MSCA - Mid Southern California Area 09 of Alcoholics Anonymous

Delegate's Bulletin Board

9 August 2020 Virtual Area Service Committee

MSCA 09 Rocks!

• Thanks to Rich, there is now a tab on our website (msca09aa.org) that allows electronic contributions. See green “Online Contributions” tab, 4^th down from the top on the right. Also, thanks to Rich for getting the quarterly budget report out in July, in time for today’s ASC.

• Due to travel to report to Hispanic Districts and mailing costs of bookmarks to the other 134 Conference members, I recently submitted my first invoice since PRAASA, which was $331.20 paid on 7/10/2020. As per the latest, July 2020 quarterly report prepared by Rich W, I have spent $513.60 of my $5,800 budget, which is 8.8% of my allotted 2020 budget.

• Thanks to Mitchell and Ryan, there are now ad hoc committees for both Technologies (particularly service and meetings in virtual settings) and Translations, which were only recently established with Board consensus on July 19.

• I really appreciated the two-hour event, “Service During the Time of COVID,” organized by the Temecula Intergroup and District 17, and a 10-minute presentation on Concept 2 with Area 05 on 7/21.

• I’ve attended the following Area Zoom events (in the order in which they occurred): Coachella Valley Intergroup (District 9, with Ryan on 6/20), Four-Area DCM Sharing Session (6/28), FORO (7/12), Unity Day (7/18), Sponsorship Workshop with District 9 (7/18), and Southern California H&I monthly meeting (7/26).

• Always, if you are not receiving emails from Ryan W, our Area 09 Secretary, there are two ways to receive emails by going to our msca09aa.org website: The yellow Mail Chimp tab to the right and “Subscribe to MSCA 09 Email” under Featured Items. If you are new to emails, check out the link at the bottom of your first email, where under “Other Useful Links” there is a link, “Previous Area Email Attachments,” where there are links to all emails back to March 2020.

Pacific Region Relations

• I’ve attended the following report-backs in other Pacific Region Areas: Areas 06 (6/20), 08 (6/20), 02 (7/12), 92 (7/12), 06 (7/18), and 17 (8/1). In support of Thomas S (Area 05), I attended a Concepts Workshop on 7/16. I also attended a Zoom meeting with the other Pacific Region delegates on 7/7, which is the fourth such meeting with other delegates.

• Thanks to Kathi F, our Pacific Region Trustee for the last 2.5 years and the next 1.5, her Trustee’s Report following the summer General Service Board quarterly meeting will be on 8/17. Since I will be backpacking in the Sierra, I’ve invited Hiro to attend in my stead.

• This Friday, August 14, I plan to drop off PRAASA sound equipment in Bakersfield with Pablo H, Area 93 alternate delegate, so they can prepare for PRAASA on March 6, 7, and 8, 2021 (hopefully) currently scheduled in Burbank, CA.

Pandemic Panel 70, COVID 19 Conference

• On 7/22/2020 the Board voted unanimously for MSCA to contribute without request for reimbursement the $3,200 contribution Area 09 made in February 2020 before the Conference was cancelled. There is a requirement of $1,800 to support delegate’s travel, we contributed $3,200, and although we do not know what the per-delegate cost was for the virtual Conference was, it seemed appropriate to honor that contribution and not request reimbursement.

• Since 6/20/2020, I’ve provided report-backs to the following nine Districts: 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 17, 23, 24, 25 (the last three Hispanic Districts were in person). So, to date, excluding the Area 09 report-back on 6/14/2020, I’ve given Conference report-backs to 17 Districts. Over the next month, I have the following three report-backs scheduled: Districts 4 (9/2), 7 (8/10), and 12 (9/13), which will be 21 of 24 Districts. At least two Hispanic Districts have asked me to provide report-backs at the Group-level, although one of them cancelled due to a COVID-positive member. If not already, please schedule my report-back with the remaining Districts.

• For the first time since mid-May, the full Conference will convene on 8/15 for a final, audited Finance Committee report from Leslie B.

• As a result of a Committee Consideration for Agenda Item C under the Treatment & Accessibilities Conference Committee, three ladies have already asked me about submitting new stories for the pamphlet, “A.A. and the Older Alcoholic,” which has led me to contacting Treatment & Accessibilities (Irene D) and Literature Committee (Steve S) to facilitate these submittals. We expect that there will be a call for new, diverse stories from older alcoholics in mid-August, which was confirmed at the District 17/Intergroup event on 7/21/2020.

News from New York:

• I received the electronic 2020 Final Conference Report on 7/29, which was immediately sent to Ryan to be eblasted and to Rainer to be posted under the confidential link on msca09aa.org website.

• Although it was six days late (submitted on 7/30 following the deadline of 7/24), I immediately submitted Cesar F’s (Panel 64 MSCA 09 past delegate) resume to the General Service Office for the position of Nontrustee Director for AA Grapevine.

• Hopefully everyone was able to visit the International Conference virtual website at aa.org. For me, the “Carry the Message Pavilion,” which was reminiscent of the Grapevine booth where I spent several days at the Atlanta International Convention brought tears to my eyes.

• Learn from Kathi F on 7/18 that in response to the deficit in contributions to GSO, that about $800k was contributed in May and more than $900k in June. Please continue to encourage contributions.

• There was a GSO announcement dated August 3^rd reporting that active redevelopment of the aa.org website is being postponed until 2021. This and all other GSO announcements are posted immediately under the “GSO Announcements” link on our msca09aa.org website.

Delegate’s Bulletin Board

• In the last several months, I’ve posted three documents to the Delegate’s Bulletin Board: “The Heart and Soul of AA,” celebrating our Districts on June 23^rd; “Virtual Zoom Board Meeting,” reporting my activities to the Board on July 19^th; and “My Reflections on Concept 2,” describing how it relates to service in Area 09 before and after the 2020 virtual Conference.

Thanks for letting me be of service!

Ed L., MSCA 09 Panel 70 delegate

1. Prepared in preparation for an AA meeting in Area 05 on 7/21/2020 where I was asked to share on Concept 2