Intergrouper MAY 2017

Office Hours Central Florida Intergroup Services, Inc. P (407) 260-5822 9-4 M-F 283 Live Oaks Boulevard, Building 6 F (407) 260-5604 10-2 Saturday Casselberry FL 32707 Closed Sunday email: cfi@embarqmail.com 24 Hour Hotline web: http://www.cflintergroup.org (407) 260-5408

K nots on My Rope by Misty G., Sanford

Early last December we celebrated my eldest daughter’s fourth birthday with family and friends. The cele-

bration was a typical toddler fête; children running around, eyes and smiles wide, loaded up on sugary treats

from a piñata broken in record time. It was a group effort taking turns looking

after my youngest daughter, who is nearly two. Understandably, in the joyous

chaos, no one paid particular attention to what Ms. Nearly Two was eating.

After she refused her dinner, we tallied up the treats she’d eaten and were

surprised she even went to sleep.

Around 11:00 p.m. we awoke to the sound of our “sugar baby” coughing and

crying. When we turned on the lights, we discovered she had gotten sick and

was quite a mess in her crib. She was crying quite inconsolably now. I picked

her up and held her close to me, attempting to quiet her cries while my husband

quietly dry-heaved behind us. That’s when it hit me; I was there. I was sober,

and I was there for her when she needed me.

For the next few moments I just held her, both of us now covered in partially digested birthday party treats,

and thanked my Higher Power for the absolute beauty of that very moment. I likely would’ve stayed longer

in this blissful moment had my husband not interrupted (amid gags) with the suggestion of a shower.

These moments have become the knots on the rope of my sobriety. Each little unexpected miracle becoming

something I can grab onto, and cling to, when doing the next right thing seems too much for me. At just

over six months sober, I’d say my rope is pretty knotty. May the rope you climb through your sobriety be

plenteous with knots as well.

Happy Anniversary !

2

Avalon Friendfor LifeNoel - 27

Central OrlandoGW - 40Tim P - 30Joe F - 27Brenda P - 23Beth N - 20Nicholas B - 17Megan M - 13Paul M - 13Lesley U - 9Peter M - 5Katie A - 4Gene L - 2Russell P - 1Ashley W - 1Edward G - 1Ron H - 2

Clean AirJackie K -28Barbara A - 24Sam P - 15Jay P - 4Felix T - 2Zane A - 1

Decisions GroupKevin M - 25Kim B - 7

Dr. PhillipsDonna M. - 14Nancy G - 6Tanya G - 3Anthony R - 2Rich U - 2Steve G - 2Joshua L - 1Jeff B - 1Jeff G - 1

Joe F - 1Taylor - 1Lori - 1Debbie D - 1

Fortunate FewMitch C - 5Ray S - 3

From the HeartDoris N - 9Tracy B - 5Carole - 3Susan M - 3Terri C - 3

GreenhouseDavid R - 30Tricia L - 14Bo K - 13Jan H - 6

High NoonPortia L - 41Many D - 34Charles K - 9Scott M - 3Neil G - 1

JaywalkersMichael F - 10Ryan L - 9Jennifer H - 2

Just Do ItAnn K - 19Cindy B - 19

Living SoberJay Y - 23Nicholas B - 17Peter M - 5Apryl K - 2Jeff B - 2Susan N - 1

Made a BeginningCarolyn B - 11Lucy B - 2Lynn M - 1

Our Mostly Agnostic Group of DrunksLouise R - 25Richard C - 11Given - 4Jen P - 4Brian W - 3Kim T - 2David M - 1Freddy A - 1Duane C - 1Kayla A - 2

OviedoTim P – 30Brenda P – 23Brad P - 13Marcia L – 13David F – 11Chris A – 6Philip P – 4Rick F – 4Jeff B – 3Joe B – 3Angelo V – 2Trish F – 2Cecil E – 1Cindy G – 1Connie K – 1Leo H – 1

