Summer 2015 Lambda Lines

A NEWSLETTER OF LAMBDA SOUTH, INC., FOR THE RECOVERING
12-STEP COMMUNITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
First Quarter 2015
Lambda South , Inc.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Lambda Lines is
published by
Lambda South, Inc.
P.O. Box 030339
Fort Lauderdale, FL
33303-0339
www.lambdasouth.com
2015 Board of Directors
President
Gordon Ernst
Vice President
Justin Herron
Treasurer
Christopher D
Assistant Treasurer
Steven C.
Secretary
Richard R
Membership Chairperson
Jason L.
Operations Chairperson
Don W.
Building Manager
Spencer J.
Asst. Building Manager
Keith C.
Fundraising Chairperson
Dave H.
Web Servant
Eric L.
FACEBOOK Liaison
Lambda Lines Editor
Jon H.
Hello to all our friends from Lambda South,
Lambda has had an exciting first half of the year.
As you look around the club house you can see that we have gotten a full face lift with the painting of the
floors, doors and all the base boards and trim. There are new plantings out on the patio, making for a great
new look out side, and the tables and benches were freshened up with a coat of paint. (A BIG THANK YOU TO
ALL THE MEMBERS THAT HELPED US WITH THIS FACE LIFT, AND FOR THEIR CONTINUED SHOW OF SUPPORT
AND DEDICATION TO THE LAMBDA MISSION) In the years ahead The board will continue to meet the needs of
the club house and keep it in good repair to help serve the recovery community in south Florida.
Florida Roundup Attendees were made to feel right at home here at Lambda South when we welcomed
another Round-down in 2015 and all the folks visiting from around the country. In our events schedule, so far
this year we have had a great time with “Drag Bingo”! It starred the infamous Miss Puddin' who entertained
the crowd while “having a great game of Bingo”. A fun-filled evening was had by all as we shared in fellowship
and raised some money to help with keeping our club house meet it's financial needs. As you can see it takes
people to keep the club house operating, so we encourage you to consider ways in which you can do service to
help us move forward this year.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, we have some great events in the planning stages. Watch for more
information in this issue of Lambda Lines, on our web page, and in member emails. Already in the planning
are, The Past Presidents Luncheon, another Movie night with snacks and fellowship, the 32nd Lambda
Anniversary dinner, and other events with service and fellowship opportunities. We are looking forward to your
input in creating even more great reasons to serve our gay sober community.
The board of directors will be requesting one trusted servants from each group to join us at the July 12 th,
meeting at 8:30 am of the Lambda board, please let all your groups “trusted servants” know about this
meeting. It gives the Lambda Board a chance to meet with the group representatives, gather your input, hear
about your group, and share Lambda's plans and needs for the rest of the year.
As always, your comments, concerns, and suggestions are welcomed! The board of Lambda looks forward to
serving the needs of our members and the South Florida Recovery community.
Blessings
Gordon Ernst
President Lambda South
April, May, June & July Anniversaries
Happy Anniversary to all of the celebrants! Clean and Sober, One Day at a Time. The Anniversary
Meeting is held for all fellowships on the last Saturday of the month at 8:30 P.M. To celebrate with
us, put your name and number of years on the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. You do not
need to be a Lambda South member to celebrate at the meeting.
APRIL
MAY
David H
April 1
Carey
May 3
Michael S
April 1
Bill W
May 3
Stephen C
April 5
Ted N
May 13
George C
April 10
Gordon E
May 20
Paul P
April 19
Jim M
May 21
Keven W
April 21
Ken B
May 22
Lin
April 24
Barclay B
May 30
Ed H
April 28
Thomas W
May 31
JUNE
Rip N
June 5
Fran G
June 6
Flash M
June 6
Gary D
June 6
David V
June 14
John F
June 21
Jayson P
June 24
Robert A
June 26
JULY
Brett
July 4
Julie S
July 4
Barry E
July 7
Tom R
July 17
Ryan S
July 17
Tyrone G
July 22
Sherri S
July 24
Is you name missing from the list of celebrants? Let us know by email: [email protected]
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Ease of Communication is a priority to the new Board of Directors and to that end,
each Board member has their own email address. You can contact the specific
board member with a specific issue or the entire board if you are not sure of the
proper contact.
The email addresses are as follows:
Gordon E - [email protected] - Any matter regarding the clubhouse
Justin H. [email protected] - Any matter regarding the clubhouse
Richard R. [email protected] - Any matter regarding the clubhouse
Christopher D. [email protected] - any financial matter
Don W. [email protected] - coffee, soda paper towels etc.
