ChicagolandGA Intergroup Meeting MinutesAugust 18, 2004
CHICAGOLAND G.A. INTERGROUP
MINUTES OF AUGUST MEETING
August18, 2004
Chairman: Steve S.
Secretary: Tom D. #2
The meeting was called to order at 7:36 PM
Readings:
Unity Program – Angela M.
Unity Program Step 8–Barb P.
One Day at a Time –Jim J.
Excused Absences:
Myra F., Scott D., Phil S., Jim N., Frank B., Jeff T., Teddy S., Sandie M., Phil L., Mel S., Sam D.
Review of the minutes from the June Meeting
Top of page 1, change “June” to “July”.
Add Gayle B. to the excused list and change Jeff P. to Jeff T.
Change the Treasurer collections to $1860.25 for GA and $733 for ISO.
Motion to accept the minutesas amended -Motion passed.
Announcements:
- The September Intergroup Meeting will be on 9/22 instead of 9/15 due to Rosh Hashanah.
- For the October Intergroup meeting, the Thursday meetings need to bring information about their status for Thanksgiving – whether their meetings will be open or closed
- The 6-month CD was closed so that there would be funds available to pay picnic bills. This was closed with the consent of the Trustees and the Executive Board Members
Old Business:
- Conference Guidelines Proposal – Gary B.
Motion to dissolve the existing committee and start a new committee to take a longer look at establishing Conference Guidelines – Motion passed
Motion to run the 2005 Spring Conference as the last several conferences have been run – Motion passed
The first Spring Conference Meeting will be held on Sunday, September 19th at 1:30 PM in the Butler Board Room at the Oak Brook Hills Resort.
Are the chairpersons to be elected at this meeting? Last year some were and others were elected at the October meeting
The concern is that the Milwaukee Mini-Conference is the same day and in case someone is at Milwaukee, will they have time to get to the meeting on time? Gary suggested that if someone is interested and feels there will be a conflict, then call him and he can handle it before the meeting.
New Business:
- New Pinnings – Kathy H. (new pinnings are in bold)
Date / Day / Location / Time / Person / Years
8/20 / Friday / Dyer / 7:00 PM / Jeff G. / 1 year GA
8/24 / Tuesday / Norridge / 7:00 PM / Cindy M. / 1 year GA
8/28 / Saturday / Bartlett / 9:30 AM / Phil S. / 1 year GA
9/9 / Thursday / Mayfair / 8:00 PM / Rich H. / 1 year GA
9/15 / Wednesday / North Aurora / 7:00 PM / Jim L. / 5 years GA
9/23 / Thursday / Orland Park / 7:30 PM / Tom W. / 1 year GA
9/24 / Friday / Dyer / 7:00 PM / Rhea M. / 1 year GA
9/25 / Saturday / Oak Park / 9:30 AM mtg
11:00 AM pin / Tom M. / 1 year GA
9/25 / Saturday / Elmhurst / 8:00 PM / Joe V. / 1 year GA
9/30 / Thursday / Oak Lawn / 8:00 PM / Anthony C. / 1 year GA
All pinnings approved
- Since the Fall Trustee Meeting is earlier than normal and since we usually present flyers for our Spring Conference at this Trustee Meeting, we need to prepare a flyer with prices for the Spring Conference even though the Spring Conference Committee hasn’t had an official meeting. Steve S. presented proposed prices for this coming year. The prices are higher since we are currently running a deficit and need to generate more income next year. The proposal is to increase the A, B, and C package prices by $15, the D package by $10 (this is the registration fee, $35 instead of $25), and the E and F package by $5. In addition, the hotel cost will increase from $84.95 plus tax to $89.95 plus tax along with a non-taxed fee of $5.00 for using the facilities at the hotel.
Motion to approve these prices
Discussion:
Did we lose any money on any of the packages? No – we made money on all of them. If we hold expenses about the same as last year, we would make in the range of $5000 to $6000 instead of $1600.
Didn’t we issue more scholarships than previous years? Yes, at a cost of about $500.
Is this our only fundraising event? Yes – all others are to be break even at best.
Can we change the split with Gamanon? – We could, but that discussion could be held at a later time.
