January

Ah...the winds of change have blown over District 32

We had not chosen new trusted servants for our district come the 2002 Assembly.  That changed in November.  Our new line up is as follows:

• Treasurer:    Susie A.
• Secretary:    Leo H.
• Alt. DCM:     Kelly G.
• DCM:           Kevin K.

Donna D is staying on as our Archivist and Kelly moonlights as our Grapevine Rep.  I would like to thank everyone that participated in the Third Legacy process for our district during elections.  It means a great deal to many people (myself included) and nothing so ensures the future of AA in our district than participation from all those involved.  I would also like to thank Corncobb for serving as our DCM for the past two years.  I am very grateful that the GSR's in District 32 have faith that I can provide the leadership needed to help us grow for the next two years.  I pray that with their guidance and God's help that we will have a fantastic time.

Kevin

February

• Cover Pre-conference Items on Agenda and ask for Volunteers
• Discuss attendance at PRAASA
• Discuss groups I visited
• District 32 Split
• Introduce Website
• Discuss BTG Information
• LBA and Archives Volunteers

WWA Newsletter Report 3/03

Even though we are only two months into this year, the amount of service work involved has been very satisfying.  Our first meeting of the year was a success. We started off by reading "Leadership in AA" in the AA Service Manual, decided to forgo new business in favor of doing GSR introductions so we could get to know each other.  I appreciated the experience and hope our GSRs felt the same.

Financially our district is struggling.  Finding a balance between service involvement and maintaining a prudent reserve is difficult.  I decided to attend PRAASA this year but will do so mainly from my own pocket.  My feeling is it will be a tremendous benefit for my recovery as well as being able to bring back that experience for our district.  That is invaluable.  Our involvement in the Burien Assembly this year was pretty minimal.  Planning started last year but we heard nothing about it in our district till recently.  My hope is our district will be more involved next year.  The Intergroup DCM Orientation last month was very useful.  Again, it was an awesome chance to get acquainted with everyone in our surrounding area.

Two positions our district is in need of filling are the Alt. Archivist and BTG positions.  Please keep this in mind as you talk to sponsors/sponsies and home group members.  I have been attending as many new meetings as possible in our district to let groups know who I am and hopefully encourage them to become involved in service at the district level.  I have a feeling the next two years as DCM are going to change my life!

Warmest Regards,

Kevin K

March

 It is Tuesday night and I just sat down to relax after a few long days. We have quite a bit going on in our District and Area, so instead of writing several different reports, I'm going to compose one single report.

PRAASA 2003

I returned from PRAASA Sunday afternoon after a weekend filled with speaker meetings, roundtable discussions and sharing in service with 1300 other members of AA.  I was able to get acquainted with some new people I have never met before as well as get reacquainted with people I haven't seen for over 10 years.  It was a weekend full of enrichment and spirituality. 

Some of the items discussed were how to keep AA growing, can the Grapevine be completely self-supporting, online AA meetings and are they effective, as well as turning over control of the aa.org website to AAWS from GSO.  All Area Delegates (including our own Delegate Eddie H.) introduced themselves at the conference and gave a brief update regarding events in their respective areas.  Our area has over 1000 groups with 40% GSR participation.  We're hoping to have our area website up and running by this summer. 

GSO reported that they have 8 months operating prudent reserve on hand right now.  Their recommended goal is 12 months, so they are doing pretty well. 70% of their income is from contributions and %30 comes from literature sales. They reported updated figures for AA membership worldwide: just over 100,000 groups and 2 million members worldwide.  Next years PRAASA is going to be in Irvine, CA.  A website for registration will be up this July.

I attended a "website roundtable" at PRAASA and spoke with members of other Areas regarding how they administer their website.  Valerie from GSO (who also was on the GSO website subcommittee for the first two years it was being developed) was also at that meeting.  She gave great insight and perspective on how the GSO website is managed which I believe will be useful for our Area and District websites.

District Happenings

Website - Speaking of websites, our district now has a website of our own. The address is www.seattleaa.com, and while not yet finished, it's off to a good start and is a great way to share information and updates between our monthly district meetings. Since my initial intent was to provide a place to post info for GSR's (and since I enjoy website design) I have decided to go ahead and absorb the monthly cost to have the site.  If at some point in the next two years our district feels it serving a useful purpose and would like to help contribute to the cost, then that would be fantastic.  If not, I still derive a great amount of satisfaction from knowing I'm helping support AA and strengthening our district by providing communication & services where before there were none.

Delegate Report - As a reminder, at our May 19^th meeting we are having Eddie H. (our Western Washington Area Delegate) come to our district and give a report on his annual visit to the AA General Service Conference in New York. The GSC is basically a time when AA takes a week to reflect, discuss and change (in hopes for the better) the way AA is structured and runs. He will be giving a full recap of the Conference events and discussing the Third Legacy of AA. We should learn quite a bit and I'm very excited to have him visit us.

