SOUTHEAST TEXAS AREA 67

QUARTERLY ASSEMBLY MEETING

SUNDAY OCTOBER 16, 2005

I. Open – Betsy G and Terri V

Betsy opened the meeting with a moment of silence, followed by the Serenity Prayer. Terri read the preamble to the SETA Policies and Procedures Manual. Betsy recognized Past Trustee Beth R, Past Delegates Mike D, Marvin W, Paul M and a past delegate from Alaska, Harold P.

In the last newsletter, the cover letter was addressed to the groups. If you belong to a group that is contributing to the area, that letter does not apply to you. However, you probably know groups that don’t have GSRs and are not contributing. Betsy asked that you share this letter with them. The letter was a joint effort by several people on the Area Committee.

II. Roll Call – June C (Please see attached)

III. District Count – Terri V

District	Count	District	Count
10	1	60	3
20	3	63	4
31	12	64	2
32	8	65	4
33	10	66	3
40	16	70	9
51	12	81	13
52	6	82	8
		90	9
		Total	123

IV. Approval of July 2005 Area Assembly Minutes – Emily Mc

There were three corrections to the July minutes:

· Under The General Service Conference Structure, “Bernard Shaw” should be changed to “Bernard Smith.”

· To change the wording in Area Actions from: “The sense of the Area recommended a proposal by District 81 to remove the pie charts from pamphlet F-3 . . .” to “The sense of the Area approved a proposal by District 81 to remove the pie charts from pamphlet F-3 . . .”

· To change the wording in Area Actions from: “The sense of the Area votes positively toward canceling the printing of the Newsletter in 2006 and moving the Newsletter Committee of one to another committee” to “The sense of the Area was to be open to consider canceling the printing of the Newsletter in 2006.”

V. Treasurer’s Report – Barbara C

Barbara noted that the first page of the report is a summary of where we are with the bank in general. As you can see, what’s going out is pretty much what’s coming in. The middle section of the first page shows the amount we’re operating on, unrestricted funds, and what we’re holding in reserve. The second page shows the detail of our income and expenses. Groups have been doing a great job on contributions. If you have any SETA expenses, please submit them to Barbara before December 31 so she can close out the books on 2005. We ask that the groups sending in checks include the group name and their service number. We have several groups with the same name, so it’s important to include the service number.

VI. Delegate’s Report – Charles P

This quarter has been one to remember. It seems like a long time ago that we all met for the July Assembly but it hasn’t been that many days. There has just been so much going on.

During the Delegate-DCM sharing session in July, all four Spanish districts asked if Gus and I could meet with them together. This worked out well and was well attended. Alex was there with translation equipment. He translated as I showed the Power Point presentation about my trip to the General Service Conference in New York. Gus talked about self-support, and we answered some very good questions. I am looking forward to meeting with the four Spanish Districts again. It is a very effective way to communicate to them and hear their concerns.

As most of you know, the Area 67 budget was not approved but sent back to the Budget Committee with the mandate to present a balanced budget. The Budget Committee did meet and all Committees cut their budgets. After lengthy deliberation we now have a balanced budget to present at this Assembly today.

After the July Assembly Gus and I began a “Gus and Charlie” road show! We visited about nine districts, I gave my Delegate’s report by Power Point and Gus gave a talk about self-support. The financial condition of our General Service Office and Southeast Texas Area was presented, discussed and questions answered. Our responsibility is to keep the membership informed by offering a two-way communication link to Area and GSO. We will do our best to serve you well. As of this date we can see that contributions from Area 67 to GSO have increased by 50% and contributions to Area 67 have increased about the same. Please pass on a great big “Thank You” to your groups.

The Texas State Convention in Irving was a huge success with good attendance and speakers. Betsy G, Gus H, Paul M, and I attended the State Convention Committee meeting Saturday afternoon. Mike D, Committee Chair, stepped down because he is now Chair for the 2006 State Convention which will be held in Houston. The Committee discussed how to better promote this convention throughout the state and it was decided to connect all convention chairpersons by e-mail for regular updates. This should encourage folks in other cities to keep reminding groups in their area about the upcoming event. After the meeting, Mike D met with us to get the ball rolling for 2006 in Houston. Many of you have already offered to help and more will be needed to make this a success in Area 67. Yesterday they had a committee meeting and have the ball rolling for June 9-11, 2006. If you wish to volunteer, contact Mike D, Paul M, or myself.

