REGIONAL SERVICE COMMITTEE
November 18, 2000

St. Paul's United Church of Christ
49 Indian Church Road
Buffalo, New York 14210

Tracy D. chaired the meeting. [Mark C. relocated (RSC Chair). Susan G. (RSC Vice-Chair) is now RSC Chair and was unable to attend.] The meeting opened at 12:05 p.m. with the Serenity Prayer.

Reading - Bob B.
12 Traditions - Freddie R.
12 Concepts - Art B.

Members present at meeting were as follows: Stacey D. (Treasuer); Sharon Z. (Secretary); Tracy D. (RD); Freddie R. (RD-Alt); Art B. (Chaut. RCM); Rick C.
(Alle-Catt RCM); Mustafaa M. (Buffalo RCM), Denise D. (Buffalo RCM-Alt); Mark T. (Web-Site Ad-Hoc Chair); and Bob B. (PI Chair).

Visitors included: Paul N.; Michael B.; Dave M.; Lynne B.; and Elizabeth S.

Mark T. volunteered to open the mail.

9/23/00 Minutes were unanimously approved as written without corrections.

REPORTS

Opening Treasurer's Report - Stacey D. reported an opening balance of $429.70. She also stated signatory cards need to be updated. Mark C. will be removed and Stacey D., Tracy D. and Susan G. will be the new signatures on the account. Tracy D. received an e-mail from ABCD Region regarding questions about the incorporation process and gave the e-mail to Stacey D. for Tom D. to handle.

Regional Chairperson - Susan G. not present

Vice-Chair - position open

Secretary - Requested Check for $15.00 for rent donation to Church. Returned receipts totaling $35.15 for postage and copying. Advance from September was $25.00 and requested $10.15 reimbursement. Requested $35 for November Minute expenses. Announced this meeting has to be last meeting as Secretary due to two upcoming surgeries in December and January. Turned over key to Church, archives of Minutes, envelopes, etc. to Stacey D.

RD - See report attached to Minutes.

AREA REPORTS

Alle-Catt - Welcome to Rick C. The Alle-Catt Area Service Committee of NA has enough members to fill the positions at the Area level. With this being accomplished, we voted to become involved at the Regional level again. An election was held and I, Rick C., was elected as the rep. at the Regional level. Rick C. submitted Minutes from the Alle-Catt Area Service Committee meeting held on November 12, 2000 which will be placed in our archives.

Buffalo - Mustafaa M. and Denise D. (Welcome to Denise D. - Buffalo RCM-Alt) submitted a handwritten report as follows:

At this time we have two checks of $125 each for Region. The Buffalo Area would like to have a reason why there will be a phone vote and if there is enough time, why shouldn't it be done in person like the rest and according to our By-laws? Tracy responded, if we were to have elections in December, they were not going to be done by phone. Mustafaa M. wanted a reason why we wanted to do it by phone in the first place. Sharon Z. said it was for convenience. Stacey S. added, the reason of convenience was for members coming from other Areas (i.e. Chautauqua), as it is a long way to travel in Winter months. Buffalo ASC brought forth nominations for Literature Chair (Lynne B.) and Convention Chair (Louis T.). Denise D. has been appointed by the Chair of the Area to stand in for the next three months as RCM-Alt. Bob B. asked about Buffalo area getting toll free number for phoneline. Mike B. said it is being discussed. Mustafaa M. submitted the Buffalo ASC meeting Minutes from October 8, 2000 to be placed in our archives.

