SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
November/December 2010
Southern New York Assembly Area
www.al-anonny.com
Southern New York Area Al-Anon/Alateen
Delegate – Panel 48 Marcia B.
Dear Al-Anon Members,
This is my last article for this newsletter as Delegate.
It has been an honor to serve as Delegate for the last three years for our Area. I have enjoyed sharing the
information from the WSC (World Service Conference) with our Area. I have visited all but one active
District in our Area and each of our Al-Anon Information Services. Our Area has made a solid connection
with our Spanish Intergroup and also with New York Intergroup. We now have a working relationship
with these two service arms. We have also put into place an Alateen Coordinator and an AAPP (Area
Alateen Process Person). We are now starting to build a strong Alateen Program in our Area.
I will continue to do service at the Area Level for the next three years which will allow me to be a part of
this decision making body called our AWSC (Area World Service Committee).
My participation in service has given me the opportunity to learn how to speak and act appropriately in
group, and family settings. I know that service in Al-Anon is the best way to learn how to respond and
behave for it is a safe place where no one is going to be critical and judgmental. Learning to understand
the Concepts of Service was instrumental in this process.
I know that if I continue to serve Al-Anon, using the Steps, Traditions and Concepts of Service, I am
reassured that I will continue to learn and grow in all my relationships wherever I go. The service I have
done throughout the years does not compare to all that Al-Anon have given me in return. For this and so
much more, I am a very grateful member of the World Wide Fellowship of the Al-Anon Alateen Family
Groups.
Hope to see many of you in the coming years learning and growing in service,
With sincere Gratitude and Love in fellowship,
Marcia B.
Delegate, NYS Panel 48
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Alternate Delegate
My journey as alternate Delegate will soon come to an end. A big Thank you to all officers and
committee members for all their work, and thank you GR's for letting me serve.
In the Concepts meetings prior to each Assembly, we made it through all the 12 Concepts together. By
allowing myself to study them with you, sharing insights of it in my reports and in the various handouts
throughout my 3-year term as Alternate Delegate: all that made a real impact in my life.
Service really takes you places in many unexpected ways. In this particular Service position, I came to
treasure Concept 5 as one of my favorites: The right to be heard and not the right to be right. This
Concept is so very thought provoking, in it lies so much hope and that in turn translates into individual
strength: The possibility to be able to make mistakes, as long as I am willing to participate in the whole
and trust in the process.
Many members in different groups for example expressed discomfort that someone outside the group
would come to facilitate such group inventory. I could feel the tension and then the release of it, when it
became clear that this “outsider” was just another member invited by the group and willing to listen and to
work with the group through all questions in our guidelines without giving any advice.
On other occasions I was asked to please give just that: some kind of guidance. I tried and shared some
program thoughts and my experience, strength and hope. How rewarding that was, when I was able to
take myself out of the equation, reminding everybody including myself, that this group is autonomous and
that I can only speak for myself. Truly each group inventory was unique and each time members left with
a sense of pride belonging to such a strong group.
When we learn to step outside our comfort zone and really practice the program in action, we learn to
identify our personal shortcomings through the actions of others and how to turn them into traits, while
embracing our talents and skills. I learned to be able to agree to disagreement and how important it is to
share and to try bringing each of us to a higher level of shared understanding. No one said it would be
easy, but the love of the program I was able to receive made it all worthwhile. I learned about my limits
and how to become more compassionate. One day at a time: Service is rewarding in a very special way, let
me assure you. !
Consider stepping up. I am glad I did.
Love in service,
Petra L, Alternate Delegate SNYA
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
AWSC Meetings 2011
Sign in at 12:00 pm
Meeting at 1:00 pm
(Officers, Coordinators, Liaisons, D.R.)
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011
Sunday,
Sunday,
Sunday,
Sunday,
March 13, 2011
May 15, 2011
Sept. 18, 2011
Jan. 8, 2012
Visitors are always welcome!
