Area 26 of Alcoholics Anonymous in Kentucky

El explained her role as our Southeast Regional Trustee which covers 13 areas. We are part of those 13 areas. She is responsible and accountable to us through and to our Delegate Joy F. GSRs are the most import link between the groups and AA as a whole. El N. serves on the General Service Board as an Alcoholic Trustee. For 2 years of her 4 year service she serves on a corporate board. El serves on the Grapevine Board. The Grapevine board is autonomous and sole purpose is for putting out the Grapevine. El also serves on the General Service Board. She gets involved in the affairs and the decision making of that board.

The Grapevine does not accept any contributions. The Grapevine is solely supported through subscriptions and purchases of all the other literature handled through the Grapevine.

(Here is where El started reviewing the General Service Conference Report.)

The General Service Report is like the minutes from the Conference. The report is the group conscious as AA as a whole.

El serves on Four Committees: 1) International & Regional Forum 2) Finance Committee
3) Conference Committee and 4) Audit Committee

El recognized Joy F., our Delegate, who will chair the Finance Committee for the 61st General Service Conference in May 2011.

On page 8 of the General Service Conference report, the Trustees are going to ask for personal stories from the Fellowship that humanize the impact of the 7th Tradition. Your job is to go back to your groups and ask them to write their stories on the impact of the 7th Tradition in their lives.

Advisory Action #15 is that we want to hear the voices of Alcoholics Anonymous about the Grapevine through a survey passed out by the Delegates. They will collect information from the survey and see what we may need to make changes in the Grapevine.

What is the Grapevine doing to get out of this mess we are in' We are operating the Grapevine budget of $247,000.00 in the red. The deficit has been increasing and something needs to happen. The Grapevine Editor has stepped down. We think we need a business manager. We have received over 200 applicants for this position. Out of those applicants we have come up with 3 extraordinary candidates. The Board has selected a name and will recommend that name to be hired as a new business manager of the Grapevine.

Contributions are okay. We are getting contributions, but we never have had enough contributions to carry the General Service office. That is why we keep using Literature. This is always a debate. Are we self-supporting with Literature'

I have heard several things this weekend and I would like to address them in a broad sense. One is our Singleness of Purpose. What do we do with 'and a' I am an alcoholic and a'. What can we do' That burden rests with each person of Alcoholic Anonymous to make sure the message we are carrying is about AA. There are things that are real important that you can do: 1) In this arena or in District meetings you can have workshops on Singleness of Purpose. Why do we have Singleness of Purpose' 2) Traditions ' each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is a guardian of those Traditions. 3) Our Literature really helps us. Become familiar with what is in the Literature such as Problems Other Than Alcohol. Use this as a topic at your discussion meetings. This explains why. Other pieces inclde The AA Group Where It All Begins; What AA Does and Does Not Do. It is my responsibility as a sober member of AA to become familiar with our Literature. It makes me a better sponsor. Become familiar with our Literature.

The General Service Board received a request to develop a policy on making the rooms safe for young people who are coming to AA. They wanted to be sure minors are being protected. We received all kinds of background material as to why our rooms aren't safe from predators. The idea was sent to the General Service Board, and the board sent it to a committee. The committee deliberated and said we want the rooms safe for everybody. The question is, is that just in the AA meeting room or is that outside the meeting room' The Board had a discussion as to what do we do' The decision was that it was the responsibility of each group. All that we could do as a Board is to say that it is the responsibility of each group. Part of that is because we have no authority to tell groups how they need to function or what they need to do. That's the groups' autonomy. The other part is that we may not know what the issues may be in your group or your community. We need to work hard to make sure the rooms are safe.

Highlights from the Questions and Answers section
Question ' Is it appropriate to have Al-Anon meeting schedules at AA meetings to take home to their families' Answer ' We have no opinion on that. It is a local decision. Many Areas consider Al-Anon, OA, NA, etc. as outside issues. It can be placed in the room somewhere, but not with Intergroup or AA Literature. That is up to your local group.

Question ' What is New York's position on having papers signed for drug court at AA meetings'
Answer ' In our Literature we cooperate with our community. Each group can make a decision on how you want to do that. It is a local group decision if you want to participate or how they participate. This is an issue in a lot of places, especially when there are a few home group members and they feel swamped signing papers. Some groups have gone to Beginners meetings. AA does not have an opinion if we should sign those papers or not. We are saying we want to cooperate.

Question ' If there is any attempt to approach in different cities that counsel the mentally challenged, to attempt to meet the needs of this population struggling with alcoholism'
Answer ' At the Board level I don't know about that, but that is something your Delegate will be able to tell you what is going on within the state. That is part of the Special Needs Committee. Keep asking that question.

Question ' Is the International Convention a self-supporting venture' If so, does that excess go into the reserve fund or just toward the convention financially'
Answer ' It is self-supporting. We will have the final audited budget in October. That will be given to Joy and at that point we will know how the access is handled.

Question ' Why does the Grapevine not accept contributions'
Answer ' Our concept is set up where the Grapevine doesn't accept contributions. We have By-Laws that say we don't accept contributions. Bill W. saw it to be self-supporting through the sale of subscriptions and other pieces.

Question ' Would it be reasonable to have a service piece on the safety in the rooms of AA that might open the eyes of the fellowship'
Answer ' I am not an attorney but we have had counsel indicate that if you say there may be a problem and you don't do something about it, and there is a problem, then you may be liable because you have said there may be a problem. The best way of saying it is, if we print anything that says there may be a problem then if there is a problem then we got a problem. We not only struggle with the spiritual responsibilities but the legal responsibilities in providing information. So the board decided to send people out, like me, and you to do something about it. If your Area feels like we need a written piece, then that is where the voice needs to come.

Question ' Are we working toward having our literature, if it is available, online'
Answer ' Yes. Grapevine, AAWS, and GSO are working on that. In order to be able to order online, things need to change on our how fulfillment houses are set up.

Question ' Is there such a thing as a conference approved website'
Answer ' There are guidelines in developing those. AAWS has a website. It does not go through Conference approval. It is a staff developed piece. Each board reviews its own website.

Question ' If LA VINA has never been self-supporting, and we are hurting for money, why do we keep carrying it'
Answer ' LA VINA was first developed by translating stories from the Grapevine because that is what the Conference asked for. The Conference said we think this is valuable. It is not self-supporting so the decision, and it would be in the summary reports from former Conferences, was that we would subsidize the Grapevine by paying for it from the General Service board operating fund, because it is a service piece and we think it is valuable.

Question ' There have been some emails and some discussion at the Southeast about looking at our copyrights right now. Is this just a housekeeping issue to make sure that we are in line or are we encountering difficulty'
Answer ' It is more than just in line and we don't have any difficulty. What we are realizing is that, we are challenged as a corporation and staff, because we are not familiar with all of the copyright laws that pertain to the Internet. What are our guidelines' What do we need to put into place and how do we need to function in the future in dealing with copyrights' We are concerned and there is a committee on that. I am sure that will be part of the report that will come out of the General Service Conference as to what actions we are taking.

