Purpose

In mid-September, the SENY Convention Planning Committee convenes to plan the upcoming Area Convention, usually to be held the following spring.

Organization and Function

The committee includes a Convention Chair appointed by the SENY Chair, and a Convention Treasurer appointed by the Convention Chair. A Secretary is elected from among the volunteers as are the following sub-committee chairs: Alkathon, Banquet, Entertainment, Greeter, Hospitality, Program, Publicity, Registration and Accessibility/Special Needs. (The Accessibility/Special Needs Chair may be the Area Accessibility/Special Needs Chair seated at the time of the event.) The Hispanic Districts and Al-Anon appoint liaisons to the committee. Each sub-committee chair is responsible for his/her committee's function. All planning and decision making is discussed and finalized at the monthly full-committee planning meetings.

• Convention Chair– The main contact with the convention hotel and reports to the SENY Committee and SENY Assembly on the convention's activities as well as overseeing the work of the sub-committee chairs.

• Treasurer– Receives and processes convention registrations; oversees all money transactions related to the convention and provides treasury reports.

• Secretary– Records minutes of the Convention Planning Committee meetings.

• Accessibility/Special Needs– serves as a support for members with mobility, hearing and visual impairment, or other limitations, to make the convention more accessible.

• Alkathon– Coordinates speakers and sets up the Alkathon meeting room using a suggested format.

• Banquet– Maintains the banquet registration list; organizes table seating; liaises with hotel catering staff and attends a tasting panel. Also works closely with the Convention Treasurer and Registration Chair.

• Entertainment– Solicits proposals from entertainment companies for the committee to discuss. Arranges equipment set up at the convention hotel for the selected entertainment company.

• Greeter– Arranges for volunteers to welcome participants to the event and assists other sub-committee chairs.

• Hospitality– Seeks volunteers to operate the Hospitality room and makes requests for donations of food items or money from groups.

• Program– Invites volunteers to discuss and create a convention program that includes panel/workshop titles, start times, speaker's names and so on.

• Publicity– Creates a convention registration form and works closely with the program committee to produce a final program. Contacts Box 4-5-9 and Grapevine/La Viña to have the event listed. Also arranges printing of the program and additional convention items as needed.

• Registration– Maintains the convention registration list; arranges convention packages; works closely with the Convention Treasurer and Banquet Chair.

• Hispanic Districts Liaison– Provides Spanish workshop titles and speakers for the event.

• Al-Anon Liaison– Coordinates an Al-Anon program and speakers for inclusion in the convention program.

The New York State Convention

Every five years SENY takes its turn at hosting the New York State Convention. When it does so, SENY does not hold an Area Convention. The Area's Convention Planning Committee then becomes the State Convention Planning Committee. Being a State event, the State Convention Planning Committee takes its lead from the Delegates and Chairs of the four participating areas in NY State: Central New York (CNY) - Area 47, Hudson/Mohawk/Berkshire (HMB) - Area 48, South Eastern New York (SENY) - Area 49, and Western New York (WNY) - Area 50.

The 2009 State Convention was hosted by Western New York the weekend of July 24 at Grand Island, NY (between Buffalo and Niagara Falls). There was no 2010 NYS Convention because of the International Convention in San Antonio, TX. The 2011 NYS Convention was hosted by SENY, July 29-31 at Tarrytown, NY.

The 2012 State Convention will be hosted by HMB. Watch for more info.

The 2012 SENY Convention

The 2012 SENY Convention will be held the weekend of March 23, 2012 at the Westchester Marriott Hotel, Tarrytown, NY. The convention theme is "Anonymity: Our Spiritual Responsibility in the Digital Age." Go to the Events page for details or download a convention registration flyer here or below in English, Spanish (en Español),  Polish (w jezyku polskim) or Russian. Online event registration is also available here.

Want to get involved with planning the convention? No convention planning experience? All volunteers are welcome. Join us to do some service and have some fun. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to the Events page (select "Standing/Ad Hoc Committee" from the drop-down list and/or scroll down to "NYS Convention Planning Meeting") for more information.

See also the Standing/Ad Hoc Committee Events page for more information on both the convention planning meetings and the convention.

General information on SENY's Convention activities is available in the SENY Service Handbook. For more information or to get involved contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Some good information on setting up an AA convention or similar event is offered at AA Guidelines: Conferences, Conventions and Round-Ups (MG-04).