H. I. T. C. H.™
Help Inform Touch Connect Heal
August 21-23, 2009
Living the Dream Area Convention
Crowne Plaza Hotel
3000 Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL 62702
Contact: Charles J. - Chair - 217/522-9906
Hotel Rate: $110 at Crowne $81.00 Holiday Inn Express
InTheRooms is pleased to announce our All-Star lineup for the concert at the Rally For Recovery, an all day Walk, Festival and Concert on September 12, 2009 at Bicentennial Park in beautiful Miami, FL.
Performing in the afternoon will be Eric Burdon and The Animals! One of the seminal figures of the 1960s British Invasion during his tenure with The Animals and in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, legendary singer Eric Burdon has charted with 25 Top 40 hits including classics such as “HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN”, “IT’S MY LIFE”, “DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD”, “WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE”, “SPILL THE WINE” and many more!
Our good friend Richie Supa of Aerosmith, superstar musician and songwriter will be performing his greatest hits, including the PRISM award winning song “In The Rooms”, “Amazing” and “Pink”, as well as many others.
In addition, we have local musicians and InTheRooms members in recovery performing as well. SoberSinger (Kristin Cappiello) rocked the house at last year’s 12 Step Music Fest with her unique and soulful sound, and we’re grateful to have her share with us at the Rally for Recovery. Bluzman0817 (Freddie King) and his band, Aces Up Kings - an award winning Classic Rock cover band, will be performing as well, a band that’s sure to get the party going! More musicians and performers will be announced soon!
Thank you for your support of the Rally for Recovery and we hope to see you there!
Like most in recovery, I always put a dollar in the 7th tradition basket when it goes around in meetings. In fact, for the last 20 years or so, I’ve put in at least $2! For what you get in return, it’s the best deal EVER!!
Some of you may have noticed that we have a link on the home page asking to put a dollar in the basket for our Rally For Recovery. There was some discussion on the boards over the weekend and I’d like to clarify any misunderstandings.
First and foremost, InTheRooms is FREE and will forever remain so! The funds collected in this basket will NOT be used to support this site! These funds go DIRECTLY to our non-profit Foundation which has a 501(c)3 status with the IRS. The In The Rooms Foundation is dedicated to providing education, prevention information, promoting awareness, treatment scholarships, and working with organizations to help people recover from all addiction related diseases. We are prohibited from any mixing of funds.
We’re very excited about our Rally For Recovery (www.RallyForRecovery.org) because it gives us an opportunity to show the world that the lie is dead. WE DO RECOVER! It allows us to put a positive face on people in recovery today. We are no longer the guy under the bridge, or hiding in the back alleys. We are men and women. We are young and old. We are PTA Moms and Dads. We’re lawyers and doctors and nurses and judges. We are students and housewives. Most importantly, we have HOPE in our life today! Hope was given to us by the simple fact that we KNOW that recovery is possible because others have shown us how it works in their lives. The idea for this Rally wasn’t ours. It is in conjunction with events all across the country to coincide with National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. We are only one rally amongst hundreds of events being held on the same date. RT and I heard that there wasn’t going to be a South Florida event because nobody had stepped up to the plate, so we did.
The Rally for Recovery is being planned in conjunction with Faces and Voices of Recovery, an organization that believes in celebrating and honoring recovery in all its diversity, fostering advocacy skills in the tradition of American advocacy movements, and producing principles, language, strategy and leadership to carry the movement forward.
The reason we posted the basket was simply in response to all the people that said they wanted to help us carry the message. We put the link up on Friday and we’re thrilled with the positive response from our members. All donations are optional.
All that an active addict or alcoholic has is the hope that one day they might be released from the bondage of addiction. Seeing 5,000 people in recovery, marching in unity, and having a great time at a concert makes for quite a vision of HOPE! I used to say “give ’til it hurts”. Today I have a new expression, stolen directly from RT… “Give ’til it feels good!” Thanks for all of your support!
“Some guy wanted to be my friend but I didn’t know him so I ignored him!”
I hear this all the time from our members. Sound familiar?
What I love most about InTheRooms is that I’ve made some wonderful, lasting friendships. Most of these people are people I’ve met over the last 9 months since we began this journey.
