The purpose of our Intergroup is to more effectively reach the sex addict in the Orange County area who still suffers.  We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7pm-8:30 p.m. at Lighthouse Church, 1885 Anaheim Ave., Costa Mesa CA 92627, in the Sanctuary.  All SAA members are welcome to participate.  If you can’t make it, meeting minutes are published on our website.  We want your ideas!

29th Annual SAA Convention

As many of you are aware, the annual convention and conference, just wrapped up over the Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. Several of our brothers and sisters in recovery attended and the reviews and information coming back are pretty encouraging. Steve C. from the Saturday Noon Irvine meeting attended as a delegate to participate in the convention and be our voice. Steve was generous enough to send a brief write up of the topics, voting results and speakers.

ISO Conference, We are Not Alone, Chicago 2016

Delegation

Motion: 2016-D0001

Conference approval of SAA Green Book

Notes:

• Have the SAA Big Book, 3^rd Edition be the official literature for SAA Fellowship.
• Green Book previously only approved by the Literature Committee (LitCom).
• AA has the AA Big Book so SAA should have the SAA Big Book.
• Some concerns over the “tourist story” (NFI) but overall the book is geared towards sex addiction, which is our disease.

Vote: 136/7 – Pass

Motion: 2016-D0003

Area Formation Process

Notes:

• Area Coordinating Committee (ACC) means Intergroup could be the Area Assembler.
• Small meetings of Area group representatives will send one (1) Delegate from the Area instead of one Delegate from each SAA group.
• SAA groups will form an Area then there will be an Area Coordinating Committee (ACC) for the meetings that have not formed themselves into group.
• Goal: ACC sends Delegates.
• 10 Areas already started to form.
• Service Manual for Area.

Vote: 144/6 – Pass

Motion 2016-D0007

Change Article IV, Section 10 in the BYLAWS of the ISO of SAA, Inc.

Vote: 141/4 – Pass

Motion 2016-D0004

Creation of an Area Coordinating Committee (ACC)

Note:

• Where the groups have been unable to find Area, assign them an area (Goal 2020).
• ACC consist six (6) voting members with one-year terms.
• After first year, term is three (3) years.

Vote: 138/8 – Pass

Motion 2016-D0005

Proportional representation at the annual meeting of the ISO conference

Hour Glass Effect:

• Large Groups Percentage
• Small Area Delegate Percentage
• Large Board Percentage

Note:

• Potential Problem: Limit Number of Delegates
• Question: Unknown number of Area Delegates

Vote: 64/69 – Fail

Motion 2016-D0006

Resolution to affirm the voice of the fellowship

Note:

• 5 Staffers
• 14 Board Members
• 12 Litcom (Literature)
• 2/3 Makeup of Area

Vote: 85/47 Not Resolute to 2/3

Second Round:

Notes: Ensure – Litcom and Board does not outnumber area delegates because we have no clear number of areas, i.e. 10 area or 30 areas.

Vote 2: 80/52 – Carries (Majority)

Guest Speakers – Key Notes

Opening Speaker – Wharton S. (USA)

• Intimacy is sharing a mutual safe place.
• Abuse is anything that destroys that safe place.
• A mature man has recognized what is good or bad for himself. (This is Simply SOBRIETY)
• The Center of Body Mind Meditation recommends mediating on your Safe Place.

Saturday Night Banquet SAA Speaker – Karen S. (UK)

• Hitting Rock Bottom is God’s Invitation to follow a Spirit path.
• Her Interior Landscape was UNMANAGABLE!
• Change Inside has change her, BUT her outside stayed the same.
• A Gratitude List every night showed her Higher Power.

Memorial Day Speaker – Rich N. (Detroit) Former Motor Co. Executive, Now L2/L3 Sex Offender

• I used masturbation when I was:
  • Lonely
  • Tried
  • Stressed
• He went online, after his arrest and recovery, to see if anyone he knew was still online when his wife was away to see her step son and the blocking software was removed when he discovered it was slowing the computer down and he convinced his wife to remove it; MISTAKE and RELAPSE.
• Was not allowed to see his granddaughter because his daughter-in-law thought he would OBJECTIFY his granddaughter.

A huge thank you to Steve C. for his detailed account of the convention and conference and his service to our groups. A big thank you to all of the attendees.

