District 33 is Formed October 1990
If you have any additional information or corrections please send it to the District 33 Archivist: archivist@district33aa.org
The minutes of District 18's May 1990 meeting reads, "a sense of the meeting was taken and each of the two new districts picked up their chairs and went outside to vote on the new DCMs and Alternate DCMs."
Redistricting in the south King County area had been talked about as early as 1983. The growth of A.A. groups in the south-end of King County began to rapidly escalate in the late seventies and continued steadily until the time of the split in 1990. In 1977 there were about 15 groups in the south-end and by 1990 the number had grown to about 50 active groups and several unregistered meetings.
District 18 was a large geographical area ranging from Renton and Kent in the north, Auburn and Pacific in the south, Federal Way to the west, and Hobart through Black Diamond to Enumclaw in the east. On that day in May, District 18 suddenly became approximately one-third its original size when Districts 18A and 18B came into existence. Renton, Tukwila, and Kent remained as District 18, Federal Way, Auburn and Pacific became District 18A and Hobart, Maple Valley, Black Diamond and Enumclaw became District 18B.
At the annual Washington Area Assembly, held in Yakima in October 1990, District 18B was seated as new District 33.
Initially, in 1990 District 33 was comprised of about 10 to 12 A.A. groups. Currently there are 22 active A.A. groups, most of which are registered with GSO., and 2 A.A. meetings.
Need Start Date for:
Bambi
Coming Next:
Maple Valley Friday Night, and Maple Valley 11th Step
Working On / Looking For Histories for:
Service 101, Maple Valley Traditions, Maple Valley Saturday AM Breakfast, Diamonds in the Rough, Men's Stag, Covington Round Table
Maple Valley Liberation Front
October 1975
Districts 33's oldest group was founded 15 years before the district in October 1975 at the Maple Valley Library. The group known as �Maple Valley Group� was the original M.V. meeting group. The Enumclaw group helped a lot in those early years. Serenity Hall was also used a lot for support and joined with them for such events as the Serenity Pig Roast, weekend camp outs, anniversaries and such. Back in those days, it is told that you could know just about everybody in AA if you went to a lot of meetings. There was ONE meeting in Maple Valley, ONE in Issaquah, Enumclaw, and Buckley. There were two meetings in Kent and two in Renton. People use to �JUNGLE UP� and drive all over. The Winter Holiday is Bellevue were big then, too. There was an annual picnic, rafting trips, and dances as well.
The group started a Friday Night open meetings as a Twelve by Twelve Study which evolved into a big book study.
Some of the Meetings that started branching off were: No Slips Signed Stag � 1977 (Taylor H. - Jack J. - Greg R.) Black Diamond - John W., Hobart, Covington � Aubrey, Alva and Todd
Timberlane Group
August 15, 1985
The Timberlane group was started August 15, 1985 by a few alcoholics that saw the need for a meeting in the Timberlane housing development and the surrounding area. Early members included Sharon and Chuck C., Terry S., Jerry C., and ladies named Cheryl, Marlin Angie and Linda. The meeting has always been held on Thursdays and is always open for business on Holidays that fall on Thursday. The meeting was originally held at the clubhouse for the Timberlane development. About 1987 or 88 there were enough young people attending that they asked to hold their own meeting or step during the regular meeting. Linda chaired this meeting. Sometime about 1988 the clubhouse asked us to leave along with a few other organizations that used the building due to housekeeping and security issues. We found a church in the Lake Sawyer area about three miles away that allowed us to meet in the basement. We were there for about one year until an elderly member fell and injured herself badly. Her insurance company tried to get the Church�s insurance to cover her hospitalization and the church said we needed to purchase our own insurance policy or leave. We decided not to get the AA name involved with an insurance policy so we left. This time we weren�t able to find a meeting place right away so we met at a member�s home in the Timberlane development for about nine months or so and our attendance fell from about 35-40 down to 6-8. We found another church to meeting about 1989 or so. We stayed there until late 2001 when we moved to our present location at the Maple Valley Community Hall/Food Bank. We have built our attendance up to about 35-40 a meeting and have a good mix of early, mid-length, and long-terms sobriety. Our group has been well represented in service work with three past DCM�s and many other service volunteers at district level.