10am – Audit of 2010 SNYA and
Discovery Treasurer’s Books
All AWSC meetings are held at:
Saint Vincent's Hospital Westchester Division
275 North St,
Harrison, NY 10528
(Main Entrance – 1st Floor)
Sign In Starts 12 pm
Meeting Starts 1 pm
SNYA (Assemblies) 2011
(AWSC Committee, ALL Group Reps)
Sign in at 12:00 pm
12:15-12:45 GR Concept Meeting
Assembly starts 1:00 pm
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011 “Delegate’s
Report”
Saturday, October 22, 2011
All Assembly meetings are held at:
Maryknoll Center (Fathers and Brothers)
55 Ryder Road
Ossining, NY
Visitors are always welcome!
Sign In Starts 12 pm
Meeting Starts 1 pm
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Area Chairperson
Dear All:
Our three-year terms of service are coming to an end. It is quite remarkable to think that three years have
passed so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that I made a decision to be Area Chairperson.
I have found this service commitment challenging, enlightening and an opportunity to serve and grow in
my program. As Chairperson, I have had a chance to develop my organizational skills, stay focused, listen
carefully and follow up. The duties of Chairperson have provided me ample opportunity to learn and use
new skills that I could carry over into my workplace. I have continued to study and use the Steps,
Traditions and Concepts to help me strengthen my understanding of myself, this program and doing
service.
I have had a chance to meet so many people in our Area, from the tip of Long Island through to the vast
stretches of Sullivan, Ulster and Dutchess counties. I think I’ve driven over every bridge in southern New
York.
My service has given me confidence in leadership and enhanced my collaborative skills to work toward a
positive and effective group conscience. I have learned more about knowledge-based decision-making
and the importance of understanding something fully before making choices and decisions.
I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had for personal growth through the power of service to
this program. I am grateful for all of the people I have met along the way and have had the chance to
work together with as we have moved this Area forward over the past three years.
Together we have revised our SNYA Area Guidelines, revised our Discovery Convention Guidelines,
established the AMIAS Safety and Behavioral Guidelines, started up AMIAS trainings throughout the
Area, and centralized our Assemblies. We have expanded our website to include our Area Newsletter and
a Member Site.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve our Area. I am a grateful member of this worldwide fellowship.
Michele R.
Area Chairperson
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Area Archivist
Although I only served as the Area Archivist for one year, I am extremely grateful to have been entrusted
with this service. Personally, I have a great interest in the history of Al-Anon and how it has evolved over
time to become the worldwide fellowship it is today. I noticed when the archives were made available to
our members they too were interested, perhaps remembering their own beginnings in Al-Anon. Thank you
all again for the opportunity to be of service to Al-Anon.
Love in service,
Ellen D.
Area Newsletter Coordinator
October 16, 2010 a new Area Committee was formed. I’d like to congratulate all the newly elected
members and wish them peace and joy in their new commitments. As I leave my position as Area
Newsletter Coordinator I look back at all I have learned in this past year. It has been an honor and a
privilege to serve the Area in this title. Being a part of getting our newsletter on line for the first time was
a challenge. It taught me to walk through my fear and to ask for help—something I hated to do.
Our newly elected Newsletter Coordinator is Stacey S. from District 17. I’m sure she will do a great job
with our newsletter and I wish her all the best as she begins this new journey. I look forward to her fresh
and new additions. I wish you all blessed Holidays and New Year!
Yours in Service,
Donna R., Newsletter Coordinator
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Area Public Outreach Coordinator
I want to thank my Higher Power and the members who encouraged me to do service. Being the Public
Outreach Coordinator for the Area has been a wonderful experience! I had heard that doing service brings
out your “stuff,” and then you work on it and find more “recovery.” I don’t think all of my “stuff” has
come to the surface yet, but my term is over and I feel a whole lot more recovered than when I started. I
have learned so much about service, in program and outside of program.
Being busy with service, I was not always around when my teen daughter wanted me, but I have been
there when she truly needed me. That was good for both of us.
Of course I have had the reward of feeling accomplished, when some or even all of my efforts worked
out. I learned to have had faith in others, and to let go, when I’d receive a request from WSO. I’d send an
email, or make the phone call to reach out to the local AIS or District. I would step back and allow the
local person handle the task, such as getting a speaker for a school or meeting with an organization. I did
not have to do it all!
