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GENERAL MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 (online meeting) (These Minutes unapproved by Floor Members)
The meeting convened at 8:15 p.m. with a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer. Dave H. (Beaches) read the Twelve Traditions.
MEMBERS PRESENT: INTERGROUP REP/ALT: Anniversary, Aurora, Bayview, Beaches, Beyond Belief (Sub. West), Birds of a Feather, Bloordale, Church Street, Danforth, Deer Park, Dry on the Danforth, East York, Erin Mills, Fifth Tradition (Scarborough), Freedom, Gay Sober Men, Glenholme, Half Century, High Park, Hill, Keep It Simple (Scarborough), Kipling, Lakeshore, Living Sober, Long Branch, Love & Tolerance, Markland Wood, Midtown, Mississauga, Morning Discussion, Mount Royal-York, North Toronto, One Paragraph at a Time, Open Hands, Parkway, Port Credit, Queensville, Saturday Morning Discussion, Scarborough, Shepherd, Silverbirch, Sisters in Sobriety, Six Points, Spiritual Kindergarten, St. Clements, Steps to Serenity, Streetsville St. Andrews, Streetsville, Sunnyside, Tuesday Men’s Solution, Twelfth Tradition, Welcome, and Yorkville.
DISTRICT LIAISONS: Districts 06, 10, 12, 14, and 18.
OPERATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Dave H., Gord H., Gord T., Graham D., Jeanette E., Marvyn W. (OC Vice-Chair), Nina L. (OC Chair), and Seán D.
SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS: Archives, Communications, Twelfth Step, CPC, Public Information, and Treatment.
CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS / HOUSEKEEPING: Nina L. (Sisters in Sobriety), Operating Committee Chairperson: After welcoming everyone to the assembly, Nina thanked everyone for their attendance. She outlined the following: This meeting will be recorded, by audio-only, as an aide memoir for the person preparing the Minutes. We have to take every precaution to ensure the attendee's anonymity is protected. Whether the proceedings are electronically recorded or recorded through hand-written notetaking, only first names are recorded and only first names appear in the Minutes. The only members that have a voice and or a voting right are the Representatives or the Alternate Rep if the Representative is not present, and Subcommittee Chairs when giving their reports.
ADOPTION OF MINUTES – AUGUST 2020: Errors and/or Omissions: No errors or omissions recorded.
There was a MOTION to adopt Minutes as presented moved by Michael W. (Welcome) and seconded by Aaron M. (Markland Wood). Motion Carried.
At this point in the meeting, Operating Committee members introduced themselves to Floor members. Nina mentioned that Carly B. (Prince Edward) has been appointed as the new OC Secretary (Carly was not present this evening).
COLLECTION OF THE 7TH TRADITION: As we are not meeting ‘in person’ at this time, Nina informed members that they can still donate to Intergroup through an online feature on our website www.aatoronto.org. The 7th Tradition link is as follows: https://www.aatoronto.org/about/7th-tradition/ It appears on our website Home Page on the top left of the screen: ‘7th Tradition’.
FINANCE REPORT – Cam B. (Deer Park), Finance Member: Good evening, my name is Cam B., I am an alcoholic and a member of Intergroup’s Finance Subcommittee. This is our report for the month of August 2020 and is given in conjunction with the table on your screen. This table will be included in the meeting minutes. (See table below). For the year to date August 2020 Intergroup had a deficit of 13.8K comparing favorably to a budgeted deficit of 34.7K. 2
Intergroup experienced lower donations in August compared to the past the 4 months and they were lower than budgeted as well – actual 7.9K vs. budget 14.3K. For the year-to-date August, which is 8 months, Individual and Group Donations combined were 20% above budget and 22% above 2019. For this period, Group donations were 33% above plan and Individual Donations were equivalent to plan. See graph below. For the month of August 2020 Literature Sales were 3.8K compared to the budgeted 13.3K. Year-to-date August Literature Sales were 45.6K and this is 56% below budget and 55% below 2019. August 2020 expenses were 1.8K less than budget. Year-to-date expenses are 114.0K which is 23.7K below budget and this is for 2 reasons: 1. because the wage subsidy reduces expenses by 12.6K and 2. because Committee Expenses are 10.6K below budget. And finally, regarding the wage subsidy: We qualified for, claimed, and have received funds at the full 75% rate for the first 6 claim periods covering March 16th to August 29th. The amount already received through June 2020 for periods 1 to 3 and included in these results is $12.6K. An additional $12.4K for periods 4 to 6 was received in September for a total of 25.0K.