Our present format has one person lead the sharing session with a topic of his choosing and the next week�s person chosen that night to prepare for the next meeting. Our business meetings are usually attended by 6-10 home group members and are long enough to get the business done and short enough to keep people coming back. We are blessed with good finance and contribute to district, New York, W WA. Area, and Seattle Intergroup regularly.
In June of 2006 the Maple Valley Food Bank was leased to a local church and this meeting had to move again. On June 6th, 2006 Timberlane held its 1st meeting at the Lake Sawyer Christian Church.
Come share with us. We will make you welcome.
Sobriety in Greater Hobart
1986
Our first meeting was held in 1986 at the Hobart Community Church. Sobriety in Greater Hobart (SIGH) was founded by Ellen & Marg L. about 1986. It was started as a woman�s group as there was a men�s group already in existence in Hobart. Men unknowing that it was a woman�s group, would try to attend but were turned away. Shortly thereafter the meeting was opened to all members. By 1990 the group grew to 54 members, many woman and cowboy types attended.
Today SIGH has about 16 members. A few of the old timers remain but also many young people regularly attend. The sincere unconditional love and the willingness to be of service to our fellows is what makes this group so special. Regular & Decaf coffee & treats are served.
Wednesday Night of your Life
March 21, 1990
Founder Nels M. was looking for a non-smoking AA meeting to attend but had no success. After talking to a few people in the Maple Valley area, WNOYL held its first meeting on March 21, 1990. One of the early supporters of the meetings was Michael H.
WNOYL is one of the largest meetings in District 33 with a diverse cross-section of alcoholics. It is an open meeting where an alcoholic can come to pour his heart if he so desires. Plenty of hugs galore at this meeting.
Sobriety in the Sticks (SITS)
February 6, 1994
founded February 6, 1994 at the Cascade Rifle & Pistol Club in Ravensdale, WA. by members: Pat R., Dan P., and Cowboy Chris
Group started in 1994 as an open meeting with about 10 to 15 people. Met on Sundays at the Cascade Rifle and Pistol Club. First Birthday night Dan P. had enough coins because of going in and out of the program, for all birthdays. The meeting had to move to the Summit Restaurant because the Club members wanted to shoot during meeting hours. The group has grown to 35 to 40 members each week.
It is still an open meeting. It still meets every Sunday at 6:00 pm in the Maple Valley Grange.
Covington Study
November 13, 1995
It can safely be said that, in the winter of 1995, the Covington Study group was born out of a sense of ill-will that originated between two factions of the Covington Roundtable. One group of service-oriented people wanted to have more in their lives than just going to meetings and not drinking in between while the remainder said, �That�s all you have to do.� The latter seemed to be content with making no changes to the status quo.
A meeting place was found in the Covington Community Center, then located at 27635 Covington Way SE, Suite 3 (behind Domino�s Pizza) and the first meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. Monday night, November 13, 1995. Among those in attendance, and the positions to which they were elected, were Eric R., GSR; Paul C., Alt GSR and Secretary/Treasurer; Jim H., Chairman; Steve S., Alt Chairman; Anna C., Alt Secretary/Treasurer, and Ivy M., Coffee Maker. According to early group records, other early members/supporters included Jim F., Shellie S., Phil P., Al P., Brad O., Michael F., James D., Philip and Mary B., Barb M., Claude and Lori W., Bob S., Hilda M., Kenny S., Rick B., Vickie L., Joseph G., Kevin M., Mike K., Linda R., Nikki Z., Mary Ann L., Connie B. and Monica B.
Since the purpose of the group�s meeting was to study the program found in the Big Book, a temporary name for the group was �Big Book Study.� At its first meeting, permanent names were considered to include: �Covington Big Book Thumpers,� �Big Book Understood,� �As It�s Written - 101,� �As It�s Written - 164,� �Big Book - 101,� and �As It�s Written.� No decision was reached that night and all agreed to give it some thought for the next meeting. More potential group names were discussed over the next few weeks to include �As Bill Wrote It (ABWI). � That was offered as a play on the title of Bill W.�s book, The A.A. Way of Life which was later changed to As Bill Sees It. Since Bill was the primary writer of the �Big Book� the group adopted the name �As Bill Wrote It� and thus, registration forms were submitted to GSO and Seattle Intergroup with our newly selected moniker.