 Picnic - Even though the District 32 Picnic isn't for another 4 months, after this month's meeting we only have two more opportunities to plan for our annual picnic.  Karen E. (our past Secretary) has volunteered to help organize the Picnic Committee this year. Last year we had an amazing turnout, with lots of food, swimming, softball, badminton, kids games, BBQ and a meeting to wrap it all up. The picnic is being held on July 20^th from 3-8:00 pm at Five Mile Lake.  We need volunteers who would like to help out with the Picnic this year.  If you are interested, please put your name on the picnic sign in sheet that will be passed around.

GSR Registration - Earlier this month the WWA Registrar sent me a list of all GSR's he currently had registered for our district.  It was asked that I verify the names and addresses that were listed.  Once that was complete, it was also asked that the last four digits of the zip code be found so that each person could be mailed their WWA Newsletter at a bulk rate.  I appreciate everyone's efforts that helped me in completing this task. 

Pre-Conference - Sunday March 23^rd from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Seattle.  The Pre-Conference is an opportunity for group members to better understand the agenda items for this years Conference.  Eddie H. has chosen 6 items for our Area to discuss out of the 50 that will be discussed in New York.  Our District is responsible for item 6 on the agenda (please see handouts).  We need about 3 volunteers to attend the Pre-Conference with me.  We will discuss the pros and cons to item six, which reads:

"Consider suggestion to add the words "and a sponsor" to the sentence of the second bullet under the section titled "Qualification" in Chapter Two: The Group and its GSR" on page S24 of the Service Manual to read: "Usually prospective GSR's have at least two years of continuous sobriety and a sponsor."

This is an opportunity that comes only once a year. It will be my first Pre-Conference as DCM and I could use any support you may be willing to volunteer.  There will be many GSR's, DCM's and other Area servants from Western Washington in attendance.  This will be a great way to meet many other members of AA and hear about the things that may be changing in AA's near future.

I have been very busy in service and loving every second of it.  We are only three months into the year, but already Kelly and/or myself have participated in the following:  attended the first quarterly of the year, attended an Intergroup Board meeting, attended the DCM orientation meeting at Seattle Intergroup, ensured all GSR's are registered with the WWA Registrar, attend new meetings to introduce ourselves to the District, create a District website that will serve its members and attended the AA Service Assembly in Reno.  Next weekend we will be at the Pre-Conference and the last weekend of the month I will be attending a DCM Sharing Session in Area 9 (which was my home Area for 11 years). While I am there, I will also be talking with the committee responsible for hosting PRAASA in 2004.

I am truly honored to be serving our District as DCM and will be visiting many more groups in the coming months.  If we work together, I know that we can provide the leadership needed to help our district grow in strength & service.

In Service,

Kevin K.

District 32 DCM

WWA Newsletter Submission for April Issue

Our district is growing and we are doing great.  Along with 30 other folks from Area 72, I attended PRAASA in Reno this year.  It was a wonderful opportunity to grow and gain new perspective on how AA works and what gives our service structure its strength.  We are also preparing for the Pre-Conference in Seattle (3/22/03) in which we have agreed to discuss item #6 on the agenda that was mailed out by our Area Delegate.  Our District also has a website to serve its GSR's and other AA members wishing to know more about business that is conducted at the District 32 monthly meetings.  While it is not finished and many members still do not have Internet access, it does serve a useful purpose were before there was none. 

Kelly G. (our GV & Literature rep) attended the Grapevine Quarterly in Kirkland. We cleaned up our list of registered GSR's in order to provide the Area Registrar with an accurate list for the AA Western Region Directory. As a result we now have a complete up to date list of all our trusted servants.  Our GSR participation rate is about 30%, which is normal for us.  We had many new GSR's start to get involved between the October Assembly and Christmas of last year, but most of them stopped attending, leaving us with a core group of 15 to 20 GSR's per meeting.  If all the GSR's in our district decided to attend our monthly meetings on a regular basis, we would most likely have to split our district in two. But as it is now, we have a solid and friendly core group of reps and we are able to conduct our monthly business meeting effectively.

Seattle Pre-Conference Item Discussion for the "cons" of adding "...and a sponsor." to the GSR qualifications.

March 23

It is my belief that the original idea behind this motion was to be a simple one. If you have a sponsor, chances are he/she will know something about service work and be able to help out. So it would seem adding the words "and a sponsor" to the end of the GSR Qualifications would be harmless, after all, it is only a suggestion.

Other than an email from a past delegate in Southern California, there really wasn't any background information on this motion. He asked that the service manual be changed so it essentially matched this year's General Service Conference theme. I like things that match to: perhaps my bath towels with shower curtain or my shoes with a jacket. But changing AA literature is a little more serious than that.

When I first joined AA in 1987, I was told to get a sponsor, so I did. I asked a friend named Spencer who had a little more time then I had. When I was 18 months sober he relapsed. When I talked to Spencer about his relapse afterwards, he said something I have not forgotten. He said "I have more sobriety now then I have ever had". It took me a minute to understand what he meant. Having "time" in the program is not the same as having "sobriety". In other words quality not quantity.

I can have 20 years and still be a dry drunk. I can have a sponsor and a service sponsor and not use them. I can have all the AA books ever-printed sitting on my bookshelf but not read them. I can have all these things, but until I use them in my daily living, they are still just things. It is up to each person to turn these things into tools. As such, I take full responsibility for my sobriety today. It's not anyone else's job to keep me sober and it's not my sponsor's job to make sure I'm being a good GSR.