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After this report, Cam then entertained questions from Floor members. Michael W. (Welcome) asked several questions on behalf of his group.
Question: Regarding Cost of Sales [figures], does this include the cost of literature? Answer: Yes. “Cost of Sales’ refers to the cost of literature.
Question: Regarding the variance in Expenses – which were lower this month than last month – is this because of the wage subsidy? Where is the Wage Subsidy being accounted for? Answer: The Wage Subsidy is included as a credit within staff costs, so that’s part of the Expenses line item.
Question: Further to this, there was quite a significant difference in expenses last month. Expenses were a lot less last month. Can you explain the fluctuation? Answer: Normally most of our expense items are incredibly close month-to- month. There was no wage subsidy received in July.
Question: But the Expenses for July are actually lower than for August. Answer: An approximate $4,000 ‘swing’ in expenses is reasonable, from an accounting standpoint. Nina also added that some expenses (bills) are paid on a quarterly basis, which might account for some fluctuation.
In reference to the 2020 Donations vs Budget to August 31, 2020 Graph: This graph shows donations by quarter (year to date - 8 months). What is interesting to note here is that, for the year-to-date August group donations are 33% above budget, and individual donations are essentially equal to budget. The higher donations began in April and continued to be higher than budget for May, June, and July. There was a drop in donations in the month of August (see graph below).
We’re at a critical point; we’re going into Gratitude Month [October]. We need donations, as we’ve had less literature sales. We look to the individual members to make contributions as part of Gratitude Month.
Michael W. (Welcome): given this is a COVID year, how does this chart track to previous years? Are we ahead in donations and are we tracking pretty closely? Answer: Last year, we had $65K in donations; this year we have $83K in donations. We are almost $20,000 ahead in donations, year to date. The higher donations began in April and continued to be higher than budget for May, June, and July. There was a drop in donations in the month of August.
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At this point in the meeting, there was a MOTION to suspend regular business to facilitate candidates for a new Communications Chairperson and IT Subcommittee Chairperson; also to discuss the upcoming Gratitude Month moved by Jessie L. (Midtown) and seconded by Carlos D. (Bayview). Motion carried.
Appointment of a new Communications Committee Chairperson: Nina inquired if any members present were interested in taking on this service position, and/or called for nominations from the Floor. Carla T. (Welcome), volunteered for the position. After sharing with Floor members her service experience/work-related experience, the OC agreed to appoint Carla to serve as the new Communications Committee Chairperson.
Appointment of a new IT Subcommittee Chairperson: Nina inquired if any members present were interested in taking on this service position, and/or called for nominations from the Floor. Gord T. (Welcome), nominated Michael W. (Welcome), and Michael accepted. Michael gave a brief address Floor members, outlining his service experience/work- related experience. Then Kevin N. (Parkway) volunteered for the position and also outlining his service and work-related experience, including a brief summary of his IT service work at 234 over several years. The two candidates were asked to create a Service Resume and email the resume to the Operating Committee c/o the administrative coordinator at [email protected]. The OC members will look at both resumes and announce the new Chairperson at the October General Meeting. Nina thanked Kevin for all his IT service work at the Intergroup Office, and acknowledged Kevin’s efforts (in tandem with other IT Committee members) in presently coordinating the installation our new phone system. More on that later!