A letter was received by the group from GSO shortly thereafter stating that the practice of using a real person�s name, whether dead or alive, to identify groups is discouraged because it is opposed to our principle of anonymity. They would register the group by that name however, if it was insisted. In an effort to abide by the principle of anonymity, the group members agreed to simply call themselves the Covington Study group thereby informing AAs of the group�s location and the kind of meeting they would be attending. The service number assigned to the group was 000625408-72-33.
At the first business meeting, a study guide to the Big Book was introduced by one of the members and all in attendance thought it would be a good idea to give it a try. Although not published by A.A. World Services, it would be used in conjunction with the weekly study to help better understand the principles and precepts as laid down in the Big Book by the �first one hundred.� It is still used to this date by those that attend the meeting.
Another decision made early on was to celebrate annual A.A. anniversaries on the last Monday of each month. The group would buy a pizza (from Domino�s) for all in attendance. That effort has grown into a tradition that continues to this date despite the closure of Domino�s Pizza. Covington Godfather�s now delivers!
Attendance at the meeting soon began to grow and it was thought by a few that it might be a good idea to start meeting on an additional night of the week but having a different format. An agreement with the Covington Community Center was reached and the group began meeting on Friday nights, too. The format of the Friday meeting was such that the first Friday of the month was dedicated to studying the Step corresponding with the number of the month; the second Friday was devoted to the Tradition corresponding with the number of the month; the third Friday was focused on A.A. Grapevine material, and the last Friday was given to listening/watching A.A. World Services audio/video material. On those months having a fifth Friday, guest speakers (usually alive but sometimes dead!) � and, usually an A.A. couple, as it turned out � were invited to tell us their stories. (The �dead� ones were in the form of audio tapes on those occasions a live speaker wasn�t available. Bill Wilson once gave his talk at one of the meetings!) Some notable couples were Norm & Mary Ann S., Bob & Susan F. and Eddie & Gail H.
In the summer of 1999 the Covington Community Center informed the group members that it would be moving in the near future. Since the group was on a good footing with the Center, the intent was to resume the meetings at the new location, wherever that was to be. It was thought that the Center would have a place within a short period of time. In the meantime, meetings were planned to convene in public places such as Godfather�s Pizza, Covington Library, or the Community Church on Wax Road.
After several months of bouncing around from place to place, a decision was made to begin meeting in the homes of some of the members until the Community Center found a permanent location. Flyers were made and distributed throughout the district to spread the word that the group was still alive and meeting at Andy H.�s apartment on Mondays and at Jim F.'s house on Fridays. As time went on, this situation provided for an intimate setting but took its toll on group attendance. So much so that it was decided that the Friday meeting would have to go.
Nearly half a year went by before the Covington Community Center finally found a site from which to do business near the Covington Safeway on Kent-Kangley Road. When negotiations ensued to determine what the group�s monthly rent would be, it was discovered that the amount required was cost prohibitive so the group decided to find a new location.
After pursuing several fruitless leads, one of the group members reported that his non-alcoholic wife had talked to the powers-that-be at the church she attended and they agreed to let the group meet there on a weekly basis. A trial period of 90 days was agreed to by all affected. That church turned out to be the Spirit & Truth Foursquare Church located at 17310 SE 256th Street in Covington and the 90-day trial period has since been extended to indefinitely.
The group continues to meet at 7:00 p.m. every Monday night (holidays included) and, at the time of this writing, those that call Covington Study their home group currently include Jim F., Rick G., Ray B., Randy M., Terri R., John H., Jim H., and Mark P.
Hogan's Heroes
June 11, 1998
The 1st meeting of the "Thursday Morning AA Group" was on June 11th of 1998 . It was founded by Dee L. with parents of small children in mind. The meeting starts at 9:30 am after the buses have left for school and offers childcare for the little ones not yet in school. Earliest members included Mary P., Dan P., Bob M. and Krysten C.
At one of the first meetings we noticed that a little baby boy who was being held on the lap of a woman attending the meeting was quiet as a mouse while people were sharing and as soon as there was an extended silence he would start to chatter. We decided he was encouraging members to break the silence and share. His name was Hogan. From then on the meeting became known as Hogan�s Heroes! The group officially registered in 2002.