Question ' With all of these pamphlets, (AA for the Women, AA for the North Native American, etc.) how come since we are all the same why do we need to be categorized'
Answer ' Part of it is for identification. That is why we ask you to submit your stories. It is not to carve us into pieces, it is to help with the unity to say we are one and the same. That is why all of our stories in the back of the Big Book are chosen because they all are suppose to talk about uniqueness but also how we all come together with our common disease for our common solution. This is just a way of being able to reach out and say that you are not really different.

Chairperson's Report - Barbara F.
I would like to thank District 5 for hosting this weekend. Fantastic. The skit was just wonderful. I would like to welcome the GSRs. You are always welcome, but at the October assembly you are eligible to speak and vote on items. This is the only report that I really have.

Alternate Delegate's Report ' Lynda R.
Wow! What an amazing weekend this has been so far. I'd like to thank everyone from District 5 for your hospitality, you enthusiastic participation, the great food and the entertainment. Your skit was one of the best I've seen. You've set the bar pretty high for us in Louisville next January. I want to express my appreciation for everyone in Area 26. I feel so blessed to be a part of an Area with so many people that are willing to step up and serve, participate and ask the hard questions. El, thank you for spending the weekend with us and for sharing your experience, your wisdom and your passion for service. You are an inspiration and truly a gift to our Region and to AA as a whole. It has been a busy and interesting quarter. Thank you to District 1 for inviting Eric B. and me to participate in your workshop on how to get involved in service in your home group. The workshop was very well attended and participation was great with lots of questions and sharing. It's wonderful to see so many of your GSRs and group members getting involved in service. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the 66th Southeastern Conference and Florida State Convention in Miami. Joy and I traveled together and shared a room, which made for a really fun trip. Our hosts met us at the airport in Ft. Lauderdale, two warm, wonderful women that made sure we had everything we needed during our stay in Florida. The four days we were there were packed full of workshops and speakers. All of the Delegates and Alternate Delegates were asked to participate in service related workshops. We have some truly amazing trusted servants in the Southeast and it was a wonderful experience getting to hear them share. El, our Southeast Regional Trustee, hosted a breakfast for the Delegates and Alternate Delegates, where she reported on what had occurred with the General Service Board since the Conference and we were also invited to attend a luncheon with our Trustees, past and present, Delegates and Alternate Delegates. Both sessions were informative, and once again I was impressed by the dedication and love for AA that was in that room. We also had the pleasure of hearing El, Don M., our U.S. Trustee at Large, and Phyllis H., General Manager of the General Service Office, share their stories. What a treat that was, to hear that they are just like us, garden variety alcoholics, that love AA and are giving back what was so freely given to them. I'd like to thank District 21 for inviting me to speak at their annual picnic in Shelbyville. It was a great afternoon. A special thanks to Jeff for being our grillmaster and to everyone else that participated. Good food and good fellowship on a lovely late summer afternoon. Life doesn't get much better than that. I'm looking forward to District 14's Fall Fellowship Festival and to participating in District 3's Traditions Workshop in November. And, I hope to see a lot of you in Myrtle Beach at the Southeast Regional Forum in December! Thank you all so much for the opportunities you've given me to grow and to be of service. If you, your Districts or your Groups need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Delegate's Report ' Joy F.
Thanks to District 5! It's good to be back here SOBER in Campbellsville, where I started my career many years ago! Announcements SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FOURM December 10-12, 2010 ' Springmaid Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC. (Find Regional Forums at aa.org-get form or register online!) THE COMMITTEE CHAIRS & OFFICERS ARE REIMBURSED WANTED: YOUR PERSONAL STORIES: Self-Support ' Share your experience, through personal stories about Self Support and how the hand of AA was there for you. The trustees' Finance Committee gather personal stories drawn from the Fellowship that humanize the impact of the Seventh Tradition monies for the purpose of communicating with the Fellowship about Self-Support in new and existing literature. Special Needs ' Share your stories about staying sober and getting through obstacles which were 'barriers' to you once you got sober. Stories of Spirituality ' What's your experience' The Trustees Committee on Literature develop literature which focuses on spirituality that includes stories from atheists and agnostics who are successfully sober in Alcoholics Anonymous, and bring a draft or progress report to the 2011 Conference Committee on Literature. Received the Conference Final Reports and the Regional Directories. Thanks for returning the Grapevine and Technology surveys! Membership Surveys are on hold until the 61st GSC (The surveys must come from a Conference Advisory Action) SEEKING A NON TRUSTEE DIRECTOR FOR THE TRUSTEE'S LITERATURE COMMITTEE! Schedule: Since we last met my schedule has slowed down quite a bit. I attended a workshop on the Grapevine in District 28, a Picnic/Service Workshop in District 35 & a workshop on the Home group sponsored by District 15. Workshops are a great way to get more folks informed and involved! Thanks for inviting me. I also attended the 66th Southeastern Conference ('The Granddaddy of them all!'), held in Miami, FL in conjunction with their 54th Florida State Convention. There was a bunch of great service workshops and speakers. I participated in a panel called, 'It's none of your Business', (about HOME GROUPS). The Delegate from Area 16, (GA), was also part of the panel and she covered the topic of BUSINESS MEETINGS. (Does your Home group have 'business meetings' to reach an informed 'group conscience'') Other workshops titles were, 'Does Size Matter',(Lynda R. chaired that meeting.) 'How far can you reach'' Get out of Jail Free,' 'Just When I thought I was Finished', Who Runs AA' (This was a great presentation on the Concepts), 'GSO Yesterday and Today', 'AA at Home and Abroad', & 'Do Square Pegs Fit into Round Holes'' All the workshops were very interesting. (Since the Florida State Convention was also taking place, we got to hear some great speakers, including El., our SE Regional Trustee, Don M, a Trustee at Large and GSO General Manager, Phyllis H. along with many others.) Finance and other news'.AAWS (Doesn't include figures from International) Contributions are up! Thank you! Online contributions--$20,000 first month!! (250 contributions) Area 26 Total Contributions to GSO Total $24,869.66 Contributions statement for the six months ended 06/30/2010. Percentage of groups contributing in Area 26 on a comparative basis is: 2010 /31.17% 2009 /28.06% LITERATURE SALES are down. (A big order was placed for the BB before the price increase last year so they knew this was coming. A big order however is anticipated. A question was raised, 'Are we depending too much on outside entities like Hazelton'' about 14% of sales.) GRAPEVINE REPORT There continues to be concern about the GV budget as well as the future of the GV itself. There are some things being done to try and solve the
problems, but it will take some time. The surveys will help the GV Board and Staff make better decisions about what needs to happen. Thanks to everyone who turned in GV surveys. Some of what's happening: They're interviewing a new Editor, and they changed the scope of that job to be more of a manager/Publisher. (Former Editor, Robin B. has stepped down.) They hired a consultant. Reconstructed list of strategies for increasing circulation. (Strategic plan on hold.) Continue to work on improving the web site. They have a new fulfillment house which should save $100,000 next year. (manages the database and gets magazines to the subscribers) Fulfillment is different for AAWS, Inc. and GV. They recognized the need to integrate the databases. GSO E-Team is looking for better integration. There have been some customer service problems that will hopefully get better. The decision to go 'color' and 'perfect bound' was NOT made by the GV Board. (Some feel this should have come from the Areas) Not sure about the costs of these changes. Preparing to see that we will still be in the red financially this year. SERAASA (Southeast Region AA Service Assembly) The ongoing saga continues'.We were asked to send our Area's concerns to past Trustee, Howard L. We'll talk more about it at the Delegate's Get-together later in February. (We're still not clear about when and where we will do business for the SE Region.) FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Is your group mindful of 'vulnerable members' in AA' Are we careful to make all who come in our doors feel safe

DCM Reports

District 1 - - DCM: James G.
No Report

District 2 -- DCM: Doug P.
This quarter included the annual Energy Lake Campout held at the Land between the Lakes. Approximately 50 couples were present for the weekend and many more attended the Saturday night speaker meeting. Our last District Dinner/Business meeting was on August 5th, and 14 of 22 group GSR's were present. There were 109 in attendance for the dinner and speaker meeting which followed. District 2 has added two new meetings to their schedule a Friday 6:30 p.m. ladies meeting and a Friday 8:00 p.m. closed discussion at the Farley Fire House.