It says in the Big Book that the 12 steps are "suggested as a program for recovery." I follow these 12 suggestions because I know if I don't it's a one-way ticket to my old way of living, which really wasn't living at all. These are really suggestions like it is suggested that if I jump out of a plane that I should pull the ripcord on my parachute before I hit the ground.
Having that said, some argue that the qualifications in the service manual are only suggestions as well, so it doesn't matter if this motion passes or not. I strongly disagree. It was my best thinking that got me here, so I often let AA's fellowship in its many forms (literature being one of them) guide my thoughts in my daily living.

If sponsorship could be defined very simply as one alcoholic helping another alcoholic, then every person at every AA meeting I attend is my sponsor. Help and guidance can come from anyone at anytime, it just depends on how open my ears are and how willing my heart is to listen.
When I have questions about recovery, I go to big book studies. I talk to people before meetings. I go to the meeting after the meeting. Everyone in AA is a potential resource for help. Even the newcomer with less than 30 days, still reeking of alcohol as he stumbles into his first AA meeting is my sponsor. He shows me what it's like out there and shares about all the wonderful things that wait for me if I decide to try drinking again.

I have met some very wonderful friends in AA who have helped me greatly. If I replace the word friends with sponsors, then I have met some very wonderful sponsors in AA who have helped me greatly. Just because I don't call all my friends sponsors doesn't mean I don't have one. Our Co-Founder Bill W. often referred to Ebby as his sponsor even though Bill never formally asked him to be.

In terms of service work, when a member of AA becomes a GSR, they by default get a service sponsor. That sponsors name is DCM.
As a DCM, it is my responsibility, among other things, to do the following:

· Hold regular meetings of all G.S.Rs in the district.
· Keep G.S.R.s informed about Conference activities.
· Acquaint G.S.R.s with The A.A. Service Manual and other A.A literature.
· Talk to groups (GSRs being a part of those groups) on the responsibilities of general service work.
· AND SO ON.

It is the DCM's responsibility to make sure the GSR is up to speed on these items.

I do not question the benefits of sponsorship. I believe our membership is stronger because of it, and I have seen many people grow and recover as a direct result of it. And while the words sponsor and sponsorship are not mentioned in the first 164 pages of the Big Book, I believe Sponsorship is a vital part of many people's recovery, but having a sponsor doesn't necessarily mean your going to be a good GSR, so why change the service manual by adding a GSR qualification that has nothing to do with being a GSR.

For these reasons it is my belief the service manual qualifications to be a GSR should not be changed by this motion.

April

Dear GSR’s and District Committee Members:

This month was our second Quarterly of the year. It was held in Bellingham, which was a couple hours drive from Federal Way. Some handouts from the Quarterly should be in your packets. A complete outline on the motions that were discussed will be available later on this month. The Area Secretary Dan E. will provide me with minutes from the meeting, which I will be sharing with you in turn. The next and final quarterly of the year will be in Stevenson Washington July 11th and 12th. That will be the final opportunity for the Area to set the Agenda for the Area Assembly in October.

Our Area Web Servant Dave D. gave a presentation regarding the new Area Website that he has put together. It is now available and open for viewing. The address is www.area72aa.org. It is still in it’s infancy (much like our own district website) but is making progress. I have been working with Dave on the site and trying to make it load more quickly for dial up users as well as some proof reading. He would welcome any suggestions that you would offer in hopes of making it more useful to the people it serves.

Presale for our new Western Washington AA History book titled “Our Stories Disclosed” has hit the 1400 level. We only needed 1000 presales to keep this project alive, so we are doing well. They will be printing roughly 3000 (plus or minus 10%) of these books and the preorder cost is $10. This book will contain all the group reports we wrote last year and will be shipping in October of this year. Order forms are available on our website at www.seattleaa.com under the Events page.

Picnic

Last month a few people stayed after our district meeting to discuss the plans for our annual picnic. I have also made a handout asking groups if they would be willing to make a small contribution for the picnic this year. This is similar to how the Burien Little Assembly pays for it’s costs as well. I printed up some envelopes for groups to use if they decide to help support us this year. These letters are in your packets. We still need to make a flyer with all the info and details, make a sign for the picnic that says something to the effect of “District 32 Picnic” and create a list of items we will need to purchase and the costs of those items. Hopefully we can rely on last years experience to improve our event this year.

Pre-Conference Agenda Items

On Sunday March 23rd our Area had our Pre-Conference in Seattle to give our Delegate an idea about how we felt regarding the items to be discussed by GSO in New York this year. If you recall from last month’s meeting, I passed out a handout with the six items to be discussed by your groups. Then GSR’s were to mail the form back to Eddie so he knew how to vote on these items in New York. The Pre-Conference in Seattle was an opportunity for everyone in Western Washington to get together and discuss/debate these items. If you recall, the item District 32 was assigned to debate was whether to change the service manual requirements for the GSR position to include “…and a sponsor”.

