General Services of Southeast Michigan - Area 33
General Information About Area 33
Newcomers soon learn about the importance of twelfth step work—service to another alcoholic that helps both giver and receiver to stay sober. They then see such work broadened to include central office or intergroup service, and institutions committee service. Finally, general services. What are they?
In Bill W.’s fine introduction to The Service Manual, he tells how general services grew to fill a need beyond the reach of individual, group, and intergroup. Today, the term general services is applied to all kinds of activities within the Conference structure, carried on by area committees, delegates, trustees, and G.S.O. staff. Usually the service effects the Fellowship as a whole. Almost always, they are part of A.A.’s distinctive unity, which allows the fellowship to function so well.
Geographic Data:
Area 33 is located in Southeastern Michigan. It includes 5 Counties: Wayne; Oakland; Macomb; St. Clair; and Sanilac. There are approximately 700 groups in the Area. The Area is divided into 24 Districts.
Structure of Area 33:
The basic unit of AA's service "structure" is the AA Group. Your Group and it's neighboring Groups form the next larger unit, the District. Group Service Representatives (GSR's) attend District meetings, and elect a District Committee Member (DCM) who conducts District meetings and represents the conscience of the District as a voting member of the Area Committee.
The Districts form the next larger unit, the Area. There are 24 Districts in Southeastern Michigan General Service Area 33. GSR's and DCM's attend Area Assemblies once a month to share information and decide questions which affect AA as a whole. Southeastern Michigan General Service Area 33 is actually one of the three Delegate Areas in Michigan, and one of the 92 Delegate Areas in the United States and Canada. The Area Assembly elects the Delegate who represents the Area at the yearly General Service Conference.
Assembly & Committee Meeting:
The Area Assembly and Committee meeting is held the third Sunday of every month at Colony Hall which is located on Evergreen Road in Southfield (between 8 & 9 Mile Roads). The Committee meeting starts at noon and lasts until approximately 1:00pm. The Area Assembly meeting is held immediately following the committee meeting. All business is conducted at the Assembly meeting.
Format:
The monthly meeting of Area 33 follows the following format...11:00 – 12:00
DCM meeting. Chaired by the Area Registrar and attended by all DCM’s and alternate DCM’s. Committee Chairpersons often attend this meeting and anyone is welcome to attend.
12:00 – 1:00
Committee and DCM meeting. Chaired by the Alternate Delegate. All standing committee Chairpeople, Liaisons, and DCM’s give a report to the Area. After reports are heard, questions for specific committees are entertained. No business is conducted during this session. All business is conducted during the assembly meeting which follows.
1:00 – 2:30
Area Assembly (Time is approximate—the meeting lasts until the business is done.) During the Area Assembly meeting the following is done: Sharing session, Treasurer’s report, Delegate’s report, old business and new business.
Sharing Session:
Each month (with the exception of March) a sharing session is held during the Area Assembly meeting. The topic of the sharing session is determined jointly by the Area Chairperson and the Standing Delegate. Anyone is invited to give suggestions to the Area Chairperson for sharing session topics. Sharing sessions are explained in detail in the AA service manual (p. S40, S95-96). During the sharing session each person present is able to share for up to 2 minutes on the topic. Each person shares only once and it is not a debate, rather a sharing of ideas and thoughts.
(Monthly Sharing Sessions have been suspended until further notice)
Try the Sharing Session on this web site.
The area officers include the Delegate, Alternate Delegate, Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. The area officers serve a two year term beginning in the odd years. Elections are held in the month of November of the even years. Election is done by third-legacy procedure as described in The Service Manual. The outgoing Delegate chairs the election assembly and forwards the results to the General Service Office. Voting members are the GSR’s, DCM’s, Area Chairpersons, and Area Officers. Alternate GSR’s and DCM’s are also voting members in the absence of the GSR or DCM.
Secretary:
Handles all the correspondence of the Area; maintains a current mailing list; produces and mails the minutes of the Area Assembly and Committee Meetings.
Click here for more info.
Treasurer:
Receives and deposits all group contributions; pays all bills incurred for Area 33; maintains all financial records and ledgers; maintains current IRS and legal information for non-profit status; provides a verbal and written report at the Area Assembly; is a member of the Finance Committee.
Chairperson:
Prepares the agenda and chairs the Area Assembly meeting; communicates with the area committees; contacts committee chairpersons and area officers who have not shown up or contacted the Area for three consecutive months.
Alternate Delegate:
Prepared to assume the Delegates responsibilities should the Delegate be unable to continue any duty; presides at the Area Committee meeting; chairs quarterly Service Committee meetings; coordinates annual Area Workshops; responsible to have coffee makers for area meetings; assists the Delegate whenever needed. Sets up and coordinates GSR school.
Delegate:
Carries the collective conscience of Area 33 to the General Service Conference each year; reports the events of the conference to the Area Assembly; attends all Area, State and Regional service meetings; helps the Area and the General Service Office obtain financial support; is a member of the finance committee; obtains information from GSO; provides AA leadership in solving local problems involving AA traditions; visits groups and districts in the area; works closely with Area Officers; keeps the Alternate Delegate informed; late in the term, works with the Delegate-elect and new Officers.
Chairs monthly district committee meeting; maintains computer records of all AA Groups in the Area; keeps records current through use of group change forms; distributes group printouts (or information on diskette) from GSO to District Committee Members.
Records Secretary:
Maintains Area 33 Databases and Master Records File; advise Area on policy & procedures; assist Secretary with Area Minutes mailing, backup and support to the Secretary.
