District, Intergroup, Area, State, Regional, and GSO Activities

• Vacancy for Non-trustee Director of AA Grapevine Board in 2023
• North South Special Forum info
• Update on printing delays and backorders
• Alcoholics Anonymous YouTube Channel
• January 2021 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• December 2020 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• October 2020 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• March 2020 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• January 2020 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• December 2019 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• July 2019 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• March 2019 A.A.W.S. Highlights
• January 2019 A.A.W.S. Highlights

• Weekly Grapevine Podcast
• Grapevine YouTube Channel
• Founders' Day Celebration Free access
• AAGrapevine Presents Subscription Gift Certificates Ordering Made Easy
• AAGrapevine Presents The Language of the Heart in eBook format

Officer Elections
Service Elections

District 1, Central Duval
District 1, the first district in the state of Florida, has about 32 groups, with only about 10 having active GSRs. We currently meet virtually only, with about five to 10 people in attendance. Before the pandemic, we met at the Intergroup Office and once had as many as 18 people in attendance.

In the past few months, we’ve had a sponsorship workshop, with panel of long-timers from the Jacksonville area. It was well attended. We also had a pre-conference workshop where the Area 14 Delegate came and talked about the upcoming agenda items and a post-conference workshop on June 5.

Both of these activities were held at the San Marco Club, located within the District 1 area. We like holding them at San Marco because District 1 was the first district in the state, and San Marco was the first club in the state and where the first group in the state met. We like to have an activity once a month, especially a workshop, such as a workshop for GSRs or a workshop that highlights what each committee does.

We were hit pretty hard by the pandemic as far as participation is concerned, but we were lucky that we never had a problem getting donations. Some groups in our district are just now getting back together, while others never stopped meeting in person. A lot of people didn’t like not being able to meet in person. As soon as meetings started in person again, those people were there! Right now, the district is in pretty good shape. The only problem is getting people to participate.

Jacksonville’s Intergroup covers seven different districts. In order to avoid confusion and duplication of efforts, our service committees are organized by Intergroup rather than within each district.

In answer to the question: “Do you have any suggestions for the future DCM of your district?” Think long and hard before accepting the position. I didn’t realize there was so much to do, and you’ll keep very busy if you do a good job. Look for a good Alternated DCM, Secretary, and Treasurer. Set a goal that you want to accomplish while DCM that will benefit the district.

District 5 is centered in Tallahassee (Leon County) but also includes the following counties: Franklin, Liberty, Wakulla, Gadsden, Jefferson, Taylor, Madison, making it geographically the largest District in Area 14. The District started at least 30 years ago and currently has about 30 active groups. During the pandemic, some groups have continued to meet in person, with or without masks, and some went online. Others started outdoor meetings.

The District typically has monthly business meetings. Prior to the pandemic, they met at a local church, but have been meeting on Zoom since the pandemic started. Many of the GSR’s are still reluctant to meet in-person. There are typically between 5 to 12 attendees at the District business meeting. Many groups in the area do not have a GSR.

For the quarterly Area Assembly, District 5 always reserves 2 rooms with 2 beds - one for the DCM or Alternate DCM, and the other for anyone else who needs one. The District typically has about 3 to 6 attendees at the Area Assembly.

Prior to the pandemic, the District held an annual Gratitude Dinner in November, with the Alternate DCM responsible for coordinating the event. In 2020 and 2021, they instead held a Zoom event with a speaker. The benefit of holding it on Zoom was that the speaker was from Champagne, Illinois, and offered a great share.

District 5 and Intergroup share a website. www.Intergroup5.org. Intergroup is responsible for the local newsletter, which is produced by the Intergroup Literature Chair on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Richard S.
DCM District 5

District 7
Kim D.
Sumter County and Lake County

Meetings in our District have really grown with the increasing development in The Villages. Because District 7 now has 67 groups, we are divided into District 7A and District 7B.

