Mile High Area Service Committee

Mile High Area Service Committee

Meeting May 6, 2007

Meeting began at 2:00p.m. with a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer.

“The 12 Concepts of Service”was read.

ATTENDANCE

Administrative Committee

Subcommittees

(GSRs Present at Area) 39

MONTHLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEXT MHASC MEETING: SUNDAYMAY 6, 2007 @2:00pm

Please submit your group donations to the Treasurer within the first hour of this meeting.

Please submit literature orders, they are only taken until the break of the meeting.

When submitting group donations, please write the name of your group on checks. If you are not sure of the amount, do not estimate, wait until you get the exact total before completing the check.

MILE HIGH AREA SERVICE COMMITTEE, will be hosting ELECTIONS for Administrative Committee positions and Subcommittee Chair positions on June 3,2007 at 1212 Mariposa Street.

CRCNA XXI presents 5th Annual Sponsor/Sponsee Breakfast, May 19th, 5400 S. Yosemite Street, Greenwood Village, 9am – 10am, CRDCNA logo Display @10-10:15am and meeting 10:15am to 11:45 “Back to Basics of Sponsorship, Suggested donation $6, kids 10 and under

QUARTERLY BUDGET PLANNING MEETING, June 3, 2006 at 12noon, mandatory for Subcommittee Chairpersons and the Administrative Committee, all are welcome.

MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC, sponsored by Ain’t Dead Yet, Monday., May 28, 2007, 12n – 5pm (Flyer attached) @Dekoevend Park Shelter “C” near S. University Blvd. and E. Arapahoe Rd. for more info call Dan @303-570-3342

Just Can’t MissIt New Tradition Study, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, regular meeting on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays

Primary Purpose, Saturday at 10:30am, is closed in July because of lack of trusted servants.

Natural High Group of NA Speaker Meeting, every third Thursday of the Month, 7:30pm-9pm- St. Luke’s UnitedMethodistChurch, 8817 S. Broadway, after 3rd traffic light south of c-470, Highlands Ranch

Primary Purpose Meetingneeds trusted servants

Approval of Minutes.

April 2007 minutes approval

after changing the CRCNA Liaison name to Vale (under Subcommittee Reports)

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S REPORTS

Chairperson’s Report Dan A.

Hello everyone,

I would like to apologize to the addict who read my report and arrived at this location yesterday for the MHASC meeting, as I had incorrectly stated that today’s meeting would be held on May 5, 2007, not May 6, 2007.

I would like to thank Mel T who donated a Minolta Konica Laser Printer to this Area for our miscellaneous needs during our monthly Area meetings. I ask that the Literature Subcommittee store this printer with the Literature and bring it to the monthly Area meetings.

Please be aware that MHASC Subcommittee and Administrative Committee elections are only one month away. I am excited to learn who our Administrative and Subcommittee Nominees will be. Thank you, Karen for creating the announcement regarding next month’s elections. I have spoken with a number of addicts interested in taking positions. I remind all current Trusted Servants that you can best ensure a smooth transition to your successor by actively training them and working with them over the next few months.

Please remember that all the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Subcommittee Chairs must attend the Budget Planning Meeting on June3, at 12:00 Noon prior to our regularly scheduled meeting here at 1212 Mariposa.

We will hold our next regularly scheduled meeting on Sunday, June 3, 2:00 P.M. at 1212 Mariposa.

I welcome any suggestions as to how I can facilitate this body in accomplishing our primary purpose. My email address is . My cell phone number is 303-570-3342.

Thank you for letting me be of service. Dan A

Vice-Chairperson’s Report Jerry

Hello everybody,

It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year in this position, and I am grateful to have been of service to this body. With elections coming up I think it's important that share with you my willingness to follow through with my commitment, ifthat's the will of this area. That said I do not believe that this position is a rite of passage, I think it's important to have the best person for the position, not just the next in line. All I am saying is that I want the best for this body, and my hope is that this area will have more than one candidate to choose from, so that it will be able to pick the one it feels can best serve this body to carry the message of recovery. I LOVE service and will gratefully serve wherever this body can use me. Thank you for letting be of service, Jerry

,

Secretary’s Report Karen W.

Thank you for allowing me to be of service, Karen

Treasurer’s ReportLindsay

Opening Balance for March, 2007: $1,157.28

Emergency Reserve: $1,413.97

We had two returned checks this month, totaling $203.63. I will take this amount out of the account, and it will show up on this month’s report.

This amount was taken care of during the meeting. :o)

RCM I Scotty F.

No report

RCM II Joseph B.