Chautauqua - Art B. submitted a handwritten report as follows:

Since our last (RSC) meeting, there have been a couple of changes in the meetings in our Area. The Never Alone, Never Again group's Saturday meeting is now 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. instead of midnight and attendance has improved. The Day by Day group from Warren has left us and joined the LWPASCNA, but asked to remain on our meeting schedule. Nominations will be open next month for most of our Area positions. Activities - we had a Halloween Dance on October 28th and a Thanksgiving Dinner and game day on November 12th. Unclear on financial outcome. Christmas Dance in Dunkirk is back! It will be held at St. John Bosco Auditorium, Route 20, Sheridan New York. $6 at door, $5 pre-sale. Roast Beef dinner, speaker and dance. H&I - nothing new. PI - not having much luck with Police or Probation Departments in Warren but working on new posters and PSA's. Literature - doing great as always. Phoneline- bills were $71.35 and $67.15. Treasurer - available balance $0. Mustafaa M. asked how the Literature Committee is doing now. Mark T. (Literature Chair Chaut.) stated things are going very well. Art B. also brought a $50 donation from the Our Choice group. Thanks to Tracy and Freddie for visiting our last ASC.

Ni-O - not present. Tracy D. was contacted and informed us Ni-O Area would like Regional Meeting lists to be printed again and information from the Niagara Falls Area.

Niagara Falls - not present. Tracy D. was contacted and informed us that their Area is "experiencing growing pains". They will be hosting the next RSC at 1206 Niagara Street in Niagara Falls.

SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS

Activities - no report. Position open for nominations.

Convention - no formal report. Stacey D. and Paul N. stepped out of the meeting to look at the figures from the Convention. Paul N. (Conv. Treasurer) submitted an unofficial report as follows:

$30,410.69 (10-31-00 account balance)
$17,850.00 (payouts for Convention - outstanding checks at the moment, as of 10-31-00
statement)
$12,707.78
- 75.00 (reimbursement to Greg A. as he did not attend Convention and requested
refund)
$12,632.78
+ 315.00 (income rebate hotel and early bird registration from Chautauqua)
$12,947.78
-12,900.00 (to RSC. Not being turned over today because check needs two signatures)
$ 47.78 (remainder in account)

Difference of $45.57 between bank and treasurer's books ($45.57 to the good). Thank you to Tom D. and Stacey D. for their help on Sunday (10/15/00) after the Convention and to Elizabeth S. for her home and dinner.

NOTE TO SUSAN G.: - Please call Marsha D. regarding her final Convention Sub-Committee Report.

PI - Bob will e-mail Sharon Z. with report.

Web-Site - Report attached to Minutes.

OLD BUSINESS

Open Positions: H&I Chair; Literature Chair; Activities Sub-Committee Chair; Convention Sub-Committee Chair; Secretary; and Vice Chair.

NEW BUSINESS

Literature Chair - Lynne B. present and accepted nomination. Lynne B. completed resumé and answered questions. Stacey D. read requirements/description of Literature Chair position. No other nominations were made. Nominations were closed. Vote was 5-yes, 0-no and 2-abstentions.

Stacey D. brought up seed money amount for Convention. Tabled until next RSC meeting.

Tracey D. asked for time to be allocated for 2 workshops at next Convention. Tabled until next RSC meeting.

Tracey D. asked about funds for Freddie R. and herself to attend January NEZF in Atlantic City. Although RSC does not have funds now, we will before January NEZF and funds will be given to Tracey D. and Freddie R. to attend. A correction was made to the total reflected in RD Report from $960 to $660 for travel and expenses to NEZF.

Tracey D. suggested we table the discussion about Regional meeting schedules, Regional phoneline and establishing a Regional office. The Areas and Sub-Committees were asked to bring these issues up for discussion and report back with input on them.

There was discussion about the Web-Site Ad-Hoc Committee becoming a standing committee. RSC decided it will remain an Ad-Hoc Committee. Mark T. will work on guidelines for potential standing Web-Site committee. Mark T. asked for one year to complete guidelines.

Addressing the first issue in Mark T.'s report, Sharon Z. made a motion to pay the one year Inter-Nic and two years CI-host expenses for $325.79. Stacey D. seconded. Motion carried with unanimous vote. The Committee advised Mark T. on the second issue addressed in his report regarding another addict's assistance with the web page. As he is Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee, and has been working on the web site for over a year, we advised Mark T. to continue to move forward and address any issues with the Committee as they arise. As a Committee, we do not believe the second issue is one for the RSC to address and asked Mark T. to continue to use his good judgment.