Hogan�s Heroes enjoys a good steady attendance and welcomes new support. Many members attend this meeting while working swing shift or graveyard or just have a day off and want to get in an early meeting.
This open meeting is held on Thursday morning. The meeting has always been held at the Covington Baptist Church on Kent-Kangley.
East Hill Legacy Group
July or August 1998
The East Hill Legacy group is one of the newer groups in the district. It is located on the western boundary of District 33 and meets on Thursday evening at 7:00 pm in the First Christian Church of Kent. The original format of the meeting was patterned after the group that meets in Bellevue which one or two of the founders attended. Linda C, Chandra J. and Stephanie were the prime movers in the origin of this group. Another early supporter was Jim H of the Covington Study group.
The meeting is opened by asking for a volunteer to read for the evening. After a paragraph was read from the Big Book, members were encouraged to share questions or experiences� regarding what was just read. After discussion was exhausted, the next paragraph was read and the process repeated. Attendance at this meeting has historically been low in number which allows for a more intimate sharing between the attendees. If you would like to share your experience with us on Thursday nights, please feel free to attend this open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Saturday Night Improv
June 19, 1999
In June of 1999 two members of Alcoholics Anonymous felt there might be a need for a 2nd meeting on Saturday Night in the Greater Maple Valley Area. After making several phone calls, it was decided that many other members felt the same so the first meeting was held on June 19t, 1999. Our first meeting was held in the tiny apt. of on of the founders, and 13 members attended. All 13 are still sober today (4-13-02). As the meeting grew, group consciences were held to discuss moving to a church or a hall, but it was decided that moving to different members homes every week made for a wonderfully intimate and comfortable setting.
Today, meetings can average anywhere from 12-30 alcoholics who enjoy the love and fellowship (not to mention the homemade snacks & treats that our weekly hosts offer. All are welcome.
Women In Action
Sometime, 1999
The Women in Action Group was once known as East Hill Ladies. Although the origin of the East Hill Ladies group is currently unknown, it has been in existence over five years (as of 2004). For as long as can be remembered, women met weekly at the Covington Baptist Church to help each other find a new way of living using the Twelve Steps of the AA program. In the latter half of 2001, a move was made from that location to its present site at the Maple Valley Presbyterian Church.
The members of this group have a strong reputation as service oriented AA�s. Many of the women get together to sponsor a meeting at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, carrying AA�s message to the female population at that facility. Several members of the group either presently serve or have served the district in some capacity. All women who wish to learn a new way of living through the use of AA�s Steps will be welcomed with a friendly hug to this closed meeting.
Sweet Surrender
February 29, 2000
What became the Sweet Surrender group grew out of a historically very popular Black Diamond meeting. The Black Diamond meeting started on Tuesdays and was initially known as the Black Diamond Tuesday group. It grew and added a Thursday meeting and became known simply as Black diamond Tuesday / Thursday. Attendance at these meetings averaged around 40 to 50 with the meeting splitting into two groups after the preamble. During the last year of the Black Diamond group�s service, a number of situations and personalities conspired to develop strong resentments amount the traditional groups members and attendance dropped to the point of no one showing up on most Thursday nights, and only three of four showing up for a Tuesday meetings. The group was no longer able to maintain its self sufficiency per the Seventh Tradition and various attempts to breathe new life into it did not result in any increase in attendance. By group conscience of what was left of the group, it was decided to close the doors as a group and the last meeting was held December 28, 1999 after fourteen years of continuous existence.
Jonathan B, a former member of the Black Diamond group, talked to some of the others who had been part of the Black Diamond groups during its successful period and found that there was an interest in starting a new group. After a few more conversations and some informal polling, it was agreed that the new meeting should be in a new facility, so as not to bring up any ghosts of resentments from the Black Diamond Group. A small founding member group of four people was put together: Jonathan B, Charlie C, Bob J, and Jeannie H. Over the course of the nest five or six weeks, the traditions for a new group were developed. Michael H and Dan S. joined into some of the planning in the last of the planning meetings. Quite a bit of time was spent of the name. Mixed nuts was a possibility, as was Boozeless in Black Diamond (or wherever). In fact, out of a list of thirty odd names, none seemed to jump out and none garnered a consensus among the founding members. Credit for the name can be given to Jeannie, who talked about how something with the word surrender might make a good name, and Jonathan who found the tow words Sweet Surrender in a particularly meaningful passage in �as Bill sees it.� When the Sweet Surrender name was presented to the rest of the founding members, it was an instant hit.
