Agenda: Special Service Committee Meeting to comment on Club Bylaws — Virtual due to December 12, 2025, fire.

The meeting was called to order: at 10:00 a.m. by Jeff K.

Attendees: Kevin L., Jeff K., Michigan Mike, and Jay F.

Vice Chairperson: Jeff K.

• Each attendee was asked individually if they had comments or questions and each responded none.
• It was noted that these can be amended in the future.
• Asked if there was any other business and there was none.

 MEETING ENDED AT 10:05 am.

Respectfully submitted, Jeff K., temporary volunteer secretary

Agenda: January 17, 2026 Service Committee Monthly Meeting — Virtual due to December 12, 2025 fire

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Brian D. and opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees:Lisa C., Jeff K., Jeanne O’, Jay F., Brian D., and Chip H.

REPORTS –– – Note that remarks about what we need to address [especially the ***501 (c)(3), which is the topic of the scheduled January 24th meeting] regarding the fire damage came up during the meeting and have been combined primarily in the Old Business section.

Chairperson-Brian D. –We need to get back to our group functions. We learned from our anxious efforts to quickly move to the C Street location that we were able to pull together a group conscience opinion fairly quickly when we polled our LRG members and asked if they wanted to move, etc. At this point, I think we need to get back into our old location as soon as possible and have our meetings. We can stay on the month-to-month arrangement with our landlord for now. We need to get the group back together, maybe have a member list. We are faced with commercial leases and being a legal entity, but we still need to focus on the spiritual Twelfth Step purpose of our A.A. group and keep it simple. Otherwise, we are not going to survive. There has been too much controversy going on and we need to go back to basics. We need to focus on getting new members. We need the foundation of roles and responsibilities defined.

• COMMENTS: Regarding minutes, they are not unimportant. I believe that not having them for each meeting caused a lot of chaos. Nobody was accountable. Any changes made to the service committee, decisions made, were not documented, were not followed up on if no one remembered. Decisions made/changes to policy did not get documented so they could be amended into our existing policies. Original documented procedure and protocol for the Laurel Recovery Group Service Committee do exist. These documents (policies and minutes) were established and voted on by previous service committees and serve as guidelines for service committees to come.
• COMMENTS: Former chairperson said that, before computers, the minutes were posted in the room. They were kept in notebooks. The minutes brought issues to light so the members would be aware of what was going on, and knew how they were handled. If you don’t have minutes, everything just goes away.

Vice Chairperson Report: Jeff K. 

See 501(c)(3) ***comments under old business. The main issue now is, going forward, if we look at our policy, there are 18 roles on the service committee, and –counting alternates– only about 8 are filled. And we have people leaving. My priority is to have a new election, especially because I am stepping down because I got a job elsewhere. Essentially, the committee is not functioning, the big reason being that we do not have all the roles filled.

Treasurer Report: Jay F  See 501(c)(3) ***comments under old business.

• Gave December report.
• YTD, we did better on collections vs. expenses than we did last year, so asking for more contributions has definitely worked.

• Approval of Treasurer’s Report from December: Motion made by Jeanne O’. to accept Treasurer’s report for December, seconded by Jeff K., and the report was accepted by Service Committee.

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. 

• Was able to log on to LRG BGE account. Worked out that the balance due is from November to December 11 and is paying it, but will still contact BGE and ask how we could still have some activity after the fire, and after the wiring was pulled from the building.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report—information by Jeanne O’

• WAGSA / Area 13 2026 budget was passed on Monday January 12 at the Winter Assembly.
• Effective Monday February 9, 2026, the 2026 Area 13 monthly Committee Meetings will be virtual. The Area Assemblies will be in person, or possibly hybrid.

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: No rep, no report

Chips— Kevin L  transmitted report.

• No new purchases. Chips are temporarily relocated to Greenbelt Step Club, location of Laurel Recovery’s only in-person meeting.

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Purchased 20 Big Books before the $3 price increase takes effect.
• Pamphlet prices may increase 15%.

Supplies–Marta C. — no rep, no activity required

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G.  —no rep, no report–see overlapping information in Virtual Meeting information

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• LRG regular virtual meeting techs are still providing tech support for Tues, and Thursday night temporary virtual meetings
• Sunday and Monday night meetings are also virtual and provide their own tech support.
• Kevin provided list of available times at Greenbelt Step Club.
• Could not find ztech for small Weds noon meeting, who will function without ztech support.

Website–John R. —transmitted report January 6th

• Report was sent out to the Service Committee.

Closing remarks by chairperson–Brian D.

• Investigation of Laurel Recovery on Main Street should be completed on January 20th so we will know more.
• As I said before, I think our best bet is to open up the old location and get back to some normalcy: do Twelfth Step work and carry the message.
• Create a committee to do this, to do that. Be responsible to the group, start having group consciences.
• I think we need a membership group, a confidential thing where people can go to the website and join– not a club member, but a group member–for purposes of group conscience voting and input. And maybe get a message on sobriety date. So we could start making decisions as a group, as the Traditions state.
• We are kind of unique, having 20 meetings. Some people attend each meeting. The committee can facilitate it, but group members vote.

OLD BUSINESS:

501(c)(3):  

“Jay F. initiated discussion about how the *** 501(c)(3) would relate to Laurel Recovery Group and its Service Committee. After describing different structures for coexistence [e.g., 501(c)(3) does everything, we turn all money over to them; 501(c)(3) has board, LRG has no service committee, etc.] were discussed, it seemed realistic, at this stage of rebuilding Laurel Recovery and the initiating of the 501(c)(3):

• to have separate checking accounts and
• to keep all of the current service roles that are already on the LRG Service Committee; and have a minimum number–a president and treasurer –as the initial officers on the 501(c)(3), Board.
• to have the 501(c)(3) bylaws (which will be discussed on January 24th) have terms in them that allow the Board to expand but perhaps be balanced by allowing dues-paying members to have some voting rights to elect new Board members.
• Board could give a report once a month to the group on its financial activity.

COMMENTS: When we look at communication, Laurel Recovery is one group consisting of several meetings. The Board does not communicate with the Laurel Recovery Group members, the service committee–consisting of members voted in by members in the meetings–directly communicates with the members through the meetings.

Jeff K. said we do not need a 501(c)(3) now unless we sign for a lease, so it could be put on hold. But there is a need for the 501(c)(3) because in the future we will have to sign for a lease, and as a non-profit have to file forms, etc. But, for multiple reasons Laurel Recovery is disintegrating over this particular issue and for lack of a facility. We should not be discussing the 501(c)(3) here. The group decision is, who will we rent our meeting room from? The Group should be responsible for AA group expenses; donations to area, intergroups, and GSO and purchases of literature, grapevine subscription, chips, Group event supplies, candy, etc. out of their own money, thus they keep a portion of donations, which is negotiated with the club. Club is a landlord and not AA.

COMMENT: And it is the business of our service committee to be letting the LRG members know what is going on, not the business of the 501(c)(3). More discussion –who pays the bills? If LRG does not give ALL the money to the non-profit, and the group buys its own supplies, literature, etc., each entity needs to have its own bank account.

NEW BUSINESS:  

Laurel Recovery Group Gmail Signature Authority

Request for clarification about Laurel Recovery Group email signature authority– only current authorized service committee members have it,

Laurel Recovery Group Service Committee 2026 Elections

In light of the fact that the Service Committee has so many empty service roles, and more are about to be vacated, Jeff K. had suggested that we need to rebuild the Service Committee now. A motion was made, seconded and passed to have the Service Committee 2026 elections at the Service Committee Meeting on February 21st in February. Jeff and Jeanne will work further on details.

• The election will be announced in the announcements in LRG meetings, on the LRG website and in LRG WhatsApp
• Voting is open to all LRG in-person and online meeting attendees
• Current LRG service committee members are encouraged to find someone to fill their slot
• Candidates may have to be local in order to fulfill the duties of the service role, and–in anticipation of the service committee meetings returning to in-person status–be able to attend the monthly meetings.

 MEETING ENDED WITH SERENITY PRAYER AT 11:13 A.M.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, volunteer secretary

 

Agenda: Special Service Committee Meeting — Virtual due to December 12, 2025, fire.

