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January 2006 April 2006 Special Action June 2006 August 2006 November 2006

MINUTES OF THE 1ST QUARTERLY GROUP CONSCIENCE MEETING HILLTOPPERS A.F.G. - JANUARY 21, 2006 Top of Page

OFFICERS:

Group Rep: RS (GR and facilitator)
Info Center Rep: SP
Co-Treasurers: AR and JR (with MW outgoing)
Literature Chair: DS outgoing (not present)
Secretary: JW (with SM outgoing) - both not present
Webmaster: BC

The meeting was called to order at 1:15 p.m. by Group Representative RS Since SM and JW were not present, RS noted that, with SM and JW both not present, the minutes of the November 19, 2005, meeting could not be read but will be included at the next meeting. BC indicated that these probably have already been posted on the Hilltopper web site. A couple of persons asked about being placed on a email list for notification about upcoming Group Conscience Meetings, and RS said that she would speak with them after the meeting. She also noted that the approximate dates are shown on the bulletin board on the sheet listing the officers.

REPORTS

FINANCIAL REPORT: : MW gave a year-end financial report for the period of January 1 through December 31, 2005, noting a beginning bank balance of $4,675.03, and deposits of meeting contributions in the amount of $13,735.81, including roughly $2,235.00 in literature, for a total of $18,410.84 for the year. He pointed out it is difficult to have an exact figure on literature purchases because some people still may not use the appropriate envelope. His breakdown of disbursements included $6,054.77 for literature purchases; $6,000.00 for semiannual disbursement to the Austin Al-Anon Information Center, District 6, East Texas Area, and WSO; and $3,000.00 in rent to St. Theresa Catholic Church; as well as other minor expenses. The net balance for the year was shown as $3,409.50. (Note: This amount includes a reserve of $2,000.00 to be held as a minimum balance.) The report was approved as presented.
LITERATURE CHAIR: There was no literature report due to the absence of the Literature Chair.
AL-ANON INFORMATION CENTER REPORT: SP gave a brief report on her Information Center involvement. Kitty, the part-time staff person, received a nice bonus for the year, and new officers were elected. The Center was asked to consider providing literature for purchase at the Spring East Texas Al-Anon/Alateen Assembly meeting in San Antonio and at the Fall Assembly in Rockport. SP also reported that the Center is in a good, stable financial position with a full year of expenses in the bank account. Still, she noted that volunteers are always needed. The report was approved as presented.
ALATEEN MEETING STATUS REPORT: BM briefly noted that we still have some seven persons moving toward becoming certified sponsors. Since the certification process includes three months of attendance at other Alateen meetings with a certified sponsor present, it is a fairly slow process. We have had some persons drop out, but others have stepped in. Given the time involved of perhaps two or three months for the entire training and certification process including submission of paperwork and approval, a realistic start time for the meeting might be April or May. The report was approved as presented.
REFORMATTING OF NEWCOMER MEETING COMMITTEE REPORT: Since JW was not present, a status report of the committee will be placed on the next meeting's agenda.
ACTION ITEM: JK, who had offered to stand for the position of Literature Chair for the next year, was elected to fill this position.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

MW's question of making another semiannual distribution of funds to the various levels of Al-Anon organizations was postponed until after consideration of the purchase of a safe for Al-Anon contribution envelopes and possible financial support for the new institutional meeting to be held at the Lockhart Women's Prison Facility. [Later approval of funding for the safe and one-time financial support for the institutional meeting literature necessitated postponing further consideration of another disbursement at this time until the next GC meeting.]

ACTION: RS is to place this item on the April GC meeting for discussion.

MW spoke of his concern with distractions in meetings caused by a small child in attendance with a parent and mentioned hearing from others with the same concerns. He spoke of a child's short attention span and suggested excluding small children from the meetings. Extensive discussion followed and included concern with such a restriction placed on mothers in crisis who do not have support with childcare; the idea that for some, children may not be a disruption but actually a measure of comfort and pleasing reminder of being-in-the-moment; and the issue of possible provision of childcare if a room could be made available.

ACTION: The motion was approved to ask the parent to take the child out of the room when the child becomes a distraction or disruption in the meeting and to insert a statement into the preamble where it says, "The Group Conscience requests the following…" RS will place this statement into the notebook.

MW reported on the need to purchase a safe for contribution envelopes and said that he has found an appropriate one at an approximate cost of $250. He has already spoken with NM at the church and has received permission to bolt the safe to our corner cabinet. MW said that some meeting envelopes have been missing, and he felt that we should be responsible for our funds rather than having the church collect them for us. AR and JR, our incoming Co-Treasurers, also noted that the safe would expedite the pickup of the collection envelopes instead of having to be there when the church office is open.