Since the pandemic, we only have about four GSRs coming to the district business meeting. We will be starting in-person hybrid meetings this month, March. I have sent emails to all GSRs inviting them to our business meeting with little response. I get the best response when I call someone and ask them directly to please help in a specific way.

I have a new idea that may help to increase participation, which I will bring up at our next business meeting: We may have everyone attending our business meeting put their name on a piece of paper and put the paper in a hat. We could accumulate them for two or three meetings and then draw for a winner. The winner would have district pay for their room at the Area 14 Assembly. What do you think?

We have two big events each year—the Gratitude Dinner in November that is limited to about 75 people, and where we encourage a relaxed, enjouable family-oriented atmosphere. Our other event is a service fair. We invite people from the Central Office (Intergroup), as well as Alanon members, etc. We want as many people as possible to find out about service and how they can participate. The service fair will be held in April in The Villages at one of the recreation centers.

My goal is to build a really good relationship between our district and the central office. One way we will do this is by having a Unity Picnic sponsored by our district and central Office. It will be held this May, and we will share the expense of hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. This will help bring people together.

District 12
Nicole D.
Melbourne

We have an awesome district! Pete is the Alternate DCM for our district, and we work well together. We meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 pm at St. Johns Church in Melbourne. There are usually at least 25 people in attendance out of the 33 groups in our district. This is up from attendance during the pandemic.

We are planning a service fair with District 23 and District 15 to be held in September. We also have a workshop coming up on how to chair a meeting and chairing etiquette. The topic of the workshop was chosen by the groups in our District via their GSR. Our goal is to bring all of Brevard county into one gathering.

Recently we held “Donuts with the Delegate” with District 15 and District 23, and about 50 people participated. It was a great unity experience, bringing districts together. We also work with intergroup to keep communication open with members in our area.

District 13, Hernando County, Eleanor B, DCM
District 13 is in Hernando County, the southwest boundary of Area 14. We meet the first Monday of the month at 6:15 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church in Masaryktown. Out of about 45 groups in our district, we typically have about 25 people in attendance.

During the pandemic, we quickly got onto Zoom and didn’t miss a district meeting. Groups also started on Zoom so there wasn’t any downtime. After two years, our district started having hybrid business meetings, which continue to this day.

For those meeting in-person, we followed CDC guidelines, including measuring so that chairs were six feet apart. Several groups still put out hand sanitizer, wipe things down, etc. Some groups require masks, so our meeting schedules say, “please bring a mask to every meeting, just in case.”

Our District 13 activities continue. We had a pre-conference workshop in March, and this October we will have a traditions workshop. We had a Founder’s Day celebration in June with a “crazy hat” theme, and in November we will have a gratitude dinner.

To help keep groups aware of district and opportunities for service, as DCM, I visit two groups each month and write a brief description of that meeting for the district newsletter. I ask for their ideas and opinions, reminding them that they are in charge.

Each month at the district business meeting, I give the GSRs a task to do that encourages participation. These tasks can be something like bring a newcomer or sponsee to the meeting Whoever does it gets a prize, such as a magnet, having to with AA. I also have treats available at the meeting, like licorice.

The Treatment Committee and the Corrections Committee are very active, taking meetings to treatment facilities and jails in our district. The Grapevine committee has brought a lot of information to the business meetings about podcasts and other items of interest. We also put this information in the newsletter. Intergroup and district work closely together. Until recently, the Literature Committee had no chair, but recently someone stood for this position and we expect to see activity soon.

Suggestions for future DCMs include:

• Most important, it’s not about you. Take yourself out of the equation.
• Stay neutral in all cases, being fair and calm.
• Know your stuff, including structures and guidelines and Robert’s Rules of Order.

District 14, Alachua County
AA in Gainesville has a history of being centered on service, and this is reflected in support for District 14. We have over 50 active groups, and our district business meetings lately have about 15 to 20 groups represented by their GSRs.