New Finance Chairperson Needed: Nina inquired if any members present were interested in taking on this service position, and/or called for nominations from the Floor; no one stepped forward at this time. The sobriety requirement for this service position: 5 years of continuous sobriety, and an accounting designation OR equivalent in work 4 experience. Candidates need a good understanding/ experience of the QuickBooks accounting program. Groups were encouraged to pass this information on to group members at their business meeting. At this point in the meeting, Nina made the following presentation to Floor members: ______
OCTOBER IS GRATITUDE MONTH
“AA service is anything…that helps us reach a fellow sufferer; ranging all the way from the Twelfth Step itself to a ten-cent phone call and a cup of coffee, and to AA's General Service Headquarters for national and international action. The sum total of all these services is our Third Legacy.” -Bill W., Letter, July 1955
What is Gratitude Month?
Gratitude Month allows groups and individuals to express their gratitude for their collective sobriety and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. GTA Intergroup is the ‘hub’ of the AA of searching out to the suffering alcoholic. It is at this time each year that GTA Intergroup asks individual members and groups to please help us help in supporting us carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers by considering a financial contribution to GTA Intergroup.
How Does Intergroup Support Our Fellowship?
Provides a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week Phone Hotline operated by AA members Provides office space for 13 Subcommittee meetings each month, including the District Subcommittees meetings. Provides the storage of a fully-stocked Literature Department Showcases AA archival materials on display for members, and provides an office/storage for the Archives Committee Hosts our website www.aatoronto.org with online resources for members, including meeting time/locations anytime; anywhere Produces the monthly AA Newsletter: Better Times Provides financial Support to all the GTAI Subcommittees and District Committees
What Does G.S.O. Say About Self Support?
After referring to the Self Support Pamphlet and suggested contributions to A.A. Service Entities, Nina asked that both Gord H. (OC Liaison/) and David T. (Archives Chairperson) give a brief presentation on Self Support to Floor members.
Gord: “It’s good to see Self Support becoming a part of our intergroup structure. I’d like to thank David T. who was responsible in resurrecting this committee; we recently held a committee meeting last Thursday. 7 members were in attendance! Bill W. said ‘give a lot of time and a little money’. I’m happy to see Nina presented the Self Support pamphlet and outlined the percentages [for donations]. Self-Support also applies to serving on subcommittees and taking on service positions. I’m grateful to be a part of this service.”
David T.: “Bert J. (Silverbirch) and I took this on to try and get some action going. There was a lot of discussion about Self Support during COVID. Next month’s Grapevine is about Self Support: Money and Sobriety. I suggest members read this to learn more about self-support. It also mentions about Intergroup [offices]: we have to make sure everybody understands everything that Intergroup is doing. If we want these [Intergroup] activities to carry on, somebody has to pay the bills! This is why this is so important. We’ve spoken to 4 districts and they are all in agreement that they need 5 somebody in their district to serve as a Self-Support Chair. In my experience with Ottawa (District 62), if there was no Self Support Chair, the Alternate District Committee Member (DCM) was responsible. We have also been suggesting this idea. We have to get more information out there about Intergroup; Intergroup is ‘the public face’ that people see when they’re trying to get information on Alcoholics Anonymous at a local level. I suggest you read the information in the Self Support flyer. Please take this information back to your group General Service Representatives (GSRs) so they can ask if their District has a Self-Support Chair. Self-Support holds committee meetings online on the last Thursday of each month [check website committee calendar for details].”
After this presentation, Joe A. (One Paragraph at a Time) – in regards to an earlier point in the meeting -- asked who would be deciding on which member serves as the new IT Subcommittee Chair. Nina responded: “All appointees for a [Subcommittee] Chairperson – it’s the job of the OC to appoint chairpersons. When we have more than one applicant for the service position, we take a look at the applicants’ service resumes and then we make a decision.
Angela O. (Mount Royal-York) wanted to clarify with David T. regarding Self-Support: what do we ask of our GSRs? David answered that all he is asking Reps to do is to communicate with their group GSRs the importance of having a Self- Support Chair in their district, and that Intergroup now has a monthly Self Support committee meeting (see above) that any interested members can participate in. Christy F. (Steps to Serenity), Alternate DCM for District 18, further clarified the process David spoke about: group GSRs attend a monthly District meeting, and this arm of service provides a conduit for the message of Self Support (ideally) through the appointment of a Self-Support Chair, who in turn attends Area Self Support meetings at the (two) General Assemblies held each year.