I have met the most wonderful people, and have had the chance to watch them grow in service too. I will
miss them all. However I believe I will be experiencing new adventures in service in the future, but
differently.
Jeanne B.
Area Public Outreach Coordinator
“REMEMBER”
A subscription to "The Forum," Al-Anon's monthly magazine, can be like having a
"meeting in your pocket." Subscriptions are inexpensive, and they make great gifts
for birthdays, anniversaries or just anytime!
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Concepts 10, 11, 12 - Petra L. Alternate Delegate
Concept 10
Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service authority and double- headed
management is avoided.
Concept Ten reminds us to make sure that people know what their job is before they begin to work on it.
When we don’t clearly define what is expected, we leave the other person to fill in the blanks. Then if
authority is exceeded, both parties are confused and disappointed.
All service jobs should create success for both the person doing the job and the person who has the
responsibility to oversee the job. Conflict is guaranteed, when enough time is not spent in clarifying the
limits of authority. Everyone wants to do a good job but many of us do nothing because we don’t want to
make mistakes and be corrected.
Once there is a clear understanding about the limits of responsibility we must step back and let the person
do the job. If I want others to help me and be responsible for the tasks I delegate to them, then I must give
a clear job description in writing and take time to discuss each task to achieve a clear understanding for
both the worker and the manager.
Only then can each of us be successful and double headed management be avoided.
Concept 11
The World Service Office is composed of selected committees, executives and staff members
Concept Eleven highlights the basic premise of Al-Anon principles. Good business practices are achieved
when sound spiritual principles are followed. A common misconception is that operating our service
structures using business principles is somehow abandoning the concept of relying on a power greater than
ourselves.
Concept Eleven reminds us that someone must have the responsibility and authority to make day-to-day
business decisions to ensure that the goals set by the volunteers are completed. Every decision cannot
involve everyone nor can a single person with limited authority accomplish what is needed to move a
project or idea forward. When practicing the spiritual principle of fairness outlined in Concept Eleven, we
realize that those unreasonable members are misinformed and may be unaware that their actions are
inappropriate.
The third principle outlined states that paid staff are given the right of participation and mutual respect as
it relates to the specific jobs. The ideas in Concept Eleven are not about power and authority; rather they
outline how the fair exercise of power and authority can produce satisfactions not only for the workers but
also for the volunteers who are given the responsibility to set the policies necessary to achieve the work.
We create structures (committees) to bring the best ideas, and with minimal guidance, allow them to do
their work. If adjustments are needed, we discuss those ideas but remember to give the job back to the
committee to complete. In that way, not only will there be enough people to get the job done, but more
people will have had an opportunity to experience these principles in actions.
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Concepts 10, 11, 12 (Continued)
Concept 12
The spiritual foundation for Al-Anon world services is contained in the General Warranties of the
Conference, Article 12 of the Charter
Concept Twelve is about prudence. Spiritual principles are not about fear and control, they are to
empower and guide us in making the best decisions possible based on the information available at the
time. They help me think in a broader, more expansive way. Again, I must continually seek the right
balance between the two extremes as I see them.
The first Warranty is about an ample—not a prudent—reserve. What a different concept! We are to have
enough, not have fear of enough. We can have enough money to meet our needs, but not so much that we
fear losing it. I learned in Al-Anon that money could be a tool for good things. In my past, it had always
been something to fight over.
In my personal relations with others, I had to learn the balance between being a good friend and a pest,
between a person who could help someone if asked, and one who pitched in, took control, and solved the
problem, whether it needed solving or not. I had to learn to step back, wait to be asked, clarify what I was
being asked to do, and then do only that task. As a result, not only did others seek me out, but when I
provided the work requested, I wasn’t so exhausted that I couldn’t take care of my own needs. I learned
that it was ok to say “no” as well without feeling guilty or having to make up excuses. I learned to attract
others to the program by how I acted and not just what I said.
