Intergroup

SoAZ Intergroup Board Meeting

The SoAZ Intergroup Board (Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and the World Service Business Conference Delegates/Region 3 Reps) meet to discuss the business of the Intergroup immediately before the monthly Intergroup meeting, Any O A member is welcome to attend the Board meeting. Contact the Chair if you’d like to attend by emailing chair@oasouthernaz.org.

Intergroup

SoAZ Intergroup Board Meeting

The SoAZ Intergroup Board (Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and the World Service Business Conference Delegates/Region 3 Reps) meet to discuss the business of the Intergroup immediately before the monthly Intergroup meeting, Any O A member is welcome to attend the Board meeting. Contact the Chair if you’d like to attend by emailing chair@oasouthernaz.org.

IntergroupServiceVolunteer

Service Opportunities

Committees Needing Volunteers

Special Events
Twelve Step Within (TSW)

.

IntergroupServiceVolunteer

Intergroup Reps

Intergroup Binder Files

Find these and other Intergroup documents in the righthand sidebar.

IntergroupServiceVolunteer

Officers and Committees

2024 Board Members

Chair, Cheryl L.
Vice Chair, Cynthia N.
Secretary, Janis R.
Treasurer, Emily R-S
Senior Region 3 Rep and WSBC Delegate, Barbara V.
Junior Region 3 Rep and WSBC Delegate, Joy V’M.

2024 Committee Chairs

IR Trainer, Chris N.
Meeting List / Zoom Coordinator, Jan F.
Newsletter, Judy G.
PIPO, John W.
Retreat, OPEN
Special Events, OPEN
Telephone, Roni B.
Twelfth Step Within, OPEN
Unity with Diversity Community, Rae S. & Stephanie G.
Website, Joy V’M.



Intergroup

About Intergroup

What is Intergroup?

When several groups form in an area, they soon realize that they can better perform certain functions together rather than separately. So the groups may form an intergroup that is directly responsible to the groups it serves.

Intergroup meets on the third Saturday of each Month. Anyone can attend- there are no rules about this. The normal makeup of the monthly Intergroup meeting consists of Intergroup Representatives from each OA group in the area when possible, committee chairs, and the Intergroup ‘Board’, which is just a description for the trusted servants who occupy the positions of: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, SoAZ Region Delegates.

When and Where does Intergroup Meet?

Intergroup meets virtually via Zoom the 3rd Saturday of Most Months at 11:00 A.M. See the Calendar for more information.

Who can Attend?

Anyone can attend! There are no rules about this, however the typical makeup of Intergroup consists of OA representatives from each group in the area, committee chairs, and the Intergroup ‘Board.’

The Power of We

A Checklist for our Intergroup

Carrying the Message

IntergroupServiceVolunteer

Committee Service

About OA Service

Service in Overeaters Anonymous takes many forms – it is part of the twelfth step of OA to help carry the message to the suffering compulsive eaters. Many of us start service the first time we step into an OA meeting and decide to share. We do service at all levels of the OA fellowship including individual, group, area- or Intergroup, regional and world service. We do our service voluntarily, and mostly with gratitude to give back what has been so freely given us.

Volunteer for a Committee

There are no requirements, any OA member can serve on any committee. If you would like to serve on one of these, we would LOVE to have you. Please contact the Intergroup Chair at chair@oasouthernaz.org if you have questions or want more information.

Although a committee may not currently have a chair, there is still work to be done and help needed to keep the OA Fellowship going. If you would like to chair a committee, see Committee Chair Qualifications below.

Chair a Committee

A. Complete the nomination form.

B. Send the form to the Southern Arizona Intergroup Chair at chair@oasouthernaz.org.

Common responsibilities for a Committee Chair

  • Attend Intergroup meetings, create and share monthly reports and documents electronically and by paper, if needed
  • Create budget requests and monitor committee expenses

Qualifications

  • Be working the Twelve Steps of OA.
  • Have knowledge of OA’s Twelve Traditions
  • Have a knowledge of OA’s Twelve Concepts
  • Currently be abstinent
  • Be or have been an OA IR for a minimum of six months

Typical Committee Chair Duties

Intergroup Rep (IR) Trainer

Facilitate Intergroup Rep effectiveness by creating and using tools to help IRs share within their groups and at Intergroup; maintain a sample “IR notebook” with extra copies of materials for new IRs; maintain and distribute the SoAZ OA “We Care” list; mail out meeting materials to absent IRs; create a process for IR and other Intergroup member sign-up to Intergroup committees; act as designated downloader for SoAZ Intergroup by visiting OA, Inc and other OA websites for appropriate documents to share and attend monthly Intergroup meetings. Encouraged to attend monthly Board meetings and write a newsletter article describing committee responsibilities and activities/achievements.

Meeting List/Zoom Coordinator

Update the online live [Google Sheets] and upload pdf version of the SoAZ meeting directory, manage the SoAZ Zoom accounts and assist meetings with its use as needed.

Newsletter Editor

Create, upload and distribute by email periodic editions of the SoAZ Desert Recovery newsletter featuring recovery-related articles by OA members and information on upcoming OA events.