District 3 -- DCM: Nancy B.
District 3 has grown from 22 groups to 26 groups since January, with 68 meetings a week. There is one other group that prefers not to be registered with GSO because they 'don't want to be involved in the politics of AA.' The group has a name, meets three times a week, passes the 7th Tradition basket, and is very well attended. Literature based meetings, including the Steps and Traditions, are becoming popular in District 3. I think it's a great idea as we can quickly get away from the principles of the AA program. Our GSR/Business meetings are on the first Sunday of each month at 1:00 p.m. They are not well attended, based on 26 groups and 8 standing committees, but we get things done. We have recently gone over our structure and the only change was to add a website standing committee. Shawn M. had already been acting as the chairperson for that committee. We do things a little backwards in District 3 sometimes. On behalf of District 3, I would like to invite all of you to a Traditions Workshop on Saturday, November 13th at the 13th Street Clubhouse, from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Six of the Area committee members are going to present the Traditions with a short Q & A after each. The finale is a Traditions skit. We will have finger foods, sweet and savory, coffee and water. We look forward to having a large group of recovering alcoholics interested in learning more about the Traditions. I want to thank District 5 for hosting this weekend.

District 4 -- DCM: Jill D.
Since the July Area 26 Meeting, our District 4 meetings have held steady in attendance. Our past Corrections Chairperson has stepped down. The new Corrections Chairperson, Phyllis H. is from the Brandenburg area (Meade County). After the November elections we hope to get AA meetings into the jails of Meade and Hardin county by Winter or in the Spring of 2011. Our C.P.C. Chairperson, Donna D. sent out 97 letters to doctors in the District to offer AA services to them, with a response card included. We are currently working on new meeting schedules. Hopefully these will be done by the New Year. We want to thank District 5 for supporting us in carrying the message to alcoholics into the E-town treatment facility. A 12 Traditions Workshop was held on September 11th at The Acceptance Place in Irving, KY. There were about 45 in attendance, in which half of them are newcomers to AA We want to thank Barbara F., George J., Jim S., and Rita J. These four trusted servants informed and educated some alcoholics who had no idea what or why the 12 Traditions existed.

District 5 -- DCM: Ken A.
Our last District meeting was held at the Coffee club on September 26th, with 15 GSRs, 6 visitors and one spiritual advisor. Our picnic was held three weeks ago. We had two great speakers and we are doing pretty good as far as finances. The meetings in our District show good attendance with active Home Group members. Count is staying steady. Bardstown Sunday night group will their 62nd anniversary with an eating meeting on October 21st. Eat at 6:30 and the meeting at 8:00. We have new meeting cards out. We have two groups with issues with signing court papers. We also need meeting to go into the Nelson County jail. Special Needs are starting to get volunteers to take meetings into those who are homebound. We need a chairman for the Treatment committee. The domain has been set-up for our website for the District. Our next meeting is December 19th, at 1:30 pm at the Coffee Club in Lebanon, Ky. I want to thank all of the District 5 people that have helped to put this thing on.

District 6 -- DCM: Curtis P.
Group Reports: Northern, Kentucky District 6 has sixteen Home Groups and our monthly GSR attendance has been averaging 9-10 GSR's every month and we continue to reach out the groups not represented at the district level. Treatment Committee reports District 6 has two Treatment facilities, The Grateful Life Center and Brighton Center that we work with to bridge the gap between ending treatment and continuing recovery. Corrections Committee reports Kenton County is building a new jail facility to open by year end. District 6 is beginning to work with current jail officials to be allowed to carry the message into the new facility. Public Information Committee reports this past quarter District 6 has revisited AA's Singleness of Purpose and the 3rd Tradition with discussion about what to do when addicts attend closed AA meetings. The decision was made to defer the matter to Home Groups and their Group Conscience on how to address the issue. In coming months District 6 will be reaching out to the Host Committee for the KY State Conference being held in Northern Kentucky in February to organize marathon meetings chaired by local groups members. We are looking into opportunities to educate the Professional Community on the difference between open/closed meetings: What AA is and is not'

District 7 -- DCM: Susan G.
Things are going well in South Central Kentucky, and there hasn't been a lot of change to report. District 7 has 8 groups in Somerset, Burnside, Monticello, Whitley City and Albany. We've had one District meeting this quarter and have another planned for next week. We're working on a history of the District, and planning group Holiday celebrations. Groups are reporting increased attendance, and the Burnside Group has changed meeting places.

District 8 -- DCM: Redd H.
No report

District 9 -- DCM: Buz T.
District 9 Corrections Chairperson, Bob G. has recovery in Eastern Kentucky alive and well! Both prison meetings as well as both jail meetings are well sponsored and have become well attended. Over the years the incarcerated members of The Getting Straight at Big Sandy Group in the Federal Maximum Security Prison have come to look forward and cherish our weekly AA meetings. District 9 had one of our biggest and best annual picnics ever. Many children along with numerous out of town AA members, special guests from Louisville District 10, Nick & Sally S. were visiting for the entire weekend. A great deal of gratitude to Sally as our Lead Speaker at The Alano Clubhouse for the 'Saturday Night Live Group' one of the most professional and heart-felt stories ever experienced at our clubhouse. Thanks to James H. and his whole gang who attended the picnic from Lexington AA A very special thanks to Bruce L. and Randy C. for making the trip on Saturday morning to the picnic from Louisville AA Randy C. was a very inspiring lead speaker for the picnic on Saturday afternoon. Long time Eastern Kentucky AA member, the late Don T. was remembered by his widow Mrs. T., as she presented District 9 Intergroup with an awesome display of Don's AA tokens from throughout the years. A very grateful and sincere thanks to Mrs. T.

District 10 -- DCM: Joy M.
District 10 is doing well. Attendance at District meetings is steady, however contributions seems to be down. District 10 has been working on a written motion that will be submitted for the next Area in Louisville at Butter High School. District members have shared concerns, the restructuring of the GSO Board. Some feel there may be a hidden agenda to the restructuring idea, and question the delegates 'gaining more weight to their votes'. Lastly, the Cane Run Road Group celebrated their 47 year anniversary on October 1st. It was a wonderful time and the food was delicious.

District 11 -- DCM: Cindy S.
District 11 had their last meeting September 26th with 8 people in attendance. Those present voted to continue with quarterly meetings. Our next meeting will be October 24th for planning the Area meeting in January We have 2 est. meetings in that will be involved at the Area level. Our Annual Workshop will be scheduled in March in hopes of better attendance.