Earlier this year, District 14 and District 7 co-hosted the Area 14 Delegate and Chairperson for a cookout that combined “Dogs with the Delegate, Chips with the Chair” and the pre-conference report. It was held on a lovely Spring day under a pavilion at a local park and we had about 50 people in attendance. It was wonderful to see our local AA in action again! The Delegate was gracious enough to also give a post-conference report on June 4, where we had bottomless coffee and a continental breakfast.

It’s been my experience that activities, workshops, etc., all serve to raise awareness of how the AA service structure supports carrying the message of recovery. The more awareness, the greater the participation, the more people carrying the message! I would like our district to have a set monthly schedule where we hold a workshop on some AA-related topic. This way, people can add it to their regular routine. We can ask the GSRs to ask their group what workshops they would like to have, and then encourage them to help put on that workshop.

Our Corrections Committee and our Treatment Committee are going gangbusters, organizing volunteers to take meetings into prisons, jails, and treatment centers. I’m so happy to see so many people carrying the message via these committees! Our Literature Committee and Grapevine Committee are also active, organizing literature and creating displays for gatherings and taking them to groups. We currently lack a chairperson for the Accessibilities Committee and the PI / CPC Committee, a combined committee. It’s possible that we will return the PI Committee and CPC Committee to individual status to better carry the message of recovery. To me, combining the PI and CPC Committees because they carry a similar message to different people is like combining the Treatment and Corrections Committees because they carry a similar message to confined people. It’s just overwhelming! I hope we will not let the “good” be the enemy of the “best.”

When the pandemic started, most groups shifted to online meetings only while some continued to meet in person. Hybrid meetings became popular for a while, but now most meetings are either returning to in-person only or are committing to be an online meeting. Several groups are struggling to get going again because many members left during the pandemic and haven’t returned. One particular meeting that regularly had over 100 people in attendance now has only 2 group members that are struggling to keep the meeting going, having lost the sense of being an AA group—a spiritual entity.

District 14 had no business meetings in much of 2020 because it couldn’t meet in person and there was no push to switch to online business meetings. As a result, elections were not held in October 2020 as they should have been. Starting in January 2021, District 14 began having its business meeting online. Participation was slow to return. We started meeting in hybrid format in July 2021 and normalized with in-person beginning in February 2022. In the past few months, we have seen attendance at the business meeting almost double from hybrid or online only attendance.

In answer to the question, “Do you have any suggestions for the future DCM of your district?” Leadership involves helping people in your District develop a vision for carrying the AA message of recovery and encouraging them to act in ways that bring that vision into reality. Service gives people an opportunity to be a part of something greater than themselves with the motive of carrying the message of recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous. It helps build character and a sense of self-esteem and shifts attention away from us and toward helping others. Encouraging committees and GSRs to hold service activities directly benefits the participants who learn about the topic of the activity and indirectly by giving them a great place to practice being sober around people who are also trying to do the same thing.

District 19, West Volusia County
District 19 covers most of Volusia County. We meet at the 1st Congregational Church in Orange City on the fourth Thursday of the month but have recently had low participation due to COVID. Some groups in our district have had to move because they lost their spot at the church, and some new groups have sprung up. A former DCM is starting meetings and working to get a club started, all in an effort to get people together again. Our district business meeting is currently hybrid, but about 90% of the meetings are back in person. We’re trying to get back to normal!

We don’t have enough volunteers right now to put on any events like picnics, dinners, etc. However, we did put on the Fourth Annual Unity Under the Stars Campout the third week of March at the Forest River Group Site in Deland. We had about 150 AAs all the way from Ft. Lauderdale up to St. Augustine and even some from St. Cloud.

Our district publishes the meeting schedules, and the Schedules Committee is very active because so many meetings are changing. We need someone for special events. The Volusia County Intergroup has combined the Treatment & Corrections Committees, now known as the Hospitals & Institutions (HI) Committee, and we have been working with them. In the past we had a Public Information/Cooperation with the Professional Community Committee chair that had a good working committee, but when they rotated out, no one else stepped up.