It was a very productive and helpful meeting. Our Alt. DCM was there as well. If you visit our district website you can view a report on that meeting as well as read the notes for the cons portion of the debate that our district read. Visit the DCM Report for March and click the link that says Pre-Confrence Debates

Area Activity

As a reminder our Area Delegate is coming to our district next month to give his report on what happened at the AA General Service Conference in New York this month. I am trying to get a larger room for this special meeting so we may not be meeting at this building next month. I will be sending out updates via email as this develops to give an exact location for this event. If you don’t have email, please make sure you get in touch with me by this weekend for more details. We will also be having the Western Washington Area Literature rep setting up his display at that meeting as well.

In Service
Kevin K.
DCM District 32 WWA72
kevin@seattleaa.com

Western Washngton Area Newletter Submission

THE TIME HAS COME!

After several months of suggestions, ideas and hard work, our labor of love has finally come into fruition. After first being mentioned during the January 2003 Quarterly, we now have a website to serve District 32.

www.seattleaa.com

Along with our monthly business meeting it will become a powerful tool of communication for Federal Way and Auburn AA members over the next two years.  For our district minutes and more, visit our site and click on District 32.  For upcoming AA related events in our area, click the events page for a full listing of activities. Groups and members of our district can have their events and activities posted on this site by sending an email to info@seattleaa.com.

Many folks from WWA72 have been emailing me with BTG  (Bridging the Gap) info for people getting out of treatment into our district.  Many of these people are not contacted after they are released. Our district is need of a BTG Representative and Committee.  Currently when a person needs help, I relay the info to GSR's and other AA members to see if they can volunteer.  If none reply, then there is no bridge for the newcomer.  This is currently one of our greater needs and will be discussed as old business at our next district meeting. If you are looking to become involved in service at the district level, now would be a great time.

Financially we are improving and our district is being very cautious about spending funds in our attempt to get a solid foundation for activities and expenses. Otherwise I am very encouraged by the enthusiasm of participants at our monthly meetings. We have some very excited GSR's who are eager to strengthen their groups link to AA and get involved in service.

Speaking of service, on a personal level I was fortunate enough to attend a DCM Sharing Session in Mid-Southern California Area 9 a couple weeks ago. I first heard of it while at PRAASA this year.  A gentleman approached the microphone in Reno and mentioned the upcoming DCM session.  I just happened to be flying down that weekend to visit family and decided to drop by and attend.  There were several roundtable discussions and great fellowship.  It was a great time to meet so many other service oriented members of Area 9 and learn how other DCM's cared for their districts and committees.  I was also given a tour of the Mid-Southern California Area Archives in Riverside, CA.  It was there that for the first time in my sobriety I held a first edition Big Book that was signed by Bill W.  I felt humbled yet inspired. That's what I want to instill in the members of our district:  Inspiration and a desire to serve in AA.

Gratefully yours in service,

Kevin K.

May

District Business for the month of May 2003 was postponed in order to welcome the Delegate for Western Washington Area (WWA 72). In order to accommodate all AA members & guests who would be attending, it was necessary to find a meeting location that would hold 20-30 people. Pastor Loren of Christ Lutheran Church in Federal Way was kind enough to offer the use of their large room for this event and asked for nothing in return. It was decided that a contribution of $25 should be given to the church to pay for the use of their facilities and to thank them for their generosity.

Having that said, on Monday May 19th at 7:30pm, WWA72 Delegate Eddie H. gave his report and experiences from the 2003 AA General Service Conference in New York. He spoke for a time on what he saw take place and other events he participated in. He also passed around a photo album of this trip to New York. Starting June 1st, any member interested in receiving a copy of his report can send an email to report@seattleaa.com with "Delegate Report Request" in the subject line. Once they become available it will be sent to you via email.

We also had the Western Washington Area Grapevine & Literature Representative come on that same evening and give a talk regarding the items he has and has access to. Don M. brought the full literature display and set it up for everyone in attendance to see.

After the Delegate report there was a 15 minute discussion regarding the District 32 Picnic in July. Flyers were passed out and food pricing was discussed. The district has been generous in their donations for the picnic. This helps out tremendously as we were short on funds during the beginning of the year.

At the end of the meeting, Nelson A. was officially appointed Bridging The Gap (BTG) Chairmen for District 32. Nelson will be filling a need where that we have had for a long time. Thank you to Nelson for offering his service and support to help individuals getting out of treatment find AA in Federal Way and Auburn.

Business will resume as normal at our regular location for June at 7:30pm. Thank you to all who attended. As DCM it is my responsibility and privelege to make sure AA members in District 32 are informed about what is going on in AA as a whole. The AA General Service Conference is only held once a year. That also means the Delegate's report for our district is only held once a year. If you missed out this year, feel free to contact me so I can provide details on the report and help you or your group plan for next year's report.

In Love and Service,

Kevin K.
DCM District 32
kevin@seattleaa.com

Western Washngton Area Newletter Submission

At our last district meeting we found a volunteer to fill our need for a Bridging the Gap Committee member. We are finalizing this process after not having any sort of BTG reps for over a year. In the meantime we had many volunteers from our district help take new “bridges” to meetings.

