Let it Begin with Me - Kansas Al-Anon

December, 2012 – February, 2013
Happy
Holida
ys
“Let it Begin with
Me”
1
KANSAS AREA
OFFICERS
2012-2013-2014
DELEGATE
Judy Wahaus
831 So. Ohio St.
Salina, KS 67401
(785) 823-0409
heyjude132@msn.com
ALTERNATE DELEGATE
Betty Ruhlen
3062 W. 8th St.
Lawrence, KS 66049
(785) 842-6808
bruhlen@yahoo.com
CHAIRPERSON
Phil Griffin
3433 SW Randolph Ave.
Topeka, KS 66611
(785) 408-4950
pgriffin@kdheks.gov
CO-CHAIRPERSON
Shanna Gray
2413 Purcells Mill
Manhattan, KS 66502
(785) 532-8003
Ssgray2@att.net
SECRETARY
Cindy Henry
PO Box 281
Leavenworth, KS 66048
(913) 682-7839
Chenry2590@aol.com
TREASURER
Lucy Clifton
PO Box 290
Augusta, KS 67010
(316) 775-3603
lucytwina@aol.com
KANSAS AREA
COORDINATORS
2012-2013-2014
ALATEEN COORDINATOR
Donna Meilies
306 Elizabeth St.
Scott City, KS 67871
(620) 872-5009 (620) 2142389
Dmeilies1958@yahoo.com
AREA ALATEEN PROCESS
PERSON
Elaine Wright
8217 Wood Ave.
Kansas City, KS 66112
(913) 299-7907
Ewright91@hotmail.com
ASSISTANT ALATEEN
Aaryn Wertz
422 Mississippi
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 760-5708
yayalilsis@yahoo.com
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Jayme Turner
2146 140th Ave.
Larned, KS 67550
(620) 285-2551
jlttle@gbta.net
STEPFINDER
Stevie Workman
2054 Lambertson Ln., #4
Salina, KS 67401
(785) 404-2071
stepfinder@kansas-alanon.org or
steviejean@live.com
WEBMASTER
Thomas Crimm
9523 Woodson Dr.
Overland Park, KS 66207
(816) 678-2203
tcrimm@crimm.net or
webmaster@kansas-alanon.org
ARCHIVES
Claudine Williams
PO Box 29
312 E. Walnut
Haviland, KS 67059
(620) 388-4580
canddw@havilandtelco.com
GROUP RECORDS
Terry Rogers
2849 Woodland
Wichita, KS 67204
(316) 838-2480
Group-records@kanss-alanon.org or
Rogers2849@sbcglobal.net
LITERATURE
Becky Dahlstrom
620 SE Baldwin
Topeka, KS 66607
(785) 357-0187
bgdserene@cox.net
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Things to Remember:
Kansas Stepfinder: $15/year
for hardcopy subscription;
$5/year for email
subscription or FREE online
at http://www.kansas-alanon.org
Kansas Area 20 Calendar
November 2012
* February 9 – 10, 2013: Area World Service Committee Meeting: Roadway Inn, 1846 N 9th
St, Salina KS
* March 1 – 3, 2013: Delegates Meeting: Wichita KS
March 4, 2013: Lois’s Birthday: Please remember her on this day
* May 4, 2013: KS Area Assembly : Roadway Inn, 1846 N 9th St, Salina KS
* June 7 – 9, 2013: Kansas Area Al-Anon/Alateen Conference: Holiday Inn Holidome,
Topeka KS
* July 26 – 28, 2013: Kansas Alateen Round-Up: Rock Springs Ranch
* September 14 – 15, 2013: Area World Service Committee Meeting: Place to be
determined
* November 2, 2013: Kansas Area Assembly: Roadway Inn, 1846 N 9th St, Salina KS
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From the Editor
There once was a lady named Steviejean
Who during the Holidays could get really mean!
While so much anxiety ran through her head,
Sleep would not come till she almost dropped dead.
The “What if’s” and “Maybe’s” kept dancing around
At the thought of her family coming to town.
“Bobby will do this – Susie will say that,
And ole cousin Billy will be drunk on his ______!
Steviejean got so mad she couldn’t see straight“Just one day a year can’t they all just act great?”
She had gotten herself in such a sad state
She had to call someone – she just couldn’t wait!
Steviejean had joined Al-Anon – lucky for her!
So she called her dear sponsor to get a good cure.
“ ‘Projecting’, it’s called”, said her sponsor with love.
‘Let Go and Let God’, you must rise above!
You can’t control Billy, or Bobbie or Sue.
The only one you can control is just YOU!
Use the tools of your program and you shall then see
That the day will go smoothly if you ‘Let it Begin with Me’”
And when all arrived at her house Christmas day
Steviejean had decided to change her old ways.
She was not anxious or tired or mean
Instead she was very calm and serene.
Though Bobbie did this and Susie said that;
And Ole Cousin Billy got drunk on his ______
Steviejean chose to love them all just as they were
It was the best Christmas ever, and she did it for her.
-Stevie W.,- Stepfinder Editor
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Current Mailing Address (CMA) for your
group. If you are uncomfortable with
receiving this in the future, please ask your
group to choose a new CMA or get an ebuddy who is willing to receive your
electronic mail from the WSO. If you have not
been receiving this newsletter ask your
District Representative to forward a copy of it.
They have access to it. Below is a message
that will be included with the email that leads
you to the site to click on:
“If this e-mail was forwarded to you, please
contact the member who forwarded it if you
want to be taken off their distribution list.
(According to the terms of our agreement
with our e-mail distribution vendor, the
newsletter can only be posted on the
vendor’s Web site. If you are forwarding the
Group e-news link to members with the site to
click on, please include this notice: You are
going to a vendor page that is hosting our
newsletter. Use of this vendor page does not
imply endorsement or affiliation. Please
include this notice if you are forwarding to
other members.” The 2012 Conference
Summary is available on the Members’ Web
site, al-anon.org/members and you can read
past Summaries back to 1961. I would
encourage everyone to read through our
latest Summary, or at least browse through it,
it’s very interesting and it concerns each of
us and our groups.