That said, I’ve heard many reasons for ignoring friend requests, but personally I believe it all boils down to fear! What is there to be afraid of? InTheRooms members get to see each othe’rs status feeds once they’re friends, so it’s a great way to see who’s witty, who’s spiritual and who’s just plain nuts. I love getting the status updates from all of my friends, ESPECIALLY those whom I’ve known for years. Give it a shot - add to your friends list; take some risks! You might meet someone very special this way. Worst case scenario, you can always block someone if you have to.
Another thing I’ve heard is that people don’t like to respond to friend requests from people without profile pictures or their information filled out. If you’re one of those people with minimal info on your profile, that’s easily rectified with a few minutes of typing. Remember, just like in your recovery, what you put in is what you get out! So go out there and make some new friends, and don’t forget to tell your friends in your home group about our great community!
12 Step Convention for Couples
October 16, 17 and 18, 2009
Recovering Couples Anonymous (RCA), a 12 Step fellowship of recovering couples committed to restoring healthy communication and caring and increasing joy and intimacy, will hold their 19th International Convention Conference, Riding the Wave of Recovery, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Held on — October 16, 17 and 18, 2009 — at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel. Any committed couple wishing to improve their relationship is invited to attend.
Seminars, workshops, keynote speakers and RCA meetings at the convention will provide information on enhancing relationship healing. The convention theme, Let the Sunshine In, Learning to Play and Have Fun Together, focuses on bringing JOY into relationship, learning new and valuable ways to experience healthy relationship and meeting couples on the same journey in various stages of healthy recovery.
Many members of RCA are in other 12 Step Fellowships. RCA couples share their experience, strength and hope to help other couples solve common problems and restore their relationships. The only requirement for RCA membership is a desire to remain in a committed relationship.
To find out more about RCA or to register for Riding the Wave of Recovery, go to www.recovering-couples.org to download the form and or email:
FloridaConvention@recovering-couples.org
Dancing with the Dinosaurs
CPANA Convention Fundraiser
Hosted by:
Freedom Thru Recovery and 5th Tradition
Home Groups
WHAT:
Speaker Jam, Silent Auction,
Bake Sale, Dinner, and Dance
WHEN:
July 18, 2009 – Saturday
4:00 pm – 12:00 pm
WHERE:
Covenant Presbyterian Church
{Freedom Thru Recovery meeting location}
4:00 pm Opening of Meeting
4:30 pm Speaker Nancy S ~ Richmond, VA
5:00 pm Speaker Linda C ~ Charlotte, NC
5:30 pm Speaker OBJ ~ Winston Salem, NC
6:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Speaker Jim G ~ Charlotte, NC
8:00 – 12:00 Dance 9:00 pm Silent Auction ends
12:00 am Event Ends
Speakers all have 20+ years in recovery
Silent Auction will include NA Memorabilia and Baked Goods Dinner $5.00 a plate ~ Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, or Bar-B-Q with chips and a drink
Dance is $5.00 admission
Sodas and water will be sold though out event
Of Course, there will be Coffee
Covenant Presbyterian Church 731 South Union Street, Concord, NC
For more info send msg to crazyangelsbutterfly@yahoo.com
A number of people have recently asked me about the 12 Step Music Fest in the Keys and if it’s really worth the money, so I figured I’d share a little of my experience, strength and hope. When InTheRooms first went live last October, we were able to get to know most of the new members pretty well. One of these members started off by posting information about a 12 Step Music Fest in the Keys. I hadn’t heard anything about this yet and I was intrigued by the concept. RT and I wanted to make sure that ITR wasn’t going to be a another one of those recovery sites with people hawking their wares and services on every page so I contacted Dawn W., one of the co-founders of the 12 Step music fest. I immediately realized that she wasn’t your average member of this social network. Dawn and her partner Rich have a real passion for recovery, and needless to say, a deep love for music.
Once we got the details on their event, we immediately asked if we would be able to go to the Festival and pass out invitations to InTheRooms. Unfortunately, we came to the party a little late because another large recovery based social network was one of the major sponsors, and it would have been inappropriate to pass out invites right under their noses (It’s hell having to work a program sometimes, isn’t it?). We told Dawn and Rich that next year we would like to have the opportunity to be a sponsor. Well, as fate would have it, a week later we got a call from Dawn asking us if we were still interested in sponsoring the festival - and of course we answered yes… it seemed as though the other social network was backing out of the commitment.
