The Alcoholic Foundation

On August 5, 1938, the Alcoholic Foundation was formed as a charitable trust to provide for the safekeeping of funds. The trust indenture document specified that non-alcoholic trustees were to make up a majority of the board. The terms “Class A” and “Class B” trustees were used to make a distinction between non-alcoholic and alcoholic board members. The Foundation had a tiny one-room borrowed office with one borrowed non-alcoholic Secretary by the name of Ruth Hock. The Foundation and office would eventually come to be known as the General Service Board and General Service Office. Ruth Hock would later become AA’s first national secretary. Class B trustees were Dr Bob and NY member Bill R whose Big Book story is “A Business Man’s Recovery.” He was elected as the first board Chair but had to resign in February 1939 after returning to drinking. The Alcoholic Foundation Board increased from five to seven trustees in January 1939. The new trustees were Dr Leonard V Strong (Bill W’s brother-in-law) and alcoholic Harry B whose Big Book story is “A Different Slant.” Harry was elected as the second Board Chair but also returned to drinking and was replaced in late 1939 after serving a little under a year. While not mandatory, after the first two alcoholic Board Chairs returned to drinking, the practice, from 1939 on, has been to have the Board Chair be a non-alcoholic, or Class A trustee. Robert Shaw, an attorney, replaced Harry B as AA’s first non-alcoholic Board Chair. Cheers

Arthur