(This meeting was announced on the LRG website as DON’T REST ON YOUR LAURELS Club Formation Meeting.)

The meeting was called to order: at 10:05 a.m. by Jeff K., Laurel Recovery Group Service Committee (LRGSC) Vice-Chairperson and opened with the Serenity Prayer

ATTENDEES:  Lisa C., Kevin L., Mike O., Jeff K., Jay F., Brian D., Susan McF., Amanda B., Jeanne O’, Cameron W., Andrew R., Michigan Mike, Brien B., Ginger J., Liz W., Wayne, Cicely, Rich C., and Phillip S.

***NOTE FROM TRANSCRIBER: As the discussion in this January 10^th meeting jumped from topic to topic and around and back, some sentences have been moved to conjoin thoughts on the same topic. The notes are left lengthy so they may provide background information to help new interested parties “catch up” with the events that have taken place around Laurel Recovery Group’s rally and reassemble efforts after the December 12, 2025 fire at our 368 Main Street location.

JAY F., LRGSC Treasurer

• We have filed for a new EIN number — the one we were using is now null and void
• We also have a corporation set up which has been filed for and we also have a 501(c)(3) now which is great because if we need to sign a lease we can sign a lease with no personal liability, which is very important

Questions and Responses:

• How do we go about taking old EIN number off the bank account (debit card, checks, etc. are affected)? Response: We are changing the bank account, or we will talk to the bank and see if they will change EIN number to new one–  if not, and they want us to open another account, we’ll do that. But the previous EIN is null and void.
• We were about to have our annual election. I saw the application — is any of that easily amendable, like we put certain names out there and they’re not necessarily the people that will lead? Response: Yes, absolutely all amendable. Corporations have different presidents, different treasurers, different secretaries all the time so we’re no different than them. Even at the initial stages we can make changes in everything if we want.
• Do we have a location identified to move to? Response: Yes, not exactly a place to move to, but the corporate headquarters mailing address, which is needed for the business filing. It will be amended when we have a location.

Jeff K, LRGSC Vice Chair

I’ll share my screen and go through this real quickly then take more questions. I think that I can answer some questions beforehand:

• We basically have a lack of in-person meetings and that’s diminishing our membership in 12-Step work.
• There’s no single location available for Laurel Recovery meetings. Some churches and nearby clubs have some open times and we actually have one LR meeting down at Greenbelt. Now members are attending other clubs and other groups.
• We have an undetermined time frame to move back into 368 Main Street. The inspection is currently scheduled for January 20^th. After that, repairs would need to be done before moving back in. Different time frames– we’re just guessing May, maybe April. We don’t know. They have to do some electrical work, probably some structural work, who knows how fast that can be done?
• We had a suitable commercial rental location, but it was lost. It had some other things that we would like: the ground floor, reasonable price, handicap accessible– all that sort of stuff. But we lost it because we didn’t have a business or nonprofit status so we couldn’t sign a commercial lease.
• That’s why we’re talking about the nonprofit club today. Laurel Recovery took a survey when they really wanted to go to that type of location and 37 were for it, 2 were undecided, basically asking about parking.
• We’ve already talked about the solution partially being to form a business and nonprofit corporation like other area clubs. What has been filed is the “Laurel Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club.”
• There are 9 phases to create a total nonprofit and get tax-deductible, tax-exempt status and all the other things you need for a business. Today I was going to look at bylaws, and that’s part of phase 1.
• What Jay has done is phase 2 and there are 9 phases. If we get phases 1 and 2 as complete as we can, if a commercial property comes up before we can move back into Laurel Recovery or whatever else the group decides, then we’re ready to pull the trigger and get Laurel Recovery working again.
• That’s actually what we’re doing: We want to get back to the meetings in 12-Step work.

Questions, Comments, and Responses:

• ABOUT POSSIBLE LOCATIONS:
  • I know of a place that was occupied by a gym [on the other side of Rt1, beyond old Crossroads, with a ramp ]and I know they have vacated that, and I know a contact. We had talked about that space a while ago and I can talk to him if you would like me to. That would be great.
  • I notice the Meat Market is available, too. I don’t know that we can rent it for $1600 a month. It’s a big space and I don’t know that we could afford it all.
• ABOUT COSTS OF MOVING:
  • What is the acceptable rent that we can pay for a place? Response Probably $1600 would be the max. [Added later: plus expenses like insurance, etc.]
  • We would be taking on insurance, too, which we’ve never ever had before which is a requirement these days, and other utilities– we have really been doing electricity where we’re at, not any other utilities. But good news: [as 501(c)(3)] we get the minimal amount of insurance and the reason is, because it’s a corporation there’s limited liability. The corporation may go out of business, but Laurel Recovery will not necessarily go out of business—it is a separate entity. Laurel Recovery’s meetings will rent from the 501(c)(3).
  • I want to attach to what was said about $1600 for the rent. We still have that block of expenses that we have to incur as well on a monthly basis. I think when you all were talking about moving to C St. you were talking about the possibility of paying $2000 a month for $1600 rent plus attached expenses. So are we able to afford the $2000 here? Response: I would say we should be able to afford it.
• ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO AS A CLUB
  •  I just want you guys to know that this is my fantasy world going on here:
    • That we have some kind of food bar or coffee bar or something in there where people can buy coffee or buy a sandwich or whatever. I don’t know how other clubs operate but I think there is some kind something that we can earn money on . Are you familiar with 164 Club? They sell sandwiches, they sell sodas and they sell pastries.
    • So what you’re saying is absolutely important and if we get that meat market that would be great. I’m thinking about having some other means of income and something that will really entice people like the 164 Club does.
    • If the space is big enough that we could have our activities there—our dinners and the annual things that we do. There would have to be some kind of renovations to put in a usable kitchen and I don’t know what .
    • Again I don’t know what the budget situation is here. If we can do some kind of fundraising effort for that, if we could use expertise within the rooms for people to volunteer and donate time to do renovation. I have ways of getting equipment, ways to find material to you keep the prices down. I obviously can’t do the work , but I I know we’ve got people who have expertise in doing plumbing, electric and stuff like that.
  • ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CLUB AND THE GROUP

[Jeff] The club is not the Laurel Recovery Group.

• The Laurel Recovery Group is A.A., the club is not A.A.  Laurel Recovery Group is a group that does 12-Step work, the club does not do 12-Step work.
• A club can have memberships and can have fundraisers; the Laurel Recovery Group cannot. It is a totally separate entity.
• The Laurel Recovery group has not paid for any of this formation activity of the club— individuals have contributed so far. It’s a nonprofit business. This solution is a fall-back to enhance meeting space; availability for long timers, handicapped people; additional income, improved events—everything that you’re talking about. But it’s separate from the Laurel Recovery Group; but the Laurel Recovery Group gets to pay rent and take advantage of those services and location. What I’m basically saying is that this is a partial formation of the the club, the business. We have almost completed phase 2 out of 9 phases listed in the Maryland nonprofit so that this club can be formed quickly if needed.
• Like a church, we [501(c)(3)] offer space to the A.A. meetings, do not have any control over what you do. You run the meeting the way you want to run it.
• We can still use the name Laurel Recovery, we just dba [Doing Business As] Laurel Recovery. Because the 1023EZ is filed we are able to act as a non-profit now. We still need the bylaws completed and certified to complete phase 2.

• ABOUT OTHER CURRENT TEMPORARY MEETING PLACE OPTIONS:
•  I was curious: does anyone have any update—Suzy had been talking about the Laurel Armory as a temporary location. She mentioned that they were not sure about the schedule, and she mentioned that they were going to request a waiver for non-payment so we didn’t have to pay for the location. Does anybody know if there was follow up on that?  She said she was going to e-mail the representative that she spoke to at Laurel Parks and Recreation. Do we have any update on using that as a temporary location? [Susan] Response: I was looking into the 21C and to Laurel Recovery as the 2 spaces that we had when my involvement was going to come into play. You did say that she had mentioned that she had approached them, I haven’t heard anything from Suzy. You know, too many voices and people will turn you away because it seems chaotic to them. Typically when you’re trying to do a long-term situation with somebody, better to have a point guy,  I don’t know if she’s the point guy. I’ll be glad to pursue it. I need a phone number.