District 12 -- DCM: Eddie B.
District 12 held an ice cream social event in late July with a spirited message from Coleen Y. and over 80 people were in attendance. District 12 has three yearly events with the next event being a 'Gratitude Gobble'. Our delegate Joy F. has graciously accepted District 12's invitation. This event will be held on Friday, November 19th at 6:00 p.m. at Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church.

District 13 -- DCM: Bill C.
Our district meeting continues to be well attended with 16 ' 18 in regular attendance. Our 'Send a Book to Jail' dance was a success; we were able to buy 160 pocket edition Big Books for inmates in our area. District 13 would like to thank Vonda L. for her years of service to our district. Vonda's home group closed down and she currently has a home group in District 21. We had a request by the Bullitt County Health Department for information about AA in the area. Our Public Information Chairperson was able to supply what they needed. We have had our first planning meeting for the January Area meeting and we look forward to hosting this meeting.

District 14 -- DCM: Deb R.
Our District GSR's have been reviewing our financial structure and plan to put it to a final vote for acceptance at our November meeting. They have also been heavily involved in planning a district event scheduled for the end of October. We would like to invite everyone to our Fall Fellowship Festival to be held on October 30th at the Charles Brooking Park in Georgetown from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The District will provide the meat and each home group has been assigned potluck items with lunch beginning at 1:00 p.m. Judy K. will share her experience, strength and hope at 3:00 p.m. There is a large playground available for children with kid friendly activities planned. As a reminder, there is a NDE, non-dancing event. We hope you mark your calendars and come share an afternoon of fellowship with District 14. Flyers are available. Our alternate DCM, Jim M., has resigned and our group is currently looking for a brave soul to step up and fill this vacancy. There are also several committee chairs in the works to be filled. Todd W. has done a wonderful job creating and maintaining our district directory listing meeting directory and contact information for each home group. We are in the early planning stage for a district workshop. Stay tuned. The Paris group is without one of our long time members with the passing of Jake B. on September 20th. Jake goes onto the bigger meeting with Bill and Dr. Bob, with 32 years of continuous sobriety after a 2 « year battle with cancer. Jake was dedicated to the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous until the very end as he gave his last lead in June. He raised the bar for service and dedication to a very high standard in teaching us 'You can't keep it if you don't give it away'.

District 15 -- DCM: Joseph M.
In the last 3 months the Committee Chairs in District 15 have become more active in their committees action and are starting to perform the responsibility they accepted with enthusiasm. Our Literature Chair has been talking with groups about getting literature racks and is getting good response. Our Treatment Chair has sent out letters to all facilities in the District and is now making follow-up calls to those facilities to see how he may be of service. Our Grapevine Chair has been very active in making announcements in groups and has reported many new subscriptions and very good support of his efforts from the Fellowship. Our Archives Chair visited the area archives and now has an idea of what she will be doing to get histories of groups in District 15. Our Corrections Committee remains very active in taking meetings and seeking support at these meetings in the Fayette County Corrections Center, and will be having a workshop on October 23rd at the Alano Clubhouse in Lexington at 1:30 p.m. Recently we started a Workshop Committee and had a workshop on the Home Group and the plan is to host a workshop every other month on a variety of topics.

District 16 - - Alt. DCM: Amy B.
District 16 recently had a picnic, George J. was our speaker. Upcoming 'Thankmas' event will be December 11th. We will eat at 12:00 Noon with a speaker at 1:00 p.m. Auction will be immediately following.

District 17 -- DCM: Lee S.
'The Friends of Bill W.' annual picnic hosted by 'The 22nd Street Group' on September 18th was, as usual a success with around 135 AA's and family showing up. There was great fellowship, food and a speaker. This is one of the most looked forward to events in our district every year. As reported last quarter our district has formed a Treatment Facility Committee. Recently members of that committee met with one of the treatment facilities 'Phase Directors', offering their assistance and exchanging contact numbers. Also, the TFC Chairperson has gotten many inquiries from the fellowship concerning such matters as how the treatment
clients and AA groups can best function by adhering to our Traditions, and what role that committee plays in such matters. One of the items that has been on our District Committee agenda recently is how to better achieve group awareness in District 17. In the September district meeting our GSR's brought back ideas from their groups. Some of those ideas were as follows: group hosted bi-monthly eating meetings, a Halloween costume meeting, and quarterly dances as well as several other ideas. The common goal is to have more interaction throughout the fellowship in our district by encouraging our members to visit other groups. We have a new group, 'The Traditional Group.' They meet on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at 311 Boliver Street in Owensboro. Their GSR is Mike H.

District 18 -- DCM: Gene M.
No Report

District 19 -- DCM: Stacy T.
Good afternoon- I am Stacy Thurman. I am currently serving as the new DCM for District 19. District 19 would like to thank District 5 for their hospitality and hard work. District 19 currently has 3 GSR's who regularly attend the District Meetings. Due to a lack of participation we plan on taking service packets to each group with a sticker attached. The sticker will have the day of the month, time, and location of the District Meeting. We are hoping this will increase District participation. We have a new Women's Meeting in District 19. It is called the Keep It Simple Living Sober Group. This meeting meets at Springdale Chapel in Louisville every Wednesday at 6 pm.

District 20 -- DCM: Jeffrey H.
No Report

District 21 -- DCM: Gregory R.
We had a couple of District Meetings in preparation for our Annual District Picnic. That went off very well on September 12th. It was a great day for it, the weather was beautiful and we had a good turnout. Our GSR's really have done a great job putting it all together and making me look good! We were honored to have our own Alternate Delegate, Linda R. to share her experience, strength, and hope, along with Kathy L. from Alanon. They were both great leads. Thank you again Linda! We are also grateful to have our own Treasurer Vonda L. to join us in District 21. I believe she defected from District 13, sorry District 13, it wasn't personal I am sure, it was logistical she said. But we are happy to have her never the less.
District 22 -- DCM: Vonda J.
Our District Meetings have been well attended with an average of 15 GSR's in attendance and we alternate between New Albany and Corydon Next Step Building. I am truly blessed as your DCM with District 22. Our home groups have approved our service structure. We have filled 7 of the 10 Committee Chairs. Our District will be one of the many districts in the Louisville Area to participate in the Area Assembly on January 15th & 16th, 2011. We have one new GSR since our last quarterly in July. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the GSRs here today for serving AA and your home groups. Thanks to you, Eli for coming here to talk with us on your experience, strength, and hope as our Trustee. Our District will be having a workshop on Service in the Institutions on Sunday, October 24th from Noon to 4:00 p.m. at Next Step Building in Corydon, IN. Thus, you all come and bring a covered dish if you can.

District 23 -- DCM: David K.
Since we last met District 23 has been actively carrying the message of recovery to the meetings in our five county area. I've had the opportunity to visit all meetings and am pleased to report that there is a small movement towards people getting involved in service work. Unfortunately, our meeting in Olive Hill, KY has gone inactive due to lack of participation since this meeting relocated and continues its practice of not signing court papers. We have had one District meeting during this period with 5 groups represented. During that meeting we were able to discuss all groups having an EIN for their treasury, providing literature for all county jails in the district and begin developing a District handbook. Our meeting in Grayson has gone through a period of adjustment as long time members have stepped aside making it possible for new blood to become enthusiastically involved in service work. The remaining represented groups report their meetings continue to maintain their message of recovery. We also discussed the possibility of having a service workshop again. I had the opportunity to attend an IGR meeting in Lexington during this period and was able to report back to the Area
on the activities of the Intergroup. I continue to provide information on upcoming events, encouraging groups to participate in conferences, workshops, and other events to learn more about AA and to serve throughout the Area.