Nina added that the GSO website www.aa.org has information regarding self-support: “It has some questions on what a group can ask themselves as to what they are doing and how they are contributing. An information sheet will be sent out to all Reps on Self-Support.”
Joe A. (One Paragraph at a Time) asked how many paid employees there are at Intergroup. Nina replied that there are currently four employees: one full-time employee (32 hours a week), two part-time employees (one at 20 hours a week, and the other works one day per week). There is also a contract worker who does the medallion engraving. The engraver gets paid by piece.
Gratitude Month 2020 Flyer: Nina shared that the mail-out count for Gratitude flyer this year is approximately 3,300. In addition to the regular envelope mail-out to members, there will be a poster version of the Gratitude flyer emailed to all Reps so that the Flyer can be distributed via this method to members of their Home Group. There will also be a copy of the modified flyer on the website www.aatoronto.org
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SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
ACCESSIBILITY: Chair not present. The following email report from De R. (Chairperson), was forwarded for members: Good evening everyone, I am an alcoholic, member of the KF Group and have the honour and privilege of serving as your GTA Intergroup Accessibility Chair. We last met Sunday, September 20 with six of us in attendance. As Chair, I shared with the committee members that the information card for “Meetings-to-Go” was now on the website, and would be featured in the Better Times in the next issue. We need volunteers and given that only two volunteers at a time would visit an AA member I feel confident that we can reach members with face-to-face mobile meetings. This however would depend on the comfort level of the member we are meeting with and the volunteers. Zoom meetings will offered and will continue to be offered post- COVID. I encourage all districts to reach out for volunteers. We reviewed the Volunteer Guidelines and format made a few edits. It was also suggested that Chair Guidelines be drafted to complete the kit. A lot of great suggestions came from this discussion. It was decided that the Chair of Accessibility be the point person for AA members requesting a “Meetings-to-Go” as well as volunteers. With eight districts this seemed a streamlined approach. The Chair would also be responsible for contacting both, as well as recording the number of meetings requested – similar to Bridging the Gap. It is important that we track how many meetings are requested and in which districts. It is important to note, that to volunteer you do not have to be on the Accessibility Committee, nor an Accessibility Chair for any of the eight districts. Anyone can volunteer. 6
It is important for the complete Kit to be developed and edited for the incoming Accessibility Chair, so “Meetings-to-Go” will be consistent in content, information and how it is implemented. All documents in the Kit will be on a USB for the new Chair. We want to ensure that we carry the message to the still suffering alcoholic who cannot attend regular AA meetings, and to make them feel they are ‘a part of’ with a meeting and fellowship. Just a reminder that we have adaptive materials such as the Big Book in American Sign Language and Closed Captioning on DVD, audio CD format or in Braille, which members may not be aware of and pamphlets that may be of interest. Also, just recently the Grapevine “Language of the Heart” was released on CD. Once again, we need volunteers so if you think this is something that would enhance your service experience please email: [email protected] and I will connect with you personally concerning what days/evenings and times best work for you, and if you are able to do in-person or prefer zoom meetings. Thank you for allowing me to serve.
ARCHIVES: David T. (St. Clements), Chairperson: The following are the highlights from the Archives Meeting:
Eddy G, our archivist, is reviewing past intergroup minutes and adding page numbers and looking for missing copies David is scanning the older copies of Intergroup Minutes from Eddy into our backup drive Peter is continuing the review of past Archives Minutes and recording amounts given to Intergroup by the Archives Committee. The Annual breakfast will be held via Zoom on 8 November. Flyer to be our shortly. Shirley B (51 years) from Ottawa will be our speaker and we will have a virtual tour of Stepping Stones - Bill and Lois's home. If any district committee has old minutes, please send them to archives for safe keeping as we also retain info on the Districts in the GTA. Yours in Love and Service, David T.