• ABOUT WHO IS DOING WHAT:

[Jeff] At the last meeting we discussed that Susan would actually do at least the midterm and the final connections because she understands the leases and things like that, but anybody can find something and if you get a lead then call Susan.

• ABOUT STATUS OF 368 MAIN STREET:

A question on 368: Was the certificate of occupancy (CO) pulled on that? I’m assuming there was fire and if so we have to reapply for it once the place is put back together.

• Response: I don’t know that answer. I know we have to reapply because if they pulled it then you have to go back and you have to reestablish it. The landlord seems to think that we can get back in pretty quickly. I mean he did replace the damaged front door and it has the old lock in it so we can go in and out. I’ve been in the building and there is no damage in our room but the water is turned off and the electricity is turned off so it’s without lights on the stairs. It’s not safe, except for maybe a noon meeting or something.
• Hopefully after the current investigation concludes on the 20th we can quickly move to getting back in there. The 20^th is when the investigation completes. There have been lawyers trying to decide who to sue at this point and what-not—pretty ugly apparently, but our area is undamaged and so there’s no reason we can’t get in there.
• We can’t get back in there quickly if they pulled the CO and if they cannot turn the water and the electricity back on because of the operation of the room next to us. Whether it had a certificate of occupancy before or not, you have to have one now and they won’t be able to get one without electricity and water, among other things. It is moving quicker and it sounds like we should have a good update on the 20^th.
• [Brian D., LRGSC Chair] I’ll urge the landlord to have a plan, like, “On the 20^th what happens?”, rather than on the 20^th, “What do we do now?” I think that our best path to some normalcy is to get back in here with the month-to-month lease which the current landlord is fine with—he’s already given us a break on payment for being an A.A. group and charged $300 less than normal before we closed down.
• [Susan] I think if I could go on that meeting, if we could do a face-to-face meeting in the facility, that would be a great next step since he’s going to have collected enough information to at least give us an idea of what he’s thinking of when we would be back in. We can take that information and actually see if it’s within the realm of reality. That’s a good question. He had actually been talking about setting up a generator… No possibility of electric right now, but if they were scheduled [ahead] for the 21st or the 20^th, they won’t be delayed as they would be if on the 20th or the 21^st we schedule something and have it be next month.

• CONCERNS ABOUT CHANGE NOW

I am a little confused here. We’re talking about going back to 368 Main and continuing on that way, so I’m assuming that is still an option for us, to go back.

• I feel like we’ve had a fragmented year and maybe that would be a good choice because then we could rebuild Laurel Recovery the way it’s supposed to be in the first place, and then maybe we could branch out and try to form a club. But we haven’t hardly had a group together very well for the last year or so.
• I’m just wondering, do we have to do this 501(c)(3) thing?  It’s very ambitious and everything, but is it us? Is it like a private trying to become a general quickly or something?  Because it’s huge. We have a level of trusted servants that were all voted in, but it’s been kind of a fragmented year, and we’d have to have a good solid level of trusted servants before we branched out to something like this. I understand that we’re trying to do it so we can sign a lease for a new location for Laurel Recovery Group, and that it wasn’t so we necessarily start a club—that’s  a pipe dream. But we just wanted to have a Laurel Recovery Group meeting, to get those resumed.
• To go to this length for that purpose—I feel like we’re kind of overreaching here. Do we have the option to stop from that direction, though continue it make it ready so we can pull it out of the hat if we need it, but still try to continue to put Laurel Recovery back together? Response [Brian]: Yeah that’s kind of my take on it as well. With the fire we were scrambling. We found this place on C St. and everyone was ready to move in, and then we hit the lease thing and we also found out that we had been offered a lease at 368Main Street and no one would sign it,  refused to sign it. But we were somehow under the impression that the landlord didn’t want us there and this that and the other. After speaking to him, he does want us there, he’s happy to give us the lease. So now our problem is that we can’t sign a lease. I’m uncomfortable with this because it was all being geared up for C St.—let’s hurry up and get this and get into C St.—and  we lost that option, so what’s the hurry now? I’m uncomfortable rushing through this, myself.

• REASONS AND WAYS TO CHANGE TO 501)(c )(3)

[Jay] Well, we needed to be a 501(c)(3) regardless of whether we signed the lease or not, to limit the liability of the club.

• We don’t need to sign a lease at 368, right? He’s willing to let us continue on a month by month basis?  We had been hearing we could be kicked out at time. That’s been going on for two or three years and he hasn’t done it. We have been living in Laurel Recovery for a number of years without that coming up as an issue. It’s always been hanging over our head, yes. So it’s not the ideal thing but it may be better than jumping into this other thing that we’re over our heads in, the 501(c)(3).
• [Susan]We are not over our heads in a 501(c)(3). And it doesn’t seem like it were jumping in, that it’s going to take a long time to make it happen. He said we can act on it right away even though they send us the official paperwork in a few months. It sounded like it’s a now deal.  But it’s a separate thing from Laurel Recovery, a separate entity. One of the things to consider is there’s always surprises and everything else in a move. But here we are with a landlord we know in a facility we know, that we have people already coming to, that’s fairly well known in the recovery community, but we have some steps to take, not the least of which is finding a lease on a new place. So what is the problem with coming to the right terms with this gentleman? He is now in the place at his most vulnerable. He needs to recoup his investment as quickly as possible, which is why he’s offering the $1300. What’s wrong with signing a year’s lease with the month-to-month release on our side, not his, and then you have the best of both situations: you can have the right kind of time to explore, pick the right kind of place, and you have a place to go and raise money now,  because the money they’re raising now is money I would assume is going to be at some point important to the 501.
• So we would maintain Laurel Recovery as it is, where it is, except now it would be a 501(c)(3)? It doesn’t necessarily mean that this business about Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club comes into play at all. No, because it’s trading as Laurel Recovery, as a separate entity . So meetings at Laurel Recovery Group, we have the safety of a lease, we have the ability to move to another location easily, to sign a lease somewhere else, but this business about starting up a club, renting out to other people, … it’s not even possible at that particular location? Just asking for confirmation.
• It brings in income while you are looking. You may find that commercial leases are shockingly expensive. So I think we are being more realistic if we’re thinking in a base fee of $2000 rather than a base fee of either $1600 or or anything else. There are a lot of things to consider as far as the square feet, versus what you’re going to have to charge to be able to continue that. All of that sort of thing needs to come into play if we’re going to stay in Laurel. The idea was to grow. Do you know Laurel Recovery does not have a budget now? Maybe now is the time to look at the true naked cost, going into this. If you took the time at 368 Main to do that you’ve got the time  to create something that’s maybe more realistic in a way. You’ll have time, and time has not been your friend with you being burned out.   And to do it once we are up and running with a good idea of what you need to bring in, and you’ve kind of got the guys lined up to do that, and you kind of have a plan of attack. 
• These bylaws say that the officers, the board of directors that we now have to have, are going to be in office for two years, and what we currently have is leadership that is due to rotate out next month, so new leadership has to deal with this when they come into office. We’re kind of building something for someone else to try to handle and we’re making commitments to things like that.
• They can run concurrently. We don’t have to do that today, but as soon as we get back into a place where we can, we have the time to have better conversations and better ideas and better points of view. Like we’re having today where there’s a very large group and people have really put some thought into this. I think that there is a coexistence that would benefit everyone, but I think it takes more time than we thought it would.
• We honestly don’t have a good commercial site right this moment and the terms— the terms are the big deal, it’s not really so much the money sometimes as it is the terms. We could have done $2000 on C St. but we couldn’t meet his terms.
• And the parking is an issue over there. And for me when I started looking at all this, we lost our old people and my husband is quickly going to be a part of that where he can’t get to meetings over there because he can’t get up the stairs. Stairs and the parking are paramount. We need to be able to park and we need to be able to get our members in. We don’t see many of our old members anymore. So if we have to move, it seems to me that we really need to make it so that our old population—which a lot of us are fast becoming—can still get into that building or whatever building we choose. I know it’s going to be a process no matter what, it’s going to be a pain, but just one day at a time, boys and girls. one day at a time, we move through it so that we can build something on Main Street that we all can agree to.