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
District 17 - Staten Island
Dear Al-Anon Members,
It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the DR for District 17, Staten Island
for these past 3 years. There have been so many rewards for me in doing this
service. Service has been a good way for me to face my fear of speaking up. It has
also helped me to grow in acceptance. I am very grateful and I will always be for
having had this opportunity to be the DR. Without this service I could not have
grown as I have in these past 3 years, in both my personal life, and in the fellowship
of Al-Anon.
At the district we have accomplished many things over these past 3 years. Thank
you to my Higher Power and all the wonderful GR’s. These are just some of things
we have accomplished:
• Opened a new literature based meeting on Wed. nights
• Opened our 1st Spanish speaking meeting on Thurs. nights
• Opened our 1st men’s meeting on Tues. nights
• Re-activated our Alateen meeting on Tues. nights.
• Conducted our 1st Concepts Workshop
• Continued to host our annual Fall Workshop in October. This year we had
over 100 people attend.
• Adopted our own district workshop guidelines
• Adopted our own Public Outreach Coordinator guidelines and elected our 1st
Public Outreach Coordinator
• Our Public Outreach Coordinator & committee continue to spread the word
about Alateen and Al-Anon to the local community.
• In the spirit of cooperation with AA, our district continues to support our
members sharing their experience, strength and hope at 2 local open AA
meetings
• We have started the on-going process of gathering archives from the SI
Al-Anon groups.
• Upcoming: Traditions workshop in February 2011 to be hosted by Public
Outreach
As I move on in my recovery, I leave this service as a District Representative
feeling content and hoping all the best to the new members and DR in District 17.
Peace and Love in Service,
Beatriz G., District Rep.
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Step 8
Step 7
Humbly asked Him to
remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all
persons we had
harmed, and became
willing to make
amends to them all.
Tradition 7
Every group ought to be
fully self-supporting,
declining outside
contributions.
Tradition 8
Al-Anon TwelfthStep work should
remain forever
nonprofessional, but
our service centers
may employ special
workers.
Step 9
Tradition 10
Made direct amends to
The Al-Anon Family
possible, except when to
opinion on outside
others.
name ought never be
such people where
do so would injure them or
Groups have no
issues; hence our
drawn into public
controversy.
Tradition 9
Our groups as such, ought ever be
organized; but we may create
service boards or committees
directly responsible to those they
serve.
Step 10
Continued to take
personal inventory and
when we were wrong
promptly admitted it.
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
Step 11
Step 12
Sought through prayer
Having had a spiritual
and meditation to
awakening as the result
improve our conscious
of these Steps, we tried
contact with God as we
to carry this message to
understood Him, praying
others, and to practice
only for knowledge of His
these principles in all our
will for us and the power
affairs.
to carry that out.
Tradition 11
Our public relations policy is based
Tradition 12
on attraction rather than
Anonymity is the spiritual
personal anonymity at the level of
ever reminding us to place
promotion; we need always maintain
foundation of all our Traditions,
press, radio, TV and films. We
principles above personalities.
need guard with special care the
anonymity of all AA members.
Al-Anon Declaration
Let It Begin with Me
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
Let the hand of Al-Anon and Alateen
always be there, and -------------- Let It Begin with Me.
SOUTHERN NEW YORK ASSEMBLY - P.O. BOX 30, RADIO STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10101-0030
New Term of Office (Jan 2011 – Dec 2013)
OFFICERS
Delegate: Petra L.
Chairperson: Fran M.
Alternate Delegate: OPEN
Treasurer: OPEN
Secretary: OPEN
COORDINATORS
Group Records: Sarah L.
Forum/Literature: Veronica E.
Archives: Donna D.
Alateen: Sue P.
AAPP: Sue R.
Public Outreach: Marcia B.
Website: Michele R.
PO Box: Beatriz G.
Newsletter: Stacie S.
2011 Discovery: Judy H.
LIAISONS
SENY/AA Al-Anon Liaison: Carmen I.
Spanish Intergroup: Margarita
Rockland AIS: Terry C.
ALISON: to be appointed
NY Intergroup: to be appointed
Suffolk AIS: to be appointed
Westchester/Putnam AIS: to be appointed
PAST DELEGATES
Marcia B.
Joan L.
Ruth S.
Happy New Year to All