I would like to say thank you to all those who stepped forward to carry the message.

Thanks to:
1. Ed T. from White River Group
2. Mike R. from Sober on Saturday
3. Tihani S. from Brown Bag Group
4. Susie A. District 32 Treasurer

We are having our WWA Delegate give his report on the happenings at the GSO Conference that took place in May. We are also having the Area Grapevine and Literature rep set up his literature display that night as well. We will bring more info on this in next month’s newsletter.

Our Archivist Donna D. is still in need of assistance with maintaining the District 32 Archives. If anyone in Federal Way and Auburn has a desire to do service work at the district level, please email me for more info or attend our monthly business meeting @ 7:30pm every third Monday of the month at Calvary Lutheran Church ~ 2415 S. 320 St. in Federal Way.

Karen E. (our past District 32 Secretary) has been active in district service for over 10 years. She has agreed to come back this year and help plan our 2003 District 32 Picnic. How can you go wrong eating free food in the summer time among sober people and having a blast? It’s a perfect recipe for “fun in sobriety”.

Grateful to be sober,

Kevin K.

June

June 16, 2003
To: District 32 GSR’s
District Committee Members
Group Members

June is halfway over and July is quickly approaching. It is hard to believe that we are already six months into 2003. We have been making some excellent progress in our district over the past several months.

Delegate Report
Last month we set aside our regular business meeting to have Eddie H. come to our district and present his findings and experiences from the 2003 AA General Service Conference. We also had Don M. come out and set up the Area Literature display which many people took advantage of. Thank you to all who participated in this event and helped makes it a success.

Bridging the Gap
In April Nelson A. volunteered to head up the BTG Committee for our district. After discussing this opportunity with the elected district members on a one-on-one basis, it was agreed that Nelson would be appointed to that position and help organize Bridging the Gap in District 32. I would like to thank Nelson for volunteering and filling a position that we have been in need of for a long time. This takes a load off of my shoulders and provides the attention that this need deserves.

PNC
The Pacific Northwest Conference is the first weekend in July in Portland. This is the longest running AA conference in the Pacific Northwest. This conference is open to anyone wishing to attend. It should be a very spiritually gratifying and fulfilling weekend. I will be in attendance and be helping out with round table discussions. I encourage everyone to attend. More information can be found on our website.

WWA Quarterly
The last Western Washington Area 72 Quarterly will be held the weekend after PNC in Stevenson, WA. This is the last quarterly for 2003 and will finalize the agenda to be discussed at the Area Assembly (which all GSR's should attend) in October. The 2003 Area Assembly I being held in Tukwila this year.

District 32 Picnic
I have been going to meetings and have heard people announcing the up coming picnic to their groups. I’m very excited about our picnic this year. We have been taking time either before of after our regular district meeting to iron out details and organize for this event. Our treasurer will report on the financial portion of this event, but I can say that we are doing well and all is coming together nicely. Tonight is our last district meeting before the picnic so we need to make sure everyone has his or her bases covered. Please make sure we have contact information for each other before we leave tonight. Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time and efforts to make this come together. All we need now is a sunny day to go along with it!

Miscellaneous Business
New meeting schedules from Intergroup are now available. They have been updated and have a baby blue cover. This coming Thursday night the Federal Way Men’s Stag meeting is having a special meeting this Thursday only. Past delegate Ernie M. is giving a presentation on “Service Opportunities in AA”. This will focus on service positions at the district and area levels and how they interact.

I attended an Eastern Washington District Business meeting in Ellensburg last month out of curiosity. I just happen to be there when it started so I stayed and listened to all the committee reports. They do things a lot differently, but I kept my mouth shout and observed. I have to say the experience made me feel pretty good about the way we conduct our district business here in Federal Way & Auburn.
“Our Stories Disclose…” is within 50 books of reaching the goal of 1500 presale copies…very cool. Should prove to be an awesome collector’s copy of AA history for Washington. All local AA events are posted on the District 32 website at http://www.seattleaa.com/events.htm

If you know of any AA related event that is not posted, please email events@seattleaa.com to have them put on the website.

In Service,

Kevin K.
DCM District 32, WWA 72
kevin@seattleaa.com

July

This month's minutes were written by our Alternate DCM for District 32, Kelly G. He attended the WWA Quarterly in Stevenson July 12th, 2003 and was able to discuss the motions that all GSRs in Western WAshington will be voting on come the October Assembly in Tukwilla.

Thank you Kelly.

**

Hello Disict Members

District Picnic
What a turn out for the picnic.Thanks to everybody who help and also thanks to the committee.As for the friendly baseball the Auburn Alkiees won the game again.There is always next year.

"Our Stories Disclose" Book sales
So far pre-sale for the book is at 1758.As for the book release that has been push to April of 2004 due to printing problems(don't ask why because I don't know!)

The Motion that will be at the Assembly

Combined Amendment/Replacement to motion 4 and 5
District 22

We move that the Western Washington Area Committee's literature credit line be increase to $6400.00.