Pass It OnNancy D - 34Hilton S - 30Doreen W - 20Ann K - 19Rudy R - 18

Nicholas B - 17Joe T - 11Paula A - 11Will M - 9Jim M - 7Ray B - 4Renee K - 2Dan C - 2Marie B - 2

Pine Hills GraceJimmy F - 38Fred K - 33Richard J - 29Kurt W - 26Michael F - 10Rachel G - 7Keith T - 1

The Herd InstinctJackie F - 9

The Home GroupSandy - 40Teresa P - 30Natalie K - 6Shirley R -1Anna S -1

Wekiva BasicsPaul A - 11Susan B - 3

Winter ParkMarga N - 37Gary B - 31Bob G - 27Roberta M - 25Barbara A - 24Scott H - 24Bob B - 21David D - 19Nicholas B - 17

Edveardo T- 13Joni R - 11Michael F - 10Diana W - 9Julie L - 9Sean A - 9Zaida - 7Angela M - 5Bridget - 5Bryan V - 5Joann G - 5Mlton S - 5Cris C - 4George - 4Jim B - 4Jerry C - 4Candie F - 3Gene - 2Sherry S - 2Berit - 1Nick - 1

3

History’s Corner – May 2017

Some A.A. and Alcoholism Factoids

Why we call it the “Big Book”. A printer in Cornwall NY, named Ed Blackwell, was recommended to Bill W. as the producer for the book “Alcoholics Anonymous”. Mr. Blackwell was told the book would be about 400 pages when printed, but the authors wanted to sell it for $3.50, and in 1938 money that was about $ 65.00 in to-day’s money, a very expensive price. In order to give the reader a belief he was getting his money’s worth, they picked the cheapest, thickest paper the printer had available, thus the birth of the nickname “The Big Book”.

Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was recognized as one of the top 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time magazine. Time’s write-up on Bill was called “The Healer”.

The one-millionth copy of the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” was gifted to the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, at a White House Ceremony.

It is estimated that at least half of all adult Americans have had a parent, child, sibling or spouse who has a drinking problem or alcoholism.

It is estimated that 60% of the population uses some form of alcohol, but 10% of drinkers consume up to half of all alcohol sold.

What do Dr. Silkworth, William James, Carl Jung, and Bill Wilson, all mentioned in the book Alcoholics Anonymous, have common in their thinking? It’s that a profound spiritual awakening (some thunderbolt, some gradual) can occur within a person who suffers a calamity in life, admits defeat, and surrenders to a pow-er greater than themselves. The surrender does not have to be religious in nature which leads to the tradition of the belief in a “God of our understanding”. The fellowship is not and never will be in the business of defining a person’s God; each member is free to choose his own.The final major piece in the operation of the society did not occur until 1966, four years before the death of Bill W. and 31 years after the founding date in 1935. Since the beginning of the General Services trustees, the majority vote was held by the non-alcoholic Class A trustees. Alcoholic trustees were in the minority. This was changed to a majority of Alcoholics trustees in 1966. Today, the Board is guided by 14 Class B Alcoholic trust-ees vs. seven Class A trustees for the non-alcoholics.

So the success and formation of the society took many years to develop and still, today, we closely examine our Traditions and Concepts to help us move AA forward.

Vic L – Decisions Group – Winter Springs, Florida

For more information, contact Intergroup Office 407-260-5822

Asbury United Methodist Church (Maitland Beginner’s Meeting Location)

220 W. Horatio Ave. Maitland, FL 32751

Celebrating AA’s Founders’ Day Speaker Panel of Longtimers with 30+ years of

sobriety. Entry for panel begins at 3pm.