The Printing of How Al-Anon Works to be sold
for $5. was for a 1 year trial period, but the
Finance Committee has chosen to extend that
1 more year. So in case you didn’t realize it,
or forgot it, you may want to take advantage
of that. Some groups keep them on hand to
give to new members, and for others, at this
price it may be easier to afford when many of
us come to Al-Anon financially strapped.
The Policy Committee has concluded that
using a third party vender to sell electronic
literature is not a violation of Policy or the
Traditions, so WSO may proceed with the
project of electronically publishing the Forum
and (B-25) Having Had a Spiritual Awakening.
I have not heard yet when this is going to
come about but I’m sure it will be announced.
DELEGATE REPORT
November 2012 Assembly
“A leader is a
person who can
put principles,
plans, and policies
into such
dedicated and
effective action
that the rest of us
want to back him
up and help him
with his job.”
(1995-1996 Al-Anon/Alateen
Service Manual, p. 170)
I want to thank District 8 for such a warm
welcome they gave the Past Delegates and
myself in October and how much I enjoyed
doing the workshops for their Workshop Day.
I also want to thank our Past Delegates for
giving of their time to be there and doing the
workshops. It was fun and good food.
Anytime your District would like to set up a
workshop with myself and/or our Past
Delegates, just call and we will work it out.
Our Past Delegates have been great about
helping and I think it’s so important to
remember they have a lot of experience,
strength and hope to share with us all.
Registration for Al-Anon’s 2013 International
Convention is open! All of the details
including registration, housing, Canadian
entry requirements, etc., are located on the
new International Convention Web site:
www.al-anoninternationalconvention.org.
Have you sent in a sharing for the new book
on Intimacy? There is a Writing Workshop
and Power Point Presentation for this new
book on the District Representative’s
Community Home Page. Maybe the groups
could request their District put it on for a
District Workshop Day. Or I could bring it to
you.
Group Representatives who have email
service, if you have received the newsletter
“Group eNews” e-mail, you are listed as the
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The revised Starting an Al-Anon Group
guideline (G-12) has been posted on the
Spanish and French Members’ Web sites. The
guideline is now available in English,
Spanish, and French and it can be
downloaded and printed.
REPORTING ABUSE- An Information Service
Center here in Kansas had some questions
due to a situation that I think are important to
share and the response from Mary Lu, who is
the Associate Director of Member Services at
WSO as to how to deal with these situations.
Question 1): Someone at a meeting talks
about the abuse and they say "what is said
here, stays here" but another person in the
meeting is a Mandatory Reporter?
The response is: On mandatory reporters at
Al-Anon group meetings: some groups have
shared that they have added the statement at
the bottom of page 39 in the Anonymity
section of the “Groups at Work” section of
the 2010-2013 Al-Anon/Alateen Service
Manual (P-24/27) that states:
“Special note: Anonymity is a spiritual principle and
cannot be used as a legal basis to shield criminal
behavior, past or current. It is wise to remember that
Al-Anon and Alateen meetings are not above the law.
Members need to exercise care in sharing
information that could require reporting to local,
state, provincial, and national authorities.”
Now, when an Al-Anon Member Involved in
Alateen Service (AMIAS) is a “mandatory
reporter” and serves as an Alateen Group
Sponsor, it is recommended that the Alateens
be informed of this at each meeting, so that
they have the choice of whether or not to
share things that might be reportable. (See
the Alateen Safety Guideline, G-34, page 4).
The same idea could apply to members at an
Alateen meeting. ANY such reporting would
always be done as an individual citizen, not
as an Al-Anon member.
Question 2): What do phone volunteers do
when a total stranger calls and talks about
their immediate threat?
The response is: On guidance for volunteers:
We can share what WSO does with our staff
who answer our toll-free meeting line. The
WSO instructs the staff that when a caller is
suicidal, to listen, offer encouragement, offer
them the national suicide hotline number, and
encourage them to call. We don’t expect our
staff to be counselors. When a caller is in
physical danger, staff is asked to encourage
the caller to immediately call 911 or their local
authorities. We know that Caller ID does not
always provide an accurate location of the
caller’s whereabouts, so we don’t attempt to
contact authorities ourselves.
Question 3): If a Mandatory Reporter takes
such a call and calls the police and it ends up
in court - say the person was really beat up or
even worse, what is the legal responsibility of
the volunteer/Mandatory Reporter? If it comes
out that Al-Anon did the reporting or was on
the phone with this person, what do we do?
Response: Again, any reporting is done as
an individual, not as an Al-Anon member or
Al-Anon volunteer. Those who are in the
professions that require reporting are
generally familiar with their responsibility.
Mary Lou also suggested: There are many AlAnon service roles that don’t require
members to choose between their role as a
professional and that of an Al-Anon member
where they wouldn’t come in direct contact
with persons in crisis. As part of their
volunteer training procedures, the AIS could
discuss this topic in light of the Traditions
and allow the individual member to decide
their service to the AIS.
I think this is an important issue because in
Kansas, the Mandatory Reporter law requires
certain professions to report suspected
abuse. In this situation a teacher, not an AlAnon member but a Mandatory Reporter none
the less, did lose her job because of
uncertainty of what to do.
This brings me back to my report at the May
Assembly as to whether we as members
would want either a pamphlet or possibly a
book on “Abuse”, it’s up to those that would
to send sharings to the WSO on abuse you
have been through, but keeping in mind to
put your emphasis on how Al-Anon helped
you and the tools that helped.
Thank you and love in Al-Anon and Alateen,
Judy Wahaus, Delegate, Panel 52 Kansas
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As Forum coordinator, I am pleased to tell
you about the 2013 Al-Anon Faces
Alcoholism magazine. This is our public
outreach magazine, and you can read it
online at http://www.al-anon.org/al-anonfaces-alcoholism-magazine. In this issue
there are full-face pictures of actors, not
members. The magazine stresses the
anonymity of our program. One article
addresses our singleness of purpose, to help
family and friends of alcoholics. It says that 9
out of 10 people who come to the program
initially because of another person’s drug use
end up finding out that alcoholism is there
too.