Motion for Area Access Commitee.District 7

The western washington Area Committee create an Area Access Committee that will function as an area standing committee.The ultimate aim of the area acess committee is to insure that those A.A.' with special needs,as defined in the A.A. guidelines,are having those needs meet.

District 29

Move that the Washington Area reimburse the host committee,or host district,up to $100.00 for rental of a facility to host a Washington Area Standing Comittee Quarterly.Quarterlies included are:Archives,Cooperation with the Professional Community, Correction,Grapevine & Litera ture,Public Information and Treatment.
The host committee may use the 7th Tradition proceeds at their discretion and integrity and will determine whether or not to seek the available funds from the Washington area.

District 11 makes a housecleaning motion that Area guidelines for hosting Quarterlies&assemblies be published in the W.W.A. 72 Handbook


District 32 Alt-DCM Kelly G.

August

The past month has been a good one for District 32. As DCM, I have been attending business and traditions meetings of groups in Federal Way and offering help to ensure guidelines and traditions are followed as seen fit by each group. Bridging the Gap has been busy with getting people to meetings but has slowed down significantly during the summer months. Our Archivist has been busy keeping the district updated with info. She is planning on rotating out and we are currently looking for a motivated individual to fill her shoes.

Our Alternate DCM Kelly G. attended the Pre-Assembly in Seattle. He brought back the ideas and an opinion that other’s in our area shared regarding the motions we will be voting on in October. We reviewed these motions in depth at our district business meeting in hopes that all GSR's would be prepared to discuss these with their groups well before the Assembly.

Most District 32 Committee members & Officers have been writing reports on regular basis that are then posted to our website for viewing. While we choose not to put our District's financial figures online, they are available to any interested AA member by attending our monthly business meeting. Our treasurer did a fantastic job in collecting and managing donations from groups in our district for our picnic this year.

Speaking of the picnic, we had a blast at Five Mile Lake for our District 32 Picnic this year. We had all kinds of food and games, and the baseball game between Federal Way and Auburn was a hit (who won that anyway?). We had two BBQ's going and lots of sweet cakes and pies donated by the Federal Way Police Department (which was a nice surprise). To wrap up the event, we
passed around a brand new fourth edition Big Book and had everyone sign it so it could be given to the "newest newcomer" at the meeting that night. While I can't remember his name, I believe he had a total of 4 days sober. We opted not to have a fire during the meeting since it had been a warm & sunny day.

I would like to thank all persons who helped make our annual picnic a success. It has been a yearly tradition for District 32 for over 10 years, and I truly appreciate all who contributed their time and efforts to making it one big sober AA event. We are not a glum lot!

In love and Service,

Kevin
kevin@seattleaa.com

WESTERN WASHINGTON AREA 72
2003 ASSEMBLY MOTIONS
REVISED 8/01/03

September

Trying to see into the future eh?

Typical for an Alcoholic.

October

It is the first Thursday night after the WWA 72 Assembly and I finally have a moment to relax and write this months DCM Report. We had a successful first assembly for many GSR’s this rotation and I appreciate the level of involvement from all who helped make it a great learning experience.

Rotation

Speaking of rotation, I would like top cover a couple topics regarding service positions and AA. Last year District 32 elected a new DCM a month or two after the October Assembly. Traditionally, as it is stated in the AA Service Manual, DCM elections should coincide with the Area Delegate election. A Delegate is elected every two years at the Western Washington Area Assembly, which means the next Assembly in Silverdale will be a voting year. I would like to get the district back on track by holding our elections this time next year (in October). A separate election meeting should take place outside of the normal District 32 business meeting for the election. See page S29 in the service manual for more info and feel free to ask any questions or express comments & suggestions.

Also, for all those that attended the Area Assembly this year, you now have a good idea of what to expect at next years assembly (hosted by District 10).

Western Washington Area Assembly 2003 (Tukwila, Wa)

First off, I would like to thank each and every GSR that showed up & participated at the assembly this year. The turnout from our district was around 95% participation from the GSR’s that normally attend our monthly meetings. Thank you for the effort & support and for being a part of the process. If you didn’t take notes at the Area Assembly regarding which motions passed or failed, you might bother a fellow GSR who did. Otherwise I will provide a full report on the Assembly and a summary of all 18 motions next month.

All GSR’s in attendance were given a copy of the 2003 Final Report of the General Service Conference Annual Meeting in New York earlier this year. If you didn’t receive one please see me after the meeting. You may recall that we had our Area Delegate Eddie H. come to our district earlier this year and speak about what took place in New York. This final report is a summary of those proceedings. The copy each GSR received is for their group. Please give this to them along with an explanation of it’s contents and answer any questions they may have.

District Finances

Financially our district is doing the best it has done in many years. Our success thus far is the result of several factors, some of which are; generous group donations, individual contributions, minimizing DCM/Alt. DCM expenses and keeping district costs low in general. I have been guilty of not submitting all expenses and receipts to our treasure (mainly due to our lack district funds) in hopes of allowing our district to save money.

