Greater Rochester Area Al-Anon Information Service Center NEWS July/August 2016 Participation is the key to harmony How to contact AIS Office: 2480 Browncroft Blvd Suite 140. Rochester, NY 14625 585-288-0540 aismailcheck@gmail.com AIS Chair: Sheila S. Chair.aisrochester@gmail.com Vice Chair: Marci D. Vicechair.aisrochester@ gmail.com Secretary:.Ancelin Q. secretary.aisrochester@ gmail.com Treasurer: Mel Y. treasurer@aisrochester.org Public Outreach: Brian O. publicoutreach.aisrochester@gmail. com Website: website@aisrochester.org Events & Anniversaries: (also updated online at http://aisrochester.org/anniversaries.html) Canandaigua Monday Noon AFG 33 rd Anniversary, Monday, August 15, 2016, Noon, United Church of Canandaigua, Corner of Gibson Street and Main Street, Canandaigua. see attached flyer New York North Fall 2016 Assembly, Hosted by District 22 "What am I doing with what I got?", September 23-25, 2016, Comfort Inn& Suites, 6701 Buckley Rd., North Syracuse, NY 13212 see flyer/registration form attached THERE IS NO AUGUST MEETING Next AIS meeting September 10, 2016 10:00 a.m. 2480 Browncroft Blvd, Suite 140 (NEW OFFICE!!!) Book Depot will be open!! Please send announcements and story suggestions for the newsletter to aisnewsnow@gmail.com by the first Saturday of the month. Banking Summary January 2016 Our new Concept Study Meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. prior to the AIS Meeting on September 10 Official AIS emails do not list addresses in the To or cc lines. If you receive such an email, contact the sender. The AIS Secretary, and others using AIS lists, use the blind copy line to insure anonymity is maintained.
Banking Summary June 2016 Income Book Depot $ 1142.60 Total Donations $ 437.00 Insurance Certificates 50.00 Total Income $ 1629.60 Groups Donating for June 2016 Unspecified Donations 50.00 A New Beginning 47.00 Brockport 25.00 Evening Serenity 30.00 Henrietta AFG 24.00 Monday Sunshine 100.00 Penfield Chapel 30.00 Serenity Seekers 60.00 South Wedge Serenity Seekers 30.00 Stepping Into Recovery 16.00 Webster Monday Night 25.00 Total Donations: $ 437.00 Expenses Rent $ 350.00 Phone $ 63.23 Supplies $ 92.93 Book Depot orders $ 3943.93 Website $ 200.74 Total Expenses $ 4650.83 Overall Total $ 3021.23 AIS Savings total as of 06/30/2016 $ 8039.64 Please make checks out to AIS and don't write "For Deposit Only" on the back of the check - we have a deposit stamp. Please include the Group Name, not the registration number and note if it is a donation or Book Depot order. Thanks! Please contact the AIS Treasurer, Mel Y (treasurer@aisrochester.org) with any questions We need office volunteers. Please contact George at the office, 585-288-0540, or 585-362-1991 (cell), or email georgerocny@gmail.com George is also looking for an assistant due to another time-consuming commitment. Please contact him as above.
Public Outreach Brian O. The bi-monthly meeting at Jennifer House is set for July 6 th. Rose B. and another member will attend and bring a meeting in for the residents. The next meeting will be in September. Date, TBD. I attended an information/planning meeting sponsored by the US State Department in conjunction with Catholic Family Center to offer services for the Nepali and Bhutanese refugee population here in Rochester. After gathering the information, it was determined that since they are planning on having news/tv crews there to cover the talks that we would not be honoring our 11 th Tradition of anonymity at the level of press, radio, TV & films. I have spoken to the contact at CFC and she understands of this. I will attend and have a table with Al-Anon, Alateen info during the August 20 th event. Christina L. will attend another meeting on Friday July 1 st to help plan this. In the spirit of cooperation in Tradition 6, I called AA s central office and told them about the event. I gave CFC the info and they will follow up with AA. I followed up with Westfall Associates about bringing in a meeting for family and friends as well as a presentation to professionals. They are interested and looking to set a date. I am coordinating with Robin M. and Diane M, (Alateen Chair) to do a presentation to clinicians for both AFG and Alateen at Hillside family of Agencies. A possible Alateen meeting will be considered at a later date. Tanja A. is working on a presentation to Highland Hospital Social Work, Emergency, Chaplain, and Detox. I will be following up on a few leads that were started in the past few months and see if we can get definite dates set up for presentations. George S. recommended I contact Rochester V.A. I called the Social Work/Behavioral Health department and left a voicemail for the lead psychologist asking to do a presentation. I have left a voicemail at Trillium Health to do a presentation for doctors, nurses, staff, & social work. NYN Public Outreach - Pat H. Our big public outreach event is coming up at the NY State Fair from August 25 th through September 5 th. If you haven t signed up yet, please go to our nynafg.com website to do so. Think about coming with an Al- Anon friend. This is a wonderful chance to give back and to bring someone new into service. Together we can make a difference. Alateen Report - Diane M. We continue to have teens (new and returning) and continue to get phone calls from concerned parents & grandparents. We had our first "breakfast meeting" where we planned and invited in advance the teens for a special breakfast meeting. We had 4 teens! Which is the first time the teens outnumbered the Amiases! Progress! We have a prospective opportunity at one of the Rochester agencies to first have an Al-Anon-Alateen AFG presentation and if the staff is welcoming to the idea, to actually take one Alateen meeting there. I have contacted Brian O, Rochester Public Outreach Coordinator to take the next step with the AFG presentation. We will continue onwards with outreach, meetings and sharing our experience, strength & hope.