Brought to you by Central Florida Intergroup

Longtimers Panel 2017

Saturday, June 10

Doors Open at 3pm

Panel Discussion 4pm—6pm

4

Carrying the aa message in OUR COMMUNITY

“We believe that our experience should be made available freely to all who express sincere interest. We believe further that all efforts in this field should always reflect our gratitude for the gift of sobriety and our awareness that many outside of A.A. are equally concerned

with the serious problem of alcoholism.“

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

CENTRAL FLORIDA INTERGROUP

407-260-5822

PUBLIC INFORMATION & COOPERATION WITH THE

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOP

11:30am—2:30pm May 13, 2017

Happy Hour Group Location

277 Live Oaks Blvd Casselberry, FL 32707

PRESENTED BY:

Clark M. North Florida Area 14 , Public Information Chair Mark A. North Florida Area 14, Cooperation with the Community Chair

Hosted by Districts 9, 10, 11, 18 & 31

Light lunch included

About the NewsletterThe Intergrouper’s primary purpose is to connect

alcoholics to local AA resources, specifically to give priority to office news and events, group information, committees served by Intergroup, highlights and finan-cial statements.

The trustees and the editor have editorial authority over all newsletter content. Submissions for publication in the Intergrouper are encouraged and appreciated.

We also use articles and stories on the front page each month. Think of this writing as sharing at a meeting only in print. It’s a form of service, and the person who reads

what you wrote may hear just what he or she needs to hear at that moment.

Don’t worry if you have trouble spelling. We can fix that. If English isn’t your first language, we can help you there too. Reasonable efforts may be made to contact the author in the event substantial changes need to be made.

Please email submissions by the 10th of the month before publication to cfi@embarqmail.com.

5

The Central Orlando Group Presents

A Workshop on the 4th STEP

a ‘Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory’ I’m resentful at: The Cause Affects my: Mr. Brown

His attention to my

wife.

Sex relations Self-esteem (fear)

Told my wife of my mistress

Sex relations Self-esteem (fear)

“We went back through our lives. Nothing

counted but thoroughness and honesty. When we were finished we considered it carefully.”

Big Book p. 65

Saturday, May 13, 2017 2PM-5PM

AlcoAn Clubhouse (Central Group) 310 East Colonial Drive

Orlando, FL 32801 (407-420-9008)

6

Covering the Big Book A study of the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous

From the front cover through page 164

Not a conventional meeting, Rick and Kelly read through the Big Book page by page and provide commentary, experience, and historical citations on the literature.

Upcoming sessions:

May 6 Into Action – part 1 May 13 Into Action – part 2 May 20 Working with Others May 27 Working with Others

Saturday mornings from 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Central Orlando Group 407-420-9008 (club)

310 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32801

Sp

ea

ke

rs

Apopka Big Book Speakers@ 8 PM

261 McGee Ave, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Apopka 2703May 04 Doug V. Central OrlandoMay 11 Joe K. NaplesMay 18 Janae M. Central OrlandoMay 25 Mike W The Herd Instinct

Ponderosa Group @ 8 PM College Park Presbyterian Church, 118 E Par St (corner Par & Formosa)

Th e Ponderosa group has open speaker meeting the 2nd Th ursday of each month. Our speaker on Th ursday, April 13 at 8pm will be Bill P. from Central. Our speaker on Th ursday, May 11 at 8pm will be Bob C. from Fairbanks.

Except for the 2nd Th ursday of the month, we are a closed discussion meeting with topic cho-sen from readings of AA literature.

Splash pad*, playground, basketball, and more!

Fort Mellon Park Pavilion 2

600 East First Street Sanford, FL 32771

*Look for blue and gold balloons.

All groups and ages welcome. South Sanford Group will supply the

hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, and drinks. Please bring a side dish and/or dessert.

Look for the blue and gold balloons by the pavilion.

(Pavilion 2 is located near the splash pad.) *Splash pad entrance is $2.00 per person.

Saturday, May 20, 2017 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Me

eti

ng

Ne

ws

The Greenhouse has

MOVED!!! Visit us soon! P.S.-Still have sofas!

VISIT US AT OUR NEW LOCATION

REEVES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH1100 N Fern Creek Ave, Room 8 Orlando

BIRTHDAY NIGHT FIRST SATURDAY7pm Pot Luck, 8pm Speaker- All welcome!