BM expressed concern about how the Tuesday night men's meeting contribution envelopes are being handled since a meeting of another group is being held in the locked Al-Anon room. BC responded that he was uncertain about what happened each time but that he knew that sometimes the envelope was slipped under the door into the room. BM suggested instead that having the chairperson hold onto the envelope until it could be placed in the new safe would be a better solution if the room was occupied.

ACTION: The purchase of a safe and necessary materials to install the safe on the cabinet in the Al-Anon room was approved. MW will purchase the safe and arrange for bolting it to the cabinet. BC, MW, AR, and Jim will handle updating the stamps for the envelopes with the change of wording to put the envelopes into the slots in the safe and will prepare an announcement for the notebook about this change. During this transition, MW will let Neal know to be on the lookout for envelopes mistakenly placed under the door.

JR and PW both spoke about their six-month commitment and that of two other Al-Anons to bring an Al-Anon meeting to the Women's Prison in Lockhart, beginning probably on February 8, and of the need for funding for literature for the group. During the discussion, questions were raised about the nature of the financial support being requested-whether ongoing or only initial funding-and what kinds of literature; and concern was expressed about where the literature would be placed. JR and PW pointed out that prison regulations prohibited having materials with any inked notations and were uncertain of being able to place materials like this into the prison library. They were therefore thinking of giving each woman after six meetings perhaps a copy of one of the readers and How Al-Anon Works. Concerns were expressed about how this kind of support might violate Traditions Six and Seven as well as Tradition Eleven (attraction rather than promotion). A section read from the 2002-2004 Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual about starting an institutions group noted that funding for literature and other expenses may be shared by surrounding groups in the district. After a question was raised about the WSO's role in starting an institutions group, they responded that they have been in contact with WSO and requested a group number.

ACTION: Two motions were approved: (1) to make a one-time contribution of $500 for literature, with the suggestion made that they explore the possibility of having such literature in the library available for checkout or perhaps giving the women a reader only after they had been attending for an extended period of time; and (2) as another form of fund-raising, to pass a special can or container at larger Hilltopper meetings in February clearly marked with its purpose, with at least one of the women there and responsible for retrieving the container.

NEXT MEETING

Since the next meeting date, as indicated on the bulletin board, is set for April 22, the same day as the District 6 meeting, it will have to be changed. Since there have been many comments about the decision to eliminate the Lord's Prayer at the close of the meeting, BM asked that we revisit this decision because some people did not realize it was on the agenda.
- ACTION: RS is to reschedule the date of the next meeting and put the new date on the bulletin board. She will also add the item for further discussion of the decision to eliminate the Lord's Prayer from the closing of the meeting to the agenda.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by BM, substituting for JW.

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MINUTES OF THE 2ND QUARTERLY GROUP CONSCIENCE MEETING HILLTOPPERS A.F.G. - APRIL, 2006 Top of Page

Group Rep: RS (GR and facilitator)
Info Center Rep: SP (absent)
Co-Treasurers: AR and JR
Literature Chair: JK
Secretary: JW
Webmaster: BC

RS called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m. and opened with the Serenity Prayer. Minutes of the last Group Conscience Meeting were read by BM, who took them in the absence of JW. The minutes were approved as submitted.

REPORTS

Financial Report
Literature Report
Al-Anon Information Center Report
Alateen Meeting Status Report

Action Items:

JW passed out the revised proposal for reformatting the Newcomer meeting. Although minor changes were suggested (see below), the basic proposal was approved.

Action: JWill prepare an announcement of the restructuring to begin about the first of September.

Regarding the many years of notebooks containing sign-in for meetings, the group voted to destroy all of the books prior to January 2006 and to do this on a continuing basis by destroying all of the previous year during the month of April.

Action: RS will add this duty to those of the secretary in the Operating Procedures, JW will shred the designated notebooks in April of each year with announcements of the scheduled action beginning the first meeting in March.

Discussion Items:

Minor changes in Draft 2 the proposal for restructuring the Newcomer meeting included:

Waiting until September to begin efforts to publicize the meeting and to begin recruiting members to serve as chair on the various topics. (See original proposal.)
Include of the importance of participation in Group Conscience meetings to Topic 6.1 (See Draft 2.)
The possibility that a future Group Conscience meeting will want more input in the topics since there is apparently no guide from World Service that JW. could find.
Include in other conference approved literature in the list of daily readings appropriate for the newcomer.
Suggested no change in practice of giving a copy of One Day at a Time to all newcomers rather than giving it to them at some point in the Newcomer meetings such as at the conclusion of the of the 12 meetings or at the beginning of the session on AlAnon literature.
Space and time continue to be under consideration.