In answer to the question: “Do you have any suggestions for the future DCM of your district?” Be patient. Everybody has their own positions about how things should go. Try to see things from the other person’s position. Focus on today. Things have a way of working out.

District 23, Beach Side south of Cape Canaveral to Melbourne Beach, Al W, DCM
We are District 23, located on the Beach Side (barrier island), from just south of Cape Canaveral down to Melbourne Beach. We have 29 active groups, 16 of which meet at the Circle Club in Satellite Beach!

We typically have 10 to 12 people at our hybrid district business meetings that are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the Circle Club. Before each business meeting, I send out emails to each GSR and district member for whom I have contact information, inviting them to the meeting and then follow up with individual text reminders.

The pandemic caused attendance to drop in general, and attendance continues to be down at both the district business meeting and group meetings. However, district finances are still strong. More and more meetings are now in person, but we still have some hybrid meetings.

District 23 tries to have at least four workshops each year.

• August 2021: “The AA Group. Where It All Begins,” including breakfast.
• February 2022: “Working with Others,” including breakfast. We had a panel that spoke and then took questions from some of the 56 attendees.
• March 2022: “Donuts with the Delegate,” preconference Workshop
• May 2022: “The Group Inventory,” at which the Area 14 Archivist talked about how and why to do a group inventory. Then we had seven tables with four people at each table and had four questions. Each person wrote their answers on a tablet and took turns asking and answering questions.
• June 2022: Post-conference presentation
• August 2022: “Service Fair,” with a panel of Area 14 officers who talked about their positions and then took questions. We had a break for lunch, then had a second panel of District 23 committee chairs who talked about what each committee does and then took questions from the 46 attendees.

Many of our committees are very active, including our Intergroup Rep, our Archives Committee chair, and Special Event Coordinator, who organizes and oversees all our workshops. We have a Corrections Committee and a Treatment Committee, both ready to go into action as soon as they are allowed back into their respective facilities. We also have a chairperson for the Grapevine Committee, the Accessibilities Committee, and the CPC/PI Committee. The Literature Committee chair position is open.

My suggestions for future DCMs are:

• Be patient. Everything doesn’t have to be done at once
• Let people be who they are. We don’t have to sell anything.
• Look for what can be done better and do it.
• Try your best.

District 24 is the red-headed stepchild for North Florida! We aren’t near anything. Don’t get me wrong, AA is alive, well and growing in Putnam County. We have our little niche on the banks of the St Johns River.

The Palatka Group was our first group, or so I’m told. It was an early group and unfortunately didn’t make it into the modern era. Actually, it has gone dark twice. When I moved here in 2018, the second Palatka Group was thriving. Like many meetings, COVID was its undoing. It could come back.

At the same time, the Sunday Morning Meeting was down to 3 people. They changed locations and grew to 12! And made the decision to become a Group. It was also called RAW. I’m not sure what the acronym stood for. But the group conscience didn’t think RAW reflected the aim of the current membership. So, since everyone knew it as the Sunday Morning Meeting, they just added “Group” to the end. They meet outside of the Scout Hut that they were in pre-COVID and have not missed a week in person.

District 24 does not and has not had any ZOOM meetings. ZOOM requires internet access and many of members don’t have it. They have cell phones (many are pre-paid) but not computers. I was told – just go to McDonald’s and use their Wi-Fi. WELL! That requires both a laptop and your McDonalds to have public Wi-Fi when the lobby is closed. PFFFT! We prefer to meet face-to-face, masks optional.

Back to the history and off my soapbox. The Way Out Group might be our longest continuously meeting meeting. It formed over 28 years ago with a resentment and a coffee pot. They were in San Mateo. One day, poof! At least 4 members weren’t at the meeting. When asked, “Oh, they are at St. Marks in Palatka now.” And they are there to this very day. During the height of COVID, they joined with the Azalea City Group to meeting on the riverfront everyday at 6pm, rain or shine. Both groups are now back to normal.