The most important job of the Alternate
Delegate is to step in if the Delegate cannot
fulfill the duties of that position. Judy was
unable to do a workshop at the Kansas Area
AA Conference in Topeka, so she asked me
to step in, and said I could do the workshop I
already had prepared. I was glad to do it, but
sorry that she couldn’t be there.
A couple weeks later I did the same workshop
in Larned. Unfortunately I was coping with an
attack of food poisoning. I got through the
workshop on Pepto-Bismol and faith. On
October 6 I participated in the District 8 Fall
Workshop. That was much easier to do—I felt
better and I just had to follow directions. That
said, I am available to do workshops for your
events.
-Betty R.-, Alternate Delegate
“You might say life prepared me
for AlAnon. I say service
in Al-Anon prepared me for life”
(The Forum, November 2012, p. 18)
Alternate Delegate Report
November 2012 Assembly
“The Family Vacation”
Episode 3 was
presented.
As your Area Alternate
Delegate I asked for
jobs to do and I got
them. I have enjoyed doing most of them.
Last spring Charla suggested that the Kansas
Area make a quilted wall hanging to be
displayed at the South Central Regional
Delegates Meeting, to be held in Wichita in
February. People from Wichita, Kansas City,
Lawrence and Tonganoxie made the quilt
blocks. I sewed the quilt top together, and my
program friend Vera and I quilted it on her
longarm quilting machine. There will be a
Lucky Chance drawing to raise money for the
SCRDM meeting, to designate which Area will
get to keep the quilt for display next year.
Another job is keeping track of the Skills
Resources. I am using Excel to keep this
information handy and easy to update. I will
continue to send out copies of the Skills
Resources sheet to District Representatives to
pass along to their groups, in order to reach
more members who would like to do a little
service work. I’m getting two or three a week,
and it is a wonderful thing to know that there
is so much expertise and willingness to serve
in Kansas. Please ask your District
Representative for a copy of this form and
pass them out to your group members.
Also I continue to keep track of the
information received about Area KBDMs that
we are working on.
Group Records Report
November 2012 Assembly
Hello, I am your Area Hello to all! I am the
group records coordinator for the Kansas
Area and my job is to keep the records for all
the groups in Kansas current and I love my
job!! First I’d like to do a little mini-inservice.
There has been and probably always will be
some confusion regarding open and closed
meetings. So let me explain: a closed meeting
is for anyone affected by the disease of
alcoholism through a loved one or friend.
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They don’t have to consider
themselves a member of AlAnon, they can be
prospective members or
those who are considering our program. An
open meeting is one that allows an outsider
to view our program, such as a nursing
student or a counselor who is learning more
about our program. They are not coming due
to a problem of alcoholism in someone they
know, they are coming to learn more about a
program, such as a nursing student for an
assignment. So pop quiz!!
My group is a closed meeting and the social
worker at my school wants to attend before
she makes any referrals to families she works
with – can she come? …………..No!
My group is a closed meeting and my
husband, an AA member, wants to come to
find out if we are talking about him! He just
wants to make sure this is an appropriate
place for me to come. Can he come? ….No!
Well, he tells me he grew up in an alcoholic
home and his sponsor has been suggesting
he come because of some relationship
issues. Now can he come? …yes! My
daughter is starting a young people’s Al-Anon
group. I’m over 50! Can I come? …..Yes! there
is often confusion between a group FOCUS,
such as young people’s, adult children,
men’s, gay/lesbian, etc. These groups have a
certain focus but there is an implicit
understanding that it is an Al-Anon group and
therefore, open to ANY Al-Anon member. You
can read about focus groups in our service
manual on page 32.
My group is a closed group and a woman
comes who is not sure if this is the right
place or not but her counselor suggested AlAnon. Can she come? ….Yes!
All groups are closed except those who have
chosen to make their meeting open. If you are
not sure about your group, see me. A group
can always take a mini-group conscience and
decide to be open for one meeting, if
someone comes who wants to observe.
Alateen groups are always closed. Let me
know if you have more questions. READ
MORE ABOUT IT IN OUR SERVICE MANUAL
PG 38.
I didn’t think there were a lot of changes
since our AWSC but then I checked the
Change Log on the WSO database and found
lots of changes I didn’t know about. We had a
new group start in October, the Ozawkie
Friends Night AFG but it already closed; the
person who started it just felt she could not
continue, due to several reasons. Since we
met last May at Assembly, we have had these
new groups:
Progresso Hijos Adultos GFA in Dodge City,
District 17; Marion Co Women’s Serenity AFG
in Marion, District 13; and
Roe AFG in Mission, District 10.
We have had 5 groups go inactive since May:
Tuesday Night Olsburg in Olsburg, District 6;
Augusta AFG in District 21;
Jackson St AFG in Huchinson, District 13;
Riverless AFG in Phillipsburg, District 3, and
Serenity Seekers AFG in Goodland, District 1.
We thought Spirit of Hope in Leawood was
inactive but thankfully they are not! Currently
we have 144 Al-Anon groups, 9 of which are
Spanish-speaking, and 10 Alateen groups. We
have 4 Information Services, one in Kansas
City, one in Topeka, and two in Wichita, one
English and one Spanish. I want to point out
to you the article in this month’s Forum, p. 27.
Congratulations to all the groups! This is
from the WSO group records coordinator that
I work with. She reported that there is a 30%
decrease in returned mail and a significantly
less number of people calling about
inaccurate meeting information. Sometimes
WSO lets me know about a group that they
have returned mail for – they put this group in
No Mail Status and I have to put on my
detective hat and find out why. This is why
it’s important that when you have group
changes, you let me know. In this article, it
references the change form and says the
form can be “emailed through the Area
process or sent directly to the WSO”. Well I
am the Area process!! Actually, you can go
through your DR and he or she will send it to
me, or you can send it to me and I’ll let them
know. So many of you don’t have a DR so it’s
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fine to just send it to me. I can take care of
the changes fast and easy. The change forms
are on our Ks website, the WSO website, or
you can just email or call me with your
changes. Let’s keep everything up to date so
newcomers can always find a meeting! The
only exception – all Alateen changes go to
our Area Alateen Process Person, Elaine.