District 24 -- DCM: John W.
District 24 will be co-sponsoring Area 26 meeting in Louisville on January 15th & 16th with Districts 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 22, 24, & 29. I am currently visiting all home groups in my District that haven't sent GSRs & Alt. GSRs to invite them to join us. We are placing literature in Libraries. We discussed a new pamphlet on Atheist & Agnostic. We have passed out Singleness of Purpose blue card. Created IGR Liaison, and reviewed a Tradition at every meeting. We have discussed placing Alanon meeting schedules in AA meetings.

District 25 - - DCM: Gary P.
District 25 has been very busy with the structuring and other business of the district this quarter. In the July GSRs meeting the Harrodsburg GSR told me of an AA listing in the phone book that didn't sound exactly right so I asked her to send me a copy of it. It read 'AA ALCHOLICS ANONYMOUS REFERRAL SERVICE AND ADDICTION TREATMENT 24 HOUR HELPLINE.' I called the number and told them I was looking for a meeting, they asked me for my area code and gave me the phone number of our Intergroup. The next day I called back and asked about the referral service, I was asked if I had insurance and then referred to treatment. I then notified our Delegate and the P.I. Chair, both have been working on this situation. I have a copy of the phone book if anyone wants to see it. In July I found out the District was paying for an answering service that was located in the club house. I started asking members around the District if they knew about it and when it was voted on and what groups voted. I haven't found anyone that remembers a vote at the group level. I don't know who made the decision that the District would pay this or how long ago it was made, I did find out that the District has been paying for this phone for at least 6 years. In the July meeting I sent the AA Guidelines for answering services back to the groups, it explains the groups that want an answering service should be paying for this. So July would be the last month District will pay the phone bill, and I asked each group if they wanted to pay the phone bill. None wanted it. In September we celebrated Dan's 59th AA birthday and the Groups finally ratified the Structure. We didn't restructure this District. It is the first time the District ever had a Structure or guidelines of any kind. We learned a lot from that process and I wouldn't have missed it for anything but I never want to do it again. District 25 is made up of 7 registered groups, 2 have been listed as inactive by former DCM's, 3 currently have GSR's. 1 is here today.

District 26 -- DCM: Brad P.
Not much has happened in the last quarter for District 26. We do have a new group, The Fort Campbell Lunchtime Group in Oak Grove. Hungry Spirits had their annual picnic on September 5th, lots of food and fun was had by all. Mike V. was the speaker for that day. It was a great time. The East End Group experienced some problems with their closed meeting, but was able to resolve the issue after an explanation of the definition of a closed meeting. We are hoping to have another group start in our District before the year's end. Hungry Spirits and East End made the September issue of the Grapevine in the section of 'If Walls Could Talk.'

District 27 -- DCM: Mark D.
Since our last meeting District 27 has had 1 District meeting. At this meeting we discussed and voted to have a District picnic which was held on the 29th of September. It was well attended. Several groups had group anniversaries and member's birthdays. Our District voted to purchase and donate Big Books to the Barren County Jail.

District 28 -- DCM: Maggie G.
District 28 holds monthly meetings on the last Sunday of each month from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Token Club in Lexington. Attendance at District meetings has averaged about 14 members. There are currently 27 groups in District 28, so not all groups are represented at District meetings. A Grapevine workshop was held August 21st at the Alano Club in Lexington. The workshop included a panel discussion, a talk by Joe O., Area 26 Grapevine Chair and a couple of skits. Our Alternate DCM, Tom L., resigned at our August meeting. Rita B. was elected to the position. At our September meeting our DCM, Maggie G., resigned and Rita B. became DCM, an Alternate DCM has not yet been elected. The Treatment Chair position has been filled by Chris K. The CPC and the Grapevine Chair positions are now open.

District 29 -- DCM: Dalton D.
No Report.

District 30 -- DCM: Katrina C.
No report.

District 31 -- DCM: Cindy T.
District 31 has had three District meetings since our last Area Meeting. We met on the first Sunday of the month at Serenity House, 845 Sunset Drive, Madisonville, KY at 2:00 p.m. We have three groups in regular attendance and support of our District; The Dawson Springs Group, The Red Door Group, and The Young People's Group. We also have Corrections, CPC, PI, District Dinner and Treatment Committees. Our District will be having a District Dinner Bonfire meeting at Stanley's Pumpkin Patch on November 13, 2010. We would love for you to visit our part of the state in Madisonville, in Western Kentucky between Henderson and Hopkinsville on Highway 41.

District 32 -- DCM: Dick W.
AA in District 32 is going great, in spite of our efforts. Our correction meetings (three jails) are going great. Our hospital mental health unit meetings are evolving. We are in the process of improving our support of our groups. We are considering setting up several sub-districts. Doe anyone have any experience they can share' We are concentrating on AA service including having service sponsors.

District 33 - - Alt. DCM: Clay D.
District 33 held its quarterly meeting Saturday night, September 18th in Fredonia, hosted by the Marion Group, the LBl Twelve-Steppers and the Eddyville What's Happening Now Group. DCM Lona B. presided at the meeting, with GSRs or representatives from nine of the 12 groups in District 33 present. District Treasurer, Woody C. reported that for the first time in some time, the District's treasury is nearing the point of attaining the prudent reserve suggested by the District's by-laws, with all bills paid. Corrections Chairperson Ray B. reported that several women members from the District are volunteering to begin taking meetings into the newly opened Women's Correctional Facility at Fredonia on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and it is hoped that it will be possible to begin facilitating those meetings after the volunteers have been cleared in accordance with the Facility's rules. Various plans were discussed for holding a fund-raising event to provide Big Books for inmates of the county jails in the District where AA meetings are already being conducted. Also discussed was a possible New Year's Eve dance, patterned after last year's successful evening.

District 34 -- DCM: Jeff N.
First off I want to thank District 5 for hosting. This I think is the third time in my life I have ever been in beautiful Campbellsville. I spoke here once and we had an Area meeting here before. District 34 is doing really well. We had the 'Picnic in the Park' sponsored by the Greenville Group. The speaker was good, the food was great and the fellowship was excellent. We all enjoyed it. All the meetings in District 34 are having rather large attendance. (Large for District 34 is not the same as large in Northern Ky.) But, we are proud of what we have.

District 35 -- DCM: Gary F.
Well, we did it. We had our workshop September 18th. Man, we had a great turn out. We had about 200 members coming and going all day. The workshop was great! I was looking around and there was about 75 people at one time at the workshop. We were doing good, but someone started giving out food, and you know what happens then. We had to regroup and have a lunch workshop. I would like to thank all the great people from the Area that came up and helped us with this. Man, they are still talking about it. We had great food, fun, and a great lead, Jack from Lexington and a good band.