We have another resentment and a coffeepot group – Other Side of the Bridge. In the 90s, a clubhouse was opened in Palatka. Now, we are a small town - not a large city - 45 minutes from anywhere. We have 12 groups and some strong personalities. Some of those groups started the clubhouse. Needless to say, it didn’t last long. The Other Side of the Bridge Group (OSB) was formed in San Mateo to differentiate themselves. OSB took a hiatus during COVID, partially because the church was meeting virtually and in the parking lot.

South Putnam is thriving as well. They hosted our Gratitude Dinner in 2021. They ebb and flow seasonally. But one guy is a Service Committee Chair.

We are in other outlying communities as well. Bostwick hosted our 2021 Founders Day. AND they have an eating meeting the last Wednesday of the month.

Things are back to normal in District 24. We are planning Round-ups, Founders Day and the Gratitude Dinner in 2022. Maybe a workshop too. We aren’t fancy. We have chili cook offs and potlucks. Fellowship is key here. One of our members was just in a near-fatal motorcycle accident just days before Christmas. We are rallying around him as he regains consciousness. We might even have a dance to celebrate his homecoming – he so wanted to have a dance!

Unity – Service – Recovery
Beth G-E
DCM District 24, Panel 71

District 28 includes all of Citrus County with meetings in Inverness, Crystal River, Homosassa, Hernando, Lecanto, Chassahowitzka, Lake Panasoffkee, Floral City, Inglis, Beverly Hills, and Dunnellon. The District started in 1991, and with a population of about 155,000, currently has about 30 groups with 100 meetings. That’s a lot of meetings!

The District 28 business meeting is held the first Sunday of month in Lecanto, FL. According to Bob M, the current DCM, participation in the business meeting had been very low due the current pandemic, but he was able to greatly increase participation by employing the following strategies:

• Importance of humor in making service fun and increasing participation
• Importance of visiting meetings in the District to garner support & keep communication open between District and groups
• Stay approachable

The District works with Intergroup to holding an annual Founders Day celebration as well as an annual Gratitude Dinner. Unlike some other Districts, District 28 is responsible for printing the meeting schedule. The District was founded prior to the local Intergroup and has retained that function. Both District 28 and Intergroup have a website, and the District 28 website can be reached at: Naturecoastdistrict28.org.

With 55% of the population of Citrus County being over the age of 55, the pandemic had a strong affect on the District. Most meetings began to be held online or outside, so many groups had to find a new location where they could meet outside. The District also found a new outdoor location where their business meetings could be held. At one point during the pandemic, there were only three people active in the District and the local Intergroup combined, and these three did all the work necessary to keep everything moving. They organized the Founders Day and Gratitude Dinner themselves, cooking on a grill for Founders Day.

To get groups active again, Bob started going to meetings, encouraging people to become active again. It took about a year before people started being active again, and they started having free pizza to entice participation. At this point, only about 25% of the 30 groups have a GSR, and they typically have 8 to 10 GSR’s in attendance at the District business meeting.

The District has many retired people that just want to go to meetings. Because many people move to area to be left alone, the DCM has had to seek out people to be of service. But it’s working!
Bob M.
DCM District 28

District 30
Bryant G.
South Jacksonville - Mandarin

Starting in April 2020, we held district business meetings on Zoom due to the pandemic. But in June 2021, we resumed in-person hybrid business meetings and have had good attendance.

Some of our GSRs have health issues and the hybrid aspect gives them the opportunity to participate. We have purchased a year’s worth of Zoom in March, and the district business meeting will be hybrid for another year. The new panel that comes in in January will make decisions for their term.

I bring my computer, which has a panoramic camera that can pick up quite a few participants on the screen at once. We have a little speaker that also has a microphone that connects to my computer to provide good audio

District 30 holds an annual picnic at waterfront Mandarin Park, and were able to resume this tradition on Memorial Day 2021. About 100 people showed up to enjoy the two pavilions next to the children’s playground. Planning for the 2022 picnic has begun!

