BDS November 2025 Minutes
BIG DEEP SOUTH CONVENTION 2026
Committee Planning Meeting
11/05/2025 Call to Order 6:30pm/End 7:31pm OPEN WITH PRAYER
Chair (Mary H.) Artwork has been chosen- colors will be selected at 12/3 meeting. First fundraiser raised $501 (after rent for space and reimbursements for some of the food). Pre-registration is live on the website and is $28 for November. Reminder that all committee members, volunteers, etc need to register for the convention. We now have hospitality and entertainment chairs!
Vice Chair (Scott B.) Multiple attempts to reach James the taper have been unsuccessful. Nikki will attempt to reach him. Secretary (Emily A.) Checks email and join GroupMe if you want!
Hotel Liaison (Bobby A./Michael) Michael will be co-chair. Business as usual. Keeping up contact with hotel. Treasurer (Bill B./Billy K.) Has met with Carolyn to keep things moving.
50/50 (Maria S./Mike H.) No report. (Blue tickets to be used.)
Accessibilities (Ricky P.) Reached out to Spanish speaking groups, they have offered interpreter services including ASL. Requests designated ADA compliant area in meeting room for attendees. Putting together a raffle basket.
Al-Anon Liaison - NEED CHAIR
Audio/Video (Chip) Not in attendance
Bingo (Cindy/Charlotte) Not in attendance
Coffee (Lauren M./Shelly P.) Asked for clarification on donation needs/specifics. It was suggested to get with Josie D. *It was suggested that people be able to specify what they want to donate to on website (scholarships, coffee, etc)
Decorations (Karen/Skye) Chillin’ until artwork is finalized!
Entertainment (Tee/Tiffany) Tiffany has helped the committee in past years and is excited to head up a committee this year. Happy to help with other committees in need of help. Brainstorming entertainment ideas.
Fundraising/Pre-Events (Neville B.) First fundraiser was a hit! Thank you to everyone that helped out and attended. It was a team effort. Anyone interested in helping with future events can reach out.
Grapevine Rep (Bonnie/Brandy) Plans to do another door prize raffle of a year subscription to Grapevine. Hospitality (Nick S./Dennis F.) Not in attendance.
Housekeeping (Ralph M.) Working on getting people lined up to help, will work with scholarships.
Marathon Meetings - NEED CHAIR. *Note from Mary: May change structure of marathon meetings for 2026 based on feedback from 2025 convention.
Meditation (Brittany C./Morgan C.) Ricky P. will lead a meditation at the convention. Tori S. is willing to offer sound bowl healing. Brittany proposed starting our planning meetings w/ a short meditation - this was agreed to unanimously by the committee.
Merchandise (Mark F./Ryan L.) Will begin looking at quantities needed. Suggests doing a pre-sale to drum up interest.
Outreach (Laura B./Rachel M./Tori S.) Passed out lots of flyers at the last Area Assembly. Enrolled in Area 27 Outreach group to access resources. Found website with area all over the country (and Canada) and has reached out all over the country to distribute BDS26 flyers and info. Will make contact with Spanish speaking groups for outreach.
Raffle/Auction (Angie B./Gina S.) Not in attendance.
Registration (Leslie H./Lainey S.) As of this meeting, we have 40 pre-registrations!
Scholarships (Nikki C./Josie D.) No report
Security (Brandon S./Eric B.) Not in attendance
Snowballs/Popcorn (Ryan W.) Not in attendance
Speakers (Don/Tisere/Angel) No report
T&C (Rachael F./Legier) No report
Tech Support/Website (Lisa/Carolyn) Working on website back end issues. May change software to fix current issues after Nov. Welcoming (Jackie) Andrea and Chris D. to be on the welcoming committee!
Workshop (Belinda,Tamara,Kacy) Brainstorming ideas for workshops.
OLD BUSINESS
● 2026 Big Deep South Convention budget has been approved.
● Multiple people looking into a new larger meeting space for planning meetings
NEW BUSINESS
● Looking at Saturday evening meal alternatives - possible buffet arrangement to make it more accessible to the fellowship
● Al-Anon - we need a liasion
○ We do want to have an Alateen speaker for 2026 if possible
○ Possibility of offering an Alateen meeting and an Al-Anon meeting
● Single day registration being considered to make the convention more accessible to people that may only be able to attend one day - would be offered only at the door
● Voice will be voted on at next meeting - December 3rd
● Motion raised by Ricky P.: To approve the request from Josie D. to include two (2) 2026 Big Deep South registrations as part of a raffle basket at the Houma convention.
○ Motion seconded by Michael
○ Motion passed unanimously by the committee
● Items to think about for our next meeting:
○ Artwork colors ○ Single day registrations
CLOSE WITH PRAYER