• CONCERN ABOUT CURRENT READINESS, ANTICIPATED CHANGE IN LRG LEADERSHIP

We covered all the criteria for a new place a couple times, that we needed parking we needed one level, etc. I understand we’ve already applied for the 501(c)(3) but I am saying that I don’t think we should commit to operating it until we have stabilized our own leadership for Laurel Recovery Group before we try to make a corporation out of it and put people in this corporation as officers when we’re not even sure of our group’s leadership. I don’t think this is the time to do that but I think the 501(c)(3) is an excellent idea, it’s just not at this moment.

• [Jay] It doesn’t have to be one or the other, it can be done concurrently. It’s already done but rest your soul a little bit. All you have to do is have a board meeting and change the name of the officers, that’s all you have to do so that’s not a problem. We get that board meeting the day after, in fact the minutes would have the new secretary, treasurer, and vice chairman in it, just attach that to the articles of incorporation.
• He used the proposed bylaws from Alano Club, sent them out and that was part of that link we received. It had the proposed things about having minutes every month and doing this, doing that and so we are assuming we’re going to have people that are already willing to do it and that in the future we will again so ….

• ISSUE ABOUT PAYING CURRENT BGE BILL

[Lisa C., LRGSC Alternate Treasurer] This was relevant when I put up my hand. Just want to advise everybody that we actually do have a current balance due to BGE even though there has been no power and all the power lines were pulled.

• There is a problem with calling BGE and this is an issue that came up last year. They will not speak to me because my name is not on the account and they wouldn’t help me, nor would they tell me whose name is on the account. So we need to figure out how to go around that. They were talking about having to register as a business in the state of Maryland in order to establish somebody who they would even speak to, so I don’t know how to go around this. We owe $136.62 to BGE due by the 14^th. It could be a problem when we go back into the room.
• [A] Regarding that BGE bill, we can talk about this offline if you want. All I need is the account number, user name, etc., and we can get that taken care of. A also communicated with Lisa about the BGE bill and they exchanged contact information. She made arrangement to get the pin number when it is sent to Laurel Recovery.

• REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION AND SCHEDULING OF FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION

Thanks for having this meeting and thanks to John for sending me the information.

• From my understanding of the problem, you can still submit the paperwork to obtain the 501(c)(3) and still have time to actually make a decision about what you want to do, so I don’t think we necessarily have to make the decision today. I think if we can get back into the space that we have temporarily and then do more due diligence when it comes to having a better understanding of what the implications are of the 501(c)(3), we finalize the bylaws and at least the voting board members be on board with the approach that is decided moving forward. There are benefits to having a new location.
• We’ve been in the Laurel Recovery space for a very long time and you’re right, there are many seniors who are not able to come in person and it would be advantageous for us to find a new location but I think the concern is rushing, making rash decisions. Is there a process here to actually vote on next steps or is this just meeting to have a discussion and inform the members about what’s going on?
• [Jeff] This was #1 to inform and then #2 if anybody read the bylaws to correct that, and actually then at the end make a motion. People can make a motion as to what the next step should be. If anybody doesn’t want to do that, they want me to recommend, I can definitely do that too.
• As a suggestion for people’s consideration I didn’t actually have an opportunity to review the bylaws but I’m also not on the board. If you do want feedback on the bylaws it would be great if you can give people a time frame to review that and then provide feedback. I don’t know how long the bylaws have been out for people to review, I just got the notification yesterday. That’s just a suggestion on that but it sounds like obviously the 501(c)(3) application has already been submitted and it’s moving forward and that’s great because that would resolve a lot of those concerns that people have about actually being able to operate as a true entity, but you know if you can give people a time frame to review and comment on the bylaws that would be awesome.
• What I’ll do is get it posted on the website. They’re already posted. They were attached to that message that went out yesterday. There’s a PDF click line on there that you can click on to the bylaws.

• VOLUNTEER FOR THE 501(c)(3) BOARD, REASONS TO CHANGE

[Amanda} I am willing to be on whatever board for the 501(c)(3). I’m totally jazzed about it.

• I think that Laurel is dead and we need to do something to resurrect it and I think this would be a great way to do it, getting our old people back , trying to get the new people back, and another thing that we haven’t mentioned as well and I can’t remember who I was talking to about it is that we need to be available to the Laurel Recovery houses that are down the street. If we get too far away they can’t walk to us. So that’s another thing that feeds us new blood so to speak to keep the meetings going. So I’m willing to be on a 501(c)(3) board or whatever and whatever capacity where I could be used the best. I don’t want to be on any board for Laurel Recovery.
• [Jeff] The board members can be different from both and we’re looking for a secretary for the 501(c)(3) board and for the service committee too. They could be the same person or we could have two different people for the different entities.
• OVERVIEW OF CLUB, RELATIVE TO GROUP(S)

[Jeff] Can I just share this real quick?** SHOWED DIAGRAM OF CLUB AND GROUPS

• I mean so there’s this dotted line between the club and a group, and the club has its own officers up here and the service committee has its own officers down here. And the club can make more money than Laurel Recovery group has because we can have Alanon, we can have NA, we can have other 12-Step groups. We can have paid memberships which the traditions don’t allow us to have down here, so it is different.
• Can have the same four officers, can have totally different officers between there, and then actually, when you add these other 12-Step groups there will be at-large members from them on this board up at the top. Anyway that’s a long term view but sometimes words don’t get through like pictures, so hopefully that helps.

• SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING: [Brian] Do we have anything else we want to cover today? Can we set a date to review bylaws? Suggestion made to do at the Service Committee regular meeting next weekend, then another suggestion was for after the projected 368 Main Street inspection completion date of January 20^th, the latter date also recommended to avoid combining the business meeting with our regular service committee.
  • The next meeting about this topic and the 501(c)(3) bylaws is scheduled for Saturday, January 24^th at 10AM, ID # 833 6916 6023, pw ODAT2022.
  • The bylaws, as amended 1-10-26:
    

    Laurel Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club Bylaws non profit

  • How do people find out about this meeting? Will add announcement to virtual meeting announcements, it is posted on the website, can be posted on LRG Whatsapp.
• FINAL TOPICS
  SUPPLIES FOR WEDS 8PM MEETING TEMPORARILY AT GREENBELT STEP CLUB. Susan asked to go into 368 Main Street to get chips, 3 Big Books, and the secretary book and take them for their Wednesday night meeting in Greenbelt. Kevin and a couple of people will be celebrating there. When asked about whether we were paying rent to Greenbelt, we had been told not a problem. The GBSC treasurer will take the LRG money and Zelle it to us.
• In answer to an inquiry, “No,” we are not permitted to go into LRG.
• EXTERIOR SIGN ON LRG MAIN STFREET DOOR: In answer to an inquiry about whether there is a sign on the 368 Main Street door, no but it’s a great idea. Amanda volunteered to put up a sign today that we are TEMPORARILY closed.
• PARTICIPATION ON THIS AD HOC GROUP: Mike suggested we keep this committee together until we get back into a permanent place. Everyone’s invited back. Comments made about who can vote, etc. And we voted twice to put off elections until after we move back in.
• SECRETARIAL HELP NEEDED: We desperately need a secretary. Today’s minutes are covered, but we desperately need a secretary.

MEETING CLOSED 1114 with Serenity Prayer

In service,

Jeanne O’, temporary volunteer secretary

Laurel Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club Bylaws non profit

 

 

 

Agenda: Special Service Committee Meeting — Virtual due to December 12, 2025, fire.

 

The meeting was called to order: at 10:00 a.m. by Brian D. and opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees: Lisa C., Kevin L., Mike O., Jeff K., Jay F., Brian D., Shawn G., and Susan McF.

Note: Remarks about what we need to address regarding the fire damage: non-profit club, selecting a new meeting location, selecting a Secretary and other topics came up throughout the meeting and have been combined in a specific section below to keep the areas discussed in a limited section of the minutes.

Chairperson: Brian D. 