From our Vice-Chair, Marci: We continue to have an opening for an Intergroup Representative position: INTERGROUP REPRESENTATIVE A member appointed or elected by AIS. He/She provides a link between AIS and the New York North Area, exchanging information between the two. He/She votes at the AWSC as AIS representative, but not at the Assembly unless a GR. He/She may meet with districts to encourage participation at the AIS level and help coordinate projects between NYN Area Coordinators and AIS committees. (Service Manual, 2010-2013, pp. 67, 158) (http://aisrochester.org/pdf/bylaws-2013 page 4). New Officers and Chairpersons Hard to believe we need to think about this already, but every year we elect new officers and committee chairpersons. We do not elect all in the same year in order to ensure experienced leadership. Looking for a new service opportunity? This year we will elect a Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer, Alateen Chairperson, Website Chairperson, and Newsletter Chairperson. We also need an Intergroup Representative, as indicated above Descriptions for all these positions can be found in the AIS By-Laws (http://aisrochester.org/pdf/bylaws- 2013 pgs. 5-6 and pgs. 8-12). You can also find descriptions of some positions and guidelines on the WSO Member website (http://www.al-anon.org/members/service-structure/district-resources/item/304) If you have any questions about any of these, please feel free to contact the AIS office and you will be put in touch with someone who can help you out! Office Hours Volunteers are usually in the office Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, and Thursday **Please call ahead** Activities Becky E. Please see the schedule for free or cheap events for fun for the months of July and August (http://aisrochester.org/activities.html)! A closed mouth gathers no foot. Ann O'Nimity
From Sheila, our chair: Respect At the Group Conscience meeting on July 9 th, we were reminded of the importance of being courteous and respectful to one another. For the most part, I think we are very successful at this. There are times when we are writing that we need to practice these principles in all our affairs. I found myself in response to an individual. I am grateful to the other officers who encourage me to detach. Also my mother is in the back of my head reminding me that I should never write something I won t want printed in the newspaper. By applying Al-Anon s spiritual principles as we work through conflicts, we listen for a Higher Power s guidance as filtered through the voice of the members. We do our best to share as equals, presume goodwill, and separate principles from personalities. Even though opinions may differ, we learn to acknowledge that everyone involved has Al-Anon s best interests at heart. We give ourselves permission to change our minds and to be open to compromise. As we learn to trust in other members and our Higher Power, we begin to believe that whatever decision we make together, even if it is not our first choice for a solution, can work for the good of the fellowship as a whole. Created on 21 August 2015 in Presentations, Workshops and Skits The following article is reprinted with permission of the Forum, Al-Anon Family Group Hdqts., Inc., Virginia Beach, VA Step into service and prepare to be amazed by Cheryl K., Colorado Every year since my first Al-Anon meeting, on December 26, 1977, I have chaired a meeting close to that day of the year. This time, I chose service as the topic, because one of the other members had called for a group conscience after the meeting, to fill several service positions. The day before the meeting, I read Conference Approved Literature on the subject of service. I wondered if I should open the meeting with a short reading. Then, about an hour before the meeting, I decided to personalize the subject by sharing some of my own lessons from service in Al-Anon. I started writing a list, which turned into the following: Twelve things I have learned from service in Al-Anon 1. I am not the boss, but only a trusted servant. 2. I don t have to do everything, but I can do something. 3. I don t have to do it perfectly; I can just do it. 4. When I start thinking, Someone should do something about that, maybe that someone could be me. 5. It s okay to make mistakes; that s how I learn. 6. I don t have to be the best at something in order to get it done. 7. There is great satisfaction in facing my fears and doing something outside of my comfort zone. 8. I am not alone. I can ask other people to help me. 9. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. That s how service works. 10. Service pulls me out of myself when I m feeling down. 11. Carrying the message of Al-Anon is one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life 12. I might never have met some of my best friends in Al-Anon if I hadn t stepped out of my little local circle into service. I made a copy of my list for everyone at the meeting. I read it aloud before asking the members to share. I didn t know how the topic of service would be received, but the result was better than I had expected. The group dived into the discussion with enthusiasm, sharing their own service experiences and lessons, or announcing their desire to get into service. After the meeting, at our group conscience, we again announced the service positions that needed to be filled. Within five minutes, volunteers had come forward for all of the positions.