Incoming volunteers, like newcomers to AA, are the life blood of SDIAIC. From those volunteers, meeting panels are kept at full strength and new officers and coordinators are named. Due to attrition, it is necessary to have new panel volunteers available at all times. Sickness, death, transfers and transportation problems are a few of the reasons SDIAIC has a slow, but steady turnover of panel members, coordinators and officers. Because of the constant need for active, vital AA members to help with this type of AA Twelve-Step work, the hand of fellowship is always out at SDIAIC.
It’s easy to become a member of SDIAIC. Attend an Orientation Meeting to get started - the monthly H&I orientation is held at the Machinists Hall at noon on the third Sunday of every month, as well as on Zoom on the third Thursday of each month at 7PM. There is a *NEW* meeting ID for the Zoom online orientation, it is 957 3540 3328 and the password is sdiaic. This will place your name on our volunteer list. It also keeps track of attendance, because you need to have attended four meetings during the year to be eligible to vote at the annual October election. There are sobriety requirements for becoming a panel member, panel leader, panel coordinator, Group Institutional Representative (GIR) or officer. For those who wish to serve in hospitals and treatment centers, clearance is not required. For those who want to carry the message into correctional facilities, security clearance is required. Forms are available to accomplish this.
Don’t worry about having to take part in a strange meeting alone. This is not the way it is done. New members are always paired with an experienced member or two so that the newer person has a chance to learn the ropes. After an ample seasoning period, the new person will no longer be new and will be expected to carry the responsibilities of a panel member, leader or coordinator. New panel members are supplied with all necessary information to help them clearly communicate the AA message.
Each month a schedule of meetings is printed for distribution to members. This schedule provides the names of all meetings, the meeting times and the coordinators’ names and phone numbers. A panel member utilizing this system has a line of communication open all the way to the chairperson. In case of sickness or emergency, a call goes first to the panel leader asking for help to cover the meeting. If the panel leader cannot be reached, calls then go to the panel coordinator, Corrections or Treatment Chairperson, then to the chairperson. Help is sure to be found along the chain.
We are guests of any institution where our panels are held, and we must respectfully comply with the regulations of all institutions we serve. In correctional facilities, certain sobriety requirements must be observed. Those on parole or probation may be required to follow a procedure prescribed by authorities before they become a panel member at most correctional institutions. Furthermore, we do not talk down to either patients or inmates who attend our panels but treat them with the same respect and courtesy that we treat those people who attend our regular, outside AA meetings.
AA conference-approved pamphlets and books, as well as local meeting directories, are supplied through the SDIAIC librarian. Coordinators complete a literature request form at the business meeting, the orders are filled and the literature is ready to be picked up after the meeting. Literature can also (preferred) be ordered online ahead of time and picked up at the meeting. Should special literature be needed, the librarian will be glad to comply. The literature and books on hand are those most frequently used.
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