And one more order of business. Phil asked
each of us to address budget. My budget for
Group Records is $300. In the first year, I
need to provide group records books to all
the AWSC members, about 33 members. I
need notebooks and printing costs of 62
pages for each notebook. This is pretty
substantial. After the first year, however, my
costs are minimal – some envelopes, stamps,
paper for keeping my book up to date. I
propose that my budget drop to $50.00 and
that should more than cover everything I
need. Any questions for me?
Remember if you have any changes to your
groups, send them to me, not to WSO. I can
make the changes faster and easier. The
change forms are located on our Kansas Area
website, kansas-al-anon.org, under Member
Information. However, any method of letting
me know any changes works for me; I’ll
contact you if I have more questions. You can
contact me at my Area address grouprecords@kansas-al-anon.org or my home
email address rogers2849@sbcglobal.net. As
for Alateen, all changes must be sent to our
Area Alateen Process Person, Elaine.
Love in service,
-Terry Rogers-, Group Records Coordinator
$25,884.17 (Our CD is for 12 months and
matures 05/10/13 and is earning .04%.
Currently we have accrued $22.50 interest on
this CD). For the period May 1 through
October 31, our net income (net cash receipts
over net cash payments) was $2,240.95. This
amount is represented by receiving
ORDINARY INCOME of $9,358.29 and
disbursing EXPENSES of $7,117.34, resulting
in the net income of $2,240.95 ($9,358.29 less
$7,117.34).THE ORDINARY INCOME during
this period of $9,358.29 was generated from
Assembly Lunch Income of $496.00,
Fundraisers (cook book sales and silent
auction from the June Conference) of $120.00,
Literature Center receipts of $4,900.00, May
Assembly tradition 7 “pass the basket”
donations of $236.00, Group and District
donations of $3,459.29, and AWSC “pass the
basket” donations of $147.00. THE
EXPENSES disbursed during this period of
$7,117.34 consists of payments for the
Assembly Lunch of $489.56, Delegate cost of
$1,968.00 (This is the registration fee for the
2013 WSC, which is due to be sent to the
World Service Office, December 31, 2012.
Please note for 2013 the Equalization expense
is set at $1,280.00 and the full amount is set
at $1,968.00. It has been the Ks Area Policy to
pay the full expense. An excellent explanation
of an equalization expense can be found in
the Al-Anon handbook on page 137-138.),
Officers & Coordinators expenses of
$1,986.09 (this does not include Nov 2012
Assembly expenses), Printing and Postage
costs of $323.62 (which includes reports to be
printed out for AWSC twice a year and
Assembly), South Central Regional Delegates
conference (SCRD) expense of $248.18,
Group Records expense of $15.54, Public
Outreach expense of $906.82, Alateen
expense of $700.00, Assembly & AWSC room
rental expense of $221.63 (this is a new line
item in the budget, in the past we have been
able to receive “free or reduced “assembly
accommodation, but with the changes in the
economy that will no longer be available to
us), Income Tax preparation cost of $125.00,
and Misc Expenses of $132.90 (which
Kansas Area Treasurer’s Report
November 2012
This is a statement of
Support, Revenue, and
Expenses for the period of
May
through October 2012 for the KS Area AFG.
The checking account balance as of October
31, 2012 is $16,150.88 and the reserve
savings balance from our CD is $11,974.24.
Thus, our total cash funds balance is
9
includes new checking account checks,
ASWC and Assembly supplies (e.g. coffee,
cups, napkins, doughnuts etc), Love gift for
Delegate when she attended WSC, and the KS
annual Fee to the Sec. of State (Letter of
Good Standing)).
Background checks for an AlAnon member to become a
group Sponsor.
I am happy to report that we
submitted our annual
recertification package on time in June of this
year and all documentation and changes have
been recorded at the WSO.
As of today, we have 10 active Alateen
Groups in Kansas. 4 have inactivated this
year: Harmony Alateen and Hope Alateen in
District 10, Newton Alateen in District 14,
Phoenix Alateen and Friendship SUNDAY
Alateen in District 19. We have one new
group, Lawrence Alateen in District 10.
I’ve been very encouraged by the number of
new AMIAS across Kansas! As of today, we
have 65 AMIAS of which 33 are Certified
Sponsors- great job!
Recently the Area Alateen records have
become available to me On Line! While they
are currently ‘Read Only’, they give me the
ability to double check data that WSO has for
our Area. I can do searches by Alateen Group
ID, City, Zip Code, I can also check AMIAS
information by ID number, name, city etc…it
will be a very handy tool for me!
Please see me today or contact me anytime
for copies of our Area’s Safety and Behavior
Guidelines, forms needed to become an
AMIAS or Certified Sponsor, group or AMIAS
information change forms or a listing of the
AMIAS folks in Kansas. Thank you for
allowing me to be of service!
-Elaine W. – Area 20 Alateen Process Person
Thank you for this opportunity to serve.
Sincerely,- Lucy C.-, Kansas Area Treasurer
“Each day comes bearing its gifts.
Untie the ribbons.”
(-The Forum-, December, 1991, p. 13)
Alateen Process Person Report
November 2012 Assembly
Hello, for anyone that does not know me, I am
your Area Alateen Process Person! As a
reminder, my role as the AAPP is to make
sure that all Alateen groups in Kansas are
keeping with the Area 20 Safety and Behavior
Guidelines and that all Al-Anon Members that
do or wish to assist with Alateen meet the
Area requirements and have the proper forms
in place. As a major volunteer organization, it
is critical that we follow our Area Guidelines
to protect our children and the adults that are
responsible for them during meetings and
events. All required forms are run through me
first then I communicate any changes to our
Area Alateen Coordinator, Group Records
Coordinator and to the WSO. WSO will not
accept forms from anyone other than each
Area’s approved contact – In Kansas this is
the AAPP. This includes requests such as a
new Alateen Group, group changes, Al-Anon
members wishing to become certified to work
with the Alateens, and to request the
Alateen/Asst. Alateen Coordinator Report
November 2012 Assembly
Coordinating the Alateen’s is a
position we both love.