We had a very short time to make all the arrangements. We rented a big RV and had large banners printed with our logo on them. We had friends loan us a tent for us to sit under and we signed people up like crazy!
Let me take a minute to let you know how well this festival was run. First of all, the site itself is gorgeous. It’s at the 5 star KOA campgrounds in Summerland Key, only 20 minutes out of Key West. It’s located right on the water; in fact our RV was backed right up against a beautiful beachfront cove where people held meetings on a giant floating raft. From the moment we pulled up and got our credentials, we were impressed by the professionalism of the volunteers. All of the support staff were in recovery and hugs were in abundance everywhere! Very few people had heard of InTheRooms before this but what a warm reception we got once we explained our concept. We had 3 wonderful days there and made some friendships that will last a lifetime. There were 2 stages and the music went nonstop from morning to late at night. We came to work… but quickly realized that we could enjoy ourselves as well. On Friday night, Richie Supa showed up and sang a couple of numbers that he wrote and performed with Aerosmith. He sang “Amazing” along with “Pink” and “I want to go to Rehab”, but when he sang the song “In The Rooms” he really brought down the house! Richie Supa will be returning for an encore performance again this year!
I started this article off by mentioning that people have questioned me about the cost of this event. When you think about it, where else can you get 4 full days of music for 100 bucks, not to mention camping in a 5 star campground in the beautiful Florida Keys? This event created lasting memories that I’ll enjoy for the rest of my life, a combination of convention and concert with people that I love. This year I’ll have the added bonus of getting to spend it with my new InTheRooms family…the people I speak with every day. RT, TheDotMack and I love nothing more than when we get to meet you guys who have supported us, and we love to get the hugs too!
On a more personal note, RT and I belong to a sponsorship tree that meets once every year and we’ve been going to this gathering for the last 20 years or so. This year, our gathering is scheduled on the same date as the 12 Step Music Fest and we had some tough decisions to make, but RT and I are going to go to the Keys! In addition, we’re bringing our wives - the ever lovely “PhillyT” and Mrs. Clean (also known as “Jamiepom” here InTheRooms).
This is a spectacular event being put on by remarkable people and it shouldn’t be missed! I know times are tough and money is tight but there is a deal for ITR members for a limited time only… and I believe that they are going to be forced to close off sales after 2,300 people due to the restrictions at the campgrounds. In addition, prices are going up in a week or so! I know how we all like to procrastinate, but you want to do this right now while you’re thinking about it. You won’t regret it. Go to www.12stepmusicfest.com and get your tickets today. Just be sure to type ITR in the promo code, in order to get the discounted rate! RT, TheDotMack and I are looking forward to having some fun in the sun, listening and dancing to some great music, and sharing some recovery with some really great people! You tell me… does it ever get any better than that?
WE WANT YOU to send in a video about what recovery means to YOU… Then we’re going to compile the entries into one amazing recovery masterpiece!!! And you can use your WEBCAM– easy! How awesome is this? Awesome. Real awesome.
GO READ THE GUIDELINES HERE: http://bagheadsponsor.com/?page_id=255
A few Important Details:
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. central, baby! Get those cameras rollin!
CONTENT: We want to know what recovery means to you - the power of recovery in 35 seconds or less.
FUN: While not a requirement, we hope you will have some.
WHERE/HOW TO DELIVER YOUR VIDS: You can do one of three things, here –
1) SHOOT USING YOUR WEBCAM AND UPLOAD DIRECTLY TO THIS SITE:
http://intherooms.magnify.net/publish/record/
2) POST IT OR RECORD DIRECTLY TO BAGHEADSPONSOR’s FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/BagheadSponsor
3) POST IT TO YOUTUBE AND SEND US A LINK BY EMAIL TO:
baghead@bagheadsponsor.com
If anyone on InTheRooms.com sends you a message urging you to do the following: Come look at my pictures on a different site, webcam chat with me on Yahoo!, send me your bank account information and I’ll send you 4.2 Million Euros - because where I’m from, I can’t have a bank account even though I have this much money… Then these people are SPAMMERS. These messages should be ignored and reported to support@intherooms.com immediately, and we will remove the offenders swiftly and accordingly.
We try to vigilantly police our community as best we can, but we can not do it alone. We appreciate you helping us keep our community safe.