At the end of August along came Hurricane Katina striking New Orleans, Alabama and Mississippi. An opportunity to carry the message to the evacuees was in our face! As usual you responded with love and kindness. Larry B, CPC Chair; Houston Intergroup; and many others throughout Southeast Teas Area 67 began to carry meetings, literature, etc., into the Astrodome, Ford Park in Beaumont and many other shelters. Your outpouring of love and service has really touched my heart. Once again AA members have shown that under extreme conditions we no longer turn to the bottle, as we once did, but turn to God for strength and guidance so we can be of “maximum service to God and our fellows.” This effort will continue in our local communities as new people settle in. But, we should not forget about those in New Orleans, Alabama and Mississippi who have an almost impossible task of rebuilding homes, lives and AA groups. I am in contact with the Delegates from those areas and will keep you informed on their need and how we can help.

Our General Service Office has been very responsive to our needs by sending literature, Big Books, 12&12s and other material we requested. The Grapevine editor has sent cases of past issues of the Grapevine to Houston Intergroup and Tom K and the Grapevine Committee have been distributing them. All of this was at no cost to us. This is just one more way our General Service Office serves the fellowship. They deserve our continued support.

Now we in District 90 have experienced Hurricane Rita and have felt some of the same things our friends in New Orleans felt. District 90 Intergroup needs your help. They have been out of business for about three weeks and groups have stopped sending in contributions because they have been shut down. Gerald T, Intergroup Director, would be happy to let you know what they need to stay n business serving East Texas and District 90.

I have received e-mails and phone calls from all over the US/Canada offering to help. One small group of young people in New York City sent money to Intergroup because they wanted to do something to help. Isn’t our Fellowship wonderful? It is filled with loving and caring people who are living this new way of life being selfless and God-centered. We still live in the age of miracles.

The annual Corrections Facility Conference was very informative and well attended. Rocco from Beaumont and Mary Clare from GSO in New York gave great talks. The Saturday afternoon workshop panel consisted of a D.A., a Houston Drug Court person, the TDJC Director, and two representatives from the Federal prison in Beaumont. If you are interested in carrying the message behind the walls, this was the place to be. Contact the CFC Committee in your District to get involved. It is very rewarding service work. Thank you to the Committee who worked very long and hard to put this on.

It is an honor and privilege to serve such a wonderful, active Area 67. I am looking forward to seeing you at the next Assembly and at your district meetings as Gus and I continue our road show. I believe “God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.” My heart is filled with gratitude for being called to serve the membership of Southeast Texas and AA as a whole.

VII. Alternate Delegate’s Report – Gus H

Gus reported that he had never come to an Assembly so unprepared. Normally, he comes to the Assembly prepared to discuss what he has seen going on in the Area. This weekend he came to find out what was going on. A lot of people’s lives in District 90 have been in turmoil the last few weeks, but they are recovering. He thanked the people from District 90 who attended SETA. It’s been an inspiring time. He’s seen people in the Fellowship and out bending over backwards to help a neighbor out.

Charles had mentioned the progress we’re making on self support. Gus thought self support was an end-result of something; now he knows it’s a way of life. Area 67 has made tremendous progress in taking care of our business. The spiritual concept of self support is that our only mission is to do more and better 12-step work.

The two disasters we’ve had recently are shining examples of what GSO does. When a disaster hits, they’re on the phone trying to find out what our needs are and how they can help. He was truly inspired in how throughout the Area we have come together to take care of business.

We have a Gratitude Dinner coming up on November 19. The Area has been experiencing a tough financial time. There were thoughts on how we can afford to do this. District 32 found the funds to rent the hall and pay those expenses for the Gratitude Dinner. Larry M volunteered to provide a PA system and Mike D volunteered to tape the speaker.

SWRAASA has been completed. He wanted to again give thanks to Lynn Gerhard for the tremendous job she did on completing the transcripts and getting them out. The account should be completed and closed out soon, with just a little bit of money left over. The next SWRAASA Committee requested help with the Multi-lingual program, and he volunteered Alex to help with that.

The 2006 SETA Convention in Beaumont met yesterday at the Clarion. Ricky L, Chair, came for the meeting but had to leave immediately after because he had a death in the family last week. The scheduled hotel was damaged during the hurricane and we’ll be unable to hold our convention there, but we’re looking at alternatives and should know if a few days if we’ll be able to hold a convention.

VIII. SETA 2006 Convention – Karen Y for Ricky L

The Committee would like to formally notify the Area that the Holiday Inn in Beaumont will not be available in January, due to damages received from Hurricane Rita. Therefore, it will not be possible for us to hold a convention at that facility. However, the Committee is working diligently to locate another facility to hold the 2006 SETA Convention. We are assessing the situation and compiling information to make an informed decision. During the next few days we will discover whether we can keep the same date using another location or if we will need to change the date as well as the location. There is no further information available at this time, but please rest assured we are working to resolve this “little wrinkle” in our plans. Further information will be posted via the internet as soon as it is available. Our next meeting will be October 23, 2005 at the Intergroup office in Beaumont, 6640 Eastex Freeway.