There is a point where keeping the district rolling during financial hardship has been more important to me then getting reimbursed for my money spent out of pocket. I think to some degree that has helped us as well. However, it has been brought to my attention that since we are now back on track financially, not reporting my expenses to the district is doing a disservice to future DCM’s as well as to myself. So, in order to better gauge DCM costs per year for future DCM’s, I will be submitting all receipts to our treasure from this point forward. I also appreciate and would like to recognize Kelly G. for his efforts in helping keep costs low. This has meant carpooling long drives to and from quarterlies in order to avoid hotel expenses. In circumstances where getting a hotel was less then the cost of gas to and from an event, expensing only one hotel night instead of two has also been a great cost saving measure. Thank you.

District 32 Website

There has been discussion about the District 32 website regarding how it is being financed and if it is serving a purpose to AA members in our district. When we started this year off, I began using www.seattleaa.com as a place to post all business meeting information for District 32 for members to read. Meeting minutes, Archives reports, Grapevine & Literature updates, DCM reports, links to Seattle Intergroup and links to AA related events are some of the items that can be found there as well. Since it’s inception in March 2003, it has seen well over 1000 visitors from the US and other countries. Just before the October Assembly, I posted the motions that the groups/GSR’s would be voting on. Website traffic increased dramatically and AA members were able to view and download these items to discuss with their groups etc. I have printed a few pages of statistics regarding the website that I have collected for the month of August to give a few examples of how often the site is being used by our fellowship.

The majority of visitors to seattleaa.com have either Windows 2000/98/XP, use Internet Explorer version 5 or 6, click through between 10 and 15 pages and spend on average of 2 minutes per visit. In the handouts included in your pamphlets, you can see 10 example visits to the website that show people primarily access 3 webpages: DCM Reports, AA Events and District 32 Minutes. Based on this data and the fast we see 125 hits per month, I think we are providing a great service to AA members and that the website has indeed been a successful resource for many this past year.

I would like the GSR’s to discuss with their groups the possibility of providing financial support for the District 32 website and get an overall feel of what each group thinks. If the district sees no use in paying for a District 32 website, I will continue to the site as is for the remainder of my term. If the result is overall approval, we would need a motion from a group to approve website financing & we would need form a website committee which would be open to any AA member in District 32interested in website design. To use a baseline cost for group discussion, please use $150/yr (or $12.50/month) as an average cost to maintain website hosting and domain name registration. Email kevin@seattleaa.com with any questions.

New Address for Western Washington Area Treasure

The mailing address used for making contributions to WWA 72 has changed. The new address is:

Western Washington Area Treasurer
PMB 162
1321 King Street Ste 1
Bellingham, WA 98229-6237

Please use this address from now on. To request WWA Treasurer envelopes, simply send a letter to the above address and they will replenish your supply with pre-printed envelopes with the new mailing address.

Burien Little Assembly Planning Meetings

The very first BLA planning meeting took place the second weekend in October this year. I have spoken with the BLA Chair Barbie W. and she will be providing advance notices for the next few meetings so we can plan to get involved. A solid agenda has not been established as of yet. Rest assured it is my hope District 32 will be taking more of an active roll in 2004 then we did in 2003. We may want to consider making a District contribution to BLA as well. More info to come as it develops.

Thank you again for allowing me to serve you in this capacity. I sincerely enjoy the opportunity to help Alcoholics Anonymous grow in our district.

Yours in Service,

Kevin K.
DCM District 32
kevin@seattleaa.com

2003 Area Assembly Motion Results (Rough Draft)

Rough Draft of 2003 WWA Assembly Motion Results
Does not include withdrawn motions. Full summary to follow in November
District 32 WWA 72 – dcm@seattleaa.com

Old Business

Motion 1 : FAILED
We move that GSO modify the pamphlet, “Memo to an AA Treasurer”, to suggest at least two years of sobriety for a group treasurer. (Currently it suggests six months to a year.)

Motion 2: FAILED
Move that the Western Washington Area 72 (WWA 72)
1. Provide language interpretation services for American Sign Language (ASL) and/or Spanish Language (only) when requested by any WWA 72 committee member, district officer, or GSR (or Alternate GSR) who pre-registers for the WWA assembly and requests language interpretation services at least 3 months in advance of the area assembly.
2. ASL and Spanish language interpretation services shall be financed by a $5 surcharge added to the area assembly registration fee. Money from the registration surcharge shall be deposited in a WWA 72 account titled ”Language Interpretation Services”. The account shall be used for the sole purpose of paying language interpretation services expenses.
3a. If the cost of language interpretation services exceeds the balance of the language interpretation services account, the remainder shall be paid from the WWA 72 general fund.
3b. At the end of the year, if the balance in the language interpretation services account is greater than the amount required to pay for language interpretation services that year, the remainder shall be transferred to the WWA 72 general fund after January 1, of the year following the assembly.
4. The WWA 72 host committee shall be responsible for arranging and coordinating all required services.
5. Language interpretation services providers shall be paid at the fair market rate and shall bill the WWA 72 Treasurer directly for their services. The host committee may be required to verify their services prior to payment.
6. The amount of the language interpretation services registration surcharge shall be reviewed annually by the WWA 72 committee. The committee shall recommend changes to the surcharge and their recommendation shall be voted on at the area assembly. If no change is recommended, no vote shall be required at the assembly.