Stacey D. nominated Dave M. for Vice-Chair. Dave M. will read resumé and answer questions. Position is still open for nominations until next RSC.

Secretary position remains open.

Convention Chair nominations: Paul N. and Elizabeth S. Both candidates read their resumé and answered questions. Stacey D. read requirements/description of Convention Chair position. Nominations were closed after 3:00 p.m. Vote for Paul: 4-yes, 1-no, 1-absention. Vote for Elizabeth: 1-yes, 4-no, 1-abstention. Paul N. is the Convention Chair.

Closing Treasurer's Report - Stacey S. reported an opening balance of $429.70. Bank statement reflected balance of $429.40 (difference .30). Opening balance adjusted to $429.40 as per amount reflected on bank statement.

Beginning Balance $429.40

Credits Debits

Our Choice Group $50.00 Church Donation $15.00
Ni-O RSC $50.00 Secretary (advance
RD reimbursement to RSC $64.10 and reimbursement) $45.15
Hope on Hertel $45.00 Network Solutions Inc. $35.00
Buffalo ASC $250.00 CI-Host $290.79

Total Credits $459.10 Total Debits $385.94

Ending Balance $502.56

Announcements - none

Meeting closed at 3:45 p.m.

NEXT MEETING TO BE HELD ON JANUARY 20, 2001 FROM 12-3 P.M. IN NIAGARA FALLS AT 1206 NIAGARA STREET.

It has been an interesting venture serving as Secretary or the RSC this past year. I wish all of you the best.

In service,

Sharon Z.

WESTERN NEW YORK REGIONAL DELEGATE REPORT

NOVEMBER 2000

Since my last report framed such an eloquent beginning, I must repeat it….I am compelled to begin my report as the "lone dissenting voice." Having not met since September-over two months ago-I question whether we are losing a critical flow of information by meeting every other month. It is for this reason that I once again express my ardent desire to meet monthly or to create a system where information flows more frequently. It is also for this reason that my report may take forever to read…J

The major highlights:

World Service News/WSC Issue Discussion Topic Workshops

Two topics will be workshopped throughout all of NA this year:

1. How can we continue to provide services to our fellowship and at the same time decrease our reliance on funds from events?
2. How can we create a bridge that builds and maintains a connection to service for Home Group members?

Last year, the Western New York region set a wise precedent in workshopping the two WSC discussion topics at our regional convention. This year, we workshopped topic #1 at our convention. About 15-20 people were present and many were able to participate and share their perspectives. There was no set consensus on this issue. Many felt that relying on conventions as funding mechanisms is a shortsighted strategy and believed that funding begins at the Home Group level. It is clear that people enjoy conventions and it is a supply and demand equation where it appears that everyone wins. NA has evolved and one of these manifestations is our desire for large conventions. We will most likely be conducting more workshops but at this time I raise two thoughts: 1) the WNY region should direct the convention committee to allot time for two WSC topic workshops each convention and 2) perhaps we could prominently post the topics on our website and ask for feedback…

One issue is crystal clear. Our region needs to mobilize in the workshop and learning day areas…

Northeast Zonal Forum (NEZF)

The next NEZF is January 13th-14th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Today, we will be workshopping/discussing the following two topics:
1. What does our region need that can be provided by the NEZF?
2. How can area/regional subcommittees combine their efforts to decrease duplication and increase productivity?

Freddy has arranged the logistical aspects of today's workshop. Please find below excerpts from my September report which detail information from the last NEZF.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Freddy, RDA and I attended the NEZF on July 22nd and 23rd in Harrisburg, PA. Thirteen regions from throughout the Northeast were present. Zonal Forums are sharing sessions between geographically linked regions, generally held a few times per year. The purpose of the NEZF is "to discuss issues of mutual concern, address common needs, exchange ideas and share experience to further our primary purpose."