• The December 12 fire has changed almost everything– our plans regarding upcoming meetings, and activities like the Service Committee annual elections, etc.
• The possibility of renting the 23 C Street location fell through, partly due to LRG not having a business entity to sign the lease.
• Our focus at this meeting is on forming a 501(c) 3 club, which can rent space, sign for utilities, and obtain insurance, while the Laurel Recovery Group (LRG) remains intact and the same.
• At this meeting we want to know what we want to do going forward. We need to get up with the times and not rely on individuals signing services agreements and verbal agreements that we have made for 50 years.

Vice Chairperson: Jeff K.

• Temporarily taking minutes for this meeting. Need a permanent Secretary of LRG and the non-profit that can fulfill the role.
• In contact with WAIA about updating Laurel Recovery’s temporarily virtual and in-person meetings at other locations. In person meetings at other facilities are now designated as Laurel Recovery Group meetings. This way we keep our identity.

• Collaborating with Jay F. on the new entity, a non -profit club, which can sign leases and have business services provided and not depend on individual LRG members signing for services.
• This new entity would provide LRG a place to meet and thus keep LRG operational.
• The non-profit club would save on taxes when forms are completed and approved, yet there are annual fees associated with keeping the non-profit club active and not losing its tax-exempt status.
• We should proceed quickly to create this entity. If circumstances change and the non-profit entity is not needed it could be kept in hibernation for a couple hundred dollars or less per year. Turned the non-profit entity and required forms and information over to Jay F.

Treasurer Report: Jay F.

• It is suggested that LRG could offer 21 C Street or 368 Main Street or any location that is found a lump sum (to be negotiated and approved) payment for six months’ rent to obtain a location, so meeting can be in person and maintain members.
• Non-profit business is needed to obtain a lease at many if not all locations, to sign for services, obtain a PayPal account, and gain tax-exempt status.
• Requested the name for the new non-profit entity, as it is needed for the SS-4 form. Suggested names included Laurel Recovery Club, Laurel Speakeasy Club, Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club, Happy, Joyous and Free Club, and some others were mentioned. After a short discussion, Don’t Rest on Your Laurels Club” was accepted unanimously.

Alternate Treasurer: Lisa C. 

• Using personal SSN for LRG EIN, would prefer keeping the current treasurer, Jay F., until a business EIN is obtained for LRG or start using someone else’s SSN. (Jeff Note: LRG EIN would not be the Don’t Rest on Your Laurel’s Club EIN. They are separate entities.)
• Renters insurance is inexpensive and should be purchased for 368 Main Street if returning or any new location.

OLD BUSINESS

• January 2026 elections and their delay to February was raised. Considering the logistical and scheduling uncertainty resulting from the fire, Jay F. made a motion that the elections be tabled until the above challenges are met. Motion seconded by Jeff K and passed.
  • Ayes reasoning is the difficulties of getting new Service Committee members up to speed, which would slow down this process and reduce membership over time.
  • Nays reasoning is that the LRG members would take this adversely and possibly accelerate loss of members.
• Need to keep LRG strong. We are losing membership.

NEW BUSINESS/NEXT STEPS: 

• Multiple members voiced concern that Jeanne and Suzy were not present. They will be asked if they will attend.
• Shawn G. will ask Suzy if she would be Secretary.
• Mike O. will check with Cedrick and Cameron if they would be Secretary.
• Multiple options were discussed regarding what locations to pursue and who would contact and who would negotiate the lease. It was decided that Susan McF. should be the single point of contact for 21 C Street and 368 Main Street and any other locations that become available.
• Kevin L. stated that we need to list our requirements that the location satisfies, so that Susan can negotiate a lease at a reasonable price that the LRG can afford. Discussion seemed to boil down to:
  • Level 1: Location is available to LRG 24 hours a day with excellent parking and on the ground floor.
  • Level 2: Location supports 5:30pm and evening meetings with adequate parking and on ground floor.
  • Level 3: Return to 368 Main Street or similar location.
  • Level 4: Limited meetings with inadequate parking and stairs.
  • Above should be ready to move in immediately. LRG or the new club could be responsible for limited fix-up and rearranging the space.

SERVICE COMMITTEE AND MEETING SECRETARIES AND INVITED MEMBERS WILL RECONVENE VITUALLY FOR STATUS UPDATES ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 10th at 10AM in the Laurel Recovery Group Virtual meeting room.

 MEETING ENDED WITH SERENITY PRAYER AT 10:56 am.

Respectfully submitted, Jeff K., temporary volunteer secretary

Agenda:Service Committee Monthly Meeting — Virtual due to December 12, 2025 fire

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Brian D. and opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees:Lisa C., Kevin L., Mike O., Jeff K., Jeanne O’, Jay F., Brian D., Scott, Shawn G., and Rebecca J.

REPORTS — – Note that remarks about what we need to address regarding the fire damage came up throughout the meeting and have been combined primarily in the “new business” section.

Chairperson-Brian D. –The December 12 fire has changed almost everything– our plans regarding upcoming meetings, and activities like the Service Committee annual elections, etc. Our focus on the spiritual aspect of Laurel Recovery remains the same. At this meeting we want to know what we want to do going forward.

Vice Chairperson Report: Jeff K.

• Jeff has been in contact with WAIA about Laurel Recovery’s temporarily closed and temporarily virtual meetings and they have adjusted their meeting schedules for LRG accordingly
• Has removed “Sunday Matinee” from upcoming LRG events due to the fire.

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Money is a big factor, and the impact of closing the room from the fire could cut into our prudent reserve. We are not sure if we are being charged rent even though we are not able to get into the building, or whether we are being charged for electricity.

Suzy has the mailbox key. 2 checks are due to be deposited.

• Gave September report
• Contributions were good in part due to contributions to LRG from members for the upcoming picnic
• We have a good amount of cash, but not sure about how the fire impacts prudent reserve, etc.
• Approval of Treasurer’s Report from September: Motion made by Jeanne O’ to accept Treasurer’s report for September, seconded by Shawn G., and the report was accepted by Service Committee.
• Gave October report
• Contributions were helped by the picnic 50/50 and contributions from members for the picnic
• Expenses were down
• Approval of Treasurer’s Report from October: Motion made by Jeanne O’ to accept Treasurer’s report for October, seconded by Shawn G., and the report was accepted by Service Committee.
• Gave November report
• Balance in account plus prudent reserve is good
• Expenses were down
• Approval of Treasurer’s Report from November: Motion made by Brian D. to accept Treasurer’s report for November, seconded by Jeanne O’, and the report was accepted by Service Committee.

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. 

• BGE account due balance is “0.” Made a payment to BGE for 2 months and it cleared the bank last week.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report—information by Jeanne O’)

• WAGSA had a successful Gratitude Breakfast on November 9. All 400 tickets were sold and $2000 to be sent to the General Service Office (GSO) in New York was collected at breakfast.
• There was a Committee Meeting on Monday December 8^th and the main topic was discussion about the upcoming 2026 Budget. Area 13 will vote on accepting the 2026 budget in January 2026.

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: information from Shawn G,

• It is uncertain whether LRG will provide a meeting to Howard County Hospital on December 24

Chips— Kevin L

Chips: Kevin L

• Before the fire, we were going to order 4 packages of 24-hour chips and also a 49-year chip.
• Will bring the levels of the chips current when we return to the room.

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Will update levels of literature when we get into the room.
• Watching for notice of when/how to renew Grapevine subscription. Lisa may receive a reminder in the LRG mail.

Supplies–Marta C. -=- not present

• Plenty of supplies are in the LRG room.

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G. 

• Has contacted the in-person secretaries to see if they want to go virtual.
• Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday night meetings are temporarily virtual.
• Susan is temporary secretary for the Thurs night meeting while it is virtual.
• Has asked Suzy to ask the landlord for an up-to the minute status of Laurel Recovery fire damage/projections.