Public Information/Professional Outreach (PIPO)

Maintain contact with health professionals within our communities.  Attend health fairs and like events with OA members who can share their own experience, strength, and hope.  Create resources such as flyers and OA literature for posting in public venues and sharing at events.

Special Events

Plan and/or oversee events such as IDEA, Unity Day, Sponsorship Day, Thank-A-Thon, and the annual Retreat.  Select venues and purchase or create handouts or props.  Create flyers and communicate with Intergroup members about upcoming events.  Ways and Means is a subcommittee of Special Events.

Telephone

Update the voicemail greeting on the mailbox of 520-733-0880 as needed and create a committee of members who will each have a day of the week for checking and returning messages.  Create a training document and train new volunteers.  Ask the SoAZ Treasurer for monthly reports of the messages billed.

Twelfth Step Within (TSW)

Plan events that support the TSW committee’s mission of sharing information and ideas that generate recovery within the fellowship.  Select venues and purchase or create handouts or props.  Create flyers and communicate with Intergroup members about upcoming events.

Website

Create content, update and modify existing posts and pages, update WordPress CMS and plugins, maintain the hosting, SSL and domain name and related expenses for oasouthernaz.org. Create and post monthly Intergroup Call to Action content.  Encourage usage of the website.

IntergroupThe OA ProgramVolunteer

What is Intergroup?

Intergroup Board Members 2020
Emily R.-S. – Chair
Linda J. – Vice Chair
Cheryl L. – Treasurer
Chris N. – Secretary
Randi – Senior Region Rep and World Service Delegate
Cynthia – Junior Region Rep and World Service Delegate

Monthly Intergroup Call to Action: Please see the first item on the left-hand sidebar, this page.

WHAT IS INTERGROUP?
When several groups form in an area, they soon realize that they can better perform certain functions together rather than separately. So the groups may form an Intergroup that is directly responsible to the groups it serves. For southern Arizona that Intergroup is called Southern Arizona Intergroup of Overeaters Anonymous. Intergroups spring from a need to provide service for a number of local groups and better information about OA in a community. Separate Intergroups make up Regions and then the Regions (10 in all) combine to make up the World Service Organization (WSO). Our SoAZ OA is part of the Region III OA. Region III consists of the Southwest Region of the U.S., including the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, southern Nevada and parts of Wyoming and Nebraska.

Intergroup meets on the third Saturday of each month. Anyone can attend – there are no rules about this. The normal makeup of the monthly Intergroup meeting consists of Intergroup Representatives from each OA group in the area when possible, committee chairs, and the Intergroup Board, which is just a description for the trusted servants who occupy the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and SoAZ Region Delegates. Intergroup currently meets at:

SoAZ Intergroup Meeting: The 3rd Saturday of Each Month
by Zoom
(contact Emily R-S for more information)
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or earlier

Board Position Descriptions and Qualifications are listed in the Bylaws, beginning at the bottom of page 4, and include the following:

  • Chair
  • Vice Chair
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Region Representative/Delegate (two to three positions)

Committee Chair Qualifications and Descriptions are in the Bylaws, beginning on page 8 and also here Committee Chair Job Descriptions. These committees include the following:

  • Intergroup Rep Trainer
  • Meeting List
  • Newsletter
  • Public Information and Professional Outreach (PI/PO)
  • Special Events
  • Telephone
  • Twelfth Step Within (TSW)
  • Ways and Means
  • Website

Nomination Forms:

WSO Newsletter for Intergroup: A Step Ahead 

Virtual Region: OA Virtual Region

MeetingsNew to OAPublicationsRecoveryServiceThe OA Program

Tools of Recovery

In working Overeaters Anonymous’ The OA 12 Twelve-Step program of recovery from compulsive overeating, we have found a number of tools to assist us. OA has defined nine tools to help members achieve and maintain Abstinence. You are not alone!

The 9 Tools of the OA Program

The 9 tools of the OA program are: A Plan of Eating, Sponsorship, Meetings, Telephone, Writing, Literature, Action Plan, Anonymity and Service, which are detailed below.

Plan of Eating

As a tool, a plan of eating helps us to abstain from eating compulsively.

Having a personal plan of eating guides us in our dietary decisions, as well as defines what, when, how, where and why we eat. It is our experience that sharing this plan with a sponsor or another OA member is important.

There are no specific requirements for a plan of eating; OA does not endorse or recommend any specific plan of eating, nor does it exclude the personal use of one. (See the pamphlets Dignity of Choice and A Plan of Eating for more information.) For specific dietary or nutritional guidance, OA suggests consulting a qualified health care professional, such as a physician or dietician. Each of us develops a personal plan of eating based on an honest appraisal of his or her own past experience; we also have come to identify our current individual needs, as well as those things which we should avoid.

Although individual plans of eating are as varied as our members, most OA members agree that some plan “no matter how flexible or structured”; is necessary.

