A Letter From Mark Houston
February 3, 2010
“Both
you and the new man must walk day by day
in the path of spiritual progress. If you persist, remarkable
things will happen. When we look back, we realize that the things
which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better
than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates
of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful
world, no matter what your present
circumstances.” Big Book, p. 100.
This reading has kept me grounded
over the years and through the changes that are continually manifesting
in my life. There have been a lot of changes at MHR since our
last newsletter so I want to bring you all current.
 The Women’s center has now been
open about four months and we are very pleased with the work being done
with our resident female alcoholics and addicts, as well as with their
families. It is always amazing to watch the healing power of God
that is realized through the process of taking action in the program
by working the 12 steps. Additionally, it is clearly evident that the
level of growth residents achieve in gender specific programs far exceeds
any co-ed program, simply because their focus is solely on personal
recovery without distractions.
The Men’s program is well into
its fourth year, and remains robust and strong. We continually see the
benefit of having the time during our minimum 90 day stay to build a
firm foundation in recovery. In fact, many of residents elect
to stay even longer before going on to one of the three male sober living
homes under the guidance of Addiction Directions. We have been
using the ADAP one year monitoring program now for about  two years and
the results are excellent. Accountability, having a recovery advocate
to talk to, and assuming responsibility for your lives lead to permanent
sobriety.
Our monthly speaker meeting was
awesome – with London broil for dinner and a fabulous guest speaker,
we had about 120 people show up. Please come and visit us on the
second Saturday of each month.
We also have staff updates: Don Burdison is the Executive Director for both the men’s and women’s
programs. Marsha Stone and Audrey Chapman are the Program Directors
for  the women. Jason Chane and Bruce Garrison are the current
Program Directors for the men. J.D. Darley is recovering from injuries
sustained in an automobile accident and we wish him a speedy recovery! Jeff Cadoux is the RCA supervisor for both programs, and is leading
a seasoned team in assisting the residents during their stay. Patrick is now the Admissions Coordinator and Greg Arnold is the Alumni
Coordinator. Both men bring a lot to the team. John Fitzgerald
has moved on to another career. We wish him all the best, and thank
him for all of his contributions and hard work from the first day we
opened.
If we can assist you in any way,
please call. Stay clean and sober, and do the deal!
God bless you all.
A Letter From the MHR Alumni Coordinator
Hello to
Alumni, Family and Friends!
My name is Greg Arnold and
I am the new Alumni Coordinator at
MHR. My journey in recovery began on August 5, 1988, and I have
known Mark for many years. Mark asked me to come to Texas to join
his team and, in December of 2008,
I had the opportunity to move here from Nashville. I started working
at MHR as a Resident Care Associate and also served for
six months as the Admissions Coordinator.
 I’m excited about my new
position and am looking forward to working with all of you. I
am here to support you, our alumni, in any way you need. Throughout
my 21+ years in recovery, there is not much I haven’t seen or experienced
personally. So please feel free to call or email me at any time,
for any reason. If you have any questions about the program, or
just want to bounce a situation or idea off someone, my door is always
open. I will be checking in with you as well from time to time,
so please let me know if there are any changes to your contact information
so that I can add your new information to my database.
I want to remind everyone that
we have an aftercare meeting that is free to all MHR alumni. We
meet every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Club 101. This meeting is
a key component in the recovery of many of our alumni, and I encourage
all of you to attend. It is a great way to
stay grounded, remain connected, and enjoy our fellowship.
I also want to let you all
know that we have changed our speaker meeting format
for 2010 from a weekly to a monthly event. We decided to do this in order to get the best speakers possible, as
well as increase interest and attendance. Our first meeting in
January was a huge success. We had about 120 people turn out to
hear Katie P. from PPG, and she did a remarkable job. And, we had delicious London Broil for dinner! Everyone had a
great time. We hope to see you here the second Saturday of each
month moving forward for a fantastic meal and exceptional speaker. So far, our agenda includes Colonel Dan of Austin on February 13th,
and Chris R. from Kerrville on May 8th. Please
check our websites for upcoming speakers and events! (www.markhoustonrecovery.com and www.mhrwomens.com)
As many of you know, we opened
our women’s program on October 1, 2009, and we could not be happier
with the results we are seeing. It is very exciting to witness
the growth our female residents are achieving.
There is a line in the Big
Book pg.88 that says “ it works- it really does”.
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No Enabling, No Addiction
Happy New Year
from all of us at Addiction Directions!