We recently hosted a workshop online with the topic of “What is a group inventory?” About a month ago, we had a Roberts Rules of Order workshop that was hybrid.

In addition, we also have an upcoming joint workshop with District 6 that will be a GSR workshop. We’re trying to get people engaged in service, and these activities are helping.

October4, 2023

The Roundtable was an open discussion on what can be done to make the Archives Committee a working committee.

First item was to create a purpose and committee identification. We will have some suggestions at the next committee meeting to look at.

Sending an email to DCM’s requesting help from their Archives Chair and copying them with these notes. Putting together sub‐groups to take on these projects.

Suggested Committee Projects:
Oral History’s on Past Delegates/Delegates
Oral History’s on specific members from Groups/District/Area
 Create questions directed to service at Groups, District and Area for Oral History’s

Travel Memory Boards or similar Several people may travel together to an event, a visual history, memory board with pictures, etc. from that event for their group, district w/a copy to area

Transcribing and editing mp3’s

Considering a separate page on the website for Archives and putting the above information on it after making sure it is cleansed for anonymity and/or having a separate page that is password protected.

Discussion on the items Ruth heard at Panel 71 General Service Conference. A copy of that email linked.

The next Archives Roundtable will be Nov 1st at 7pm

This week Florida was walloped with the severe blow of hurricane Ian. Our neighbors in South Florida were especially hard hit. Out thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this powerful storm.

Our Area 14 Assembly planned for October 7,8 and 9 th . will proceed as planned. Reports we have received from the Sheraton Hotel indicate no damages, power outages or flooding in the hotel or general vicinity. The staff is looking forward to hosting our group in October.

For our members, we look forward to seeing you whether in person or on Zoom in the coming week. The Agenda is posted on the Assembly Agenda & Info page of our website. If you are attending via Zoom, please remember to visit the Zoom Registrar & Registration Meeting prior to Sunday morning if you are planning to vote during the Election.

We have many items on the Business Meeting Agenda in October. Please remember to review the Minutes for motions which were tabled in July as well as resumes of those who announced their intent to stand for an office in July. I promise to do my best to move the Saturday night business meeting along; we have a full weekend.

North Florida Area members are troupers. We trudge the road to happy destiny together one day at a time. It’s truly inspiring to me and I’m grateful to be part of it.

Lori P.
Chairperson – Panel 71
Area 14 - North Florida

IMPORTANT DATES

EVENT DATES:
APR Assembly - April 8-10, 2022,
JUL Assembly - July 8-10, 2022,
OCT Assembly - October 7-9, 2022

RESERVATION CANCELLATION DATES: (DEPENDS ON YOUR RESERVATION)
If a guest does not cancel a reservation within seventy-two (72) hours before 3:00pm ET of the guest's check-in date,3 days before you check-in then Hotel may charge the credit card one night's room fee plus any applicable taxes.
APR Assembly - April 5 or 6, 2022,
JUL Assembly - July 5 or 6, 2022,
OCT Assembly - October 4 or 5, 2022

SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE nominations must be received by NFAC for upcoming 2022 assemblies:
APR Assembly – February 27, 2022
JUL Assembly – May 27, 2022
OCT Assembly – August 27, 2022

SCHOLARSHIP CANCELLATION must be made 7 days in advance of assembly start. Send to altchairperson@aanorthflorida.org.
APR Assembly – April 1, 2022
JUL Assembly – July 1, 2022
OCT Assembly – September 30, 2022

The Ad Hoc for Advisory Actions and Structures and Guidelines has been meeting twice a month and we have begun to review the Advisory Actions for correct verbiage. We are making sure that the Advisory Actions is exactly as the motion in the minutes as printed. If you have any questions, comments or find discrepancies please contact me at the following email address: panel71.adhoc@gmail.com.

• 1st Quarter

• 1st Quarter
• 2nd Quarter
• 3rd Quarter
• 4th Quarter

• January
• March
• June
• September

Powerpoint Slide Show (download)

PDF version

January Workshop (audio only)