This tool helps us deal with the physical aspects of our disease and helps us achieve physical recovery. From this vantage point, we can more effectively follow OA’s Twelve-Step program of recovery and move beyond the food to a happier, healthier and more spiritual living experience.

Sponsorship

Sponsors are OA members who are living the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to the best of their ability.

Sponsors should also have a sponsor. Sponsors help others by sharing their experience, strength and hope around living without eating compulsively, working the 12 Steps of OA , and being committed to abstinence.

We ask a sponsor to help us through our program of recovery on all three levels: physical, emotional and spiritual. By working with other members of OA and sharing their experience, strength and hope, sponsors continually renew and reaffirm their own recovery. Sponsors share their program up to the level of their own experience.

Ours is a program of attraction: find a sponsor who has what you want, and ask that person how he or she is achieving it. A member may work with more than one sponsor and may change sponsors at will.

Meetings

Meetings are gatherings of two or more compulsive overeaters who come together to share their personal experience, and the strength and hope OA has given them.

Though there are many types of meetings, fellowship with other compulsive overeaters is the basis of them all. Meetings give us an opportunity to identify and confirm our common problem and to share the gifts we receive through this program.

Telephone

The telephone helps us share one-to-one and avoid the isolation which is so common among us.

Many members call other OA members and their own sponsors daily. As a part of the surrender process, it is a tool with which we learn to reach out, ask for help and extend help to others. The telephone also provides an immediate outlet for those hard-to-handle highs and lows we may experience.

Writing

In addition to writing in our step work, most of us have found writing to be an indispensable tool in our recovery.

Further, putting our thoughts and feelings down on paper, or describing a troubling incident, helps us to better understand our actions and reactions in a way that is often not revealed to us by simply thinking or talking about them. It is also helpful to share what we’ve written with our sponsor or another trusted, close-mouthed friend. In the past, compulsive eating was our most common reaction to life. When we put our difficulties down on paper, it becomes easier to see situations more clearly and perhaps better discern any necessary action.

Literature

We study and read OA-approved pamphlets; OA-approved books, such as Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous and For Today.

We also study the book Alcoholics Anonymous, referred to as the “Big Book,” to understand and reinforce our program. Many OA members find that when read daily, the literature further reinforces how to live the Twelve Steps. Our OA literature and the AA “Big Book” are ever-available tools which provide insight into our problem of eating compulsively, strength to deal with it, and the very real hope that there is a solution for us.

Literature can be purchased through OA World Services, some OA meetings.

Action Plan

An action plan is the process of identifying and implementing attainable actions, both daily and long-term, that are necessary to support our individual abstinence and emotional, spiritual and physical recovery.

While the plan is ours, tailored to our own recovery process, most of us find it important to work with a sponsor, fellow OA member and/or appropriate professional to help us create it. This tool, like our plan of eating, may vary widely among members and may need to be adjusted as we progress in our recovery.

For example, a newcomer’s action plan might focus on planning, shopping for and preparing food. Some members may need a regular fitness routine to improve strength and health, while others may need to set exercise limits in order to attain more balance. Some of us may need an action plan that includes time for meditation and relaxation or provides strategies for balancing work, personal interactions with family and friends, and our program. Others may need help to organize their homes; deal with their finances; and address medical, dental or mental health issues.

Along with working the Steps on a daily basis, an action plan may incorporate use of the other OA tools to bring structure, balance and manageability into our lives. As we use this tool, we find that we develop a feeling of serenity and continue to grow emotionally and spiritually while we make measurable progress one day at a time.

Anonymity

Anonymity, referred to in Traditions Eleven and Twelve, is a tool that guarantees that we will place principles before personalities.

The protection anonymity provides offers each of us freedom of expression and safeguards us from gossip. Anonymity assures us that only we, as individual OA members, have the right to make our membership known within our community. Anonymity at the level of press, radio, films and television means that we never allow our faces or last names to be used once we identify ourselves as OA members. This protects both the individual and the Fellowship.

Within the Fellowship, anonymity means that whatever we share with another OA member will be held in respect and confidence. What we hear at meetings should remain there. However, anonymity must not be used to limit our effectiveness within the Fellowship. It is not a break of anonymity to use our full names within our group or OA service bodies. Also, it is not a break of anonymity to enlist Twelfth-Step help for group members in trouble, provided we refrain from discussing specific personal information.

Another aspect of anonymity is that we are all equal in the Fellowship, whether we are newcomers or seasoned long-timers. And our outside status makes no difference in OA; we have no stars or VIPs. We come together simply as compulsive overeaters.

Service

Carrying the message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers is the basic purpose of our Fellowship; therefore, it is the most fundamental form of service.

Any form of service, no matter how small, which helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery. Getting to meetings, putting away chairs, putting out literature, talking to newcomers, doing whatever needs to be done in a group or for OA as a whole are ways in which we give back what we have so generously been given. We are encouraged to do what we can when we can. “A life of sane and happy usefulness” is what we are promised as the result of working the Twelve Steps. Service helps to fulfill that promise.

As OA’s responsibility pledge states: “Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this I am responsible.”

Tools of Recovery © 2011 Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. All rights reserved.