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• LRG regular virtual meeting techs are providing tech support for Tues, Weds and Thursday night temporary virtual meetings.
• Sunday and Monday night meetings are also virtual and provide their own tech support.
• Working with Wednesday noon secretary to bring that meeting to temporary virtual.
• Kevin l. announced that the Wednesday December 24^th Christmas Eve 8PM meeting will be virtual. The Wednesday December 31^st New Year’s Eve 8PM meeting will be in person at Greenbelt Step Club in Greenbelt,

Website–John R. — not present,  submitted report

• Report was sent out to the Steering Committee.
• Change from: “John asked that LRG members be advised to look at the “Virtual Meetings” section of the website to see the schedule of the now temporary virtual meetings. Jeanne will ask him if he will add wording to the website to guide them to look at the section” to John asked that LRG in-person meeting secretaries communicate with the virtual meeting coordinator if they  would like to have temporary virtual meetings., and she will communicate the addition to the webmaster to add the meeting to the LRG website virtual meeting listing, Jeanne will ask him if he will add wording to the website to guide members to look at the section.

OLD BUSINESS

• Jeanne O’ had volunteered to coordinate the 2026 Service Committee election roster, etc. for what was to be January 2026 elections. In light of the logistical and scheduling uncertainty resulting from the fire, Jeanne made a motion that the elections be tabled until at least February. Motion seconded by Shawn and passed.

NEW BUSINESS:  THE FIRE

• Per Shawn via Suzy the landlord says there is no fire damage to Laurel Recovery side of the upstairs, but all electric meters need redoing.
• Questions: How quickly can we get into the room? Can we at least go in and clean out/empty the refrigerator, especially since there is now no electricity in the room.
• If we go to another location for meetings, we most likely will have to complete paperwork and make some sort of time and financial commitment.
• We have explored options with the Laurel Multipurpose Community Center at the intersection of 197 & 198. Not enough meeting times available.
• Places on “C” Street have quoted rooms rents that vary from $100 per hour to $1400 for a month of 4 hours per day. A key advantage is that it is a first-floor location.
• If we have to relocate, or cannot return to our 368 Main Street location soon enough, would then signing a lease for prolonged periods be more affordable? Like a 24/7 arrangement?
• Brian looked at a place across from our parking lot for $1200 and it seemed small. Discussed the Armory and limitations, Crossroads is already rented out.
• Jeff looked at 4 churches. They either had limited or no availability. Laurel Presbyterian is a possibility, but has stairs and LRG’s number of meetings and numerous entries cold be a problem.
• NEXT STEPS:
  • Follow-up with landlord on status of our current location
  • Scott and Mike will explore more pricing options with the “C” Street locations
  • We will explore more options on Main Street: something close by, available 24/7, affordable
  • Shawn will reach out to Laurel City Council member
  • Shawan will reach out to realtor who has Laurel Maryland Connect Facebook page
  • THIS GROUP WILL RECONVENE FOR STATUS REVIEW ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27 at 10AM in the Laurel Recovery Group Virtual meeting room.

 MEETING ENDED WITH SERENITY PRAYER AT 11:12 A.M.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, volunteer secretary

MEETING NOTES ACCEPTED BY SERVICE COMMITTEE SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2026

Agenda: Steering Committee Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order at: 10:00 a.m. by Brian D. and opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees: Brian D.(ol), Kevin L. (ol), Jay F., Jeff K., Scott P., Andrew R., Suzy Q, and Jeanne O.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from August 16, 2025: Jeanne O’ made motion to accept the meeting minutes from August 16, 2025, seconded by Jeff K., and the minutes were accepted by the Steering Committee

REPORTS

Chairperson-Brian D. –no report at this time

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Jay F. presented the August 2025 report.

• Gave August report
  • Contributions were good, possibly at least in part due to contributions to LRG from members for the upcoming picnic
  • Next month the expense for the picnic will be reflected, but that will be offset by the targeted contributions
  • Discussion about prudent reserve, which is normally to cover about 6 months’ projected expenses

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. –not present, no report

Approval of Treasurer’s Report from August 2025: Motion made by Jeanne O’ to accept the August 2025 Treasurer Report, seconded by Jeff K.  The report was accepted by the steering committee.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report— Gianna not present (information by Jeanne O’)

• • WAGSA had a Special Assembly on September 8^th to vote on PAIs (Proposed Agenda Items) to be forwarded to the General Service Office from Area 13 to be considered for the next General Service Assembly in April 2026
  • There will be a special assembly in October for Area 13’s Area Inventory

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: Jaime I. not present– information from Jay F.

• Volunteers are still signing up to participate in meetings to Howard County Hospital.
• Jay F. is still taking meetings to Ordinance Road on the 4^th Thursday of every month
• Suzy Q will be attending a 2^nd annual day-long workshop on October 11 hosted by Area 29. The workshop topic is on visiting women in prisons.

Chips— Kevin L

• We have almost a full inventory of chips, for which $216 was spent
• The “pass on your old chips” can is in place, some chips have been contributed, and the announcement will be put in the Secretary’s book

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• For budget reasons, supply and purchases have been conservative, with 5 Big Books on hand. The steering committee agreed to add 10 more hardcover Big Books, 5 soft cover Big Books, and 25 “Meeting in a Pocket” booklets to the inventory

Supplies–Marta C. -=- not present, report reflected in Treasurer’s and Picnic Committee’s reports.

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G. — not present

• Shawn has been active with the Picnic Committee
• Per Suzy Q., the Sunday 9AM secretary position will change after a new secretary is elected at a group conscience meeting to be held on Sunday, September 21^st.

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• The online meetings are following the rotation-of-service guidelines. The Monday 5:30 PM online secretary position will change after a new secretary is elected at a group conscience meeting to be held on Monday, September 22^nd

Website–John R. — not present,  submitted report

• Report was sent out to the Steering Committee.

OLD BUSINESS

• Jeff K.: The new TRADITIONS meeting for Monday evenings at 7PM began on September 8^th as planned. The attendance was low, and the meeting is in the WAIA listing and will continue to be announced at the other Laurel meetings.
• The 2025 PICNIC
  • Supplies have been purchased as planned and a last-minute inventory of supplies and set-up plans were discussed. Suzy provided list of items that had been overlooked last year (foil, grilling tools, large trash bags, etc.), and they have been worked into the plans for tomorrow.
  • Timing of heating-up the grill (1030AM) was put in place.
  • Mike of the Tuesday 5:30 meeting will be the cook
  • Volunteers will clean up

NEW BUSINESS

• The landlord has asked if we are interested in renting out use of our space to another organization to use for a class sometime when we are not using it. The steering committee voted to not allow the room to be used by an outside entity, for financial, anonymity and affiliation considerations–as per the traditions–and the time conflicts with LRG meeting scheduling, as well.
• The secretary of the Plain Language Big Book meeting is requesting reimbursement for 5 PLBBs that he provided from another source. The steering committee approved the request, and reimbursement can be made upon receipt of his invoice.
• Jeff K has volunteered to be the Steering Committee Alternate Chairperson, and Scott P. has volunteered to take the notes of the Steering Committee meetings, with Suzy Q volunteering to do the electronic input of the meeting minutes onto the website. The Steering Committee voted Jeff, Scott and Suzy into the Alternate Chair and Secretary positions.
• Jeff K proposed that the Laurel Recovery Group Steering Committee name would better reflect Tradition Two (trusted servant) and spiritual principles if it were renamed the “Laurel Recovery Group Service Committee.” The suggestion was voted in unanimously, and on October 1, 2025 the name “Laurel Recovery Group Service Committee” will be official.

The meeting was closed by Brian D. with the Serenity Prayer at 10:50 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, acting temp secretary

 

Agenda: Steering Committee Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order at: 10:00 a.m. by Brian D. and opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees: Brian D. (ol), Jeff K., Jay F., Marta C., Ben C. Kevin L, Gianna (ol), Mary Elizabeth, and Jeanne O’.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from July 19, 2025: Jeanne O’ made motion to accept the meeting minutes from July 19, 2025, seconded by Kevin L., and the minutes were accepted by the Steering Committee

REPORTS

Chairperson-Brian D. –no report at this time

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Jay F. presented the July 2025 report.

