
Raffle Sat
Registration Fri Sat
Red/Grn Light Sun
Spiritual Mtg Sun
Sgt. At Arms
District 6&4
District 7&8 *
District
District 12
District 9&2
District 1
District 11
District 3
*D7 Traditions 7&8
*D8 Concepts 7&8
NORTH FLORIDA AFG AREA AREA WORLD SERVICE COMMITTEE (AWSC) AND AREA ASSEMBLY
PANEL 52 – 2012 HOTEL INFO AND ASSIGNMENTS
Remember to get a confirmation number when you make a reservation. When rooming with someone include both names on the reservation. Reservations must be made 30 days in advance of the event. There is a 48 hour cancella-
tion notice. Make sure you inform the hotel you are with NFA AFG (North Florida Area AFG) to get the room rate and
a reservation for blocked dates. Tax exempt applies only to payments make by the North Florida Area Treasurer .