NAWS – Woodland Hills, November 9-10, 2007

REGIONAL ASSEMBLEY – July 22, 2007

CRCNA 22 Bids due July, 2007

ZONAL FORUM , Grand Junction, Meet & greet – July 28, 2007

Longmont CRCNA, October 26-28, 2007

On-line Resources, Trusted Servants blogs, Event Calanders, Meetings throughout region

Good discussion regarding:

I. Proposal – November 9-10, 2007, two members to attend NAWS Convention & Literature

Workshop – Passed

II. Authorize BOD to spend up to $500 regarding INC. consulting

BOD Adhoc – May 12, 2007, concerning regional incorporation

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Activities SubcommitteeJames K.

No report. In loving service, James K.

CRCNA LiaisonVale

No Report.

H&IJay Mc.

May 6, 2007

Hospitals and Institutions Subcommittee Chair Report:

We had our last subcommittee meeting on April 8, 2007. We had 15 people in attendance. Our next subcommittee meeting is next Sunday (May 13th) at 5 PM at 1212 Mariposa. We are looking for people to go in to several different facilities. There is a list of facilities that we go into on the back table. We elected Janet as the new Panel Coordinator for Denver County Jail – Women’s. I would like to thank Elaine B for her work as Panel Coordinator at this facility for the past year. Ron G was elected as the Panel Coordinator for Peer One - Men’s. We are still looking for Panel Coordinators for Parker Valley Hope, Jefferson County Jail – Men’s, PhoenixCenter

I received the 160 Basic Texts that I ordered from the money given to us by Region. We will start disbursing the books starting next week. What an awesome thing to be able to do.

We are going to review our literature requirements on a facility by facility basis to be sure we are using our resources in the best possible way. We have added 4 facilities the past year and thus our literature requirements have grown.

Terry C, although not here today because of a prior commitment, is very interested in the position of H&I Chair. She has done a great job of helping in the position of Vice Chair. She plans on being here next month. In loving service, Jay M.

Literature SubcommitteeAlan T.

No Report.

Thank you for letting me serve, Alan T.

Outreach Subcommittee Nick S.

The Outreach Subcommittee for the Mile High Area meets the 2nd Sundayof the month at 5:00 pm at 1212 Mariposa St.

Last month: We sent 15 letters. We received 13 letters. We sent 2 books.

We are still supporting the "Gateway to Serenity" meeting and the "Just Can't Miss It" meeting in our Adopt-a-meeting program.

There was no activity on out Meetings-on-Wheels program.

Thank you for letting me be of service Nick S..

Phone Line SubcommitteeBrenda C.

Hello, I am Brenda. The Phone Line Chair, several phone Line volunteer schedules are open again; some were filled two months ago. Last month none showed up for training. Also only 2-3 members gave me their phone log reports. The Phone Line has been difficult over the last year. If no one is available to step up for the Phone Line Chair, I suggest we just let it go. At this time, next Sunday @5pm, the phone Line Subcommittee, will have another training, so again is any one is interested in being of service, please come to the training and learn how to log on, and other useful tools to discuss with people who call the phoneline. I am grateful that I have been on the phone line for as long as I have been, however, I must step down, and I will no longer be able to continue after June. Thank you for allowing me to be of service, Brenda C.

.

Public Information SubcommitteeDawn S.

MHASC -- Public Info Subcommittee Report

May 6, 2007

Hi, all. Not much to report this month. Because our meetings are held the second Sunday, our last meeting fell on Easter Sunday and most folks assumed we were not meeting. Therefore, it was just Patty and I. Because this was the meeting to plan the May Poster Party, we decided to postpone it until June so we could have more sub-committee members’ input.

I know that the second Sunday meeting time has been used because H&I, Phoneline and other subcommittees often meet here that Sunday, but this coming month (May) happens to fall on Mother’s Day. It might be worth considering if we could hold subcommittee meetings another day of the month so we don’t continue to conflict with holidays.

On April 20 (4/20, which we found ironic), a few of us – thanks Vicky & Melissa – went to speak to a JFKHigh School social problems class. It was a rewarding experience.

The April 25 meeting for Drug Court was cancelled by the DA, and has not yet been rescheduled. Ron is still hosting Drug Court alone and would welcome a partner – it is a great once-a-month (first Tuesday @ 6p.m.) commitment and awesome way to carry the message.

The PI phoneline needs a backup person. Lori M has been doing it for awhile now (definitely more than a year) and could use help. I know a previous PI chair suggested we do away with the PI line entirely, and have all calls come into the 832-DRUG line through shift volunteers. Personally, I think this would be a better use of resources. At least half the calls coming in the PI line are from confused addicts. phone line volunteers could forward any PI calls to the PI chair.

