As we approach the WMAA June Area Workshop and Sharing Session in Saugatuck, one of the primary concerns of the workshop is bringing more group involvement in this discussion, and general participation in assemblies year round. Gregg K., Delegate for Area 34, Pannel 58 2008-2009 brought to the attention of the assembly an article in the current issue of Box 459. Greg reccomended everyone read this before the June assembly. Here is a reprint of the article.
District 51 Decides Sitting and Waiting Was Not Working
Reprinted from Box 4-5-9 (February – March 2008, page 6) with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.”
When attendance dropped at its monthly meeting of general service representatives (G.S.R.s), District 51 in northern Illinois decided it needed to do something. The district officers came up with a plan to visit every group in the district to announce that G.S.R.s were needed. But the visits by district reps to these groups—some in which A.A. members expressed ignorance of such a thing as a district—have turned into something more.
“If it was just about recruiting G.S.R.s, that would be one thing, but it’s not,” says Joe R., special needs committee chair for the district. “We’ve spread the word at groups about corrections work, about special needs, about archives, about literature. I believe it’s been eye-opening for some of the A.A. members hearing about this.”
District 51, which is part of Area 20 (there are 93 areas in the United States and Canada, comprising hundreds of districts), has an unusually large number of groups.
“We’ve had tremendous growth locally over the past 10 years, with some towns tripling in population,” says Joe, “and this has led to a big increase in the number of groups.”
The various officers active in the district coordinate among themselves on figuring out which meetings they’ll visit, and they usually travel in groups of two or more. The effort started in the summer.
“At the meeting, we will make ourselves known to someone, such as the chairperson or the people doing setup,” says Joe. “When, during a break in the meeting there’s a call for announcements, I give about a minute’s pitch about the need for G.S.R.s and the value of that service. We keep it short and to the point. We are not there to dominate the meeting.”
The response is usually welcoming, but not always. “Sometimes the group is not thrilled to have someone there pushing an agenda—as they see it—that is unrelated to their group. But most often we are welcomed,” says Joe.
Sometimes the reaction can be indifference, or puzzlement. “‘What’s a district?’ is a question we sometimes get.”
The district reps visiting a group might make an announcement regarding the need for a corrections chair alternate or about newly available translations of A.A. literature.
“What we have discovered is that we are getting the chance to talk about A.A. and what we are doing locally, so it has been very rewarding,” says Joe.
He often travels to meetings with the district archivist, who hands out questionnaires on group histories.
“It’s been great getting out to different meetings—meetings I’ve heard of but never attended. It’s great having a home group and going to the same few meetings, but this has been broadening,” says Joe.
He has also been using the visits to compile a contact list for the groups. “I’ve seen other districts that have hard contacts for every group, and we are trying to do that too.”
He has for a few months been visiting a different group each week. “I just look in the meeting book and decide based on what night I’m free,” he says.
He estimates their efforts have increased the number of G.S.R.s by as many as eight. “It’s hard to say this early if we have managed to attract people who will stick with it, but it’s been well worth our efforts and we are going to be continuing.”
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