The biggest challenge in getting this meeting off the ground was finding a location. The entire team looked for a facility and the answer was �no� on every request until St. George�s Episcopal Church was approached. Mary Gould of St. George�s leadership helped Jeannie to jump through all of the necessary hoops to secure the church for the meeting. Although initially nervous about letting a group use the church, in the end, the leadership at St. George was very supportive and excited to have AA in their facility.
The meeting had strong support (20+) from the very first meeting which was held February 29, 2000. The first coffee maker was Bob J, followed by Lori P. Michel H chaired the first meeting while Dan S. was the first Treasurer. Jonathan B was elected the first GSR. At this writing all of our main service positions are filled and we encourage people to make this their home group and get involved as we can always use the alternates to the positions we have filled. Our format is such that we have the coinciding step of the month the first Tuesday of the month. The last Tuesday of the moth is our birthday meeting wherein we celebrate birthdays with coins and cake and then read from the daily reflections and have a discussion on it. The other times of the month (with the exception of having a newcomer present and defaulting to the first step) are up to the chair person who volunteers for the position on birthday night for the following month. We also have a one-week-at-a-time position of service which is coffee helper/greeter that gets to volunteer during the announcements at the beginning of the meeting for the following week. Our business meeting is held the second Tuesday of the month and all are encouraged to attend. Current attendance is running from 35 to 50 people and there are other guests attending from other districts.
Maple Valley Men�s Group
March 1, 2000
Co-founders and early members are believed to be Steve H., Richard S., and Mark C. The group currently meets weekly on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at the Alliance Bible Church in Kent/Covington area and uses the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as a guide to study the Steps of the program. There is frequent discussion concerning the study of the traditions from the same book but, to date, the general consensus is that it is a step study meeting so they stick to the Steps only. The meeting is a closed meeting and is available to all men.
A Vision For You
November 8, 2000
November 8, 2000 was our first meeting at Bill P.�s House at 7 pm. The early members/founders of our group split from the maple valley Liberation Front meeting, an 8pm Wednesday night meeting as a result of a resentment fueled by 3 of it�s members, Bill P. & Roland H. got together and formed this group with the help of Rick J and Norm S. We held our first meeting in Bill P.�s living room � The meeting moved in December of 2000 to the Maple Valley Community Center. The meeting has had fluctuation and our core group membership is 12. This group is very diverse in it�s membership regards secular jobs and lifestyles, we all love and accept the newcomer, most of our home group member have service positions at the district levels. We all love AA and our little fellowship in District 33.
Our Stories Disclose, Speaker Meeting
January 5,2001
The first meeting of the Our Stories Disclose speaker meeting was held at St. George�s Episcopal Church in Maple Valley on January 5, 2001. The meeting is held every Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and lasts one hour. Mary Ann S. began the meeting to fulfill a long held dream to have a speaker meeting in District 33. Speakers are invited from outside of District 33 to share their experience, strength and hope with our fellowship. Because Our Stories Disclose is a meeting, not a group, a steering committee of active participants serve and make all decisions affecting it
Lake Sawyer Men�s Acceptance
September 1, 2001
Lake Sawyer Men�s Acceptance Group held its first meeting on September 1st, 2001.We meet every Saturday morning at 8:00 am. The founder of the meeting was Terry S. Early members include Terry S, Rick S, Ted U, and Kurt S. We meet at Sake Sawyer Christian Church in Covington, WA. The meeting gets its acceptance theme due to the fact that we read pages 416-417 on acceptance every Saturday. The group has a monthly service commitment. We meet at a member of the group�s house and answer phones for the Seattle Intergroup on the second Friday of every month from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. We hold our business meeting on the Saturday following the District's GSR business meeting. Following most meetings the group gathers for breakfast at the local golf course restaurant. We are averaging 30 to 40 men every Saturday (2006 statistic) for our one hour meeting. We celebrate Birthdays on the last Saturday of the month.