We have made a
lot of progress and our operation has grown in the last year!
We now have three
sober living homes for male residents: Uttimer, Fallen Tower, and Oltorf. Our newest co-worker, John Leyendecker, heads up Uttimer; Fallen Tower
is run by Hector Resendez ; and Chad Gross is at the helm of Oltorf. I am very proud of the work that all three house managers are doing
with their residents and the time they are investing in their homes. I am also impressed with each one of our residents; their sense of gratitude,
as well as excitement about recovery, is contagious!
ADAP, our accountability
program, is also going great guns! It is thrilling to watch our
clients grow and embrace a life a freedom from dependency. Jeremy
Flemmons, Mike Dolphin, and I want to express our gratitude for the
opportunity to witness this change in each of our clients that began
at Mark Houston Recovery.
We want to let
you know that we take a lot of pride in the service that we give and
the trust that we earn. Many of our patron families choose to continue
with ADAP once the initial first year term is complete. They do so because
they find our services to be paramount in building long term sobriety,
and they realize that the guidance we provide family members through
the inevitable changes that accompany that building process is invaluable.
I cannot express
enough how grateful I am that I am able to work with each member of
our team and all of our families. For me, this is a life work
full of enrichment, purpose, and accomplishment.
Sincerely,
Eric T. Button
Addiction Directions
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A note from Don B, MHR Executive Director
I hope that this newsletter finds
you doing well. We are fast approaching the spring  season of 2010 and
what an exciting time this is. This year is going to be full of wonderful
happenings. Many changes will take place in our world on so many levels.
I am excited to be a part of that today. I am sober and, because of
that fact, I am able to be an active participant in those changes. Can
it possibly be any better than that? I am grateful that my eyes are
open to Reality today and that I no longer live a life that is wrought
with strife, turmoil, and hopelessness. Believe me, 40 years of living
that way was enough for me. I am excited about witnessing new found
sobriety in those that choose to get sober in 2010 and reconnecting
with those who have claimed sobriety sooner. I encourage you all to
lay claim to the happiness you deserve this year. Remember that Now
is all any of us have. Be completely present in the world and your life.
Remarkable things are in store for all of us to lay claim to. Trust
me, I am getting mine. I look forward with great anticipation to seeing
you all on this journey of this coming year.
-Don B.
 On October 1, 2009,
the Mark Houston Recovery Center for Women was opened to serve the needs
of the alcoholic and addicted female population. I was hired as the Program
Director for the Women’s Center in September, and recently have been
joined by Audrey Chapman, a remarkable recovered woman who relocated
from Dallas and is an awesome addition to our team. My personal journey
with Mark Houston Recovery began in 2008 when my husband went through
the 90-day men’s program. The results were nothing short of miraculous;
he entered MHR a broken addicted shell and emerged a restored, hopeful,
recovered man. I always knew that if MHR started a women’s program,
I wanted to be a part of the miracle. I am so honored to be involved
in the newest endeavor by Mark Houston and in awe of this process where
women are able to begin the path of permanent sobriety and a life of
hope and abundance. To date, we have discharged three residents successfully,
two are enrolled in the ADAP program and all are doing fantastic! I
look forward to watching the Power work in many more women that pass
through MHR on their journey. What a gift! God Bless.
Marsha Stone
Program Director
Mark Houston Recovery Center for Women
Announcements
Upcoming
Speakers and Events at Mark Houston Recovery for
2010
All events
are held in Joe Hawk Hall. Property opens to guests at 6:00 pm and dinner
is at 6:30 to 7:30. The speakers start at 8:00pm. All events are open
to the recovery community. Please come visit us and celebrate recovery!
In 2010 Speaker
meetings will be hosted once a month on the second Saturday of each
month.
Upcoming
Speakers at MHR for 2010 (mark your calendar!!)
February 13th, 2010: Colonel Dan from Austin, TX
May 8, 2010:
Chris R. from Kerrville, TX will be speaking.
For details
about any of the upcoming events, please contact Greg A. at 512-278-4550
or visit our website at www.markhoustonrecovery.com. Hope to see you all
soon!
Celebrate Around The World
MHR will be hosting Celebrate
Around The World, a CA World Service Convention on
March 6th, 2010 at 12pm to 5pm.
An auction will be held and t-shirts, caps and food will be sold. Contact:
Dot T. (512) 331-8696
Joan J. (512) 367-9421
Cliff W. (512) 626-4149
William S. (210) 859-5998
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