Spencer J. [email protected] - Repairs, maintenance and AC issues
Dave H. [email protected] - any Lambda sponsored special event
Jason L. [email protected] - membership dues and mugs
Jon H. [email protected] - contents of Lambda Lines
To Contact the entire board you may use the email: [email protected]
Lambda Has a New Phone Number!
Call us @ 954 - 947 - 6647
A board member will return your call
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Lambda South Movie Night
Saturday Night - August 22nd 8:15 PM
**Free** for members and Refreshments will be served.
Bring your friends for a night of sober fellowship and fun
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Spot Light on a Meeting:
5:45 Happy Hour Group
Since its’ humble beginnings in the small room of the old Clubhouse, the Happy
Hour group has been one of the long standing meetings of Lambda South. What
started out as a small, five day a week meeting has matured into one of the best
attended meetings currently held.
I started coming to the Happy Hour group in 2005 and it quickly became my home
group. For me, I could hide in the meeting and listen trying to get this program by
osmosis. By the time I joined the group we were meeting Monday through Friday
in the large room and our weekends were held in the medium room. More often
than not our Sunday meeting attendance was so large we had people sitting in
chairs in the hallway. The meeting continued to grow and we were given the opportunity to move into the large room on a full time basis. At times, the Friday Anniversary celebrations were so large we had to open the folding door that separated the two rooms.
Today the meeting is well attended 7 days a week.
Today, the meeting formats are all based on AA approved literature, although that
was not always the case. I remember early on, the meeting being opened by the
chairperson who simply asked someone to “suggest” a topic.
After a few
“untraditional” meetings were held based on some very non AA topics, the current
format was adopted. As it currently stands meetings on Sunday, Monday and Friday are Chairpersons choice based on AA approved literature. Tuesday is a beginners meeting format, Wednesday is a Step meeting, Thursday is a speaker
meeting and Saturday is a Grapevine meeting. A great deal of the appeal to a
broad base of the members of the Happy Hour group is that the meetings are
based on AA approved literature and we avoid “AA related” literature and topics.
If you haven’t already stopped by for a meeting we invite you to do so.
are held daily at 5:45 in Room 1. See you there.
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Meetings
LAMBDA SOUTH
T SHIRTS
HAVE ARRIVED
On sale Now Only $15.00
See any Board member to purchase one today
Page 6
Interested in doing Service for Lambda South? Two Board appointed positions are currently
available:
Facebook Contributor: Maintain and post to the Official Lambda South Facebook page.
Requires only a knowledge of Facebook and the ability to post events and news to the South
Florida LGBT recovery community via the Lambda South Facebook page.
Trusted Servant Liaison: Maintain and facilitate communications between the board and the
trusted servants of the various groups which hold meetings at Lambda South.
Contact Gordon E via email at: [email protected]
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TRUSTED SERVANTS CORNER
I am responsible….
Are you a trusted servant for your group?
Do you know the trusted servant positions at each of the groups you attend at Lambda?
The information below in important for all meeting attendees!
In additional to the wonderful meetings, amazing recovery & strong fellowship, we must remember that
Lambda South is also a building. This facility is our home and we all need to be responsible, making
efforts to maintain & preserve it for ourselves and for the alcoholics and addicts who still suffer, as well
as their friends and families.
Are you a trusted servant for your group? Great! You may already be familiar with your duties. If not,
please be sure to read this column each month. Also, please visit the Trusted Servants area on the bulletin board in the kitchen each week for important information for you & your group.
Do you know who fills the trusted servant positions at each of the groups you attend at Lambda?
Find out! Ask them if they are familiar with their trusted servant duties and remind them to check the bulletin board in the kitchen each week for any updates from the Lambda South Board.
We are asking each group for their cooperation! The clubhouse accepts monthly rent payments
from groups in the form of a personal check or money order only – no cash and certainly no
change! For groups that do not wish to have a member write a personal check, Publix has money
orders available for $0.89. Please encourage your group to adhere to this guideline!
Each group has been issued keys to the clubhouse and we need to keep the record of key holders
up-to-date. If the keys for your group get passed on to another member -- as service positions rotate, for example -- please let us know. Informing us is easy! Just fill out a membership envelope with
the pertinent information – i.e. group name, trusted servant’s name, email address & contact phone
number of the new key holder – and put the envelope in the drop safe.
As a reminder, we live in Florida and there are lots of bugs! Please do not leave out any food in the
kitchen area after your meetings. It’s unfortunate that we can’t leave our left-over items for others to
enjoy, but if there are no meetings occurring directly after your meeting, all food must be thrown
away/taken out of the clubhouse. And certainly if your meeting is the last meeting of the day,
please throw out any food in the kitchen and take the trash out to the dumpster.
