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First Quarter 2004 |
Volume
14, Number 1
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IN THIS ISSUE
Attention Group Secretaries: Please
download the PDF
file of this issue and make copies to share with your
group members.
Note: You need Adobe Acrobat on your
computer to download PDF files. If you don't have it,
go to the Help page for
instructions on how to download this free tool.
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OA
Featured on 345 Public TV Stations
See
New OA Video at the World Service Business Conference
 The
American Medical Review (AMR) will feature Overeaters Anonymous
in its series of short news pieces offering
information on medical advances, practical solutions to medical
problems and important issues facing consumers and professionals
in the medical community. AMR also provides information about
educational products, services and issues that affect these groups.
Each AMR story is two to five minutes long.
The AMR series reaches 345 public television stations
nationwide via satellite. Each station incorporates the stories
into its
independent program schedule and can air the series as often
as it desires.
For participating in this series, Overeaters Anonymous
will receive a high-quality video five to eight minutes long
that
provides
information about the disease of compulsive overeating and
the OA program of recovery. This video is an ideal tool for
public
information and for informing medical professionals about
OA. We will also receive a digitally encoded version of the video
for use on our Web site.
Production of this exciting OA video is complete,
and we hope to make it available for viewing at the 2004 World
Service
Business Conference. Watch for the informational video
in the
online literature
catalog later this year.
Media
Outreach Committee Begins Its Work
Board
of Trustees Creates New Committee
 The Media Outreach Committee — a new Board of Trustees
project — will
begin its formal functions in January 2004. Committee chair is
Region Two Trustee Ann M., and committee members are General
Service Trustee Ella A. and Region Three Trustee Debbie W. The
committee has made significant progress by establishing a committee
goal, creating four initial projects and assigning subcommittees
for each.
The committee’s goal is “to effectively carry OA’s
awareness and message via the print and electronic media both
to the North American continent and worldwide through specialized
projects.” The four projects are Magazine Blitz, TV Top
10, Round the Continent Newspapers and CD/OA Script.
The initial phase of the Magazine Blitz will target 10 to 20
major magazines (women’s, men’s, Spanish, African
American) in the United States and Canada. The subcommittee will
enclose previously published articles about OA and then follow
up with the targeted magazines. It will also reach out to the “wired” population
by targeting online magazines. They hope to launch the second
phase, an international approach,
in 2005.
TV Top 10 seeks to have an OA focus in 10 major (and appropriate)
television programs (not stations). The subcommittee is developing
personalized scenarios and ideas that individual TV program managers
could use to creatively portray OA.
For the Round the Continent Newspapers project, the subcommittee
will contact 20 to 30 metropolitan and small community newspapers
in the United States and Canada. It will introduce OA by including
several published newspaper articles to demonstrate how other
newspapers have depicted OA. With the help of the HIPM Conference
Committee (hospitals, institutions, professionals and military),
the second phase of the project will target college newspapers
and health
centers. A third phase will launch an international project in
different languages.
The fourth project will include developing a script for a compact
disc (CD) that includes facts about OA — a shorter version
for the media and a longer version for newcomers and for use
at health fairs and public information nights. The CD will include
short interviews of OA members from around the world who have
varied profiles (backgrounds, genders, time in program) and different
experiences with the disease of compulsive eating and the solution
(Twelve-Step recovery).
The committee hopes to conduct these interviews at the 2004 World
Service Business
Conference.
Please contact Ann
M. or Sandy Allen if
you can provide an introduction or contact at a media outlet
(newspaper, radio or
TV station, online magazine, etc.) in the United States, Canada
or elsewhere in the world. We carry the message only with everyone’s
support and assistance. Thank you!
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Tell
Us What You Think!
Included in this mailing is a postcard asking for your
feedback about the distribution of A Step Ahead newsletter.
Please complete it, affix postage and return it to the
WSO. If you did not receive a postcard, you may submit
answers to the following questions by mail, fax or email:
Dear A Step Ahead Reader:
In our continuing efforts to improve communication with OA members, the
WSO would like your feedback on the distribution of A Step Ahead newsletter.
Please answer the questions below and return this postcard by MARCH
15, 2004.
1. Do your group members read A Step Ahead? __
yes __ no
If yes, how is it shared?
If no, what would assure that they are able to read
it?
2. Should a printed version of A Step Ahead be
mailed to all the groups,
rather than be available only on the Web site? __ yes __ no
If yes, how many issues should be mailed?
__ One a year __ One a quarter __ Two a year __ Three
a year
3. Should A Step Ahead be included in the
quarterly intergroup/National Service Board/Language
Service Board mailings? __ yes __ no
4. Should A Step Ahead be combined with Lifeline
magazine? __ yes __ no
5. If you wish to be notified when a new issue of A
Step Ahead is available on the Web site, please
legibly print your email address below:
Thank you for your service!
World Service Office
info@oa.org
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Web
Site Enhancements Coming in 2004
 In response to member requests, we will add these enhancements
to the OA Web site
in 2004:
- Two new search functions. Users can search pages
by entering a keyword or choosing from a menu. These searches
are separate
from meeting and literature-catalog searches.
- Printable-page option for all cities and towns in
the meeting database. For example,
if you choose Albuquerque, New Mexico, you may print a page
detailing meetings in Albuquerque.
- Names of the meeting places on the meeting details
pages. For example, if a meeting is held in a church, the church
name will
appear in the meeting details with other meeting information.
- Rearranged and renamed catalog categories. Locating
literature items will become easier.
- Live links to intergroup Web sites on the meeting
details pages (when available).
- Encrypted World Service Business Conference registration
page. Attendees can register and pay online.
Our goal is to make the Web site as user-friendly as possible.
Please send your feedback and suggestions to webmaster@oa.org.
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Volunteer!
The World Service Business
Conference (WSBC) 2004
is recruiting volunteers NOW!
Come to New Mexico USA and observe the OA group conscience
in action. Reserve your space today! Volunteers are needed
Tuesday, April 26, through Saturday, May 1, 2004. For
details contact Sandy Allen.
Strengthen your recovery by giving service to OA. |
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