In January of 2006 our location moved to the west edger of Black Diamond when the Lake Sawyer Christian Church opened its new facility. On Monday, February 6th of this year LSMAG started a second 1-hour meeting; Acceptance at Noon. This meeting follows the same format as the men's meeting except that it is an open meeting. As the name implies it starts at 12 noon - to date it is the only noon meeting in District 33.
Know God Know Peace
April 1, 2002
This meeting was started by Gabe G at the urgence of his sponsor who told him it was time for him to step up to the plate. His pastor, at Covington Christian Fellowship, said "I'd love for AA to meet here if you think it would help others" Gabe agreed and told him it would not only help others but it we help him also. They decided on Tuesday night because the other District 33 Tuesday Meeting, Sweet Surrender, was very crowded.
The 1st few month few months KGKP had 5 to 6 regulars. Today the meeting averages 20 - 30 members a week. Gabe's first service position was setup, coffee maker and secretary, as well as GSR. All of these service positions are now rotated on a regular basis.
KGKP Group's formats changes weekly from discussing the step of the month to the tradition of the month, to grapevine readings and finally to a birthday / open discussion meeting in week 4. KGKP also plays host to the weekly Service 101 meeting which discusses the many facets of AA service.
Women Learning H.O.W. Meeting
February 26, 2004
Meeting started February 26, 2004 at the Church on Sweeney Road, just off of Petrovitsky Road. We study the first 164 pages of the Big Book and we read a story from the back of the book on the last week of the month (Birthday Night). The meeting is open but for Women Only. Child Care is provided. This is a meeting, not a (GSO) registered group.
I Am Reponsible Group
September 11, 2006
This meeting started April of 2005 as a step study workshop at Sheri C�s home in Black Diamond. It was originally thought to be for her sponsees only. But as with many workshops, they lost a few people around the 5th and 6th step. So a group conscience was taken to open the study group up to other women that were interested in attending. They also decided to have it be a roaming meeting where any woman could sign up to host the meeting at their home on Monday Night.
At this point the members were: Sheri C, Liz D, Karen M, Micki C, Jan K, Janet C, Heidi D, and Kim C.
From there they started having regular business meetings and taking a group conscience on how to move forward and shape the meeting. It was decided to make quotes from the Big Book and the 12 and 12 to use as topics. It was also decided to limit the opening readings to the preamble and the first two paragraphs from �working with others� from the Big Book.
They met in their homes for more than a year in order to build a prudent reserve and until the group conscience was ready for a permanent location. Once they were ready to �go public� an opportunity to have the meeting at the Black Diamond Community Center became available starting on September 11, 2006. Opportunity knocked and they opened the door.
The first meeting had 26 women in attendance. A Big Book was passed around for everyone to sign to give to District 33 Archives. God willing the meeting will still be going strong when you are reading this history. If so please consider coming! It is an open women�s meeting, and all women are welcome.
Upon Awakening Meeting
October 29, 2006
We held our first meeting October 29, 2006 at 10:00 am at the Lake Wilderness Golf Course Henry Switch Restaurant. There were 24 people in attendance and everyone signed a copy of the Big Book for District 33 Archives.
For over a year there has been interest in a Sunday Morning breakfast meeting in Maple Valley. After talking with many restaurants, the idea was dropped because there was no suitable facility.
John M. had a renewed interest in the breakfast meeting, so he asked the man he knew a Henry Switch if a breakfast meeting on Sunday morning was a possibility and he said yes. Then John proceeded to ask around the fellowship if anyone else would be interested, and many people were.
We picked a date, made a flyer and started the meeting. The meeting is a topic meeting with a chair person that facilitates the whole meeting. The rotation for this position is every 3 months.
God willing the meeting will still be in existence when you read this simple history.
Bambi
need date
This group was born out of a need for continued sobriety accompanied by some child care. Founder Karen Johnson wanted to have a meeting in the morning but needed someone to watch her children. The format of the group at the writing is that of a Big Book study alternating weekly between the 3rd & 4th editions. Currently, the stories in the back of the book are being read and members are then encouraged to share anything that comes to mind. The Bambi Group holds a closed meeting weekly on Tuesdays at the Lake Sawyer Christian Church at 9:30 am. All who are members of AA are encouraged to attend to share experience, strength and hope for a new way of living.
