Secretary’s Report on NERAASA 2023
NERAASA – February 22-25, 2023
Mary B., Area 47 Secretary
NERAASA was well attended, held in a beautiful hotel, and lots of information was conveyed in the panels and in the roundtables.
On Friday, a group visited The Wilson House, Bill W’s birthplace in East Dorset, Vermont. I have visited before, but this time I noticed items from Bill’s boyhood, and history of his family. The AA coded license plates decorating the meeting room in the barn are a delight.
There were five panels on conference agenda items. Panelists did a lot of research in our literature and with other trusted servants, resulting in presentations which gave substance to help form informed opinions on Conference agenda items. Some of my takeaways:
–Pamphlets are updated for a reason; give newcomers the latest editions
–Remember to consider what WE want/need relative to online and/or in person meetings
–We could plan for future contingencies when in person meetings might be impossible
–It’s easy to be smugly complacent about safety and about accessibility in meetings where I feel safe, so am I / are we operating on, “It ain’t broke FOR ME, so let’s not fix it/anything?”
–Principles are not the same as policy; we strive to act and develop policy according to AA’s principles
–Do we adequately convey that NERAASA is a gathering to explore Conference agenda items?
–Lots of ideas for adding to the NERAASA program
Secretaries and registrars met together at roundtable discussions on Friday and Saturday, where there was lots of beneficial sharing of experience. Some new information for me:
–Recordings of assemblies are to be destroyed after they are used; written minutes are the official record; all minutes and reports need to be sent to the area archivist
–It is essential for anonymity not to record to the cloud; only record to the device
–Taking attendance at assemblies is widespread practice, and included in minutes
–A form can be developed to assist DCMs in creating their reports and available on area website; they and minutes need to be easy to find on websites
–Some areas send out DCM written reports with the assembly agendas; DCMS then orally report a summary at the assembly
–Archivist and secretary can create an area history lesson for the website
–There was also discussion of different annual area calendars. Areas which hold assemblies only a few times each year (for a weekend each) seem to have more active districts.
It is always a pleasure to meet grateful, enthusiastic AAs from all over the Northeast region. I am grateful to Area 47 for the opportunity to attend.
In service,
Mary B.
Area 47 Secretary