Hope and Courage Group will be hosting California Rob Big Book talkStarting May 22, 2017 for 10 weeks. 7-9pm @ The Rebos Club 130 Normandy Road Casselberry 32707

7

MARCH 2017 CONTRIBUTIONS:Group Contributions:

A Good Group $157.60Apopka Big Book 40.00Back to Basics 100.00Central Orlando 279.40Clean Air 25.00Conway 50.00Decisions 100.00District 18 4.91Fairbanks 113.28Fellowship of the Spirit 50.00 First Things First 67.29Fortunate Few 200.00High Noon 80.40Live Oaks 150.00Maitland Beginners 150.00Miracles Happen 50.00New Life - Chuluota 100.00Pass It On 91.01Princeton 150.00The Hope Group 28.39Winter Park 300.00Winter Park Men’s 160.00

TOTAL GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS: $2,447.28Individual Contributions:Anonymous/Anniversary 100.00Anonymous 100.00Anonymous 50.00Anonymous 200.00Anonymous 5.00

TOTAL INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 455.00

TOTAL MONTHY CONTRIBUTIONS: $2,902.28

AA’s Twelve Steps are principles for personal recov-ery. The Twelve Traditions ensure the unity of the Fellowship. The Twelve Concepts for World Service provide a group of related principles to help ensure that various elements of A.A’s service structure remain responsive and responsible to those they serve. Step Five: “Admitted to God, to ourselves and to anoth-er human being the exact nature of our wrongs..” Tradition Five: “Each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” Concept Five: “Throughout our world service structure, a traditional Right of Appeal ought to prevail, thus assuring us that minority opinion will be heard and that petitions for the redress of personal grievances will be carefully considered.”

Intergroup Abbreviated Profit & Loss StatementJan-Mar Actual

Jan-MarBudget

$ Over/Under

Gross Revenue $ 25,408 $ 28,560 ($ 3,152)Cost of Goods Sold 12,030 10,500 1,530Gross Profit 13,378 18,060 ( 4,682)Total Expense 19,867 20,525 ( 659)Net Ordinary Income ( 6,489) ( 2,465) ( 4,023)Net Fundraising/Activities

513 700 ( 187)

Net Income $ 5,975 $ 1,765 $ 4,210

MovingHi Sobriety:

Hi Sobriety’s last meeting at Page House is April 27th. For new meeting location choose from the following:Call the AA hotline (407-260-5408) or go to the announcements section at cflintergroup.org.

Happy Hour:

The new address: 277 Live Oaks Blvd, Bldg. 6Casselberry Fl (4 doors down from the old location)

cde MAY 2017 cde

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9District 186:30 pmLongwood

10 11 12 13 ** PI & CPC Workshop, Casselberry** 4th Step workshop Orlando

14 15 District 117:00 pm Orlando

16 17Service Committee, 6:30 pm CFI

18 19 20** SouthSanford Picnic

21 22** BB Study BeginsCasselberry

23District 96:30 pm Orlando

24 25 26 27

28Delegates Meeting 11:30 amOrlando

29District 106:30 pmWinter ParkCFI OFFICECLOSED

30 31

I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that I am responsible!

Save the Date

24 Hour Hotline (407) 260-5408

Dist. 9 meets at 6:30 p.m. on the 4th Tuesday at Crossroads Group, 5205 S. Orange Ave, Ste. 204, Orlando Dist.10 meets at 6:30 p.m. the last Monday at the Winter Park Group, 5407 Lake Howell Rd., Winter Park Dist.11 meets at 7:00-8:00, 3rd Monday at East Side Club, 2017 N Goldenrod Rd., Orlando

Dist.18 meets at 6:30 p.m. the 2nd Tuesday at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, 2140 W. S.R. 434, Longwood Delegates meet at 11:30 a.m. the last Sunday at Central, 310 E Colonial Dr., Orlando Service Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. at Intergroup on the Wednesday 10 days before the Delegates’ meeting.

** Longtimers’ Panel, June 10, Maitland** Founders’ Day Picnic, June 24, Maitland** FYCPAA, July 7 - 9, St. Augustine** 61st FL State Convention, July 27 - 30, JAX

** indicates details of the event are in the newsletter announcement pages.