Welcome to the Beaver Island A.A. Website. Much like us, its a work in progress and your feedback is greatly appreciated.
If you have ideas that would be helpful we would love to hear them. We also offer a means for interacting right here on the site. Just leave a message or a question.
Beaver Island
For Beaver Island AA Meeting Times and Locations Visit the Meetings Page.
Our group, named “The Commanders Call” sponsered the first annual “Beaver Island AA Retreat” in the late summer of 2008. The retreat was a great success filled with fellowship, sharing, and fun. The first annual retreat was held at the Bill Wagner Camp Ground on East Side Dr. And
THOUSANDs attended (hehehe).
Thanks to all who attended and contributed to the retreat, you can count on the second annual being at the same place and around the same time. Stay posted for the exact times and dates, we’d love to have you!
Visit the Page titled Meetings on the Island to learn more about meeting times and days. Meeting are typically at 7 P.M.
Today was a good day. We here on the Island got a really good man who has struggled with the bottle for many years off to a very good treatment center in Petoskey. He is in good hands and we all are praying for him and his family.
Hello all, Sure has been a long time since anyone has posted on our site. I have been down in Cleveland for the past week. I got to celebrate my 5th sober birthday here with the people I sobered up with. It really is good to re connect with these people. Tomorrow I head back to the Island. I really miss it and I can’t wait to be in the quite of Reddings trail again. .
Cheryl Samuels, Ph.D.
This weekend was a time of “firsts” for me: my first trip to Beaver Island, my first AA meeting, and the first time I met some wonderful new friends. I want to say thank you to everyone who helped put on the Beaver Island AA campout and everyone who contributed. It was truly a retreat for me. I was able to free my mind completely of all my usual deadlines, concerns, etc and I realized that going to this campout was truly a “get-away” for me. I had a lot of fun, had some wonderful conversations with other people who are seeking truth in their lives and being in the AA circle allowed me to trust enough to tell the truth about myself. Thank you so much everyone who was there. I really value our serious conversations, our visiting, the funny stories and cool sayings, the beautiful and peaceful environment, and especially each one of you! Gchi-miigwetch!
4th Annual
Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 19-21
Beaver Island 4th Annual
AA Campfire Retreat
Join us on the island for a weekend of
AA meetings, fellowship and fun
===Al-anon and family friendly===
NOTE! Exciting new location: Brothers’ Place
>>>>>>>>>>>> No more getting rained on all weekend! <<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>You will love this weekend!<<<<<<<<<<<<
Hi Folks,
This is Adam. We will be having our 4th annual Beaver Island AA Retreat on the weekend of August 19th-to the 21st. We provide free camping, food and transportation while on the Island. All you have to do is get here. Please send you questions to adamwirth@rocketmail.com . Please go to the Beaver Island Boat Companies website to become familiar with their policies and procedures.
http://www.beaverislandboatcompany.com/
For additional information about the island please go to
http://www.beaverisland.org/
Hey friends. Winter is about over on the Island and a new Summer is right around the corner. I am down in Cleveland right now helping my family out and getting some awesome meetings in. There is no AA like Cleveland AA (I must admit I am biased because this is where I got sober). We will be putting out information on the retreat soon!
Adam
It been another long Winter here on the Island. This is the first winter of my life when I truly say that I have really enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of life. Today I can sit in the cabin with everything turned off and actually sit with myself and my own thoughts. I am learning serenity. Though I still get pretty wacky in the head at times it is nothing compared to the madness and insanity of my drinking days. Folks are getting a bit squirely up here but soon it will be spring and we all will be too bust working to remember it. Live this ONE day well don’t worry about tomorrow and leave the past in the past………..
Hi Melissa, I will be back in Cleveland in mid December for a few weeks. I hope to run into you. We have our Retreat usually at the end of June every year. But you are more than welcome to come visit the Island. I would love to show you guys around and it is always a blessing for us to have new peoples ESP at our meeting (which is very tiny!) I will add a few links here for you to check out. I would love to have a bunch of Cleveland Friends of Bill come up. Cleveland AA is so rock solid and I miss it so much. I look forward to seeing you all again soon. My beautiful Cleveland family!