Motion passed
- There was a situation regarding the invocation at the Oak Lawn pinning. It is imperative that the invocation be generic when referring to God. We refer to God of our Understanding in our literature but we should not speak about a specific God (Jesus, Buddha, etc.). Please bring this back to our rooms and be sure the pinning chairperson discusses this with the person giving the invocation.
We changed the date of the September Intergroup Meeting to accommodate Rosh Hashanah – how is that different than this? In general, we try to plan our events around religious holidays – we close some meetings at Christmas, for example. In this case, we just missed/forgot about the dates.
- Starting September 20th, there will be a women’s only meeting at the TrinityLutheranChurch in Lisle from 7 – 9 PM. This is the same location as the Thursday night Lisle meeting.
Committee Reports
Pressure Relief –Gary B.
There was 1 financial pressure relief meeting reported to Gary. It was in Bloomingdale.
Other members reported that there were financial pressure relief meetings in Joliet (1), Downers Grove (1), Oak Lawn(2) – Pilgrim Faith.
Motion to accept the Pressure Relief report - Motion passed.
Public Relations–Gayle B.
Gayle asked that the groups turn in their volunteer sheets to her next month.
Bob O. indicated that there are things that can be done that are attraction and not promotion. He indicated that he would be willing to sit down with Gayle to discuss our options.
Gayle responded that she was surprised to hear this now since she has been doing this job for several months.
Motion to accept the Public Relations report - Report accepted
Supplies – Jim M.
We spent $512.74in supplies and we took in $197.00 at tonight’s meeting.
A Red Book, Blue Book, and Day at a Time Book were given to the new meeting in Lisle.
Motion to accept the Supplies report - Report accepted.
2004 Spring Conference
No report
Internet –Rick P.
No major issues.
There was one request for a gachicago.org e-mail address for the new Woman’s meeting in Lisle.
Motion to grant the gachicago.org e-mail address for the Woman’s meeting
Discussion
Is this typical? – no, this is a new offering benefit of having the gachicago.org domain name
Why is it needed? – so the members can communicate
Is there any downside to this? – only if they don’t check the e-mail address
The idea is to have the meeting officers have the access to the e-mail address
Motion to amend the motion to cover all meetings that desire a gachicago.org e-mail address
Motion passed
Motion to accept the Internet report
Discussion
We need to take the Rockton meeting off the list – it is not in existence anymore.
Report accepted.
Phone Service –Phil S. and Rene B.
The phone bill was $49.61 and there were172calls.
Motion to accept the Phone Service report - Report accepted.
Treasurer – Gail B. and Jim M.
The collections were $2209 for GA, $836 for ISO, and $34 for the room.
Gail reported that the CD was cashed and the proceeds were placed into the general checking account.
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report
Discussion
How much is in the checking account? - $13,118.35 after paying this month’s rent checks
Should we open a new CD for a lesser amount, say $10,000? – We could, but we should first determine how much money we should keep in the checking account before committing to a new CD
Romeoville meeting – The Romeoville meeting representative presented several concerns from the group related to the deficit facing Intergroup. The concerns covered a variety of topics, including Trustee expenses, Supply expenses, event expenses, etc. The bottom line is that it seems like the Trustee expenses have gone up at a considerably higher rate (21%) as compared to other expenses (<10%). Can we consider cutting back on the number of Trustees attending the Trustee meeting?
This generated a great deal of discussion regarding the Trustee’s and their expenses. It was pointed out, for example, that the Trustee expense guidelines were revised to allow Trustee’s to have their own rooms, with the expectations there would be both male and female Trustees. In addition, there were assurances that the Trustees have looked for the least expensive means of travel.
Motion to extend the discussion by 10 minutes – motion passed
The Trustees pointed out that the reason we established Trustee Expense Guidelines a couple of years ago was so they wouldn’t feel obligated to use their own funds for traveling, especially since it is possible that their financial situation would not allow this to occur. Any of these guidelines could be changed, but these are the guidelines we currently have
Several members voiced the opinion that it is not expected to have the Trustees use their own money, but that it might be a good idea to reduce the number of attendees at each meeting.
Anyone that concerned about the money spent by committees should volunteer to be on that committee and see if they could make a difference
Motion to extend the discussion by 10 minutes – motion passed
Brian B. presented some data about our collections. The current ration of GA/ISO is about 67/33. If we change that just a little bit, the money needed to balance our budget would come quickly.