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My Share

Each month, we publish a personal but anonymous story of recovery.  It can be either an autobiography or about a subject important to your recovery.  Stories should be written in the first person (“I”) and speak from your experience, strength, and hope.  Please submit your story to ocisaa.newsletter@gmail.com.  We may edit submissions for reasons of space, clarity, and appropriate language.  Here is this month’s story:

Intergroup Project Updates

Survey 

AND now for the long awaited survey results…

– 152 people took the survey with 146 males and 5 females responding
–   16 people found SAA through acting out, while 94 found us while looking
for help which is up 17% from last year.
–   49 came to us from therapists up 5% from 2014.
–   Referrals were down 6% with 33 being referred.

What kept most coming back was a connection to a share, hearing someone else’s story with 80 responses. We know the power of hearing others going through the same thing we are. Hearing the similar despair and longing for a better path. 27 came back because they were greeted…very important because we all understand that it is a huge step to just walk in to a meeting of strangers and utter those three words for the first time.

The most most popular meeting formats (in order of most popular to least popular) were shares-106, speaker-52, book study-48, step study-47, mixed-23, meditation-17 and other-14.

Thank you to everyone who participated and provided data for the survey and a big thank you to everyone involved in getting this survey out to everyone and compiling the results. If you have questions please let us know.

Retaining Newcomers

As always, we want to reach out and retain newcomers since most of us know that abstinence and sobriety is better maintained out of isolation and in the fellowship of others.  Please consider ways to retain newcomers and ensure they feel welcome as I know we all do.

Website Traffic

We continue to receive visitors to our website, http://www.ocisaa.org, with 1,374 visitors and 774 people actively looking through the site and primarily using the meeting location tab.   Our website is a valuable for those in recovery as well as those seeking recovery.

Internet Keyword Search Optimization

Our internet keyword search through Google is a big success so far.  In May 2016, we had 474 clicks and 15,611 impressions. As a result of this endeavor we are reaching a new audience which is great.  This is continuing to be a worthwhile venture and it brings the sex addict who still suffers to our page, hopefully meetings and most importantly to recovery.

The responses continue to ads we placed for SAA on the Orange County Craigslist website.  Sex addicts going there to act out are being presented with an opportunity for recovery, and for some of them, it’s working!

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Announcements & News Notes

We are looking for locations for our next retreat in August/September…if you have any suggestions please contact Intergroup. A few ideas so far have included the Duck Club and Lighthouse Church. Topics will come from the survey.

The OC Intergroup meeting day has changed. OC Intergroup now meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7pm at the same location, Lighthouse Church Costa Mesa in the Sanctuary.

Costa Mesa Noon Meetings

We have found a new location for the Costa Mesa Noon Meetings…
Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church located at:
2845 Mesa Verde Dr. East – Suite 4
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

A Message for Sponsors

We suggest you consider stressing to your sponsees the importance of service work such as volunteering for positions at their meetings.  Early in recovery, service work gives recovering sex addicts something to feel good about when they need it most.  Later on, it becomes Step 12 work, a very healthy activity and again a builder of self-esteem.  Some sponsors we know feel so strongly about it that they advise their sponsees either to fill a service position or find another sponsor!

Intergroup Vacancies

Our Intergroup has one vacant position and a need for website contributors.  These are great opportunities to be of service, and they generally require little or no special expertise.

►  The Chairperson is opening in 2016. The duties generally occupy a few hours each month. The chair is also responsible for leading the monthly Intergroup meetings and providing direction for the group to ensure we are reaching everyone in recovery.

► Digi Com Chair is responsible for maintaining the website and generally requires 2-4 hours each month. Attendance at the monthly Intergroup meeting is encouraged.

►  We are looking for people with website experience of any kind, including those who are willing to learn.

Needed:  Intergroup Representatives

Only 25% of our meetings have an intergroup rep. The commitment is approximately an hour a month for the intergroup meeting and then a report at least once a month to the group being represented. If your meeting still lacks an Intergroup rep, please tell your secretary that you need one.  For more information, contact us at ocisaa.inreach@gmail.com.  We highly recommend you find someone to fill this service position.  We also suggest if possible, that your group allocate a percentage of its donations to the Intergroup for its activities, which benefit all SAA groups in the region.

Thanks for Your Donations!

We are grateful for the support we receive from the Orange County area SAA meetings.  As you can see from our activities listed in this newsletter, we are putting your donations to good use.  We encourage you to attend our monthly meetings and voice your ideas.