COMMUNICATIONS: David P. (Birds of a Feather), Chairperson: It has been a fairly quiet September in the Communications department, considering many in-person meetings and groups have reopened, with thus far no reports of any problems following venue guidelines and social restrictions. That has to be considered a fairly remarkable success!
The website flat-out rocks, as usual, and we continue to work closely with the ad hoc committee on some redesign ideas and features geared towards the newcomer. HelpChat has been neither forgotten nor abandoned! The Better Times is humming along at its standard excellent pace, despite the fact we are still searching for a new Editor. Anyone interested in the position should contact us or the Better Times directly to speak with Mary M., our outgoing Editor-In-Chief, who is proving to be even more difficult to replace than we might have thought. I mean, just look at our newsletter, show it to your fellowship friends and group members and tell them to tell others to spread the word. It’s always a work of art every month. Thank you, Mary. And we need stories! 500 words max, email them to us, text them to me if you know my phone number, or call them in to a friend who can and does. We meet the 1st Thursday of each month, and later this week will discuss and possibly finalize several documents for submission to the Operating Committee for their consideration. These include a recommendation to post an online catalog to bolster literature sales, our finalized job description guidelines following a recent inventory (of sorts) and a new concept to integrate all ongoing and future website projects into a single plan. My goodness, that sounds optimistic! Thank you for letting me be of service. David P., Communications Chair
INFORMATION AA DAY: No report. The 2020 Event Chair, Bert J. (Silverbirch), stated that meetings for this committee will commence in October.
ONTARIO REGIONAL CONFERENCE: No report.
TWELFTH STEP: Laura V. (Mount Royal-York), Chairperson: I’d like to start by saying that the phones have been exceptionally busy of late. Normally the first forwarded number gets the bulk of the calls and the secondary greeter does very little, if anything. For a while it was so slow that the secondary greeters were getting very upset at sitting for four hours waiting for the phone to ring. However, the longer the COVID restrictions lingered on, the busier we got, such that one of the secondary greeters last week emailed me to say they had answered 10 calls. That was unprecedented. When we worked at 234, we would have days like that, where both of us were already on the phone and a third call would come in. But it was fairly rare.
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So we just completed our third time through the 28-day rotation, and while the schedule has never been completely full, we have come close a couple of times. But then certain people would be called back to work, and more recently kids went back to school, so as we’ve been filling it up from the top, we’ve been leaking people out the bottom. Thankfully, Lise R. offered to help me with some other tasks, sorting, completing and cleaning up all of our lists. This was a very important contribution to the cause and no easy task as it involves making hundreds of phone calls, leaving almost as many messages, texting many more and often getting no response whatsoever. It takes a lot of chutzpah and I’m grateful to Lise for taking that on.
Contacted Sean L about launching HelpChat, posted the Google Doc spreadsheet online and bulk emailed the link so people could add their suggestions for “autobot questions and answers”. We got quite a few questions, not as many answers, but I suppose we will have to gather as a group at some point and create the answers by group conscience. At our last 12 Step Committee meeting, we discussed how to build a team of potential “Chatters”, how much sobriety required, and an eventual Zoom meeting to explain the program to interested parties; Sean will attend. That’s as much as we’ve done so far and we could definitely use some help spreading the word. Perhaps we could get a few volunteers to be team leaders, and Sean L has written a short blurb explaining HelpChat for you to take back to your groups for the purpose of attracting members to this Service.
The 12th Step Committee have been the people who answered letters to AA in the early days. We answered calls and reached out on the phone. We sent volunteers to make 12th step calls in people's homes. We've always been the ones that find new ways to connect to still suffering alcoholics. And now, in 2020, the year of government-mandated isolation, we're finding even more ways to connect.
Introducing HelpChat from the Greater Toronto Area Intergroup: Simply put, we're adding dedicated, live help chat functionality to the current aatoronto.org website, which will continue into the newly re-formatted website. Visitors to the site will be able to reach out through the chat tool and connect with a live volunteer from the 12th Step Committee. Maybe these folks just aren't ready to pick up the phone and call the committee. Or maybe they're at work and just want to connect quietly or anonymously? Or maybe they're like most people under 40 today who would happily do anything to avoid ever having to pick up a phone again: HelpChat will let these people connect, get info, and get to a meeting.