Several meeting indicated they had voted to change their collections to 75/25 GA/ISO.
Brian also suggested that if each meeting collected only $7 a month more than they currently do, we would come close to balancing the budget. He suggested meetings pass the can around later in the meeting to help generate the extra income.
A member voiced concern about only looking at the income side of the problem. If Intergroup were a GA member, we would have them do a pressure relief and look at the expenses. It is very reasonable to cut back on expenses in the first year of a pressure relief so why not cut back next year to only twoTrustees attending each of the two National meetings as a way to save money in the next year.
Motion to extend the discussion by 10 minutes – motion failed
Report accepted
Sunshine –Linda D.
Cards are available.
Motion to accept the Sunshine report - Report accepted.
Activities –Lillian B.
Lillian has not heard from the people from the last Intergroup Meeting who wanted to start up some activities.
There is a flyer available for the 2nd annual Square Dancing activity. It will be on Monday nights starting September 13th for 12 weeks at the St. PaulCommunityChurch, 18200 Dixie Hwy, Homewood, IL. The class will run from 7:00 to 9:30PM. The cost is $3.00 per person or $30 per person for the 12 week session. There will also be a line dancing class from 6:00 to 7:00 PM on the same nights for anyone interested. That cost is $2.50 per week.
The 4th annual Family Entertainment outing is scheduled for Sunday, September 12th at the ScherervilleGolfCenter (Hwy 41 2 miles north of Rt. 30). The time is 2:00 to 4:00 PM and flyers are available.
Motion to accept the Activities Report – Report Accepted
Trustees Report
Brian B. reported for the Trustees this month.
Bob O. and Scott D. attended a Speaker meeting in Springfield, IL
All pinnings were covered by at least one Trustee.
You can now go to any boat in Indiana and have yourself banned from all Indiana gaming boats.
The National Trustee Meeting is in three weeks
Motion to accept the Trustees report.
Discussion
A member reported you can also go to Indianapolis and have yourself banned from the Indiana boats. This also applies to any out-of-state affiliates associated with the Indiana boats.
It was suggested that members not go to the boat alone to get themselves banned but go with a family member, sponsor, or just someone to make sure they stay out of trouble.
Report accepted.
New Meetings –Tom L.
Tom reminded everyone that there are new forms to be filled out if you intend on attending the prison meeting. He can be contacted at 815-342-6896.
Motion to accept the New Meetings report
Discussion:
Is the new sign-up for the prison meeting an annual application? No, once it is filled out, it is good for a while. However, Tom needs to provide a person’s name to the prison so they can provide forms with that person’s name on it. The entire process to be accepted on the prison meeting list is about 1 to 2 months.
The St. Charles meeting on Thursday has changed its start time from 7:30 to 7:00 PM.
The Medinah meeting reported they now have a good core group of attendees and the meeting is doing well.
The Mayfair, St. Charles, and Pilgrim Faith, meetings reported that they will split their collections 75/25 GA/ISO. Chicago Hts. reported that their meeting voted to give all collections to GA.
Report accepted.
Picnic – Dan B.
There were a total of 314 attendees at the picnic.
263 people preregistered but only 221 came
93 people walk-up the day the picnic
There were 22 scholarships and a $40 donation for the Scholarships.
Leftover food was given to the Wayback Inn. Leftover pop will be stored for future events.
The final amount will be given next month, but the loss appears to be around $1700.
Motion to accept the Picnic report
Discussion
What was the projected loss? - $1100 – the difference really comes from over-estimating the amount of food. The quote was raised from 300 to 350.
We also received $400 from Gamanon
Motion passed.
Holiday Party –Rene B.
No report
Conference Guidelines Committee – Jerry G.
No report
Good and Welfare
Mike K’s son was killed earlier this month in a car crash and he needs your prayers
Myra F. received 12 stitches in her elbow after a fall at the picnic but there were no broken bones.
For the Good and Welfare of our treasurers, please specify on your checks what the split amount is for GA and ISO.
Meeting adjourned at9:44PM with the group joining hands and reciting the Serenity Prayer.
1