Aaryn did an
awesome job cochairing KARU and
someday will be a leader because I believe
she is a natural. “Dream Come True at KARU”
was the theme for the 2012 KARU with the
theme song “Dreamer” by Ozzie Osburne. We
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had 15 Adults and 55 Alateens and at the rally
for the 2013 they chose the theme as Don’t
Give up” and the theme song of “I won’t give
up” by Jason Maraz. We have requested the
dates of July 26th-28th, 2013 at Rock Springs
Ranch. Nov 23rd to 25th, 2012, Thanksgiving
weekend will be the 37th AMAC conference at
the LaQuinta, 5500 West Kellogg Dr, Wichita,
KS at the theme is “Breathe” and song “Just
Breathe” by Pearl Jam. Phil G has more
information and can be reached at 785-4084950 Alateen Conferences are exciting, fun,
enjoyable and inspiring. We are in desperate
need of Male Alateen sponsor/AMIAS to
attend these Conferences. It is a Great
growing experience. At the Al-Anon/Alateen
Conference in June, Amanda B. from Rantoul,
KS was the Alateen Speaker. We are eager to
wish Lawrence Alateen a big welcome and
looking forward to getting to know them. The
weekend of Sept 14th-16th was the AA
Conference in Topeka, KS; they set aside a
Board room from 12PM to 6PM for the
Alateens. Neither Aaryn nor I were able to
attend. We are planning on a SGAW for
sometime in March and will be working on
updating the guidelines. We want to make this
Get A Way an awesome experience to get to
know other sponsors and be able to share our
experience. We have 1 t-shirts left from KARU
2012, if interested we are asking for at least a
$5.00 donation. On October 12th, from 9AM to
12PM at the Day School at the Detention
Center (Alateen) shared for about 30 -45
minutes about Alateens. Donna has answered
two e-mails on where teens can find Alateen
meetings. “Alateen Talks” is a newsletter
from and about Alateens. Kansas Alateens
has shared in the spring and fall 2012
editions, and there are copies to take and
share with your Groups.
I will be asking for a $100 increase in the
Alateen line item on the budget, as Alateen
Coordinator I am expected to attend
conferences, and cost of gasoline has gone
up. Please let us know if you have Alateens
speaking at your functions. We want to be of
service to the State of Kansas anyway we
can. Alateens (younger Al-Anon’s) can sure
make an event awesomely fun. Thank you for
allowing us to serve in the Alateen
Coordinator & Assistant Alateen Coordinator
positions.
Love in Service, -Donna & Aaryn-, Alateen/Asst.
Alateen Coordinators
Area Archives Report
November 2012 Assembly
If you have any past minutes,
group records or
Stepfinders-remember the
Area Archives Department.
The updated history book should be on the
web page by now; and there are a lot of
missing minutes, etc. June 9, 1973: The
Assembly was held in McPherson. You could
buy lunch, coffee and rolls for $2.85.
Attendance was 59. Balance on hand was
$968.86. A new book, Alateen-Hope for
Children of Alcoholics went out for Alateens.
It sold for $3.50 a copy. November 9, 1974:
The Assembly was held in Hutchinson and 69
were present-45 of who were group
representatives. Lorain B. was chosen as a
nominee
for Southwest Regional Trustee. February 8 &
9 1975: The AWSC meeting was held in Salina
with 18 answering roll call. Lorain, the
treasurer, reported a balance of $465.18. An
announcement was made about who is
eligible to vote at Assembly-all elected
members and the Area World Service
Committee. This was referred to as “The Third
Legacy Voting Procedure”. The next
Assembly was the November Assembly, held
April 12, 1975 in McPherson. “The Third
Legacy Voting Procedure” was voted on and
accepted for the first time. That’s the way it
was.
-Claudine W-., Area Archives Coordinator
11
same time. This is a great inexpensive way of
“Carrying the Message”.
Another tool I just found is the 2012 Catalog
Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature, on
pages 11 -13 the World Service Office (WSO)
has given us a great tool of what they believe
will help us with the material for Public
Outreach. This is a World Service Office
(WSO) order form, but you are still able to
order the same literature from our Area
Literature Depot. This Catalog groups the
literature together and gives a better
description of each piece of literature.
The last tool let’s talk about is displays. Again
this tool will help us to “Carry the Message”
telling everyone “Who we are, Where we are,
and When we will be there” We can use the
display anywhere to we want to “Carry the
Message” Health Fairs, School Fairs, at any
Professional Fairs, Libraries, County Health
Departments to name a few.
Our goal for our Area Public Outreach Project
for 2013 is for every district to have a display!
Thank you all very much for helping “Carry
the Message”!
-Jayme T.-, Public Outreach Coordinator
Public Outreach Coordinator Report
November 2012 Assembly
Greetings everyone! My name is
Jayme Turner and I am your Public
Outreach Coordinator. Did you
know that every time we do Public
Outreach we are working the 12th
Step “Carrying the message”? Every time we
work the steps we have tools for helping us.
So let’s talk about a few of these tools we can
use for Public Outreach.
One of the tools is Posters, Posters and more
Posters!! At the May Assembly we had 1300
posters printed for our Area, we passed out
682 of these posters. This meant that we had
618 posters left. In hanging up these 682
posters that meant that we were “Carrying the
message” showing “Who we are, Where we
are, When we will be there” Since the May
Assembly several groups have asked for
more posters and as of today we have 358
posters left… Thank You and please keep
“Carrying the message”. If you need more
posters please let me know. Please continue
to let me know where you have been placing
your posters.
Next let’s talk about Al-Anon faces
Alcoholism 2013(AFA) it is possible one of
our Biggest Public Outreach tools. It tells”
Who we are” by sharing personal experiences
in the stories. On the back there is
information how people can call or visit a
website to find our meetings showing” Where
we are and When we will be there”. This tool
can be used to “Carry the message” to
everyone, families and professionals. So now
I challenge everyone to read this tool (if you
have not already done so), then on the back
under the blue box write your home group’s
name, address, and meeting time then place it
out in a public area. If you do this you have
just “Carried the message” and you are
working the 12th step.