This is an amazing new service opportunity in our Committee and we're looking for anyone -- young or old -- who is comfortable and quick on the keyboard. We've built a collection of standard answers to common questions you can copy and paste from, so you don't have to constantly type out the same basic stories. This is a commitment you can do from anywhere you have internet access. We'll be starting up soon, so please volunteer today!
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We’ve also been advised that the Accessibility Committee is in the process of launching Meetings-to-Go, after which Phone Greeters will be serving as liaison between callers requesting a meeting and the Accessibility Committee contact responsible for arranging the visits.
Jeanette has turned out a host of new Phone Greeters in three short months, many of whom are already answering calls, while still others are in the Shadowing stage and close to being ready to solo. Once a new greeter has been placed in the rotation, I like to follow up just to see how they’re getting along. The scope of questions we field on a typical shift can be quite daunting, and it takes some time to learn where to find a particular answer. Like most of what we do around here, it ultimately boils down to repetition. And having all of the resource material readily available on Google Drive has increased our efficiency retrieving information. Since we have to have our website open on our web browser anyway; having the Google Drive open in a tab right next door so to speak is much easier than opening and closing PDFs from a folder on our computer. Moreover, it eliminates the need to continually replace the old files with the updated ones, including the schedule which changes every 28 days.
As for the host of new greeters, the first of the rookies is Joe, trained entirely on Zoom and working from home on his own from the get-go. He’s already been through the 28-day rotation twice, doing an evening shift from 5-9:30 every other Monday. Rather than tell you how he’s doing, I got his consent to share his responses to my follow-up questions by email.
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Asked, “How are you doing on the phones Joe? Are you enjoying your shifts? Have you noticed a difference in your own recovery? You don't have to answer right now, but I'm interested in hearing how you feel about the whole experience and/or anything else you'd like to share.”
Reply: Thanks for asking Laura. I really appreciate how passionate and organized you are to your commitment as 12 Step Chair. You're doing a great job.
Without too much reflection, I can confidently say that becoming a phone greeter for the first time in my nine years in the Fellowship is my personal highlight of the COVID lockdown. I hope that the 12 Step Committee seriously considers keeping an option open for greeters who want to answer calls from home, even if the lockdown gets lifted in the future.
My recovery was lacking the service part of the triangle, save for a couple of Rep (Grapevine & Intergroup) positions at my small home group. The few greeter shifts I've worked have already been key in re-igniting my connection to the centre of the herd in Alcoholics Anonymous. Since I took my first call, the "unrelated" by-products of participating in my own recovery are, working with a new sponsee I met on Zoom from Long Island NY, increasing my step work and relationship with my sponsor, and beginning to attend more Concept and Traditions Zoom meetings.
Thanks for getting me shifts on the lines, Laura! Best, Joe A., One Paragraph at a Time
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And last but far from least, we have several veteran greeters who have happily agreed to let new trainees shadow them during a phone shift. So far, the feedback from both the trainees and the trainers has been very positive. People are accepting the Zoom reality of our lives finally, and are able to appreciate this reasonable facsimile to real-life training at 234.
First the words of a trainer, Lise R: As someone who has worked the phones for over 15 years at 234, and who is now unable to travel there, using technology to help suffering alcoholics, their families and other AA members obtain the information they need to deal with this disease is a godsend. Add to this the fact that we can now train new greeter applicants over the Zoom application as the icing on the cake. These applicants can also come back at any time to improve their knowledge, something most might not be tempted to do if they had to travel back to 234 to get more training. Thanks to shadow training on Zoom, phone greeter applicants can be more versed in the use of the resources available to them by the time they are assigned a regular shift. Way to go AA Toronto!!
WINTER SEASON OPEN HOUSE: No Report.
DISTRICT REPORTS
CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES: No report.
