Awakening District 24 Part 1
Bill W. writes in the Service Manual “…there must be constant communication among all elements of the structure (page S17).” He is referring to the Structure of the Conference – the Upside-Down Tri-angle Organization of Alcoholics Anonymous. When a district is “asleep” the communication channel is broken. Some groups stay informed when their General Service Representative (GSR) attends Area meetings directly. What happens to the other groups in the District? How do they get information from the Area?
My home group is located within District 24, but the district is “asleep.” All District 24 groups meet at the same location, the Crossroads Club in Day-ton. To my knowledge I am the only GSR in Dis-trict 24 to attend Area 56 meetings. Why not “awaken” the district and volunteer to be the Dis-trict Committee Member (DCM) and disseminate the Area 56 meeting information to representatives of all the Groups in District 24? What is the best course of action to re-open this channel of commu-nication?
I solicited advice from my sponsor who has held numerous service roles over the years, including DCM of District 15, and from our past Delegate, Garwood F. Following their suggestions, I prepared an agenda and then announced the first meeting for January 7, 2020 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in the A.A. Service Room at Crossroads. Our current Delegate, Nancy F., donated several Service Manuals and I am providing a folder of information for attendees.
My initial goals are (1) to clarify the Structure of the Conference, (2) to elect an Alternate DCM to work with me and (3) to schedule a monthly District 24 meeting on the second Tuesday of each month.
At that first meeting on January 7, we agreed to hold monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month, 7:00 – 8:00 pm at the Crossroads Club.
Warren G.
Corrections Committee Update
For many years, Cincinnati Intergroup has taken it upon themselves to cover all aspects of service in Corrections for the Cincinnati Districts. Thank God for them. However, according to our Guidelines, as published by the GSO, “A central or intergroup of-fice is an A.A. service office that involves partner-ship among groups in a community … It exists to aid the groups in their common purpose of carrying the A.A. message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”
In alignment with the mission statement of Area 56, and as Corrections Chair, I’m currently working with the newly rotated Cinci-Intergroup-Corrections Leader. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to work together, as this is the guiding principle of our first Tradition, which is Unity, as well as the previ-ously stated Intergroup function.
I was introduced to another woman who is ready and willing to take on responsibilities that, accord-ing to the Corrections Guidelines, should be in the District’s purview.
As per my own Area Corrections duties, I walked her through the simple steps of putting a committee to-gether that is responsible for the organization of vol-unteers within the jails of the Cincinnati Districts; reporting at her District’s monthly meeting and to her DCM, as well as giving her some pertinent contacts.
This will free up Intergroup to work on the inactive Districts’ facilities that have no District committee to look after them, with my help. Specifically, this means the Brown County Jail in District 29 and more.
IN SUMMARY: Area Corrections is finally begin-ning to reach the goal as stated in our mission state-ment; we have the beginnings of District, Area, and Intergroup cooperation in the lower half of the Area creating a legacy for future members. The the most ironic part being that I had nothing to do with it…it simply came together when it was time.