We are at a critical point with the NEZF and much discussion centered around our purpose moving forward. If you recall, our region discussed this in July and concluded that we didn't want the NEZF to formalize its structure. (Attached is the report I submitted on our behalf as well as minutes from the NEZF). It turned out that the entire zone struggled with this issue as we addressed the question, "Function/Purpose of our Zonal Forum-where are we going?" Some regions favored stronger service delivery as well as using the zones to communicate with each other in light in of the new two-year conference cycle. Other regions were dead-set against any change and want the NEZF to be strictly a sharing session. Perhaps the most ironic part of this discussion is the fact that many regions are looking for the NEZF to tell them where the NEZF is going while the NEZF is looking to the regions for direction. We will be discussing this once again at the January NEZF but this time the question is more direct: What does your region need that can be provided by the NEZF?

We also discussed the topic of strengthening our ASCs. Unfortunately, there was an overall lack of input. Lack of participation was a universal issue. One interesting suggestion (RCMs take note): one area hand delivers letters and information to groups that don't show up at the ASC. This would be a great workshop topic!

We came to a confusing conclusion when we discussed the issue of allowing non-RD/RDAs to serve as trusted servants of the NEZF. Most people thought this was okay but also felt having the host region providing a facilitator was acceptable.

In terms of accepting voluntary funding, once again there were those in complete support and those vehemently against. Issues that arose were: what would the funds be used for? Can we discuss this without having a plan? Can we create a plan with the variety of regional consciences-and confusion-expressed?

Please provide any input on the NEZF to Freddy or myself and also keep in mind that anyone who wants to attend the NEZF is welcome.

The NEZF will also meet June 23-24th in Connecticut. Regions were additionally asked to provide input about MARLCNA in the non-conference years.

BUDGET/NEZF
By all accounts, this edition of the NEZF will be a costly endeavor. I will leave it at that…

As the NEZF is scheduled for January, driving the approximately nine hours to Atlantic City does not appear viable. Roundtrip flights to AC are approx. $330. There is no train service to AC. Freddy still has a $300 ticket voucher left from WSC 2000. I do not. Here is my plan: I will travel to Islip (long Island) at a cost of $260 Roundtrip and then travel with Carolyn, RDA-Greater New York. I plan to go a day early and will pay for all costs incurred during that time.

$260-Tracy's flight
$330-Freddy's flight
$80----approximate cost for Tracy's hotel stay
$80---approximate cost for Freddy's hotel stay
$105-per-diem-Tracy
$105-per diem--Freddy

TOTAL: $960

More WS News:

I have not received any information from World Services since the time of my last report. I am therefore repeating information (see below) delivered in my September report.

Online meeting directory still being finalized. Anyone may access this at www.na.org

Communications Task Force

For the first time in NA's history, NAWS (NA World Services) is taking a comprehensive look at our fellowship communication problems. It stands to reason that a worldwide fellowship such as NA, with 27,000 groups and 28,200 meetings would have problems. A process-led by the Communications Task Force (CTF)-is currently in place to define the problems and offer solutions. Bear in mind that this is a multi-year process which is already well underway.

Findings indicated that the awareness of our members of the functions and resources of NAWS must be improved. Ultimately, the general sense is that members are not being served as well as they could be. Written communications should also be tailored to our varying readerships.

Suffice it to say that there are many issues that the CTF will be addressing. This is an opportune time for the WNY Region to examine our own communications vehicles. Are we effectively serving our members? Do they know what our region does? The CTF has begun a process to address this at the world level and it is incumbent upon us, as part of the service structure, to determine how we can aid the overall communications efforts right here in our region.

Some local communications ideas: a regional phoneline and a regional newsletter. Also, more workshops!!!

Events/Activities

I propose that we hold a series of learning days, rotating throughout the region. For this, we need either an activities committee or committed volunteers. One thought I had, albeit not the most exciting topic, is fund-flow. We could discuss the benefits of flowing funds to all parts of the service structure as well as detail what the basket is for.

Area Visits:

Freddy and I visited the Chautauqua ASC in October. Their hospitality was deeply appreciated. We will continue making these area visits as it is important to remain in touch with our member areas. We were slated to visit Niagara Falls. This trip is being rescheduled. We will also be visiting NiO in December. We are open to making any visits or attending any learning days.