• The lower LRG balance is due to
  • Disruptive member’s impact on attendance (no longer attending LRG)
  • Noisy and poorly operating A/C (A/C has recently been replaced)
  • The economy

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. Report (by Jay F) :

• LRG will direct concern from secretary coordinator to Lisa about QR code not operating correctly, ask her to investigate
• Lisa is issuing a replacement check to Laurel because they have not yet received the $160 picnic check issued few weeks ago

Approval of Treasurer’s Report from July 2025: Motion made by Brian D. to accept the July 2025 Treasurer Report, seconded by Jeanne O’.  The report was accepted by the steering committee.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report— Gianna (information by Jeanne O’)

• WAGSA had a meeting on August 11^th and elected a new Area Secretary
• WAGSA meetings in September will focus on Proposed Agenda Items (PAIs) for the next General Service Conference in New York
• Area 13 will hold an Inventory Session in October
• Laurel Recovery Group’s status at GSO has changed to “active” from “unknown” since Ben C. has become the registered Mail Contact

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: Jaime I. – information from Jay F.

• Volunteers are still signing up to participate in meetings to Howard County Hospital.
• Jay F. is still taking meetings to Ordinance Road on the 4^th Thursday of every month

Chips— Kevin L

• Has completed partial inventory, will complete the rest. When completed, there will be a large order for chips. Recommends that LRG can reduce the expense if LRG has a process where members “pass on” their older chips. Committee suggested announcement be placed in Secretary Book and a (coffee?) can be available where members can deposit their older chips. Motion made by Jeanne O’ to accept the recommendation and seconded by Mary Elizabeth. MOTION PASSED

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Got another set of Pamphlets and 5 Big Books

Supplies–Marta C.

• Will get ink pad replacement for the “Laurel Recovery” rubber stamp used at the front desk.
• Has spent $124 to date in August for coffee, candy and paper towels.
• See additional supply notes under Old Business section of minutes re: 2025 Laurel Cookout

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G. — information by Jeanne

• Have found a secretary for Tuesday CAME TO BELIEVE noon meeting, and he will get keys etc. next week.
• Anniversary Card maker asks for someone who attends LRG in-person meetings regularly to regularly send her a copy of the anniversary list so she can be sure to continue to provide Personalized Anniversary Cards for LRG anniversaries

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• No changes. Meet 6 times a week.

Website–John R. —  submitted report

• Report was sent out to the Steering Committee.

OLD BUSINESS

• Jeff K.: The pending TRADITIONS for Monday evenings at 7PM is being announced on our website and will open on September 8^th as planned. Again, no additional expense because LRG already has 12&12 books for meetings and there will be other TRADITIONS presentations beyond the coverage of the 12&12.
• 2025 September 20 COOKOUT update by Ben C.
  • Ben C. polled the steering committee to project number of attendees expected at the picnic in order to buy the appropriate amount of supplies.  Response:100  A list  of the supplies to be purchased will be circulated to the steering committee in the near future.
  • The Wednesday before the picnic Ben and Marta will get the supplies.
  • Due to announcements to the members, Secretary Coordinator has about $300 contributed for the picnic by members of LRG, to be Zelled to LRG.
  • Mike of the Tuesday 5:30 meeting will be the cook
  • Volunteers will clean up
  • Flyer that is being distributed announces event features and face painting

NEW BUSINESS

• A meeting secretary asked the steering committee for support and assistance to approach a disruptive member of her meeting. The member talks for excessively long times and animatedly– in intimidating manner — points at other members, and the behavior actually caused another member to stand up and leave the meeting.
• Members of the steering committee responded and recommended:
  • The steering committee does not police people’s shares.
  • This issue should be dealt with on the group level—
    • perhaps have a group conscience meeting to review time limits on individual shares
    • a direct conversation with the individual (though conversation about the behavior may not resolve anything)
    • engaging in conversation before the meeting begins might allow the individual to express thoughts they want to express that might otherwise monopolize the meeting group share time
    • that the secretary set a generous time boundary on shares that allows but will end over-long shares
    • Adhere to Tradition Three (“… only requirement for membership….”)

The meeting was closed by Brian D. with the Serenity Prayer at 10:53 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, acting temp secretary

August 16, 2025 Steering Committee Meeting Minutes accepted by Steering Committee on September 20, 2025.

Agenda: Steering Committee Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order at: 10:00 a.m., opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees: Lisa C., Brian D., Jeff K., Jay F., Marta C., Ben C. Kevin L, Lisa C., Shawn G., and Jeanne O.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from March 15, 2025: Shawn G. made motion to accept the meeting minutes from March 15, 2025, seconded by Marta C., and the minutes were accepted by the Steering Committee

REPORTS

Chairperson-Brian D. –no report at this time

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Jay F. presented the June 2025 report.

• LRG deficit due to tariffs and inflation
• LRG will start asking members for more contributions
• LRG will ask for contributions for the 2025 Picnic
• Supplies will be reviewed for necessity and quantities

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. Report:

• July deficit
• Confirmed that BGE June check cleared last week
• Hoping that the new A/C will be less expensive to run

Approval of Treasurer’s Report from June 2025: Motion made by Shawn G. to accept the June 2025 Treasurer Report, seconded by Ben C.  The report was accepted by the steering committee.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report— Gianna not present

• Per Jeanne O’, Delegate Report-Back was in early June
• No WAGSA meetings in July
• LRG needs either a registered GSR or registered Mail Contact in order to have “active” status in the GSO database (current status is “unknown”—which means active but no registered GSR or mail contact). Ben C. volunteered to be LRG’s registered mail contact and the steering committee unanimously voted him in.

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: Jaime I. – not present

• Shawn G. continues to facilitate visits to Howard County Hospital.

Chips— Kevin L

• Recently ordered 3-month and 1-year chips. Next week will complete inventory and bring all chip levels to where they should be.

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Recent inventory, only needed to order 20 pamphlets. Will soon inventory again.

Supplies–Marta C.

• Nothing new. Will start scrutinizing levels and products for budget purposes.

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G. 

• Still need a secretary for Tuesday CAME TO BELIEVE noon meeting. Shawn is covering slot for now, with Joan helping when necessary.
• Participation has been down in all the meetings. It is hoped that participation will improve if:
  • members announce need for support at other meetings; and
  • the new air conditioner has made the room temperature better.

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• No changes. Meet 6 times a week.

Website–John R.  not present

• Report was sent out to the Steering Committee.

NEW BUSINESS

• Jeff K. would like to start a TRADITIONS meeting on Monday evenings at 7PM. He will be the initial secretary. New literature will not be necessary because LRG already has 12&12 books for meetings. The creation of the meeting was unanimously approved by the steering committee. The starting date is expected to be September 8, 2025.
• THE 2025 PICNIC
  • Suzy Q confirmed to Lisa that we have a permit for Sunday, September 21, 2025. Shawn confirmed that 180 Club’s picnic will be on September 14^th this year (the two picnics had been on the same day for the last two years but are a week apart this year).
  • LRG will have a Picnic Committee. Volunteers are Shawn G., Ben C., and Jeff K, who will get started on the planning now. At the next steering committee on August 16^th they will provide an update of their status. Items they will address will include (but not be limited to)
    • Food and supplies
    • Cooks, clean up, etc.
    • Activities like face painting
    • Asking for contributions via the poster, etc.
    • Preparing for HOW MANY WILL COME?

The meeting was closed with the Serenity Prayer at approximately 10:35 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, acting temp secretary

July 19 meeting minutes accepted by Steering Committee on August 16, 2025.

Agenda: Steering Committee Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order at: 10:00 a.m., opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees: Lisa C., Jeanne O’, Brian D., Jeff K., Jay F., Marta C., Ben C. Kevin L., Matt H., Karen C., Julia H., and Gianna

Opening remarks by Brian D., Chairperson

• Proposed that one person speak at a time, that there be limited time on questions and length of remarks. That if there is conflict we go to the A.A. principles and traditions for guidelines.
• Would like us to be more committee-focused, to involve more people and to have more committee topics such as cleanup, public relations, outreach, etc.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from February 15, 2025: Jay F. made motion to accept the meeting minutes from February 15, 2025, seconded by Lisa C., and the minutes were accepted by the Steering Committee

REPORTS

Vice Chairperson-Matt H. –no report at this time

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Jay F. presented the February 2025 report.