IX. 2006 State Convention Chair – Mike D

Mike reported that they will have a meeting November 12 at the Houston Westchase Marriott. He’s looking for help. They have many positions available and many things to do. They’re also looking for a theme. Just give him your name and phone number if you’re interested in helping out.

X. 2007 SETA Convention Chair – Bonita W

The 45^th SETA Convention will be held at Moody Gardens in Galveston on January 12-14, 2007. The theme of the convention will be, “… the steps we took” from Alcoholics Anonymous page 59. Room rates are $105 plus tax. Tandy and I are currently working on filling all the committee positions and have been working on the program schedule. We want to keep the Committee busy and have asked that flyers be ready in January 2006 so we can start early registration. We’ll be asking all DCMs and GSRs in Area 67 to begin announcing this convention in January 2006 at their district meetings and in their home groups. I’ve been announcing the convention at my home district and in meetings all year, stressing the $105 room rate so everyone will have the chance to save. That would be $16.42 a month if you start in November, and includes tax. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

XI. Software Ad Hoc Committee – Lisa H

SETA owns three computers – the Archives Committee, the Registrar, and the Secretary have computers. The one held by the Registrar has Microsoft Office and contains other software that doesn’t require a license. The Treasurer is using her own computer and software. The Newsletter chair is using his personal computer and software. The Archivist purchased Microsoft Access from the Area Funds Archives budget. Lisa did some research on software licenses and found there is special pricing available for nonprofit organizations. If we have one centralized person or committee purchasing software we could possibly get better rates on our software. We’d also have one centralized location for all purchasing, registration and licensing information. Her suggestion was to have a position created to handle our technology so that all the information would be in one central location.

XII. Roll Call for Voting – June C

Eighty-five (85) voting members were present. Fifty-seven (57) = 2/3 majority.

XIII. Finance Committee – David Higginbotham

The first item for consideration was the 2006 budget. The first sheet shows highlights some changes to the budget. Group contributions went up slightly. SETA Convention proceeds are budgeted for $500. The line item, “Budgeted Transfers from Reserve,” has been removed. No funds have been budgeted for the Gratitude Dinner for 2006. The majority of the Committees and Officers’ budgets are lower due to extreme cuts. The Area is refocusing on the 7^th Tradition, which will help us get back on our feet again. For 2006, the SWRAASA pool has been removed. Also for 2006, a “Committee Meeting Room Pool” has been established to be used when a committee that dropped the quarterly room expense from their budget is scheduled to meet in one of the suites. The 2006 budget was approved.

A request from the Area Delegate was received requesting that the Committee consider raising the mileage rate for travel from 14¢ to 30¢ per mile, due to rising gasoline prices. After discussion, the Finance Committee made the following motion that “The Area Delegate’s rate for mileage reimbursement shall be 30¢ per mile.” The motion passed.

The Finance Committee was asked to look at the principle of self support regarding the use of convention funds. The discussion lead to the following request: “The Finance Committee requested the Area Chairperson form an ad hoc committee to study and recommend how to treat convention funds in regard to the Area budget, the Area treasury, and the Area Policies and Procedures Manual wording.”

XIV. Election of Liaison to District 90 Intergroup

David M was nominated for Liaison to District 90 Intergroup. He was elected by acclimation.

XV. Election of Liaison to Spanish Intergroup

No candidate stood for Liaison to Spanish Intergroup. The item will be placed on the agenda for the next Assembly.

XVI. Election of Chairperson for SETA 2008 Convention

Tim C was nominated for Chairperson for the SETA 2008 Convention. Tim was elected by acclimation.

XVII. Announcements – Terri V

Ø The Committees eligible for April hotel suites are Finance, Grapevine, and CPC.

Ø The host district for April will be District 31.

Ø District 60 volunteered to be the host district for July.

Ø The next Forum will be held December 2-4, 2005. at the Embassy Suites Hotel,
3303 Pinnacle Hills Parkway, Rogers, Arkansas 72758, 479-254-8400.

XVIII. Close – Betsy G

We closed in the usual manner.

Respectfully submitted,

Emily Mc

SETA Secretary

Area Actions

· The 2006 budget was approved.

· The motion passed to raise the mileage rate for the Area Delegate’s travel from 14¢ to 30¢ per mile.

· The Finance Committee requested the Area Chairperson form an ad hoc committee to study and recommend how to treat convention funds in regard to the Area budget, the Area treasury, and the Area Policies and Procedures Manual wording.

· David M was elected Liaison to District 90 Intergroup.

· Tim C was elected Chairperson for the SETA 2008 Convention.