Melissa Bedol
Hi Adam—
I as well was at The Shaker Monday meeting when you lead back in April, I remember your message—And you spoke of Beaver Island which sounds like paradise; A friend and I were talking about coming to a retreat…..When is the next one?? Any information about The Island would be so helpful and I as well will study the Website……..
Thank you
Sincerely,
Melissa Bedol
http://www.beaverisland.net/
Wow Adam and Melissa, good to see we are planning ahead. Adam, if you are in Cleveland, let us know if you will be going to some meetings. What about Saturday night live this weekend? Or something at club 24? Take care, ttys
Hey Janice, I am delayed getting to Cleveland but hope to be there soon. I will be making the rounds when i am there as I NEED my good dose of Cleveland AA! I will let you know when i am gonna be there! I hope all is well and sure wish I could have got there this Weekend!
Adam!
To make an AA Group good home group members must be dedicated to keeping the doors open. It is not about us. It is about the man or woman who walks into that door the first time. It is about others, not us.
Hi folks, Winter will soon be upon us and our little group is doing well. Members get busy with events on the Island and the community center has saturday night movies which is a great thing for us to participate in as a group. There is a wonderful Gratitude Dinner in Petoskey Nov 6th that I encourage all to attend… Details can be found on the District 13 area 34 website. We have some new faces showing up and hope that we can keep them there in the rooms of aa. We must remember that we have to work on our Homegroup, we have to ask ourselves what can we do better> Charlie D and I have been talking about some ideas and hope we can get them into action. Monthly speakers, pot lucks etc. Take care and God Bless you all.
Adam
Things on the Island are slowing down. Our little group is still chugging along. We have a few anniversaries this month which is a good thing. I got away from the meeting here for almost 2 months. I chose to spend a lot of time on my sailboat. Though it was very relaxing I found my serenity was being challenged. There is now substitute for the tables of aa. I am back at my homegroup, learning, listening and regaining the serenity that I have worked so hard for…….
The 3rd annual BI AA retreat is over. This was a wet one but I always new we would have one one day. Sun came out on Saturday. Thanks to all for the help setting up, driving, cooking, cleaning, Sarah, you are DA BOMB! I left the campsite about 10 pm last night in my sailboat to get it back to the Marina, the fog and darkness set in so thick I had to drop anchor and wait till morning. Didn’t sleep well so when I got to land I took a nap and missed saying good bye to the Sarah, Larry and Sunshine……. Thank You all. The Experience Strength and hope you bring to us here on the Island really helps us with our journey in recovery. Thanks Brad and the boys, Paul and Romaine, Charlie (MacGayver). And the Grand haven Group. Hope to see you next SUNNY year!
Adam E. Wirth
Our second night of the retreat. Sarah our DCM was our keynote speaker. It was such a wonderful lead. Her daughter who is also in the program was there and the tears were flowing. But the JOY of recovery and a Mother restored to her rightful place in her family was so overpowering. 23 people attended. We have a few from grand haven and a good group of Alanon too. Good food, the sun came out, sailing, swimming and to end the evening a big orange moon rose above the water leaving everyone smiling at Gods beautiful world he gives to us. Thanks AA for saving our lives
Day 1 of the BI Retreat, Sarah and Charlie and Brad came up with a bunch yesterday and helped get things set up. First meeting was held tonight. Topic was Acceptance, good words were spoken…… Rained like hell a few times, Sailed the boat over in a gale but made it to the campground safe but soggy!
Our 3rd Annual Beaver Island AA Retreat will be held soon. The first one was chaos for us but last year was much easier and this year I am sure it will go smoothly. It is a great time for us to meet others in the program and make new friends. I hope to see you all there.
Thanks,
Adam E. Wirth
Today started off with a bad phone call with the County about a septic permit. I was in a fit for hours, I kept repeating the Serenity Prayer and it slowly took the edge off. I then went down to the Light House school and spoke to the director about our AA program on the Island and that we would welcome any young man or woman to join us in our little fellowship. I left there at peace. When ever troubled spreading the word or helping another alcoholic will ALWAYS make me feel better. Try it… It like AA Works!
June 25th -27th
3rd Annual Beaver Island AA Campfire Retreat. Come join us on the Island for two nights an 3 days of fellowship and fun. Al-anon and family friendly. Tours, Sailing, Fishing Trips, Hiking, Biking, Swimming, or just relaxing. Free Food and Camping Provided! You just have to by a round trip boat or plane ticket and we will take care of the rest.