Also remember when you are making a
literature order that there are free materials
such as bookmarks that can be ordered at the
“Reaching out is the best way to assure
that we will find a joy during the
holidays that will carry us through all
the years ahead.”
(-The Forum-, December 1991)
Kansas Stepfinder Report
November 2012 Assembly
To date there are 25
hard copy
subscriptions and 3
email subscriptions to the
Kansas Stepfinder. The subscriptions have
continually increased since I began serving
as Stepfinder Editor. I am very excited by
that! I appreciate all the personal sharings I
12
have received. I would like to receive more! I
always include a personal sharing in each
issue. If I receive a sharing from you, you will
receive a free issue of the Kansas Stepfinder
with your sharing in it! If I don’t get one from
the Kansas Area, I find one from other AlAnon literature. I would like to remind all
Coordinators and DR’s to give me a copy of
your reports for each AWSC meeting and
Assembly for the Stepfinder. You can either
give me a hard copy at the meetings or email
them to me at Stepfinder@kansas-a-anon.org.
Please have your reports to me right before
or no later than a week after AWSC meetings
and Assemblies so I can get the Stepfinder
completed and mailed out in timely manner. I
thank you for allowing me to serve as Kansas
Stepfinder Editor; and for all the
encouragement I have received. I HAVE
GROWN SO MUCH IN MY RECOVERY AS A
RESULT!
Love in Service,
-Stevie W.-, Kansas Stepfinder Editor
Force to review Technology Tools, needs,
options benefits and risks.
-Butch C.-, Area Technology Coordinator
Area Literature Coordinator Report
November 2012 Assembly
Sales have been
great recently and
yesterday I
deposited $900.00.
Today, I have brought
some totals
for you: For the first 3 quarters we sold
$9,549.17 in literature. We have donated to
Area this year $5,000 and have $800.00 today
to also donate.
There will be a printing in February of the
AFA’s, if anyone needs to order I would like to
know in January. Currently I have some in
stock if anyone needs any.
A reminder that you can get copies of the
book order form on the Kansas Al-Anon
website. I also always send at least one back
with your book order. To reiterate filling out
an order form correctly, you add the 7.55%
sales tax to your book order, total that
amount to get your subtotal and then add the
8% S&H to get your total amount.
I would like to encourage everyone to send
their orders on the order form with payment
for simplication of getting the orders done
and mailed.
Thank you for the opportunity for being your
Literature Coordinator.
-Becky D.-, Literature Coordinator
Technology Coordinator Report
November 2012
Services provided
January 2012 thru present: 67 requests for
help (information on meetings and sharing
stories), 25+ group change information
requests. Job description revision underway.
Tech support to Area leadership. Researching
options for Web site content management
system with a focus on a better way to
manage the list of meetings. The use of
Google Apps at the Officer, Coordinator & DR
levels is pending. Active Projects include: the
History Book being scanned and posted on
the Web site(Members), rolling out Google
Apps, posting Officer/Coordinators
Guidelines, re-posting Stepfinders for this
year(revising formats), auditing Group Record
change requests. There is a pending Task
“Service is mine to do, when I
can, where I can, what I can,
all I can.”
-When I Got Busy I Got Betterp. 22
13
Crazy Bingo is once again on the agenda for
Friday evening thanks to Terry R. In addition,
we're discussing a game night for Saturday
night. Due to the challenges of the facility, we
may be doing baskets vs. individual items for
the lucky chance.
So mark your calendars now! We would love
to see you all next summer on June 7th, 8th
and 9th in Topeka Kansas and make it a
weekend to remember!
-Nancy S.-, 2013 Al-Anon/Alateen Conference
Chairperson
2013 Kansas Al-Anon/Alateen
Conference Report
November 2012 Assembly
The theme for the 2013 conference
is "Right Here, Right Now". A
couple of our committee
members have
encountered major
health problems since accepting
the committee positions. Both Susan and
Dana are doing well today and may we all
pray for their continued health improvement.
Pam T has done a fabulous job putting
together save the date flyers and other
information. There is an envelope at the back
of the room for each district that has
conference flyers inside and Pam's e:mail on
the outside in case you prefer to have a
digital copy of the same. Pam would be happy
to e:mail you any of the flyers. Just send her
a request at ptucker3@cox.net.
The program chair, Susan A., has done a
fabulous job obtaining speakers for the
conference. Kim P. of Tecumseh KS and her
husband Troy will speak as well as Beverly B
from Texas will be our Saturday night
speaker. The assistant Alateen Coordinator,
Aaryn W. has agreed to be the Alateen
speaker!
The conference will be held in the same
location as the 2012 conference at the
Holiday Inn Holidome at 605 SW Fairlawn in
Topeka Kansas just off of I-70 with the
exception of the Saturday night meeting
which will be at the Nazarene Church across
the street. There were some issues with the
Holidome and we will need to be flexible and
grow!
The committee agreed that the Saturday night
dinner at Coyote Canyon was a great
alternative to a banquet. It allows people to be
involved if they desire and costs less than the
traditional banquet. As such, we have
decided to have Saturday dinner at the
Coyote Canyon once again for all that would
like to participate.
2013 South Central Regional Delegates
Meeting Report
November 2012 Assembly
The meeting will be held on March 1-3, 2013
at the Airport Best Western in Wichita, Ks.
Every 7th year Kansas hosts this meeting.
The South Central Region consists of Kansas,
Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
Texas East, and Texas West. The theme is :
Our Legacies: the Spiritual Journey of
Changing “Me to “We”. Laurel Lenz is the
general chairperson. Mary Kellison and Keo
O’Rouke will take care of the program. Terry
Rogers will host the hospitality room.
Volunteers are needed to help in hospitality
room, decorate the tables and make Love
Gifts. The Banquet will be a Buffet with a
choice of Prime Rib or 10oz K C Strip steak.
This meeting is open to all Al-Anon members.
