Motion – That the minutes of the October 5 meeting be accepted as corrected. Moved Gary R.,

Second Lisa R. Passed Unanimously

 

Beginning balance as reported in the October meeting $3,886.24

Current balance $3,235.68

Action Item: A $50 7^th Tradition donation needs to be sent to National. Lisa R. will take care of this.

Action Item: A CoDA book will be purchased for the Milford Group, as per the motion made at the previous

State Assembly meeting (5 October 2003). Lisa R. will make the purchase, for delivery by Annie R. to Lois K.

(Laurel H., Gary R., Lois K.) The latest CoDA Quarterly Service Report (QSR) was distributed. The National Service Committee report that had been submitted by Annie R. was omitted, but should appear in the next QSR

Work books. One hundred work books were ordered, as authorized at the 5 October meeting, and were received in

November. Fifteen books have been sold so far. Laurel H. is holding the inventory of these books. A discussion

eventuated on whether books should be distributed in expectation of future payment. It was agreed that books will be given

out only upon receipt of payment.

Meditations. The National Literature Committee has accumulated about 200 meditations that will be published in the near future. It is hoped that 366 meditations will eventually be available, one for each day. Meditations are sought. Guidelines and release forms were circulated. Additional copies of these forms are available on the CoDA web site.

The next National Service Conference will be in Albany, NY, at a date yet to be determined.

Several MD/DE members are heavily involved in the organization of the next National Service Conference and have had experience with previous NSCs..

The three MD/DE delegates and alternates plan on discussing possible state actions via e-mail.

Davidsonville is dwindling in numbers, down to about 12 to 15. There is no indication of any underlying reason.

The mid-Calvert meeting continues to be strong, with 6-8 attendees regularly.

Attendance at meetings in Columbia dropped over the holidays, but is now rebounding.

The Milford meeting is attracting new people. Attendance is typically 8 to 12. The continuation of the DE014 meeting cannot be confirmed at this time, and will be further researched.

Where and When - Bruce H. reported that the November Where and When was distributed on schedule. A copy of the mailing list used was circulated among attendees. Memorable changes include the omission of the Rehoboth Beach meeting (as agreed at the previous State Assembly meeting), and the recent closing of meetings at Columbia and Annapolis.

The group investigating the possibility of adopting a new format for the MD/DE Where and When has been quite active. A candidate revised version was circulated. This omitted the existing map and ordered the meetings alphabetically by location (as is done for the CoDA National listing), and providing a cross-reference according to the time of the meeting. Reactions to this proposal were mixed. The consensus seems to be that we should retain the current sorting by County, omit the map, and use the space then made available to inject a tabulation showing the schedules of meetings and their locations (by town and County).

It is proposed that this new format be used for the next Where and When (due in February).

Changes to the Where and When need to be communicated to National and to Howard F., so that the MD/DE telephone information hotline remains current.

Special Events. Annie R. reported on input received from the Special Events Chairperson, Retta. Retta is willing to organize the food aspects of a future workshop (schedule permitting.)

Meeting Information Line. Howard F. is the Chairman. In his absence, it was reported that the new meeting information line has now been set up.

2005 MD/DE Conference committee. Discussion resulted in agreement that it is now too late to arrange a conference in Spring 2004. Laurel H. agreed to Chair a committee to start organizing a conference for Spring 2005. Annie R., Su C., Lois K. and Gary R. volunteered to assist. Lisa R. agreed to serve as Treasurer.

Dates for 2004 meetings. The next meeting of the MD/DE State Assembly is tentatively planned for 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, 3 April, 2004, at the Serenity Center, Columbia. Subsequent meetings are currently planned for 17 July and 2 October. It was noted that nominations for Assembly positions are to be made at the July meeting, with voting taking place at the October meeting. It was also noted that the October meeting has recently coincided with the MD/DE CoDA picnic, and that this practice will likely continue.

New Business. Two items of new business were brought up --

A web site for MD/DE CoDA. It was noted that such a web site would simplify the production and distribution of the MD/DE CoDA "Pass It On," and similar documentation. It would make all information available without need for postage. A draft has already been prepared.

Anonymity of people corresponding via e-mails. Gary R. raised concerns about the dangers and risks of violating anonymity in e-mail messages. Mass mailings appear especially vulnerable to problems in this regard. He proposed the use of the blind carbon copy (Bcc:) capability to reduce the possibility of anonymity violations. By using of the "Bcc:" capability, one person on the mailing list will not be able to see the address of others being sent the same email.

Generally speaking, using e-mailings that list all email addressees in the "To:" line for State Assembly business among officers and/or committee members is not a problem. Problems can, however, arise when CoDA members not normally associated with the State Assembly are involved in e-mailings.

It was agreed that anonymity is always a critical consideration. In discussion, it was emphasized that if a CoDA member notices that his/her anonymity has been violated, it is that person's responsibility to bring the matter to the attention of the originator of the e-mail in question. For example, some originators have used email addresses that contain the full name of the person receiving the mail. (e.g., <Jon Doe>jdoe@host.com). Some assembly officers stated that they needed to know who was receiving a specific email. It was suggested that they could privately contact the originator of a mass e-mailing for this information.

As a result of the concern for anonymity, it was suggested that the next "Pass It On" (PIO) should contain a reminder to all CoDA members to help respect and protect the anonymity of their fellow CoDA members.

In discussion, it was emphasized that State Assembly officers need to review and approve any information to be distributed to the fellowship on behalf of the State Assembly.

Preparation of the next PIO will await identification of a volunteer.

Meeting closed at 3:10 p.m.

Attendance

CoDA MD/DE State Assembly Meeting

11 January 2004

Ann R. Chairperson 

Laurel H. MD State Delegate 

Lisa R. Treasurer

Bruce H. W & W Chair 

Lois K. DE State Delegate 

Su C. Prince Frederick

Becki P. Acting Secretary

George R.

Jay C.