Twelve Steps Down the Yellow Brick Road

Transcription

1 Region IV Convention 2010 Final Report Twelve Steps Down the Yellow Brick Road The 2010 Region IV Convention was held at the Holiday Inn, Holidome, in Topeka, KS, June 18-20, Our theme was Twelve Steps Down the Yellow Brick Road. The convention seemed to be a success and included lots of good recovery for the participants. Each committee did a great job of carrying out their responsibilities, which made my job easy. It was very satisfying to see the whole thing come together after more than a year of planning. I enjoyed doing the service of chair for this convention and thank you all for the appreciation I received during and after the event. Following are the reports and evaluations of the weekend. I especially want to thank my Intergroup for hosting the event and supporting the convention so well with your service and attendance. Elinor Cowell, Topeka, KS, Sunflower Intergroup Program Committee Report Thank you for allowing Greater Omaha to serve as Program Committee. It was a huge responsibility and not one we took lightly, I assure you! Our experience was, overall, very positive. We had very positive feedback on the topics chosen for the convention, the keynote speakers, and the timing/structure of the program (we allowed 1 hour for sessions with 15 minutes in between each session). To future Program committees, we have the following suggestions: 1) Try obtaining tapes or conducting detailed interviews with all speakers, not just keynotes. A casual phone interview is not always revealing. It might also be helpful to contact Intergroup chairs and ask them to recommend specific speakers from their areas rather than taking random volunteers. Start early with your speaker search and touch base frequently. 2) If possible, it would probably be helpful for the hosting Intergroup to also be in charge of the Program, since the two are so closely related. 3) When creating the written program, be sure to give a brief summary of the topic as well as a name for clarity. While the steps are clear enough, a number of folks we talked to didn't always know what to expect from the topic names we provided on the program. 4) Make sure you communicate with all committee chairs on a regular basis. Perhaps a monthly conference call or group updates would have been helpful to ensure everyone is on the same page. Don't rely on the two Assembly meetings to be enough! Thanks again for the opportunity to be of service! Jen Baker on behalf of the Program Committee Evaluation comments were, for the most part, positive. The summary is available in a separate report. Publicity Committee Report With the help of the local hosts in Topeka, we prepared a press release and sent to all local media (to all the local TV, Radio, & Newspaper s & address provided). This press release was sent by as

2 well as by mail. In addition, we sent a copy of the press release to Kansas area members who attended a recent event in Kansas with the hopes of attracting them to attend the Region 4 Convention. Postage and envelope expenses were reimbursed through Region 4. This year I spent $ It was a great pleasure to serve Region 4. Jeanine M., Publicity Coordinator (St. Louis) The Convention was posted on the Region IV website, with the ability to print out a copy of the registration form. It was also posted on the Sunflower IG website, and on oa.org, the World Service website. Registration Committee Report Reflections of the 2010 Convention We had a committee of three people from Minnesota. Two of us attended the Convention. Maggie did the registrations as the mailing started to arrive and entered on the computer. The registration forms were printed in the amounts needed and first mailing was the first days of February to the Region IV Intergroups. Another mailing to them again in April and the Region IV Assembly in April had the registration forms, also, to distribute through the representatives attending. Melanie was most helpful with the nametags. She did them in early June so we would have tags for those registered. Melanie also had the meal tickets printed and picked up folders. She offered her talents, and it was a great service. I made calls for help and used the names from the registrations forms where people signed up for service. The volunteers helped at the registration table for those preregistered. Alicia and I registered the walk in attendees and all went well. We had 85 pre-registrations and 25 walk-ins, for a total of 110 registrants. Recommendations we have are: 1. Have the registration committee in the local area. 2. Gather all materials early and assemble the folders earlier. This was a good experience but far away to go. Many thanks for your leadership, Elinor. You were helpful to me. Peace, Maggie Registration $ Lunch $ Dinner $ T-Shirts $ There were 2 paid directly to Judy ($30), otherwise they went through the registration checks.