Regional Rotation

In January, the WNY region will begin meeting in our member areas. Thus far, we will meet in Niagara Falls in January and in Chautauqua in March. This is a great way to connect with our areas and expose the local fellowship to regional service.

RD Budget
I was asked to prepare my annual budget-which spans from November to the following November--to be presented at this meeting today. A few factors have unfortunately muddied this issue. Historically, the RD (and RDA) received an annual budget of $4500. I am fairly certain that we have never spent this amount in total, instead sending the remainder of the money to World Services. Creating a budget is complicated by the fact that I am unsure whether we will have any type of travel for World Services this year. Of course there is no World Service Conference this year but there very well may be another event. I respectfully ask that we either stay with the traditional budget amount of $4500 until I receive more information.

E-Mail Distribution List

Please forward any e-mails that you receive from our region (minutes etc.) to interested parties. Please also provide me with any e-mail addresses so that I can begin to develop an e-mail newsletter.

As always, if you have any questions, e-mail me at tracy@metronetusa.com or call me at 881-1080.

11-17-00

To: W.N.Y.R.S.C.N.A.
From: Mark T., Chair
Ad-hoc web site committee
W.N.Y.R.S.C.N.A.
Subject: 11-17-00 web site report

Hello family:

I apologize for submitting this report being late, but life is life and unfortunately, I couldn't get to this until the eleventh hour.

The site continues to be up and running without incident. I am very happy to report that there really isn't anything to report to this body today. (Perhaps that is why I'm doing this so late at night J).

I have purchased new software for site development. (Adobe's Go Live 4.0) As I was re-doing the pages in the site, I realized that what limits the aesthetic value of our site is two fold. Number one, and probably the most important, is that I am not really that artistically creative. Number two, the software that I am currently using to create pages is old, out dated and restricts the small amount of artistic/creative talents that I have. I am currently reading the manual that comes with this new program and hope to have it read and digested in one or two months. I have full intentions to re-vamp the entire site with this new software. When this is done, the site will be complete with more and better graphics, more animation, more sound and more of the creative/aesthetic things that you see when you visit other professionally done sites. Time will tell if the lack of artistic creativity on my part can be overcome with better and more powerful software.

There are 2 issues that I would like to see resolved today or before the end of our next RSC meeting in January 2001. One has to do with finances and the other has to do with site administration.

Issue one: I have spoken directly with the CI-host and Inter-NIC. To refresh, CI-host is our service provider. This is the company that provides us disk space to store our web site on so that others can see our site when they enter the URL WWW.NAWNY.ORG. into their browsers. Inter-NIC is the organization that we register our domain name (NAWNY.ORG) with yearly. If we wish to continue with our current name, the fee is $35.00 dollars per year. There are no discounts for multiple year registrations and additionally, there are no discounts for non-profits. It's $35.00 dollars every year.

CI-host's fee to "host" our site is $193.86 dollars per year. This includes a 10% discount for our status as a non-profit. They do however have a deal currently running that offers a 25% discount, on top of our 10% non-profit discount, if you sign up for a two-year contract. This means that if we sign up for one year, the fee is $193.86 dollars but if we sign up for two years, the fee is $290.79 dollars. If you do the math, signing up for two years brings the yearly cost to $145.39 dollars per year. This is a $100.00 dollars savings over the course of two years when compared to paying CI-host yearly.

Totaled up, it looks this way:

One year Inter-NIC and one year CI-host………………………228.86
One year Inter-NIC and two years CI-host……………………..325.79

Issue two: This has to do with site administration. I have had the great fortune to have two other recovering addicts in the program express their desire to help with the creation of pages for the site. One addict is just learning how to do this; the other is a little more advanced in his ability to create pages. This second addict has also expressed a desire to upload his pages directly to the server and I believe has the knowledge to do this. I need some direction from this body as to how much freedom to give this addict in terms of uploading his pages to the server.

Submitted in loving service

Mark T.