District 36 -- DCM: Lucio L.
Thank you District 5. We appreciate you for receiving the community of the Area 26. My group permitted me to inform you that Group of District 36 will continue with the open doors with a will of service. Trying to maintain the Unity in our groups practicing the 36 principles of AA. We had different events organized by our groups we have. Also, visited other cities of Kentucky with the possibility to start new groups.

Host Committee and Intergroup Reports

Northern Kentucky Host Committee - - Alan O.
The Conference is being held February 18-20th 2011 at the Drawbridge Inn in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. Our Committee meets the Second Sunday of every month at the Promises Club in Newport KY at 11:45 a.m. We have everything set for the conference. Dates, Housing, Programs and Events. We are taking Pre-Registrations and have had quite a few early registrations already. We also have a Web site up and running which you can register online. We sponsor 2 events during the year to help with expenses. The 1st being the Old Timers banquet which is next Saturday in Cold Spring, Ky and the 2nd is a chili cook-off in December held in Cold Springs. We have a great line up of Speakers and events for the Conference and look forward to seeing everyone in Ft. Mitchell in February.

Bluegrass Intergroup - - Kent D.
As of August 31, 2010, the Bluegrass Intergroup checking account and prudent reserve demonstrated the strongest numbers of the year. Although still below the projected estimates the overall improvement is reassuring. Increase in income and decrease in expenses have contributed to this circumstance. As of the third quarter the Intergroup office has a new coordinator, Mary W., who has 19 years of sobriety. The steering committee expresses our deepest gratitude to Betty S. who served in that capacity for 15 years. The new office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12 to 5 p.m. and Tuesday from 1 to 6 p.m. The Bluegrass Intergroup made arrangements to have an AA meeting presence for the the World Equestrian Games. The 37th Annual Intergroup Banquet will be held Saturday, November 13, 2010. Eight of the 9 Standing Committees have chairs.

Western Kentucky Intergroup - - Clay D.
The annual Western Kentucky Intergroup picnic was held Saturday, October 11th, at the Kuttawa Harbor park. There were about 75 people present, including several visitors from the Fuller Center in Mayfield. Sherry P. from Chicago area was the guest speaker. Lona B. reported on her attendance at the last Area Assembly. The new Internet website is now fully operative, and information on all meetings in the Intergroup area is now accessible. The site can be seen as wkintergroup.org. Twelfth step work at Correctional facilities in the District continues, with AA meetings continuing from women volunteers in the Intergroup area who are willing to facilitate meetings at the Women's Facility now open near Fredonia in Lyon County. The Intergroup Office continues to be open on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., for the convenience of members wishing to purchase supplies. At the October 11 Intergroup meeting, plans were discussed for purchasing liability insurance for the supplies stored at the Intergroup Office, as well as, for the items housed in the Archives at the same location. Joe D., Intergroup Office Manager, attended a meeting of officers from other Intergroups in St. Louis during the month of September.

Louisville Intergroup - - Bruce H.
In the last Quarter we have: Elected a new Group Relations Chairperson ' Jeremy S. Elected a new Quarterly Chairperson ' Martin B. We passed out Singleness of Purpose cards to all groups to encourage reading of those cards at meetings. All of our Committees have been very active: Our Meetings of Wheels Committee is off to a good start with lots of volunteers and a few meetings taken in. This Committee will take meetings to non-ambulatory alcoholics with poor or no, support-groups. Archives continues to get group histories and old-timers stories. Our Chair, Cissy, went to the National Archives Workshop. Bridging the Gap continues to do a great job on presentations and contacts. Corrections has fired off a 'Pink Can' program for Literature collections. CPC, PI & Outside Speaker have all done appearances and presentations to carry the message. Treatment is preparing a list of facilities and presenters and finding a new person for a young ladies facility. And Camille is firing everyone up about the Grapevine and filling out those surveys. Our next Quarterly will be on October 23rd at the Saffin Center 3938 P:oplar Level Rd Robbin R. from Chicago, IL will be our speaker. We usually have about 700 people in attendance. Hope to see some of you there!! Our Central Office & Answering Service had 2047 calls and 40 Twelve Step calls. Visitors to our Central office were 272. Website 6,813 unique visitors, and there were 83 3mails answered.

Standing Committee Reports

Archives - - David D. for David W., Chairperson
I have been to the Repository every 3rd Sunday of the month. The only visitor we have had was the District 15 Archives Committee Chair, Sally. She wanted to see what was being stored in the repository for District 15 and spent a couple of hours with me going through their stuff. Yesterday we had 4 people attend the Archives Committee meeting. The need for group histories & interviewing old-timers was discussed. I distributed the guidelines for taking group histories and the use of the oral history guidelines for interviewing old-timers. This was a small but very enthusiastic group. We talked a great deal about the importance of group histories and I shared my experience with gathering the information to do this. We also discussed how to handle archival material and just what qualifies as archival, for groups, districts and the area. Once again, I invited everyone to visit the Area 26 Repository. We are open the 3rd Sunday of every month from 11- 4pm and by appointment. Please feel free to contact me to schedule a visit. Thank you for letting me serve Area 26.

Cooperation with Professional Community (CPC) - - Charlie S., Chairperson
I would like to thank Gary F. for inviting me to participate in District 35's Party/Workshop in Northern KY. I am thankful that we are not organized. The flyer said that we would start at 2, but when we got there we discovered that it was pushed back to 5 o'clock. This gave us an opportunity to visit the 405 Oak Street Club in Cincinnati. It was exciting to learn that this is the oldest existing club house at its original location. Then I learned at the workshop that I would only have about three minutes to present about CPC work. The turnout was great; the food was great and the weather was good. I was contacted by GSO with a request to make a contact with a local hospital in response to their request for literature about AA. GSO was able to send some literature with the explanation that AA is self supporting and provide them with where and how to order more literature. As of this date, I have not had a response from the contact person at the hospital. District 3 has invited me to participate in an AA Traditions workshop in Bowling Green, November 13th. I have been asked to share on Traditions 3 & 4 and to set-up the CPC display. I was glad to see several members returning to the committee meeting and sharing on what has been happening in their Districts. There were three new attendees at this meeting. Singleness of Purpose was a hot topic with a lively discussion about Drug Courts. One of the attendees reported that the State of Kentucky is releasing an educational program that speaks of AA in literature and video. He has concern that this media release may violate our Traditions. District 14 reported that they have made connections with the local Drug Court and have received a positive response from their efforts of informing them what AA is and what AA is not. One of the attendees reported that they are taking a
college class, and as class assignment, they are asked to attend an AA meeting and write a report on their experience. Their concern is that the professor may not be informed on the Traditions of AA. They see this as an opportunity to inform the professor of what AA is and what AA is not by providing them with some of our literature. One again, I cannot express enough of my gratitude to this body for allowing me to treat my disease by serving as your CPC chairperson.