Thanks to each of you for taking these messages to your groups!
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Meet Your Board Members
Vice President
My name is Justin Herron. I’m your Vice President at Lambda South.
I moved to South Florida from Atlanta over 8 years ago. I was on the verge of death and it was a last-ditch effort.
Alcohol and drugs were all I knew at that point. They had taken over my entire adult life. Through the will of my
higher power and the help of my family, I ended up in the most supportive, caring, and diverse community I’ve seen
anywhere. This place has truly saved my life and I will do all I can to repay the debt through service.
In addition to my current and previous positions with the Board of Directors of Lambda South, I was also a Board
member for several years in the developmental stages of Lambda North, I’ve served as a Committee Member for the
Florida Roundup, and I’ve served at the group level countless times. Service truly does keep me sober, as it keeps
me constantly connected with the rooms, the people, and with AA and other fellowships as wholes.
I love Lambda South, and I’m honored to serve for the 2015 year. The friendships, lessons, and spiritual connections
I’ve gained here have been invaluable. I look forward to the possibility of serving in other positions in the future, and
having my name on the “Past Presidents” plaque along with my sponsor and many of my friends.
Assistant Treasurer
My name is Steve C. and I am your Assistant Treasurer of Lambda South. My sobriety date is April 3, 2012. Early on in my sobriety, I was introduced to
Lambda South and found the support I needed to get sober. I was living in Miami at the time and made a difficult
decision to take a leap of faith and move closer to the solution – Lambda South. With my job still located in Miami,
this appeared to not be a prudent decision. Through the help of my Sponsor and turning it over to my higher power
I took a leap of faith which has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.
Taking on a service commitment outside my profession has always been a struggle. Finding the time to taking on
more commitments seemed impossible. As I diligently worked the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, I slowly
learned how to give back in small ways. First helping set up the meeting rooms, then making coffee and then being
the Secretary and Chair of a meeting. Slowly but surely, taking on addition commitments no longer were struggles
but truly blessings. At first they didn’t seem like blessings but luckily I stuck around long enough for the miracles to
happen. Today, I have found doing service is the best way for me to stay sober and live in gratitude.
My home group is Lambda Rising at Lambda South at 8:30am Saturday and Sunday. A loving friend introduced me
to the practice of meditation in my first year. Learning how to breathe and quiet my mind has been integral to
finding my connection with my higher power. Lambda Rising has become an integral part of my connection with
my higher power and has opened the door to the infinite possibilities of each day in my life.
I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be a Trusted Servant as the Assistant Treasurer for Lambda South and
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a
Rated
R
For Recovery • Watching this Live performance has caused spontaneous recovery in some viewers •
Viewer discretion advised • Another Bill W. Production • Event is Scheduled for Sunday September 27th 2015 •
Tentatively scheduled for the Riverside Hotel • Stay tuned for more details • Fabulous Raffle with fantastic prizes•
Page 10
I’ve learned that no matter how think you are, people still have something to say.
I’ve learned that it is taking me a long time to become the person I want to be and it is
a lot easier to react than it is to think. I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you. I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with the types of experiences you’ve had. I’ve learned that quantity is not as important as quality when it
comes to best friends. I’ve learned that it isn’t enough to be forgiven by others, sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. I’ve learned that no matter how badly your
heart is broken, the world will not stop for your grief. I’ve learned that background
and circumstances might have influenced who you are, but we are responsible for
who we become. I’ve learned that you can’t make someone love you, all you can do is
be someone who can be loved.
…...annonymous
Have a FREE & SOBER event you would like us to promote? Email [email protected]. Information listed below
is believed to be accurate at the time of printing
Are you looking for a FREE and SOBER way to spend a Sunday Afternoon?
Come out and Support your Gay Sober Softball Team, the Broward Ballbusters.
Games are held at Mills Pond Park For more information go to :
www.browardballbusters.com
Team Tryouts July 28th 7:00 PM Pompano Four Fields Softball Park
1700 NE 8th Street Pompano Beach, FL 33060
∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆
Thursday nights 9:00 pm Manor Lanes 1517 ne 26th street wilton manors
Free to cheer on the sober bowlers or join in on the bowling fun
∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆
Wednesday Nights 8:00 pm “meeting after the meeting” Wilton Creamery
2301 Wilton Drive. Free to fellowship & ice cream is always an option
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Lambda South, Inc.
P.O. Box 030339
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33303-0339
Pardon our dust..Lambda Lines is under
construction! A new format is underway...
We’re open to new ideas. If you have a
suggestion, let us know!!!