Contact the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce for links to the Ferry or Airlines to the Island. http://www.beaverisland.org
Ferry departs on Friday 2:30pm and 5:30pm and returns Sunday11:20am and 5:20pm
Please Contact Adam W @ aewirth@aol.com beaverislandaa.wordpress.com
231-448-2581/231-459-5663
The 3rd annual Beaver Island retreat will be held June 25th-27th at Bill Wagner camp ground. Contact me for information. 231-459-5663 / 231-448-2581. Be sure to check out the website for the Beaver Island Boat Company for ferry information. cars are pricey to bring over and we provide all transportation while you are hear. There are rentals available. There also are several nice hotels if you wish for better accommodations. We also have some rooms in members homes for those who are not quit camping types. Please see the website for the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce.
The long winter sure takes a toll on the mind and spirit. Us alcoholics have to double our efforts on the path to serenity in times like these. Many of us tend towards Isolation when the best thing for us is to get bundled up and go for a long walk. Call friends, go to meetings, get involved…….
Hello all!, Been a while since anyone has left a post on our little Island website so here we go! I am down in Cleveland soaking up some awsome AA meetings. I love our little group on the Island but it is good for all of us to bring new messages from other ESH bank to the Island. Pretty soon we will be planning the 3rd annual retreat. We will keep you all posted!
Merry Christmas to all my friends and family!
Our Island group was blessed by a wonderful couple recently. It’s always a gift for us to have new faces and to hear others experience, strength and hope. We are so happy to make new friends in our common journey of recovery. Thanks Guys!
Beautiful….. just beautiful………
3 Years sober today. I cannot begin to thank all those who have shown patient, love and truth to me during this wonderful journey……
Don’t Drink, Go to meetings, Surrender, Surrender Surrender
I have almost 3 years of sobriety now. Life compared to back then is remarkable. Life still is tough sometimes but nothing compared to the self inflicted hell I was living before. I still struggle with my self will, selfishness self centerdness. I must always remain teachable, I must be constantly vigilant in my recovery. I must remember daily to give it to God and things will be the way they are suppose to be…. God won’t give me anything I can’t handle.
Fall is upon us. The red, brown and golden forrest is so beautiful to look at. The winds and weather are changing. Mother natures seems to go into her own way of things this time of year. Always seemed to me that Summer was a gift she gives us but Fall is hers.
Tonight at the Saturday Night meeting we had the honor of a man named Andy. He had 18 years of sobriety. It is a blessing for our little group to be the presence of elders in the program.
I just got back to the Island. I was in Cleveland for a couple weeks. I saw a lot of great speaker meetings. It always refuels my soul and dedication to spreading the message of living sober. I went through a spell where I was drifting from the core principles of a life that AA has taught me. It is such a simple program. I am returning to living the 4 vitures and life is going good again. I feel it on the INSIDE!
I have been bothered by watching my old drinking buddies continue to bang their heads against the wall. I see them going to jail, loosing respect of their children, friends and family. I see them struggle trying to hold the pieces of their troubled lives. It saddens me , I pray that God , if it is his will, gives me the opportunity to be helpful to these people. To say the words that gets them to a life of sobriety and the virtue of a sober life……
Summer has been good to our little group. New faces and the annual return of Fritz and Patrick. Two great old timers who always bring great pearls of wisdom to us.
Hope to see you this week
Hi Bill it was great meeting you tonight, See you Saturday!
Thanks guys! It was great having you here. We get real excited to see new faces of good AA wisdom. I really enjoyed meeting you. I will check out your Lansing site, and I suppose we can get a link to here too. Take Care
Adam
We enjoyed the Thursday Big Book meeting and looked forward to seeing you again on Saturday but the weather man chased us off. We are going to try and join you next year.
We also do some fun things here from the Lansing central office. Check our site. You will see the Mackinac Island weekend we have been doing for many years
Adam keep the table open.
Marge and Jim Smith
Our little group is growing, We have plenty of room and support for anyone who wants another way to live life free from the bondage of alcohol. We are talking about starting up camp fires meetings once a week so we will keep you posted!
To quote the great Jerry B.
Don’t Drink, Go to meetings, Surrender, Surrender, Surrender..