Several months ago I handed out some PI questionnaires to be taken back to the groups. I believe, and our literature supports this, that we need to have some kind of group conscience to guide us. I also believe PI’s function is to distribute information not only to the public but also to the fellowship it serves. That was why we asked for your help. My hope is that as this area learns more about what PI is and can do, they will be more supportive of the subcommittee and its projects. Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond and return the questionnaire. Here are some main ideas that came out of that – remember, this is simply a report of what I got back:

In answer to How I found out about NA – the #1 answer was treatment/H&I – which to me says our area’s H&I focus is working. Please also be aware that we had some treatment folks return these during the Service Extravaganza and during our subcommittee meeting, so that could have skewed the numbers a bit. The #2 answer was friends/family and word of mouth. A few listed the web, AA, jail, therapist, while one answered church and two said through court. These are areas that we as an area could focus on more. Are people not coming in much through church because their minister doesn’t know about us, for example?

In answer to How I found my first meeting, treatment again was the #1 answer, while #2 was 832-DRUG/phonebook, followed by NA member. Online was next, with a few saying a family member took them to their first meeting, a few said a friend, and a couple said they were directed by the courts or a therapist. This says to me that our phoneline is a strong tool to help us carry the message. Again, it also raises the question of whether we are doing enough to educate therapists or folks in the judicial system about where to find an NA meeting.

In answer to if your first impression of NA was negative or positive, people said it was overwhelmingly positive (3 to 1), saying they heard honesty, hope and were welcomed by members – but of course we have no response from folks who may have not found it positive and so did not stay. Reasons people got a negative impression include feeling uncomfortable about hearing the word “God,” feeling too young, not fitting in, dirty club house, online info was wrong about meeting place, nobody showed up for posted meeting time, and not ready to stop.

In answer to what does your home group do to welcome the newcomer, we got a lot a great ideas. Some groups set aside a special time in their meetings specifically for newcomers to share, they welcome newcomers in the format, encourage newcomers to share, open the meeting to anyone who is new or has felt like using in the past week, at end of meeting, state how many newcomers were in attendance. Some groups hand out newcomer packets, a list of phone numbers, meeting lists. Others provide coffee and cookies, as well as rides. Some sit in a circle, introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting, invite newcomers to coffee afterward, or make an effort to recognize newcomers individually and talk to them.

In answer to what we could do more to welcome newcomers, members answered: Less side talking and whispering during meetings, have a greeter, newcomer packets, make sure we offer a strong, consistent message. One said to go back to old ways of Do the Steps or Die. Have more speaker meetings, more organized activities and stress that the newcomer is the most important person in each meeting.

In regard to how members would like to see PI spend $100 to carry the message, the top three answers were (1) Yellow Pages, (2, tie) Distributing 832-DRUG Posters and (2, tie) Setting Out Literature Racks. Tied for fourth (and also high on the list) were Send Mailings to Professionals and Bus Stop ads. Learning Days for Professionals and the Internet was next in priority, followed by newspaper (some specifically naming Westword) and Health Fairs. A few said to send the money to Region/World, while only a couple said to use radio or TV. Be aware that some of this is skewed by the amount (only $100), which means radio and TV would be difficult. Also, this area had a long discussion on whether the Yellow Pages ad was worth the cost. Half of the respondents said they have used the Phone Book to find the number for NA, while half said they never used it. One group had a great idea that we spend the money on a stamp that has the 832-DRUG and web site on it, and use that to stamp all our literature, so that folks will have a local contact for us.

I think we have some new ideas to work with – hopefully, you can take some ideas back to your home groups and consider how your group can better carry the message – which is all about PI.

This will be my last month as PI chair. I thank the Mile High Area and its members for allowing me to serve. Personally, it has been a year of profound loss and change, so even when I was hosting PI meetings by myself, it allowed me to continue showing up on some level, and for that I am grateful. I also thank you all for your compassion and kindness throughout this past year.

In loving service, Dawn S.

Training SubcommitteeDesiree F.

No Report Submitted.

Website SubcommitteeMichael H.

1. 1250 meeting list delivered. We are back to white due to a change in printing vendors prompted by budget constraints. Remember you can view and print the meeting list from the website anytime.

1. There is an update sheet going around please edit and return to Me. Include your name and phone number incase there are questions.

1. Added meetings

 1:00 pm - STARTING MAY 3 - Surrender and Recovery — O,D,WA - 1410 Colo. Blvd, Idaho Springs (church)