Corrections - - Cathy B., Chairperson
Thanks to District 5 for hosting this weekend. We've had great food and fellowship. On Sat., Sept. 18, I spoke at a workshop at District 35, northern KY at the invitation of Gary F. Nearly all the committee chairs were present and spoke briefly about their committee. Thanks for inviting us to share and and for the great cookout. I am helping Jason R. in District 15 plan the corrections workshop to be held on Saturday, October 23 at the Alano Club, 370 E. Second St., Lexington., from 1:30-5 pm. I answered the request from the Northern KY Intergroup Office for a visit to an inmate in the Hardin Co. Detention Center in District 4. The corrections committee chairs and volunteers from across the area gave reports as to how the jail/prison meetings are going in their districts. We discussed a request from Jim M. at the Corrections desk at GSO for local solutions to resolve perceived differences between facility rules/regulations and what AA is and is not. Here are some of the items that were discussed. When there is much discussion about drugs rather than alcohol in the AA meetings, it is appropriate to have separate AA and NA meetings. It is helpful to build relationship with correctional facility staff instead of head butting with them. Persistence, patience, prayer, and information are helpful in building relationships. Thanking the officers and warden verbally or by a written letter is helpful. It is helpful to remember that jails/prisons are concerned primarily about safety and security for the public, staff and AA volunteers. In keeping with jail/prison rules, when an AA member on the inside accomplishes a length of
sobriety or completion of a program, giving them a paper certificate instead of a token or coin will help with compliance with regulations. We had 17 in attendance at the Corrections Committee meeting on Sat. Will all who attended that meeting stand and be recognized. Thanks for allowing me to serve Area 26.

Grapevine - - Joe O., Chairperson
The 2011 Grapevine planners are available for $5.00. See Joe if you need to purchase one. There were 8 people in attendance at our meeting. One of the topics that we discussed at our workshop were suggestions on how Grapevine reps can get more subscriptions and copies out to the public with their permission. Examples were to Doctor's offices, meeting places, Treatment Centers, jails and institutions. El, our Southeast Region Trustee explained that the Grapevine doesn't make money when we purchase the bundle of back issues of the Grapevine, but makes money only through subscriptions. Thanks for inviting me to the Lexington workshop. Had a great time.

Kentuckiana Newsletter - - Amy B., Chairperson
Good Morning I'm Amy B. and I am an alcoholic, currently serving as your Kentuckiana Newsletter Chair. Let me first thank District 5 for their hospitality it's been a great weekend. I would also like to thank Elle for coming this weekend and sharing her experience with us. It is always great for me to hear from our trusted servants. This past quarter I was invited to Covington, KY to talk briefly about the Kentuckiana Newsletter Committee which I really enjoyed. Newsletters were picked up by several people who had not seen the newsletter before and I got to talk to people about the newsletter and how to submit articles. We had a great committee meeting yesterday. There where 6 people in attendance. Will all those who attended the meeting please stand and be recognized' The first item discussed was our budget and the current cost of the newsletter for this quarter which was $421.5. This is a print run of 550 newsletters with staples and 50 newsletters without staples for corrections. Our next issue comes out in January. Our topic for January is 'Pain is the Touchstone of all Spiritual Progress' and the deadline for submissions is December 1st. The following issue will come out in April and the deadline for that issue will be March 1st. The topic for the spring issue is 'Our Primary Purpose.' Given the discussion yesterday this is a topic many people seem to have an avid interest in and it is our hope we will get submissions from people we might not have heard from yet. For the first time I am leaving this Area meeting with a submission on this topic..The committee first had to decide if we
wanted to keep the topic Our Primary Purpose broad or did we want to attempt to have a more defined topic. After interesting discussion we stayed with 'Our Primary Purpose' in order to allow diversity in submissions on a topic that every member of Alcoholics Anonymous. has experience with. We then discussed if there is a need not being addressed by the newsletter to the newest district in our area. We discussed Spanish translation software, the possibility of an audio file on the website and finally decided that I would speak with the DCM of district 36 to get his input on their needs and bring that information back to the next committee meeting. We continue to research the possibility and feasibility of having the newsletter in actual newsprint and hope to have more information provided at the next committee meeting. We will continue with articles about the concepts. As you might notice only one concept was written about in the current issue. The committee decided that we would continue to write on one concept at a time from this point forward. We will continue with the Committee Chair interviews and the next one will be on the newsletter. We will be adding a disclaimer to all cartoons from this point forward as well. We were able to distribute newsletters to all but districts yesterday. If anyone is here or lives close to districts,,, and would be willing to take their newsletters to them we would appreciate it. Finally please remember this is your newsletter and we want to hear your comments suggestions and tips. Please consider submitting an article for the newsletter and share your experience, strength and hope with us.

Literature - - George J., Chairperson
We opened the meeting with the Serenity prayer and proceeded to introductions while pertinent literature was handed out. (Guidelines on Literature Committees; Concept checklist; Is your Home Group Connected to AA as a Whole; Conference Approved Literature; Self-Support & Spirituality; GSR; Circles of Love; and (2) presentations on Spirituality ' Are our Practices consistent with our Principles' from the Chairmen of the Board and AA staff member. Next we reviewed the role conference approved literature plays in our unity, how it is developed and our part as AA members and Literature Committee members. We also discussed the Guidelines on Literature Committees, their role at Hope Group, District, Area and Conference. The next event
was to go over the minutes, pertinent to Literature, from the General Service Board meeting. Several progress reports were cited on issues forwarded from 2010 conference. Progress report on E-Technology was discussed, our Delegate Joy F. shared insight and experience on this and many other issues. The greater amount of time was given to discussion on the Conference Action to proceed with the development of draft for Literature addressing Spirituality including stories from Atheist and Agnostics. Excerpts were read from presentations given by Ward E., Chairman of the Board and Gayle Solheim R., AAWS staff person. That was followed by passionate well balanced board minded discussion from committee members. Our Delegate again was quite helpful sharing her experience and insight from conference on this issue. There was a vote taken on whether we would like an agenda item proposed to rescind the rescind Conference Advisory Action ' to proceed with a draft or progress report, for the next conference. This motion from the July Literature committee meeting was declined 1 to 12. The Committee would like to thank Joy for her support at our meeting.

Public Information - - John A., Chairperson
First, I want to thank those who attended yesterday's meeting. We had a total of 5 in attendance. Would those who were there, please stand' We'd also like to thank District 5 for hosting us this weekend. There was one anonymity break reported involving a publication of the Healing Place. Unfortunately, the Healing Place does not abide by our traditions of anonymity. The person mentioned in the article is an AA member, but I have not yet contacted her. The AT&T real yellow pages in Harrodsburg have a listing for: 'AA Alcoholics Anonymous Referral Service & Addiction Treatment' 'AA' and 'Alcoholics Anonymous' are registered trademarks. I called the number listed, and found that they represent a treatment center called Center for Recovery. I have contacted the P.I. desk at GSO and will be contacting the intellectual property administrator. I attended the District 35 workshop on September 18 and spoke about Public Information. The October 2010 Grapevine cover story is on the subject of anonymity on the internet. Here are some suggestions for 'anonymity-protected usage of social networking sites' by Dave S., author of 'Anonymity on the Internet' from page 13. 1. Don't join any group with 'Alcoholics Anonymous' in its name, even if there is a disclaimer. 2. Don't disclose that you are an AA member if you choose to join a group for people in recovery. Talk in general terms about meetings,
recovery and Steps. 3. Don't post a message on someone's 'wall' regarding meetings, sobriety or AA. 4. Don't publish pictures from AA functions with your friends in them, unless you have their permission. Make sure that
these pictures are viewable by your friends only. 5. Do if you choose to 'out' yourself on your profile page, make sure the page is accessible only to your friends, not to the general public. 6. Do ' When creating an AA-related 'event' on the site, make sure that it is private so that invitees don't have their anonymity broken when they decide to attend. Make the guest list of an AA-related event hidden. In the summer issue of Box 459, the trustees' Public Information Committee is charged with reporting back to the 2011 Conference Committee on Public Information with a draft policy on showing or not showing faces of actors who are portraying A.A. members or potential A.A. members in Conference-approved visual media, reviewing and taking into consideration targeted audiences for all available A.A. tapes and videos.