• Lisa C. will review the receipts and specifics of some expense items on the report.
• Deposits are $500 less than last month.
  • After reviewing the records, it appears there were unrecorded deposits from the in-person meetings.
    • Brian D. will speak to the secretaries to be sure they record the deposits in the Secretary Handbook.
    • A factor may be that February has 3 fewer days than the month preceding it—Jay F. will compare contributions from February 2025 to February 2024.
  • Jay will follow up on interest rate paid to savings account, which should go up after the account is six months old.
  • The prudent reserve account is coverage for a six-month period.

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. Report:

• Lisa verbalized the procedure for new steering committee members in order for them to be reimbursed for any of the LRG expenses.
• BGE bill will be going up in the months ahead.
• At times when Lisa cannot attend the steering committee meetings, she will provide reports.

Approval of Treasurer’s Report from February 2025: Motion made by Jeanne O to accept the February 2025 Treasurer Report, seconded by Ben C.  The report was accepted by the steering committee.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report— Gianna

• Gianna needs to register with WAGSA, report provided by Jeanne O’
• Panel 75 did not have a regular monthly meeting in March, and they will have a Mini-Conference on Sunday, March 23^rd, where they will be presented with some of the issues that will be addressed at the annual General Service Conference in April. Area 13 responses will inform the delegate of the Area’s position on the issues.

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report– no WAIA representative

• WAIA report is on the website.
• Discussion about getting a WAIA rep for LRG. Brian and Kevin will try to recruit both a steering committee secretary and a WAIA rep for Laurel Recovery Group.

Hospitals & Institutions Report: Jaime I. – not present

• Shawn G. continues to facilitate visits to Howard County Hospital.
• Brian would like us to try to find more H&I possibilities through WAIA.

Chips— Kevin L

• Kevin will inventory and replenish chips as needed. He received procedural information at this meeting.

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Will order Big Books (20 in carton) in the near future.
• Will buy seven EXPERIENCE, STRENGTH AND HOPE books for use by the Saturday night meeting, and for resale.

Supplies–Marta C.

• Main purchase has been of paper towels, toilet paper, candy, tissues, and hand sanitizer.
• After discussion, it was decided that Marta will order and provide the cakes for the LRG one-year anniversary celebrations.

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G. not present

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O

• The Saturday 5:30 online As Bill Sees It meeting will close after it ends today, March 15^th. A group conscience meeting, announced 3 weeks in advance, made the decision.
• In response to who would notify WAIA of the change, and the fact that all the steering committee members are to make their own changes to the website, a motion was made by Jeanne that the Virtual Meeting Coordinator will notify WAIA of online meeting changes, and the Secretary Coordinator will notify WAIA of in-person meeting changes. The motion was seconded and accepted by the steering committee.

Website–John R.  not present

• A Google Analytics report was sent out to the Steering Committee.
• Steering Committee Members have access to edit the website.

NEW BUSINESS

• Karen C. asked for clarification about LRG position on signing court slips— [] sign at end of meeting; [] do not sign—what?
  • There was discussion among the steering committee members. Per Brian, the decision will rest with the group conscience, the steering committee will not change the current practice/policy at this time.
• Jay F. announced that LRG will not make the 2024 contributions to WAGSA, WAIA and GSO as we had planned because the surplus funds are not available.
• Discussion about a request received asking LRG to co-sponsor and support an event around a new book, A Marriage That Changed the World: Lois and Bill Wilson and the Addiction Recovery Movement. Two local 12-Step Clubs had already agreed to co-sponsor the event.
  • After discussion, it was decided unanimously that Laurel Recovery Group will decline the invitation: Laurel Recovery Group is all A.A., it is not a club, and this endeavor would conflict with Tradition Six—affiliation with an “outside enterprise.”
• Jeanne delivered a proposal from a former steering committee member, Scott B., that he start a new LRG meeting at 7:30 PM on Sunday evening and the topic would be the Plain Language Big Book. He would create flyers, bring more information to the April 19^th steering committee meeting, and start the meeting in the month of April. Motion made by Jeanne O’, that Scott B. may start a Plain Language Big Book meeting in April 2025 that would be at 7:30 on Sunday nights; seconded by Jeff K., and accepted by the steering committee.

The meeting was closed with the Serenity Prayer at 11:10 AM.

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’, temp secretary

MINUTES ACCEPTED JULY 19, 2025 BY LAUREL RECOVERY GROUP STEERING COMMITTEE

Agenda: Steering Committee Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order at: 10:01 a.m., opened with the Serenity Prayer

Attendees:Suzy Q., John R., Nettie T., Jeanne O’, Shawn G., Jeff K., Jay F., Lisa C., Marta C., Bryan G., Gianna, Julia H., and Brian D.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from January 18, 2025 : Motion was made by Lisa C. to accept the meeting minutes from January 18, 2025, seconded by Marta C., and the minutes were accepted by the Steering Committee..

REPORTS

Chairperson–Suzy Q

• I will be available to help and support the new steering committee during their transition this year.

Vice Chairperson-Selena – Not present

• No report

Treasurer Report: Jay F

Jay F. presented the January 2025 report.

Alternate Treasurer Lisa C. Report:

• BGE winter bill will be even larger than the summer bill; BGE is still thought to currently be the best provider for LRG
• Jeanne O’ made motion to accept January 2025 Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Shawn G.  January 2025 Treasurer’s Report accepted by Steering Committee.

General Services Rep (GSR) Report— No GSR, report presented by Jeanne O’:

• Panel 75 met three times in DC in the past month. There was a meeting to discuss the budget, then a meeting to vote on the budget, and then a regular monthly meeting.
• There is discussion about holding a hybrid meeting, but meeting is currently in person only.

2025 LAUREL RECOVERY GROUP ELECTION RESULTS

• 39 voters (no duplicate ip votes were counted)
• All of the self-volunteered individuals who were listed on the ballot were elected:
  • Chair, Brian D.
  • Co-chair, Matt H.
  • GSR, Gianna
  • H&I, Jaime I.
  • Events Coordinator, Julia H.
  • Publications/Literature, Jeff K.
  • Supplies, Marta C.
  • Chips, Kevin L.
  • Secretary Coordinator, Shawn G.
  • Virtual Meeting Coordinator, Jeanne O’

• No write-in names were received for the vacant positions.

REPORTS, CONTINUED

Washington Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) Report–Lisa M. Not present

• WAIA report is on the website.

Hospitals & Institutions Report:

• Shawn G. continues to facilitate visits to Howard County Hospital two Wednesdays per month.
• Jay F. continues to facilitate contact with Ordinance Road.
• Jess R. continues to facilitate meetings with Jennifer Road.

Chips—

• Chips okay

Publications Report–Jeff K.

• Will be buying more pamphlets this month, including Q&A about Sponsorship
• Bought 12 copies of the Plain Language Big Book from WAIA. They are primarily for LRG to have a PLBB meeting, but can be sold. We will try to have books for both purposes (for the meeting and for resale) on hand.

Supplies–report for Jess by Shawn

• The task is being turned over to new supply person Marta.
• Concern regarding diminishing supply of paper towels, and the best storage plan.
• John R. gave supply closet lock code to new steering committee members.

Secretary Coordinator–Shawn G.

• All is well
• Friday 5:30 PM secretary is now in place.
• Later discussion regarding deposit slips revealed that there is ample supply currently on hand.

Virtual Meeting Coordinator–Jeanne O’

• • Two meetings have had group conscience meetings and there are now new Tuesday and Friday secretaries.
  • A third meeting secretary will also rotate out soon.
  • Zoom techs in short supply.

Website–John R.

• Has given full website access to all steering committee members so they can post their own events, etc.

1038 AM PASS THE BATON—SUZY Q. TURNS MEETING OVER TO NEW CHAIRPERSON BRIAN D

Brian will get one-on-one historical information re: LRG lease status, etc. from the current people responsible.

New Business:

• Start a committee to revamp/decorate Laurel Recovery
• Look at the accessibility of Laurel Recovery Group, at maybe outreach to members. Gianna will work up some ideas and bring them to the next meeting.

The meeting was closed with the AA Responsibility Statement and the Serenity Prayer at est. 1050 AM 

Respectfully submitted, Jeanne O’

February 15, 2025 MINUTES ACCEPTED BY STEERING COMMITTEE ON MARCH 15, 2025.