Our little group is growing, good to see some new faces. And others are sobering up, not going to AA but thankful to have our freindship and help if they feel they need it. We are all in this together….
The 2nd Annual Beaver Island AA Retreat was a great success. Attendees went sailing, fishing, shopping, hiking and swimming. Folks came from as far as Cleveland Ohio, Gaylord, Petoskey and other places. Dave G. from Cleveland gave one of the greatest leads at our Saturday night speaker meeting that I have ever heard. He brought down the house. Some folks brought their children and it was so beautiful to see fathers and mothers restored emotionally, physically and spiritually to their familes again. Love..so much love…….We will post pictures of the retreat soon. We also cannot thank enough all the people who helped with this event. District 13, Sarah, Bill K., Pamela, Charlie, Joe C., Carson, Phil, Larry, Nancy & Darrel, Steph, too many to list. We also wish to thank the Beaver Island fish market, Harbour Market and more. Thank You all! See you next year for the 3rd BI AA Retreat!
Having breakfast with my janelle awaiting the830 boat to the great beaver… I’d recommend the alcove resturant to anyone the food is awsome and its right next to the dock in chareliviox. Looking forward to seeing everyone for the 2nd annual beaver island
retreat
Sounds great Joe, I am trying to wrap up seven days of work in the next 3. We will be working on setting up the campground thurdsay. But we could start Wednesday night too. I look forword to seeing you.
Getting ready to head up likely wednesday looks like good weather can’t wait
10 more days!!!!!!!!! 2nd annual Beaver Island AA retreat! contact me for details at aewirth@aol.com
25 more days till the retreat. We have folks coming all the way from Clevleland ohio. This is gonna be so cool……………
BYOB Bring Your Own Butt! But beverages are free, I did that once in Dominican Republic… OUCH
Free Beverages???
Awesome!
Carson just sent me the menu for the retreat. Looks like some good cooking!
All food and beverages are provided for free! All you have to do is get your butt to the Island and we will be your humble host.
http://www.beaverislandboatcompany.com/
Here is the link to the Beaver Island Boat Company. This will give you all the rates, times, etc. There will be parking fees and make sure you get to the boat early so you can park and get picked up by the shuttle
Thank’s for the reply Joe: look forward to hearing from some one, best time to call is early morning or after 8:30 pm . or you can leave a message and I will call you back at my earliest confiniance . Have A great day and look forward to coming to the island.
Hi my friend’s call me “Woody” so feel free , myself my wife and some friend’s from around the table’s are interested in coming to your beautiful island and retreat for alcoholic’s but we could use some information about the cost of getting there per person or a group rate and one friend would like to know how much extra for him to bring his bike? I’m not really good at this computor stuff but you can try to e-mail me at woody20055@hotmail.com or feel free to call me toll free at 1-877-217-1946 with some price’s or information it would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance.
Woody
Hey Woody,
Someone will likely give you a call shortly, you’ll love the retreat… Great people, setting, and purpose…
Talk soon!
About 36 more days till the 2nd Annual Beaver Island AA Retreat. We hope all will come. You get to the Island, bring your tent or you can stay at one of our fine hotels(at your cost). Camping is free, This is a family friendly event. Alanon is welcome. Please RSVP to let us know you are coming by 20 June. We will provide all food and drinks. Come to fish, hike, kayak, shop, sleep, canoe, sail and meet some great folks.
June 26th – 28th We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Beaver Island AA retreat. Please contact Adam W, Steph B, Phil N fot information (aewirth@aol.com)
Winter is slowly breaking, the Sandhill Cranes have returned along with some Red Wing Black birds so….. hopefully it won’t be long until I am sailing on a warm summer day, dropping the anchor and take a swim then a nap. It been a long winter. I have watched many friends who are still out there drinking pay very high prices for their disease. Jail, hospital, and suicide attempts. I know a man who was in court today, the judge gave him the choice to get help for his drinking or go to jail, He choose jail. Amazing….. just amazing. The insanity, the unwillingness to surrender. I was told alcoholism is an elevator, we all pick what floor to get off, the last three floors are death, jail, institutions………..
Don’t drink, go to meetings, surrender, surrender, surrender….
We should all carry white hankerchief’s….
Joe is Great!
Joe is Great! da da da da
Joe is Great!!!!!!!!
Written by Adam W
Title “The humility Song”