District 8 Chairpersons
The following are the District 8 Chairs for 2015:
| Chairperson | Kari D |
|---|---|
| Vice Chair | Bridget M |
| Secretary | Ken |
| Treasurer | Evan F |
| Fund Raising | Open |
| Public Information | Adam B |
| H&I | Open |
| Chips | Peter B |
| Literature | Open |
| Interim Sponsorship | Josh |
| Phone Line | Open |
| Webmaster | Larry S |
| New Leaf Bureau Chief | Christina B. |
| Share-A-Day | Peter, John M. |
| Events | James |
| MAWS Delegates | TBA TBA |
District 8 Service Positions
CHAIRPERSON – The Chairperson’s primary responsibility is conducting the District Service Committee Meeting, held on the second Wednesday of every month. This includes preparing the agenda, rationing the time for the various reports, and keeping order during the meeting. The Chairperson knows what the overall arch of business during the year is, and prepares the agenda accordingly. S/he also is the administrator of the committee’s online yahoo group, where business between monthly meetings takes place.
VICE CHAIRPERSON – The Vice Chairperson is responsible for assisting the Chairperson in conducting the District Service Committee Meetings, and for conducting the meeting in the Chairperson’s absence. The Vice Chairperson can also be of assistance in helping to administer the business of the District outside of the District Service Committee Meeting by assisting the subcommittee chairpersons with their responsibilities, and by informing the group secretaries of the chronic absence of their group’s GSR. This ensures that all meetings are properly represented and that the individual groups are up to date on the business in their districts. During the D8 meeting, the VC can assist the Chair and the Treasurer by collecting the D8’s 7th Tradition, and even the group donations (if the Treasurer is absent). The VC can act as spiritual timekeeper, when requested, to limit discussion on a motion, and remind the Chair how much time is remaining. The VC can assist the Secretary by circulating the Attendance Sheet. The VC is allowed the propose motions and to advocate.
SECRETARY – The Secretary’s primary responsibility is to handle all of the district’s non-financial paperwork. The most important task is to record clear and accurate minutes of each District Service Committee Meeting. The Secretary also distributes copies of the minutes to all the participants.
TREASURER – The Treasurer’s job is to handle all the District’s money. The Treasurer is elected to two terms. The Treasurer should be someone who is financially secure, good at managing finances, and has a minimum of two years clean and sober. Experience in business, bookkeeping, banking, or accounting is also helpful but not required. The Treasurer must be willing to sign papers at the District’s bank in order to sign checks. The Treasurer’s duties include: receiving contributions from the groups; administering the District’s checking account; paying all bills; reimbursing approved expenses to D8 members; keeping records of all transactions; reporting on the financial condition of the district at each meeting; creating a yearly report to MAWS using the approved spreadsheet; regularly picking up the mail at the District Post Office Box.
HOSPITALS AND INSTITUTIONS – The H&I; committee conducts panels and meetings that carry the MA message to marijuana addicts who have no other way of hearing our message. The H&I; Chairperson interacts with facility administrators, and organizes panels at treatment centers, recovery houses, mental health facilities, or other institutions.
PUBLIC INFORMATION – The Public Information subcommittee informs addicts and others in the community about the MA program of recovery. Many PI projects serve primarily to encourage people to write or call MA for more information about meetings. Dispersing this information can take on various forms, such as: distributing flyers, mass mailings, and answering email inquiries, to name a few. The Public Information Chair needs access to a computer in order to answer email inquiries from the website and post and approve items, and add emails to the MANews. The Chair will keep the website updated by providing copy and images that can be cut and pasted in by the Webmaster.
PHONE LINE – The Phone Line Chairperson maintains the district phone lines responding to communications from other addicts, or the community at large.
LITERATURE – The Literature Chairperson maintains a stock of MA literature that is distributed to the groups at the District Service Committee Meeting and is responsible for the printing of MA pamphlets. The Literature Chairperson maintains a stock of MA literature for sale such as Life with Hope and the MA 12 Step Workbook and is responsible for ordering, keeping track of money and distributing this literature.
SPONSORSHIP – The Sponsorship Chair is responsible for compiling the District’s interim sponsorship list and helping MA members find appropriate sponsors.
NEW LEAF BUREAU CHIEF – Orders and distributes The New Leaf, the MAWS newsletter. The New Leaf Chairperson collects anniversary dates from members to be published in The New Leaf and encourages members to submit articles and stories.
EVENTS – Dances, picnics, campouts, and special speaker meetings are but a few of the events put on by this subcommittee. Activities like these both provide a greater sense of belonging and camaraderie among MA members, and produce additional district income. The Chair will keep the Events section of the Website updated by providing copy and images that can be cut and pasted in by the Webmaster.
CHIPS – The Chips Chairperson is responsible for maintaining an accurate inventory of chips possessed by the district, as well as to distribute chips to the groups. The Chips person must remember to order chips so that the district will always have a sufficient supply for its meetings.
WEBMASTER – The Webmaster will update the District’s website and manage all mailboxes. The Webmaster will need access to a computer and have access to software that can edit and update websites. The Webmaster must be familiar with HTML and CSS and communicate with the Web Host if the need arises. The Webmaster will make edits to the Website as requested by the Public Info and Events Chairs, who will provide text that can be cut and pasted. The Webmaster will initiate any design changes as approved by the District.
SHARE-A-DAY COMMITTEE CHAIR – The Share-A-Day Chair oversees the production and implementation of MA’s annual Share-A-Day, annually held in October over Columbus Day weekend since 2006. Duties include but not limited to (for Chair or anyone on the committee) reserving the space, putting together workshops and meetings, and providing refreshments for the day.
2016 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE CHAIR – The Conference Committee Chair is in charge of overseeing the hosting of the 2016 Conference in the New York Area. Like the other District 8 officer committee chairs, the Chair is required to attend the District business meeting. The chair is responsible for assembling an overall committee for putting on the event and overseeing the election of various other conference positions such as fundraising, registration, etc.