Some of what to expect: Entertainment,
Workshops, Speakers, Discussion of Topics
of interest to Area’s, meeting new, current
and past Delegates from the region… Anyone
who wants to receive a Registration form by
email can email Laurel Lenz Panel 46 to
request one. They will go out around the 1st
of January.
laurel_lenz@yahoo.com
-Laurel L.-, Past Delegate
14
1. We have 9 active Al Anon Groups and 1
Alateen Group in District 5.
2. Meetings for women are held on the 2nd
Wednesday evening each month, in the
Saline County Jail. Judy W. and Keo O. are
the volunteers currently certified for this
activity. They ask that others please volunteer
to assist with this important service. Anyone
interested, contact them. The certification
process is not difficult and is not much
different than qualifying to be an Alateen
sponsor.
2. There is an Al Anon literature rack in the
Salina Regional Health Center Emergency
Room, sponsored by the Choices Al Anon
group on behalf of District 5. Anyone who
wishes to contribute a donation toward this
worthy project, please contact me or Sally
Downing.
3. Access TV station, Channel 21 in Salina,
has received the Public Outreach DVD,
published by WSO and is running it regularly.
Choices Al Anon group purchased this item
and gave it to our member, Marnie R., who
works at Access TV.
4. Sally D. and Brenda represented Al Anon at
the Pathfinders Recovery Center, presenting
a literature table and giving a speech about Al
Anon. Sally has been asked to be the liaison
between Al Anon and Pathfinders and has
also been asked to serve in the same capacity
by the Ashby House of Salina, the homeless
shelter for families and single women.
AA/AL-Anon Liaison Report
November 2012 Assembly
Approximately 40 Al-Anon’s attended the
Kansas Area AA Conference in Topeka. On
Friday evening there was a reception with
cookies and cold drinks to welcome attending
Al-Anon’s and AA’s. The room was filled and
there was lots of great conversation. Leftover
cookies were donated to the hospitality shop,
which was greatly appreciated. On Saturday,
our own Phil G. spoke and did an awesome
job. There was very good attendance by both
Al-Anon’s and AA’s. I want to specifically
thank Shanna G. for acting as a host for Phil
which freed me up to do other activities
including selling some literature. I sold
Literature for about 90 minutes on Saturday
and sold about $100.00 in literature. I was
honored to be the Al-Anon Liaison and I
found out if I keep quiet and be patient things
did get done without me and I felt like it was a
great growing experience.
-Becky D.-, AA/Al-Anon Liaison
DISTRICT REPORTS
November 2012 Assembly
So far this year, 6 of the AFG Groups in
District 5 have been visited in person by me
or another volunteer on behalf of the district. I
hope to complete these visits before 2013 and
to share the group public outreach poster
provided by Judy W. and the WSO. Those
groups remaining are: Abilene AFG,
Minneapolis Serenity Seekers AFG, Salina
New Hope AFG, and Salina Alateen. I hope to
begin having District 5 meetings in the New
Year. In Service, -Dena B.-, DR
dberquist@sbcglobal.net
“Participation is the Key to
Harmony”
District 5: Sally Downing is now Alternate
D.R. and public outreach contact for District 5
to the area. Neither of us were able to attend
the May, 2012 Kansas Assembly meeting. Keo
O’Rourke gave a report for our district. Thank
you, Keo.
District 5 activity report:
15
District 15: District 15 held its last meeting on
October 20 2012 in Hillsdale KS. District 15
has 7 Al-Anon groups & 1 Alateen group.
There were 4 groups represented at our last
meeting. There was 1 visitor present.
The treasurer report was given.
The groups reported on their activities &
attendance patterns.
We reviewed the upcoming Assembly agenda
& reviewed the proposed budget for 2013 to
be voted on at the assembly. The attendees
made travel plans for the upcoming
assembly. We discussed the district website
& made plans to update the site.
The RISK Alateen group is meeting in the
Presbyterian Church in Paola. The address is
110 Peoria Paola KS 66071. Meeting time is
7:30 pm Monday evening. We have 2 to 5
younger members attending. The sponsors
are looking for meeting ideas to keep the
program interesting to the younger members
as they are learning the basic principles of
the program.
Fellowship & food was enjoyed by all.
Our next meeting is set for January 19th 2013,
hosted by the Linn County group in La Cygne.
Love in service, -Ruth Ann T.- DR 15
District 12: District 12 has three registered
groups. Two are in Great Bend and one in
Larned. Grapevine AFG in Great Bend meets
at 7:00 on Tuesday evenings. Great Bend
AFG has three meetings a week: Wednesday
at 12:00pm, Thursday at 8:00pm and Saturday
at 9:00am. Paths to Recovery group in Larned
meets Wednesday at 6:00pm with a Step
meeting and a regular meeting following at
7:00pm. District 12 had our annual Fall Fest
on Saturday, September 29th at Camp
Pawnee in Larned. It was a rousing success
again this year with lots of District
involvement. Betty R, our alternate delegate
from Lawrence came and gave a workshop on
living the traditions and concepts in our
families and everyday lives. We had a
wonderful lunch of homemade soups and
sandwiches, then Tomi and Chuck C. from
Great Bend shared their stories together as
an Al-Anon and AA married couple. We had
many people attend from all over the state
and were very grateful for the wonderful time
shared. Great Bend AFG reports that they
were able to take the posters given by Jayme
with Public Outreach and put them up
throughout Great Bend, including a car
dealership, the library, the local crisis center
and many of the local churches. Paths to
Recovery in Larned was able to have
members put the posters on all floors of the
courthouse, the county health department,
the local laundry mat and other public places.
–Susan A.-, DR
District 21: It was a privilege when asked to
work with a group in Cedarville as well as one
in Sedan, Kansas. Cedarville had 5 ladies
wanting to start an Al-Anon meeting. I’ve
been there three times; once to give
information forms and answer many
questions. They had a place and time
already. The next time I took a meeting with
the help of Martha from Coffeyville. The
group was very appreciative. I had a meeting
with the Sedan group where I took
information and answered questions. I then
went back and took a meeting with two
members in attendance. They are still trying
to get organized. Who knew when I was
District 13: I didn’t visit any of the groups
this time around except for the Hutch Group.