A Note to Event Promoters and Organizers: For those requesting announcements to run in our newsletter, please use the following format – and order – as much as possible:

Who: Are you a committee (of the Intergroup, for example), or an individual SAA meeting group, or another type of organization or individual?
What: Is this a workshop, breakfast, retreat, or another type of event?
Title: What is the name of your event?
When: Give the date and starting and ending times of your event.
Cost: What – if anything – is the suggested contribution, or is it a set fee, or is no one turned away for lack of funds?
Description: In a sentence, or several sentences, say what is unique or especially appealing about your event.
Where: Event address, along with any cross-street info or parking tips you think are important.
More Info: Whom to call for more information?  List a telephone number, email address, and/or website.
Please give us as much lead time as possible, and note that submissions are subject to editing for clarity and space.

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SAA Meeting News

New Meetings:

Costa Mesa (NEW LOCATION Effective Aug. 3th 2015 – formerly at First Methodist Church of Costa Mesa):  

Monday, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Men Only/Closed/Book Study
Costa Mesa Church of Christ, 287 W. Wilson Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Directions:  Between Harbor Blvd. & Fairview Ave.
For more information call 949-478-5617

Corona Del Mar (NEW LOCATION Effective Aug. 5th 2015 – formerly at First Methodist Church of Costa Mesa):
Wednesday, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Mixed/Closed/Book Study/Share
St. Michael & All Angels’ Episcopal  Church, 3233 Pacific View Drive, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625 (South Wing Room attached to Church – Enter thru Patio on the Right)
Directions: to be added to website soon! For more information call (949) 636-1917

Wednesday, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Men only/Closed
Pines Park, 34941 Camino Capistrano, CA 92624
Directions: From the 5 Freeway head south on Camino De Estrella towards Coast Highway, turn right on to Camino Capistrano. Parking will be on the street on Camino Capistrano…….the meeting is held at the upper Park at the south end.
For more information call (949) 547-4498.

Wednesday, 5:00-6:00pm
Closed, men only
1900 E. 4th St., Conference Room 2A, Santa Ana 92705
Free parking in structure
Contact Frank P. (949) 842-3454

Thursday, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Closed, men only
707 E. Chapman, Orange 92866
Building is close to Orange Traffic Circle, white with green trim, no suite number; parking lot adjacent to building
Contact Chris B. (949) 278-3642

Changes:

***Not NUTS Meeting Update!!
Moving to Church of Christ on Wed. nights from 7pm-8:30pm in the Family Room. Bill P is the contact.

***The Monday evening women’s book study meeting has relocated. The meeting time is 6:30pm-7:30pm in Huntington Beach.  Please call 657-215-1252 or email saawomensgroup@gmail.com for more details.

The Monday and Friday Long Beach meetings are no longer at Kaiser Permanente, 3900 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach.  The new meeting times and locations are:
—Monday, 7:30-8:30 pm, Mixed/Closed/Step/Tradition/Topic
Unitarian Church, 5450 Atherton St., Long Beach (just West of Bellflower Blvd.), in the Chalice Room
Contact Carole B., 562-841-4348, or e-mail CAROLEMARY@NETZERO.COM
—Friday, 6:30-7:30 pm, Mixed/Closed/Step/Tradition/Topic
Unitarian Church, 5450 Atherton St., Long Beach (just West of Bellflower Blvd.), in the Chalice Room
Contact Carole B., 562-841-4348, or e-mail CAROLEMARY@NETZERO.COM

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Orange County Intergroup Officers and Committee Chairs

Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. — Tradition 2

Chair: Ron R., ocisaa.chair@gmail.com
Vice Chair: Vacant, ocisaa.vicechair@gmail.com
Digital Communications: Neal B., ocisaa.digicom1@gmail.com (Assistant: Reza B., ocisaa.digicom2@gmail.com)
Inreach: Frank, ocisaa.inreach@gmail.com
Outreach: Maurice B., ocisaa.outreach@gmail.com
Literature: Ron C., ocisaa.literature@gmail.com
Treasurer: Frank. (Vice Treasurer: Vacant), ocisaa.treasurer@gmail.com
Secretary: Steve W., ocisaa.secretary@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor:  Mark D., ocisaa.newsletter@gmail.com
Parliamentarian: Vacant

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Website

If you have ideas or suggestions for the website, please contact our Webmaster, Neal B., at ocisaa.digicom1@gmail.com.