Motivation Speech
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I come before you this evening as the bearer of unfortunate news. I have been informed that several of the renovations on our new location will not be completed on schedule. We have two walls which need to be removed, a partition that needs to be constructed, 2 rooms to be tiled, 2 bathrooms to be updated, one bathroom to be partitioned off and created, and each room to be painted as well as kitchen updates and several general maintenance related issues to be addressed. All in all we have a great deal of work ahead of us. We had hoped to have these renovations completed by no later than May 5th. I am told that based on our current volunteer levels and unexpected costs associated with this project we may be delayed as much as four months. Four more months our brothers and sisters will have to wait to come home. Four more months our brothers and sisters will be scattered and disjointed. Four more months our brothers and sisters will be unable to open our doors to our community.[K1]
I hold here the report detailing the reasons why this delay has come to pass. According to this the two primary reasons we will be delayed are a lack of laborers and a budget shortfall. If nothing changes then this report reflects what will come to pass quite clearly. But what if something does change?
We have all given time and resources to this project and we have all sacrificed much to see it this far. Of all the obstacles placed before us, this cannot be the one that gives us pause. So what can we do? How can we change this outcome? How can we get back on schedule? Now is the time we find what Intergroup is truly made of. We can get back on schedule. It will require even more from each of us; more time and more commitment. We must bolster resources.
It occurred to me last night that all year we have strived to build a place for every AA group and member to come and find sanctuary. We have sacrificed for each of our brothers and sisters so they may have a home. But we have been neglectful. We have neglected to ask them to help us build that home. To that end I have a mission for each of us. Ask the very people we seek to shelter to help us build that shelter. There is power in this community; power and strength and resources that we have barely begun to tap into. So I charge us, ask the AA community for volunteers. Ask the AA community for donations. Ask our brothers and sisters to claim a stake in that which we build on their behalf.
Now I recognize that this task may be difficult for some of us to perform. I myself can be shy and I can’t force anyone to do anything. We are each here because we each believe in the mission of Intergroup. What I can do is reward those who do recruit volunteers and acquire donations. Each new volunteer that signs up to help with the renovation of our new building will be asked who their sponsoring Intergroup member is. For every five volunteers a member recruits that member will receive lunch for free at David’s Deli courtesy of Doug Efting. For every $100 dollars in donations a member collects for Intergroup that member will receive lunch for free at David’s Deli as well. Further, at the end of the year the member with the most recruited volunteers and the member with the highest dollar amount in donations collected will receive a two night all expense paid getaway at the Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort in Wrightsville Beach. We have also commissioned an award to be given to these two members at our end of the year meeting in December. Recruiting volunteers, receiving donations; these small steps travel miles to bring us where we need to be. [K2] We are all a part of something greater than simply ourselves; it would be an injustice to each of us to let something so easily corrected to prevent us from achieving our goals.
I hold here the report detailing the reasons why this delay has come to pass. This report predicts what will come to pass. I believe that this report is rubbish. The delay itself is rubbish. The thought that we cannot overcome this is rubbish.[K3] I for one welcome this adversity. Only through adversity can we truly know what we can and cannot do. So I charge each of us to welcome this challenge and use it to become stronger. It’s time we joined hands with our community and place our feet on the same path. [K4] Our future is yours; what will you make of it?