COOPERATION with the PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY (CPC): LouAnne Z. (Sisters in Sobriety), Chairperson: The CPC quarterly meeting met on Zoom on August 12th at 7:00 pm. A discussion was held on the Pay It Forward Program. District 69 and the area chairs have documented their experience and have shared their suggestions for new committee members on the steps to take in order to set up a committee in their area. Jeff A. who has experience in the editing field has volunteered to edit this lengthy document. The Public Information Committee will be invited to our next quarterly meeting and we will be looking to their input. The C.P.C. Committee has been trying to set up our own email account. Our inquiries have been forwarded to the Administrative at our head office. We hope to set up an account soon and start transferring all CPC emails from our personal accounts to one Toronto Intergroup CPC email address. I have sent out another email to the Senior Exhibition Manager of the Pre Med 2021 Conference regarding costs and dates and will keep you posted on updates. Committee members continue to expand our contact list. Our next meeting is scheduled for MONDAY OCTOBER 12TH AT 7:00 pm.
GRAPEVINE: John M. (Danforth), Chairperson: Good evening friends, I’m an alcoholic a member of the Danforth Group and my name is John M. I serve as the Chairperson for the GTA Inter-district Grapevine Committee. The Display on Disk is now available via the Area website in a PDF and PowerPoint format. I thank Dareena B. and Scott M from District 06 as well as Randy C. from District 02 for 9 bringing this task to fruition. Calendars and Pocket Planners are ordered through the Area Grapevine Chair. The cost for Calendars is $13.00 and for planners is $7.00. They will be available after the December Area Committee Meeting. Some districts will be ordering extra in case others miss the order deadline. The 2020 Carry The Message Project is in full swing. You can purchase a package or subscription from Grapevine and have it delivered to whomever you choose. There is a COVID article in the September Grapevine. That’s all for now, see you hanging around the virtual vine. Yours in Loving and Grapefull service. John M. (Committee Chair)
PUBLIC INFORMATION: Greg D. (Fellowship), Chairperson: Greg thanked both David T. and Bert J. for their input at last month’s General Meeting. Greg reported that attendance at the table is higher, due to more district participation and an influx of P.I. members from both Area 82 and Area 83. The table held a general discussion about in-person meetings in the GTA (i.e. Stepping Stones Group; also ‘hybrid’ meetings such as the Prince Edward Group). District 18 (Jeff A.) reported on P.I. efforts with the Military Family Resource Centre and the Toronto District School Board. Area 82 (District 05) shared that they have up-to-date COVID-19 protocols in place for meetings. The table welcomed Seán D. (Stepping Stones) as the new OC Liaison. David T. (District 10) announced that 25 Big Books and several eBooks are in public libraries. 23 copies of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are also in libraries, in addition to editions of Living Sober, Young and Sober, and In Your Own Words.
SELF SUPPORT: See presentation after Finance Report.
TREATMENT: Denise D. (St. Clements), Chairperson: Denise reported that there has been low attendance at the CAMH online service meetings. Denise also announced that she will be rotating out as Treatment Chair in December. The Committee will elect a new chairperson at that time.
RECEPTION: Marvyn W., Operating Committee Vice-Chair: It was reported that there were 50 Reps, 1 Alternate, 8 OC Members, 6 Subcommittee Chairs, 5 District Liaisons, and 1 Visitor for a total attendance of 72 members.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: There was no Unfinished Business recorded.
NEW BUSINESS
Online Subcommittee Information Posted on Website: Deferred until a future General Meeting (time permitting).
Membership Survey/Poll: Deferred until a future General Meeting (time permitting).
CHAIRPERSON’S CLOSING REMARKS New Finance Chairperson Needed! Please announce at your groups.
In closing, Nina thanked all who participated in this meeting, and again thanked everyone for their time, patience, and commitment to service.
A Motion to adjourn was moved by Aaron M (Markland Wood) and seconded by Wayne E. (Hill). The Motion was carried.
The meeting adjourned with the Responsibility Declaration.
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: An online meeting via Zoom will be held on Tuesday, October 27 at 8:00 p.m.
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