R6 Fall 2017 Assembly Bytes
Fall Assembly 2017
The 2017 Region 6 Fall Assembly was held the weekend of September 16th in Albany, NY, at the Hilton Garden Inn Albany Medical Center. We had 50 voting reps, 4 visitors and 6 board members present at the event hosted by the most active OA region in the world! To fill everyone in on the great work we did in Albany, we decided to put this quick report together!
If you don’t already do service beyond the group level, we want to make sure you know that service is for everyone! Not only that: it’s vital to your personal recovery. Consider checking out your local intergroup to learn more about what sort of work is done at Region assemblies.
New Region 6 Treasurer Address
There is a new treasurer’s address for Region 6 to send in donations. Please make sure to send this information out to all of your local meetings. The new address is:
Region 6 Treasurer
PO Box 644
Peabody MA 01086
2017 R6 Convention Update (Convention Committee)
The Region 6 Convention is quickly approaching. It will be held in Toronto this year on October 20-22nd. The Convention Committee encouraged all groups and Intergroups to donate a raffle basket, as the convention is our main fundraiser of the year. A request was also made for attendees to bring along old editions of Lifeline for distribution at the convention. We were also reminded that a valid US passport is required of any US citizens traveling across the border. It was also suggested to check with one’s phone service provider about calling plans for Canada.
The 2018 R6 convention will be held in Portland, ME. And the 2019 convention will be held in Westchester County in NY.Details to follow. To register for the 2017 Convention click here: https://oa-r6-convention-canada.ticketleap.com/toronto-stepping-up-for-recovery-r6-2017-convention/
Intergroup Renewal Trainings Update (IGOR Committee)
Our Region has recently established ongoing Intergroup Renewal Trainings (developed by the IGOR Committee), which serve to bolster our shrinking OA community in the region, and hopefully beyond. The first of these workshops was held on Aug 5 & 6, 2016 in Mt.Kisco, NY with 34 attendees from 11 IGs. The next one was held on Oct 14 & 15, 2016 in Chelmsford, MA. There were 44 attendees from 17 IGs. The third one was held in Rochester on June 3 & 4, 2017 with 25 attendees from 9 IGs. The fourth one is scheduled for November 3 &4, 2017 in Cromwell, CT. All Intergroup officers and upcoming offers are invited and encouraged to attend this worthwhile training. The Region is funding the training and hotel accommodations. Each participant or their IG is responsible for getting to and from the workshop and must submit a $25 deposit to the registrar, which will be refunded upon attendance. Registration for this one is due by Wednesday, October 11, 2017, and be sent to Wayne Ringquist, 860 558-5354 or at wayne301@me.com. Other questions may be addressed to Don Carmichael, IGOR, 603 305-0684, or at fobb1234@verizon.net.
Election Results for New Board Officers
Three officers were elected to the Region 6 Board this assembly. Debbie H, our current Region chair, Mary T, our current Region Coordinator, and George H, our current Web and Publications Coordinator were all re-elected for another 2-year term.
The Chair also introduced 2 new Board members who were appointed to fill vacancies in the positions. They were Karen C, as our Treasurer, and Dorothy M, as our Secretary.
Other Elections
In addition, Diana G, our previous Region Chair was affirmed by the body to be nominated as our Region 6 Trustee at the next World Service Business Conference.
Two Region 6 Delegates were elected to represent Region 6 at the next WSBC Reference Subcommittee of the Bylaws Committee; they are Dorothy M and Mike C. Cathy B was elected as the alternate for the position.
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY
PI/PO = Public Information + Professional Outreach
How do we carry the message? How do we get the word out about OA through attraction rather than promotion? One way is for Intergroups to apply to Region 6 PI/PO Committee for funding to support outreach projects, or PI Blitzes, aimed at carrying the message to the general public and professionals in their communities. If you would like to apply for project funding, please note that all PI Blitz applications are due 60 days prior to the date of the next R6 Assembly. Funding decisions will be made and announced at the Assembly. Applications for PI Blitz funding can be found on the R6 website: https://oaregion6.org/region-committees/pipo/
This year, three Intergroups applied for and received funds for their PIPO projects: Green Mountain North IG was awarded $700, Seaway IG was awarded $657, and Ottawa IG was awarded $500 with a suggestion.
Bylaws Committee
The Bylaws Committee addressed issues about committee participation and abstinence policies by collecting various wordings from the OA Bylaws and other Regions. They also presented a very entertaining and informative skit which explained the purpose of the bylaws making the bylaw writing procedure clearer and more user-friendly.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee is responsible for managing the budget and various funds of the Region on an ongoing basis. In addition, this assembly, they worked on establishing a best practise manual to address issues such as procedure for returned checks, and withdrawal policies.
Web and Publications Committee
The Web and Pubs Committee worked on a publication timeline for submissions. They are also working on improving the French on the Website by replacing machine translated text with better human translations and will be seeking assistance from WSBC for funding to help pay for professional translation as needed. They also pointed out that the deadline for the application to request funds for translations from WSO is due on October 1, 2017. Assignments made for Assembly Bytes, approval of the R6A minutes, and Officers Letters. The question for the writing exercise for the Messenger (see below) was generated.
Twelfth Step Within Committee
The TSW Committee, charged with helping to carry the message within our fellowship has been working on a new “Welcome Back” Workshop that groups can use to attract members who have relapsed, or otherwise left the rooms for some reason.
Writing Exercise for the Messenger!
Here’s a chance to use the tool of writing to carry the message of OA to the whole of Region 6. At each Assembly, we propose a writing question and then publish the responses on the Region 6 newsletter, the Messenger. The question posed at the Fall Assembly is “How has diversity in my group impacted my personal recovery?” Submit responses to:newsletter@oaregion6.org
Other Assembly News:
A Seventh Tradition collection resulted in a total of $230 for the Region.
After the Bylaws skit, we were treated to a Traditions Tune-up by our Region Trustee Karin H.
The assembly ended with a First-Timers Ceremony conducted by Debbie, our Chair, where 10 “Blue Dots” were brought up to the front and thanked for their service.
Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Dates for Region 6 Fall and Spring Assemblies, which will all take place at the Radisson Hotel, 205 Wolf Road, Albany, NY2018: April 14th and September 29th 2019: April 13th and September 21st |
