Chairperson
The Chairperson’s primary responsibility is conducting the District Service Committee Meeting. This includes preparing the agenda, rationing the time for the various reports, and keeping order. Typical responsibilities of the Chairperson include:
- Make sure the meeting begins and ends on time.
- Make sure all District Service Committee commitments are filled.
- Make sure the next District Service Committee Meeting is scheduled and all participants are aware of the time and location.
- Keep meeting format and minutes of all past District Service Committee Meetings.
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.
Secretary
The Secretary’s primary responsibility is to handle all of the district’s nonfinancial paperwork. The most important task is to record clear and accurate minutes of each District Service Committee Meeting. Some District Service Committees distribute copies of the minutes to all the participants, while other districts may choose to merely read the minutes of the last meeting at the beginning of each District Service Committee Meeting.
It is also suggested that each secretary compile a log of all motions that have passed at all District Service Committee Meetings. These motions should be listed in chronological order under a heading for each officer, subcommittee, or other topic they affect.
Treasurer
The Treasurer’s job is to handle all the district’s money. It is therefore important that the districts select their treasurer with care. The Treasurer should be someone who is financially secure, good at managing finances, and has a suggested minimum of one year clean and sober. Experience in business, bookkeeping, banking, or accounting is also helpful but not required.
Typical duties of the Treasurer include:
- Receive contributions from the groups.
- Administer the district’s checking account.
- Pay the rent for the District Service Committee Meeting location.
- Reimburse approved expenses to officers and subcommittee chairpersons.
- Keep records of all transactions and promptly make out receipts
whenever necessary. - Report on the financial condition of the district at each meeting.
- Comply with all MAWS requirements.
- Create and organize a Budget and Finance Subcommittee with regular meetings as needed.
A more detailed description of the Treasurer’s job can be found in the “Guidelines for District Treasurer”, located at the end of this service manual in Appendix F.
Hospitals & Institutions Chairperson
The Hospitals and Institutions subcommittee conducts panels and meetings that carry the MA message to marijuana addicts who have no other way of hearing our message. These addicts may be located at treatment centers, recovery houses, mental health facilities, chemical dependency units, prisons, or other institutions. The amount of work a Hospital and Institutions subcommittee does will depend on a variety of factors, including: the number of treatment facilities in the district, the number of MA members interested in participating in H&I service, and the amount of collective experience of those members.
H&I responsibilities often overlap those of the Public Information subcommittee. H&I and PI should closely cooperate with one another, and a liaison of each subcommittee should attend the other subcommittee’s meetings. The H&I manual explains more about how to conduct panels, interact with facility administrators, and organize subcommittee work. This manual can be found at the end of [the] service manual as Appendix G.
Public Information Chairperson
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, announcements in the self-help sections of local newspapers, and public service radio announcements, to name a few. The PI manual can be found at the end of [the] service manual as an Appendix.
Correspondence Chairperson (P.O. Box & Phone Line)
The Correspondence subcommittee maintains the district phone lines and P.O. Box by responding to communications from other addicts, or the community at large. It must be remembered that the first contact the outside world has with MA is often with a member of the correspondence subcommittee.
Literature Chairperson
The Literature subcommittee maintains a stock of MA literature that is distributed to the groups at the District Service Committee Meeting. The literature subcommittee also creates new literature to be presented to the District Service Committee Meeting participants for approval. The literature can also be submitted to the literature committee of MAWS for their review, and ultimately for submission to the members of MAWS for approval.
Events Chairperson
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. It should be kept in mind that these activities are designed to enhance MA’s primary purpose of carrying the message to the marijuana addict who still suffers, and do not replace meetings. Fund raising should not take the place of group contributions in funding the District, but rather supplement these contributions. For MAWS policy regarding events and fundraising, see Appendix L.
Chips Chairperson
This subcommittee usually consists of one person. The responsibility of this person is to maintain 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.
Internet Chairperson
This person maintains and updates our madistrict6.org website including hosting and other website related services. This includes meeting and event updates as well as linking ot MAWS and other district’s content.
The chair is also responsible for documenting all credentials necessary for our district’s online presence. This includes our online service group as well as any other resources in use by District 6.