Motion 3 : PASSED
Motion to rescind Motion # 83.6 to allow for flexibility in the agenda.. (Motion 83.6 states “that the time for the GSR Sharing Session be changed to 11:00am with two GSRs selected to chair and the topic to be approved in advance.)

Motion 4: PASSED
We move that the Western Washington Area Corrections Committee’s literature credit line be increased to $6,400.00.

Motion 5: FAILED
The Western Washington Area 72 create an Area Access Committee that will function as an Area Standing Committee. The ultimate aim of the Area Access Committee is to assure that those A.A.s with special needs, as defined in the A.A. Guidelines, are having those needs met.

Motion 6: Amended motion PASSED
Move that the Washington Area reimburse the host committee, or host district up to $100 for rental of a facility to host a Washington Area Standing Committee Quarterly. Quarterlies included are: Archives, Cooperation with the Professional Community, Corrections, Grapevine & Literature, Public Information & Treatment. The Host Committee may use the 7th Tradition proceeds at their discretion and integrity and will determine whether or not to seek the available funds from the Washington Area.

Amendment #1 to Old Business #6 as follows: Amendment PASSED
Move that the Western Washington Area reimburse the host committee, or host district, up to $100.00 for rental of a facility to host a Western Washington Area 72 Standing Committee quarterly. Quarterlies included are: Archives, Cooperation with the Professional Community, Corrections, Grapevine and Literature, Public Information and Treatment. The host committee may use the 7th Tradition proceeds at their discretion and integrity will determine whether or not to seek the available funds from the Western Washington Area.

New Business:

New Business Motion #1: FAILED
The Western Washington Area will designate a budget line item of up to $3000 for interpretation services to be administered by a committee consisting of the Area Treasurer, Alternate Treasurer, and Three DCM's. This committee will work in coordination with any other committees dealing with access issues and will report back to the Area Quarterlies and Assemblies as to the disbursements made.

New Business Motion #2: FAILED
Move that Western Washington Area 72 (WWA 72):
Provide language interpretation services for American Sign Language (ASL), at the local rate, when requested by any WWA 72 committee member, district officer, GSR or alternate GSR who pre-registers for the WWA Assembly and requests language interpretation services at least three (3) months in advance of the area assembly.

New Business Motion #4: PASSED
Moved that all previous GSR sharing session motions be replaced with a GSR sharing time slot that would be decided at the discretion of the area chair.

New Business Motion #5: PASSED
We make a motion that GSR sharing follow Appointed Chair reports and that DCM sharing be excluded from Saturday proceedings.

New Business Motion #6: FAILED
We move that we organize a separate event on the day of registration for GSR sharing and for GSR and Intergroup exchange of ideas

New Business Motion #7
We move that the GSR sharing be increased to 4 hours.
New Business Motion #11: FAILED
The Western Washington Area 72 Chairperson or their designee provides a preliminary agenda for area assemblies 60 days prior to the assemblies.

New Business Motion #12: PASSED
We move that the Western Washington Area (WWA-72) spend up to $1,500/yr to reimburse travel costs for the operator(s) of audio/recording and public address equipment. Said reimbursements to cover costs (mileage, lodging, meals) to and from the following Area business functions i.e. Quarterlies, Pre-Conferences, Delegate’s Report, Pre-Assemblies and Assemblies.

New Business Motion #16 : FAILED
Move that the Western Washington Area 72 (WWA 72)
1. Provide language interpretation services for American Sign Language (ASL) when requested by any WWA 72 committee member, district officer, or GSR (or Alternate GSR) who pre-registers for the WWA assembly and requests ASL services at least 3 months in advance of the area assembly.
2. ASL services shall be financed by a $5 surcharge added to the area assembly registration fee. Money from the registration surcharge shall be deposited in a WWA 72 account titled ”ASL Services”. The account shall be used for the sole purpose of paying ASL services expenses.
3a. If the cost of ASL services exceeds the balance of the ASL services account, the remainder shall be paid from the WWA 72 general fund.
3b. At the end of the year, if the balance in the ASL services account is greater than the amount required to pay for ASL services that year, the remainder shall be transferred to the WWA 72 general fund after January 1, of the year following the assembly.
4. The WWA 72 host committee shall be responsible for arranging all coordinating all required services.
5. ASL service providers shall be paid at the fair market rate and shall bill the WWA 72 Treasurer directly for their services. The host committee may be required to verify their services prior to payment.
6. The amount of the ASL services registration surcharge shall be reviewed annually by the WWA 72 committee. The committee shall recommend changes to the surcharge and their recommendation shall be voted on at the area assembly. If no change is recommended, no vote shall be required at the assembly.

November

Since I was on vacation this month, I didn't have time to write seperate minutes for the DCM section of our website.

However, you can get all the details of what I presented to District 32 (as well as all the goodies we covered in our monthly meeting) by reading the minutes of the meeting that our secretary wrote.

Back up a couple pages, select Minutes instead of DCM Reports and choose November...then your in good shape!

December

Please view the meeting minutes for December 03 for information.