During discussion of whether the group wants to reconsider allowing the Lord's Prayer to be used in closing the meetings, Jim read the WSO response to the question sent in by MW. The response indicated that the Lord's Prayer had grown out of AA and the Oxford Movement and was not considered "conference-approved." Although some had said that they would like to have the Lord's Prayer as a choice, the manual says to "close in a manner that is agreeable to the group conscience." The Group Conscience agreed that this issue should be tabled for six months and placed on the November Group Conscience Meeting agenda.

Action: RS will include this item in that future agenda.

TC introduced a new item for asking that the topics for the Wednesday Adult Children of Alcoholics meeting be limited to readings from 'Hope for Today' and 'From Survival to Recovery'.

Action: RS will place this item on the agenda for the next meeting.

Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Group Conscience is scheduled for August 26.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:00 p.m.

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HILLTOPPERS SPECIAL ACTION HILLTOPPERS A.F.G. - JUNE, 2006 Top of Page

These motions were approved:

To work out a satisfactory rescheduling of the noon meetings with AA and Al-Anon with times for the beginning of one meeting (either AA or Al-Anon) at either 11:00 or 11:15 and the other (either AA or Al-Anon) beginning at 12:15 or 12:30, so that there would be two distinct meetings. Our webmaster is to prepare another survey and database this week to focus on those who attend noon meetings asking what timeframe they prefer so that those who now come to noon meetings will have greater weight in determining the time. AA will be having a Group Conscience meeting on July 7, at which time they will discuss these issues also, especially one concern brought up about the need for a dedicated space for Al-Anon in that room for our meeting materials, books, newcomer packets, safe, etc.
[Since the above solution may be only temporary, realistically, and the Church may eventually have need of even that larger room] To have a committee made up of both Al-Anon and AA members to explore a long-term solution involving possible relocation to another church site or some other such site as well as finding another option with St. Theresas. So far we have 10 Al-Anons and 3 AAs signed up to serve on the committee.

NOTE:

Please review facts of the request made by St. Theresa's, as well as the initial survey results that were taken.

In keeping with the request made by St. Theresa's, we are currently restructuring the noon meeting times for all weekday meetings. Please consider the noon meeting survey that will help guide our decision process during this transition. There are additional action items that are underway, so please check back soon for updates.

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MINUTES OF THE 3RD QUARTERLY GROUP CONSCIENCE MEETING HILLTOPPERS A.F.G. - AUGUST, 2006 Top of Page

August 26, 2006

Officers:

Group Representative(GR): RS (GR and meeting facilitator)
Information Center Representative: SP
Interim Treasurer: MW
Literature Chair: JK
Secretary: JW
Webmaster: BC

Officers Present: RS, SP, MW, JK, JW, BC

Announcements:

RS called the meeting to order at 1:25 PM and opened with the Serenity Prayer. Reading from the minutes from the last Group Conscience Meeting were read by JW. The minutes were approved as submitted.

Reports:

Financial Report:

Interim Treasurer, MW, reported that the group had $4329.65 in the bank. JS volunteered to serve out the terms of joint treasurers, AR & JR

The participants expressed their gratitude for the effort of MW in managing the transition and for JS for volunteering to take over the office until December 2007. The report was approved as presented.

Literature Report:

JK informed the group that the cost of printed materials and books rose due to the increased shipping costs. She was commended for her work keeping the inventory current. Several participants suggested titles of Conference Approved Literature to add to the current library. The report was approved as presented.

Al-Anon Information Center Report:

SP presented highlights of the Information Center's ten-year anniversary celebration. Hilltoppers received special commendation for the gift of $799.00 collected specifically for the anniversary. Other service statistics were shared with the group. The report was approved as presented.

Alateen Meeting Status Report:

BM briefly reported on the current status of the proposed Hilltoppers' Alateen meeting. She reported changes in leadership due to certification issues. Currently there is one fully certified leader and one almost finished with the certification process. Monetary responsibilities were clarified. Current and future Alateen money will be held in the Hilltoppers' account The Alateen group will handle the accounting.

Also, Hilltoppers will underwrite the information expenses of the group until they become fully self supporting.

Action Items:

→JS was elected unanimously as the treasurer through December, 2007.

→BM requested that a 'white board' be purchased to hang in the Al-Anon room for announcements. JS and BC will contact the parish business manager, NM, for installation permission.