3 Hotel Liaison s Report After the initial decision was made to offer to host the convention, I was tasked by the intergroup to look into available venues. Our initial thought was to host the convention in Lawrence due to its proximity to the airport; however Lawrence hotels did not work out. Following that, I did initial interviews with the various Topeka hotels, and the Holiday Inn Holidome made a very attractive offer for facilities with a minimal room night commitment. Initial negotiations were successful and a contract was realized. In the last few weeks before the convention, Elinor and I met with the hotel staff to review our needs and to approve menus and decoration for the various meals and rooms, and to arrange AV. The chef cooked lunch for us, making some of the food for the banquet. She was very accommodating and took suggestions well, e.g. using romaine and spinach for salads instead of iceberg and not steaming broccoli too much. A contract was arranged with an area DJ for a dance following the banquet. During the convention itself, I had few responsibilities as Hotel Liaison; the hotel was very professional and filled our needs almost without asking. There were no major failures, no missing equipment and no environmental disasters beyond one of the meeting rooms being too COLD, which is an amazing thing on a summer weekend in Kansas. Because I wasn't overtasked I agreed to help with monitoring and starting the recorders in one of the break-out rooms. So far as I can tell, a good time was had by all. A follow up call from the hotel auditor two weeks after the convention confirmed no open bills, no damage and no missed charges. It was a pleasurable service opportunity. Rick B. Decorations Mid-Continent Intergroup was pleased to participate in the Region IV Convention preparations by making centerpieces to be used on tables for the luncheon and dinner. Following the theme, we selected flower pots which were primed and painted emerald green. Then, the design from the registration forms and T-shirts was applied to the pots along with stenciled words: 50 years. Not knowing for sure how many tables would be set up for the convention, we prepared 15 flower pots. Those placed on tables were filled with various shades of green tissue and silk sunflowers. The eight flower pots used on tables, along with 6 of the extras were offered for sale with proceeds going to Region IV. Supplies for the decorations ran about $120. Labor, of course, was our opportunity for service. Gay L.

4 Hospitality As to the hospitality room, I spent 24 dollars and some change, brought a coffee pot from home and filters. Donna D. brought some Starbucks coffee, iced tea mix, the cooler to mix it in, & the large pot that kept the coffee warm while another batch was brewed. This was a great help, since no one had to wait on a cup. I bought condiments, hot & cold cups and bottled water. We did a donation can to recover the costs and what was left went to the Region IV convention. I would not do bottled water again, and we got too many cups for the crowd we had as it turns out. We had requests for decaffeinated coffee which I had not thought of, but I made some in the smaller coffee pot in the hotel room itself and I got extras from the hotel maids. I would get decaf and regular next time. Several groups set up shop in hospitality room and I hope they did well, but I did not know exactly what was needed by some of them. Also some brought recreational materials that did not work out too well due to the space being so small. The room was too small for much gathering, but some good conversation did take place. I was glad to help out; it did me some real good. Thanks for asking, Marge Transportation (This committee was formed especially for this convention. The Greater Kansas City IG volunteered to provide transportation from the airport to Topeka). I only had one call and that person made alternative arrangements. Debbie L. T-shirts 23 t-shirts were sold pre-convention for $9.00 each with no tax. The cost was paid by me by credit card and reimbursed by Region IV check. Five t-shirts were sold at the Convention for $9.00 each. Cyndy L. Region IV's standing Treasurer paid by Region IV credit card. We were never penalized by Joe, owner of T-shirts, etc., Topeka, KS for selling below our commitment to buy 50 shirts from him. Thank you for the privilege of having service of Region IV. Sincerely, Judy King

5 Sign Committee Report All signs requested prior to convention were available to those requesting them. All last minute signs were made and delivered as requested This the report from the "sign chair" KC Barnes Entertainment Entertainment was a recovery skit provided by the Southeast Iowa area, performed by the WSBC Drama Queens. We kept it simple by working together to gather our props, had one rehearsal on Skype and another hour the first night of convention. The skit was well received and a lot of fun for those involved. Literature Approximately $500 was spent on books and $50 on pamphlets. The pamphlets were offered at no charge, which was very popular with the attendees. The books were sold, and the leftovers were bought by people at the closing session, with the remainder bought by Cyndy L. for her IG. These are what Cyndy bought: 4 soft cover Big Books, 3 OA Brown Books 3 OA Twelve and Twelves 2 Voices of Recovery Pocket cards were purchased by Sunflower Intergroup and offered at no charge. Ways and Means Expenses: $ for the quilt for the T-shirts Income: $ 546 for the Quilt (Profit of $160.03) 420 for T-shirts (Profit of $193.99) 111 for Silent Auction 115 for other items $ total income, total expenses making a net income of $

6 Convention income is as follows. This is NOT profit. Registration and Meals $ T-shirts Ways & Means Oasis (Hospitality) 9.14 Silent Auction Oral Auction th Tradition (taken only once) Literature (will have some negative profit) Quilt (cost $ profit of $160.03) For Final Treasurer s Report see separate report for Convention Financials Further observations by Convention Chair: Having the hosting IG be responsible for registration and program would be overwhelming. These two committees have the highest workload. It is not only impractical, but not wise for any one group to have such a heavy load of service. The convention is for all of Region IV, and as such, needs to have the work divided up among the IG s of the whole region. Thanks to everyone who did service for the convention, no matter how much or how little. That s what made it a success.