I was in contact with the other groups by
phone. I delivered I delivered the Public
Service Announcement by mail or in person.
-Loretta B.-, DR
16
asked to go to these groups how rewarding it
would be giving me experience and wonderful
opportunities for service work.
Awesome, willing and thankful,
-Gloria P.-, DR
Personal Sharing
I use the three As in my program
almost daily. Many times I see
something that I would like to take
charge of, and I have to stop and ask
myself, “What’s my part in this?”
Often my part is accepting life and
truth for what it is. This is in direct
contrast to my actions before
program. I used the Two A’s instead of
the Three A’s, jumping from
Awareness—“Oh, look what just
happened!” To Action—“Oh, gosh, I’ve
got to fix it!”
Even Awareness was a difficult thing
for me to do in those old, dark days. It
was much easier to be in denial and
pretend that everything was okay.
After I got into the program, I learned
that being aware merely meant I was
recognizing what was going on.
Acceptance means that I have to
acknowledge that I am not in charge of
anything outside of my own mind. My
Higher Power has it all under control.
All I have to do is recognize that
something is going on, and however
much I may hate what is happening,
fighting it will do no good.
Action follows. Usually at this point I
know that all I can do is ask my Higher
Power for guidance and strength to
get through whatever Life is handing
out this time. Sometimes there is
something that I can do. And
sometimes all I have to do is sit and
wait.
District 22: The Fall meeting was held
September 10, 2012 with Riverton, KS AFG as
host. Each group reported what they were
doing and some programs they had done.
Bob W. sent a treasurer’s report that Jolene
D. gave for him in his absence. Jolene D.
offered to be Secretary. Gloria D., DR, gave a
report on the September AWSC meeting and
shared upcoming dates. Our program was
on the Fourth Step. I told the groups that
Sedan wanted to start an Al-Anon group.
Dawn suggested that a paper be sent around
the table to have each group write down
suggestions to help them get started with
outreach ideas. This went well. I have given
these suggestions to the new groups.
Tuesday AFG in Independence, KS will host
the Spring meeting. The group asked for a
workshop program at the Spring meeting.
Andrea and Gloria will bring one to the group.
The meeting closed with the Al-Anon/Alateen
Declaration. After the meeting all 14
members present went to lunch and shared
some great fellowship! Gratitude in Service,
Gloria P-., DR
“My Higher Power is not a Santa
Claus who gives me everything I want;
He is a loving guardian who gives me
everything I need.”
--Betty Ruhlen--, Kansas Area Alternate
Delegate
(-The Forum-, December, 1991, p. 10)
17
The Past in Review
A couple of nights ago I had a dream that my mobile home had
set unoccupied for five years. I had just recently sold it, and I knew I had left a
lot of stuff in it from five years ago. I went back with some friends and looked
everything over to decide what I might still want. Some of the things were
really beautiful—jewelry boxes, vases, etc. While I was deciding what I still
wanted, I wondered how I could have left them there for so long. It was a lot of
fun finding them again. When I woke up, I mulled all this over in my head for a
few days. This morning I realized what the dream meant.
When I shut the door on my past, I left a lot of good things back there. Now I
can go back, look around, pick out what I still like and want, and take it with
me. I asked my Higher Power to show me what these things are, and how I can
still salvage and put them into my life today. I always thought people left
behind what they didn’t care about. But that’s not always true. I had left
behind some of the people and things I care about the most. Because I didn’t
know how to love in a healthy way, I decided not to love at all.
With my Higher Power and Al-Anon I have taken my confusing past, done some
sorting and made some decisions as to what I still want in my life. It has been
healing for me to realize that maybe when my parents left me behind, it had
nothing to do with me. It didn’t mean they loved me any less. The program
works. God’s timing is perfect and He’s there all the time.--Dody Y.--, Colorado
(Taken from The Forum, December 1991, p. 21)
“Joy and peace of mind are the rewards we seek when
we ‘Let it Begin With Me’”
(From Survival to Recovery, p. 95)
18
PAST KANSAS DELEGATES
Charla Cross
2418 Rio Vista
Wichita, KS 67204
delegate@kansas-al-anon.org o r
charlacross@cox.net
Mary Beth Jones (Deceased)
Janice McNee
R.R. 1, Box 128
Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845
(620) 273-6601
Mara Webb
P.O. Box 23
Welling, OK 74471
Webbtbs@yahoo.com
T. Stockman
21508 Shore Line Drive
Lyndon, KS 66491
(785) 828-3301
tandbob@grapevine.net
Keo O’Rourke
232 Washington
Lindsborg, KS 67456
keoorourke@hotmail.com
Mary Kellison
1727 W. 20th
Lawrence, KS
Maryk17272000@yahoo.com
The KANAS STEPFINDER , a publication of
the Kansas Area Assembly, is published
four times a year (March, June, October and
December) and mailed to Al-Anon and
Alateen individuals and groups. Individual
and group donations are $15.00 per year for
hard copies and $5.00 per year for email
copies. The printing of this publication is
made possible by donations. The material
in this publication is not copyrighted and
may be used only by an individual, group,
or area as long as it is kept within Al-Anon
and Alateen and the anonymity of those
mentiknoed is protected in keeping with our
Tracitions. All opinions expressed in this
publication are purely individual and do not
necessarily reflect the beliefs of AlAnon/Alateen as a whole.
Laurel Lenz
322 N. Sabin
Wichita, KS 67212
(318) 945-4253
Laurel_lenz@sbcglobal.net
19
Name ___________________________________________________________________
Address
________________________________________________________________________
Email Address
________________________________________________________________________
Check One:
Individual/New ___ Individual/Renewal___ Group ___
Change of Address ___ Donation___
Circle One:
Donation
Email: $5.00 per year
Regular Mail (hardcopy): $15.00 per year
Mail to: Kansas Stepfinder, c/o Stephanie Workman, 2054 Lambertson Ln #4., Salina, KS 67401
PLEASE MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO STEPHANIE WORKMAN
20