→JW. will write the announcement to be read at each meeting explaining the changes in the current Newcomers Monday noon meeting. Implementation will begin the first of October. Votes supporting the reformatted Newcomers meeting were:

5 In Favor
1 Against
1 Abstention

The motion carried.

Discussion Items:

→The restructured Newcomer meeting discussion topics included:

Opposition to the structured approach.
Explanation of the need for a structured approach.
Why is reformatting the current meeting necessary?
Concern about the lack of Al-Anon protocol adherence in meetings
Who would be responsible for ensuring informed leaders?

Action: JW will prepare an announcement to read at all meetings announcing the change and asking for volunteers to chair the various topics of the Newcomer meeting.

→The item that topics for Wednesday Adult Children of Alcoholics meeting be limited to readings from Hope for Today and From Survival to Recovery was tabled until the next meeting because the submitting member was not present at the meeting. Action: RS will include this item in the next meeting.

→Discussion of raising our contribution to the hosting church. The contribution is significantly less than the AA contribution. Action: None

Next Meeting: The next and final 2006 quarterly meeting of the Hilltoppers AFG Group Conscience is scheduled for December on a date to be determined.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:45 PM and closed with the Serenity Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,
JW, Secretary

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MINUTES OF THE 4TH QUARTERLY GROUP CONSCIENCE MEETING HILLTOPPERS A.F.G. - November, 2006 Top of Page

November 18, 2006

Officers:

Group Representative(GR): RS (GR and meeting facilitator)
Information Center Representative: SP
Interim Treasurer: MW
Literature Chair: JK
Secretary: JW
Webmaster: BC

Officers Present: RS, SP, JS, JW.

The meeting was called to order by RS at 1:15 PM. Reading from the minutes from the August 26th meeting was deferred until the February meeting.

REPORTS:

Financial Report:

JS, acting treasurer , gave the Finance Report. A request was made to bring a recommendation for an adequate amount of reserve funds and the calculation for determining the distribution amount of our income, after operating expenses are paid, to the next GC meeting.

The motion was made by SP and seconded by B. Following the motion, the generally accepted amount of reserve funds, expressed as a percentage, was discussed.

The motion to accept the report with the two questions reserved for the next GC meeting carried.

Literature Report:

JK gave the Literature Report. Some additional titles were added to the inventory at the request of members of the fellowship. Two of them were Sponsorship and Blueprint for Progress.

The accurate accounting for the literature removed from inventory was discussed The group reached the consensus that an appropriate balance must be struck between accountability and trust.

Information Center Report:

SP gave the Information Center Report for October. Average activity is six (6) call per day along with two (2) walk-ins.

Election of officers for 2007:

BM nominated SP for Group Representative for Hilltoppers AFG. The motion was seconded by Judy and passed unanimously.
JS agreed to continue to serve as Treasurer for 2007.
BM nominated LV as Information Center Representative from Hilltoppers. The motion was seconded by JW. and passed.
LV nominated MR for Literature Chair. The motion was seconded by Barbara and passed.
LV nominated JW. for Secretary, The motion was seconded by Barbara and passed.

Discussion Items:

→Increasing the rent to the church: The church has allowed us to use its facilities for $250.00 per month for the last eight(8) years.

A motion was made to increase the rent to $300.00. The motion died for lack of a second.

JS moved to pay the church $350.00 per month beginning January 1, 2007.

BM provided the second. The motion passed.

→RS reported that the Saturday 10:30 Alateen meeting was meeting on a regular basis. However, attendance remains low.

Action: Barbara volunteered to provide contacts from Austin ISD in order to get information the them about the new Alateen meeting.

→The timing of the election of District Officers and the slate of Hilltoppers AFG officers are not in sync. After some discussion, the issue was tabled until more information is collected.

→Use of the Lord's Prayer as an optional closing prayer was discussed at the request of a participant in the Hilltoppers AFG. In response to some discussion about what AA and other AFG practices are, Tradition 4 affirmed Hilltoppers' ability to designate its choice of the Serenity Prayer of the Al-Anon Declaration as the appropriate closing.

Action: LV made a motion to reaffirm this position in the meeting procedures used by the chairpersons. BM seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

→The importance of the concept of anonymity was discussed in the wake of an incident involving broken anonymity that negatively impacted a domestic situation.

Action: The meeting chair will be asked to remind the group(s) that anonymity is the spiritual foundation of these principles.

Editor's Note: As a result of this action, a web page dedicated to the concept and practice of Anonymity was created. Read about ANONYMITY IN THE AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS for further information.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 PM by RS and closed with the Serenity Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,
JW., Secretary