Registrar - - Chris T., Chairperson
I sincere appreciation goes out to all of you dedicated individuals who contributed to this endeavor. Thank you very much. A quarterly update on the status of the groups in Area 26 as reported by the GSO data base in New York reveals the following status's. Active'''''..699 Groups Inactive'''''528 Groups Incomplete data''0 Groups New groups'''..0 Groups Pending Active''.1 Group Traditions Group in Owensboro, District 17. Welcome Pending Inactive''1 Group Koala Group, District 23, service number: 137002 Unknown'''''3 Groups Burnside Group, District 7 Central Avenue Group, District 5 Monday Grapevine No Smoking Group. If anyone has any information on the pending inactive or unknown groups please contact me this weekend.

Special Needs - - Debbie C., Chairperson
First, I would like to thank District 5 for hosting us this weekend. Having served on the District Committee and been a part of hosting an Area Meeting, I know that you have put more effort into this than your DCM is letting on. And I see how many of your folks are involved in service work this weekend and know how important this has been to their sobriety. For that, we all thank you. I attended the workshop in September that was held by
District 35 and thoroughly enjoyed my day there. My only regret is in being too tired by the end of the evening to stay for karaoke. I still remember how good I was at singing along with one of my favorite artist on TV at the bar one of his best songs. One of the attendees from District 35 at that workshop expressed interest in serving that district as Special Needs; I was so disappointed that she was unable to be here this weekend. I did have a small increase in attendance at our committee meeting yesterday, meeting Starr C., District 5 Special Needs Chair. I hope you don't mind, but I asked her to check with the DCM to see if the area structure has allowed for her to attend the area meetings. Quarter after quarter, I come to these meetings looking forward to meeting with representatives from more districts, but so far, have met very few. Well, we may be few, but we have a great time in our meetings. We had a great sharing session in our meeting yesterday, hearing from one person of difficulties that her district is having with children not having proper supervision during meetings. Another person shared that when the parking lot was resurfaced at the clubhouse in his district, the handicapped parking placed were placed as far away from the handicap entrance and ramp as could be done and was discouraged by this. Jo Ann M. from District 13 brought information from the Meetings on Wheels effort in Louisville. The Area Committee talked briefly last night after the meeting about updating committee displays and and usual, we could not come to an agreement about how to proceed. On the way back to the hotel, I was talking about this to my sponsor and she told me that she had some ideas for updating my display. It's always good to pick a sponsor who has what you want. I picked Nancy to sponsor me after I had been sober a few

Special Needs - - Debbie C., Chairperson - continued
years, seeing in her the lady I wanted to become. The extra benefits I get, such as organization and artistic assistance is just an extra. Thanks again to District 5 and thank you El, for coming to our meeting and sharing with us. I think we have all learned a lot from this.

Treatment Facilities - - Brian S., Chairperson
At the treatment facilities committee meeting yesterday, we had a total of 18 people in attendance. Our attendance was equal to the July meeting and we had several people returning from the last meeting. I'm very optimistic about the future of this committee. Dick W., DCM of district 32 present to the committee information regarding what is going on with the hospital in his district. Currently there are some hurdles to overcome as the hospital is under new ownership. The new hospital rules may end AA's relationship with them. The hospital seems to want AA members to go through volunteer training and then actually become 'hospital volunteers.' AA experience has taught us that we must not affiliate ourselves with any other organization; implied or real. We want to cooperate with the hospital as much as possible and within AA tradition. With the remainder of the time, we had a sharing session with just about everyone participating. We identified outpatient treatment settings as an untapped area for an AA presence. We also viewed the Hope 2009 DVD again. I ask all DCMs to please appoint someone from their District to the Treatment Committee. Without Regular participants it is hard to make progress. Thanks again to Area 26 for the opportunity to serve, and I'd like to ask all who were in the treatment meeting yesterday to stand and be recognized.

Website - - Jon S., Chairperson
First of all, I like to thank District 5 for putting on this shindig. Great school with adult sized chairs, great food, especially the donuts and cupcakes and great fellowship with people who really care about AA and the still suffering alcoholic make it worth the drive from all over Kentucky to get here. I got to tell you, I come to these meetings because Barbara asked me to serve as Website Committee Chair, but it's you who make it so much fun to be here. In fact, we agreed in yesterday's workshop that ours is the funest committee. I may be the Chairperson, but like to ask the Website committee to stand so you can see real experience, strength and hope of this committee. They had been helping me with email and working very hard on our web policy which we hope to present to you very soon. A motion was made to stop showing events on our website. After some debate the motion was tabled until our next meeting. Don't worry, we still have events on our site. And if our website policy will be not to have them, the entire Area 26 committee will have to approve the policy before it goes into effect. If you have input or would like to help with the forming of our Website policy I encourage you to attend our workshop at our next Area meeting. However, I must tell sometimes we take the part in our book that says, 'We are not a glum lot,' a little too literally. Still, we did make some progress yesterday. We really need you to be using your Area 26 anonymous email. Forwarding email to your personal email is becoming more and more problematic. First, if you are not using your email box, it builds up and I have to empty over 50
email boxes one at a time, several times a year. When a box is full and email bounces back to the sender, they see your personal email address. Also, if I don't have your correct address you don't get your mail. Please change your password. Until you do anyone who has your password can access and use your email. I'd like to thank District 35 for inviting me to their workshop. I had a great time. Thanks to District 3 for inviting me to the Traditions workshop on November 13th in Bowling Green. Email Report: Calls and Type ' 11 -1 2 step; 35 - Contact Form; 17 - Meetings info; 7 - Website; 5 -Bounced; 17 ' Delegate; 38 ' Meetings Update; 13 ' Website Committee; 11 ' Committees; 29 ' Events; 21 ' Other: Total - 204

Welcome to Service Workshop - - Lynda R., Alternate Delegate
There were 35 to 40 people at the Welcome to Service Workshop and we may have had a couple more, but we ran out of chairs. Cool thing, running out of chairs at a service workshop! I'd like to say welcome again to all of the new GSRs and thank you for being willing to serve. What happens at the Welcome to Service Workshop is always different. We usually talk about the same general topics, such as our service structure, becoming familiar with our literature, service sponsorship, the Traditions, the Service Manual, what to expect during the Area Assembly, etc. But it's your participation, your questions and your sharing that makes each workshop special. Yesterday, you guys brought up great topics that a lot of groups struggle with, singleness of purpose and how to get people interested and involved in service. The workshop provides a forum where we can learn from each other's experience and about what's worked and what hasn't and it also lets us know that we're not along in these difficulties. Once again, the hour passed too quickly and we ran out of time before we ran out of questions or comments. I hope if you had a question that we didn't get to or if something comes up over the
weekend, that you'll pull me or one of your other Area Committee Members aside to chat. El, thank you so much for being there. And thank you to everyone else that attended the workshop.