Liaisons:
Area 33 has several liaison positions. A liaison is simply a contact person, or representative, from another group or entity who keeps Area 33 up to date and informed as to their activities. Likewise, they inform their groups or committees of the events and news of Area 33. The standing liaison positions we have at Area 33 are:
Intergroups:
We have four intergroups in Area 33. Each intergroup can send a liaison to Area 33 to keep us informed as to what is going on with their intergroup, events they are involved in and the liaison participates in the Area meetings.
- AA of Greater Detroit
- Detroit & Wayne County Office
- Macomb County Intergroup
- Oakland County Intergroup
Young Peoples Bid and/or Conference Committees:
Various young peoples groups throughout the Area elect liaisons to Area 33. They represent either a bid committee or a conference committee and attend the regularly scheduled monthly meetings of Area 33. They keep the Area informed as to the progress of their committee, announce events they are hosting, and participate in the Area meetings.
- ICYPAA - (International Conference of young people in AA)
- MCYPAA - (Michigan Conference of young people in AA)
Elections/Rotation:
Each November Area 33 holds an election. Each Area service position is held for a two year term (referred to as a legacy). In keeping with AA principles, we follow the spirit of rotation and elect new people to serve after the two year legacy is completed (or sooner if necessary).
The Area Officers and Area Committee Chairpersons are elected on opposite years. This is to add continuity and stability to the Area. On the year we elect new officers, we have Area Chairpersons who have already served a year. Likewise, on the years we elect new Area Chairpersons, our officers have been serving for a year and can help in the transition.
Area Officers are elected in the November of the even year. The newly elected officer’s term begins on January 1st of the odd year and lasts two years.
Area Committee Chairs are elected in November of the odd year. The newly elected Committee Chairpersons’ term begins on January 1st of the even year and lasts for two years.
If an elected Area Officer or Committee Chairperson does not show up or contact the Area Chairperson, it is the Area Chairperson’s responsibility to contact that person to see if they want to continue to serve. If they do not, or if the Area Chairperson is unable to get in touch with the individual, the position will be open and an election will be held after it has been announced in the Area minutes.
Workshops:
Area 33 has two workshops per year—one in the spring and one in the fall. It is the responsibility of the Area Chairperson to find a district to host these workshops. Area 33 has developed workshop guidelines and a workshop checklist. It is available to any district or group requesting it.
GSR School:
Area 33 will host a GSR school for any district requesting it. All arrangements for the GSR school are set up through the Area Registrar.
General Services Of Southeast Michigan - Area 33
P.O. Box 2843
Southfield, MI 48037-2843Phone: 313-831-9646
General Service contributions can be mailed to the above address and made payable to General Services Of Southeast Michigan. When contributing, be sure to include your Group Name and Service Number on the check or money order to insure proper recognition and credit.
Information about Area 33 Committees & Districts is found elsewhere on this Web Site.
NOTE: The following information does not pertain directly to Area 33, but reflects Statewide & Regional activities relative to the functionality of the Area’s various Service Entities and the unity of the General Service Structure as a whole.
STATEWIDE ACTIVITIES:
State Convention:
The State Convention rotates throughout the three Areas in Michigan. Every third year it is hosted by Area 33. In the years we host the State Convention we hold it in lieu of the March Round-Up on the same weekend (the weekend in which the last day of the convention falls on the second Sunday of the month).
Statewide Service Meeting:
The three Area’s in Michigan meet jointly quarterly. Everyone is welcome to attend the Statewide Service Meeting, and DCM’s and Committee Chairpersons are encouraged to attend. The Statewide meeting is a forum for updating the other two Areas of what’s going on in Area 33, learning what’s going on in their Areas, coordinating events throughout the state, developing unity within the state, sharing information on the State Convention, planning the Mock Conference and we have two Statewide Service Committees, Grapevine and Corrections. The Statewide Meeting is held at 1:30pm on the fourth Sunday of January, April, July, and October at the Lansing Central Office, 1500 E. Michigan Ave, Lansing, MI (This office was formerly located on Waverly, they moved... please update your records)
The Mock Conference is held on the fourth weekend in March. The purpose is to inform AA members of the agenda for the upcoming General Service Conference, to help AA members become familiar with the conference process, for AA members, GSR’s and DCM’s to give their input and the input from their groups and districts on the current issues and to help the delegates become familiar with the opinions and thoughts of the AA members, groups and districts in the state.
Statewide Committees:
We have two Statewide Committees—Grapevine & Corrections. The Statewide Service Meeting elects a person to chair each of these committees. The Statewide Corrections Committee meets quarterly on the morning of the regularly scheduled Statewide Service Committee Meeting at 9:30am.
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES:
We are one of 14 Areas that compose the East Central Region (see The A.A. Service Manual for map p. S116). The states included in The East Central Region are Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. We elect a Regional Trustee to serve a four year term for our region. See The A.A. Service Manual for details on the election procedure. Regional meetings are held twice a year at the Regional Convention and the Delegates/Past Delegates Convention. Every other year we have a Regional Forum.
Regional Convention:
The Regional Convention rotates from State to State and is held in conjunction with the state’s State Convention.
- Delegates/Past Delegates Convention:
The Delegates/Past Delegates Convention (DPD) is held on the second weekend in February. The DPD rotates between the States and the Areas. Everyone is welcome to attend this convention (not just Delegates and Past Delegates). See the current Delegate or Alternate Delegate for information on the upcoming DPD Convention.
- Regional Forum:
The Regional Forum is held every other year (in the odd years) in our region. The Forum rotates throughout the States and Areas. See the A.A. Service manual for information about Forums.