AA EXCHANGE BULLETIN News AND NoTES ON ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WoRLOWlD£

Volume 5

Published by Gmual Su•iu Heatbj11arters of A.A., P. 0 . Box .f59, Grand C~IIIFdi Station, Nell’ Y .ork I 7 Number 2

March, 1960

FOR G. S . R. s . • A new information sheet is now available for the Group’s General Service Representative . Please let Lyb, who is serving as Conference Secretary, know if you’d like to receive a copy. HOW ABOUT A GROUP INVENTORY? • • From the Three Legacies Group in Spokane, Washington, came the following questions discussed at a recent meeting devoted to taking the Group’s inventory • What is the basic purpose of the group?. What is the group doing to “carry” the message? Has the group its share of members ? Should the figure be half again as large as the national average? What has the group done lately to bring the AA message to the attention of physicians, judges, and other public leaders who can be helpful i n reaching those who need AA? Is the group getting a proper cross-section of the community? Do the new membe ;:-s stick or is tu.r nover excessive? How effective is the sponsorship system? Has everything practical been done to provide an attractive meeting place? Has proper effort been made to explain to all members the need and value of working in the kitchen and performing other houseke-ep ing duties? Is adequate opport=ity given to all eligible members to speak before the horne group and before other groups? Are officers picked with care and consideration on the basis that officership is a great responsibility and opportunity for Twelfth Step work? Does the group lend its fair share of support to Interg roup , the Grapevine and the General Se::-vice Office? “AA AWARDS” . . A couple of clippings have recently indicated that “AA Awards” have lbeen presented to non-alc oholics who have contributed much to the sobriety of AA members in certain areas. Needless to say, the presentation of such awards is a matter that falls in the category of “group a utonomy” and can best be decided by the “group conscience” . However, in presenting such awards it should be kept in mind that it is a decision of a particular group or area of AA members and this information should be included in the presentation and newspaper coverage. This will keep it from being indicated that ” Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole” is in agreement on this particular award. T WE LFTH STEP MONTH • . “In a brief busines.s session, the the Morgantown, North Carolina Group voted to designate January 1960 as its official’Twelfth Step Mont h ‘ for the year . During that period all AA members assume the task of attending all meetings themselves, seeking to get former members to r ·e -affiliate, and making known to as many other alcoholics as possible t h e availability of AA help in stopping drinking if they really want to do something about t his problem”.

– 2 CARRYING THE MESSAGE TO HOSPITAL AND PRISON GROUPS . . It has been mentioned by t h e sponsor of one of our h ospital groups that speak ers are desperately needed to carry the message to the confined alcoholic. There is much work to be done and you are needed. It is a wonderful opportunity to share your experience with the suffering alcoholic who cannot come to us. You will be glad you checked with your local Institutional Committee, Central Office or interested members to find out how to participate in this rewarding Twelfth Step Work. 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION – July 1, 2, 3, 1960 – LONG BEACH, CAL. “Most Exciting Day of My Life” writes Min from Australia. “Just mailed my Registration and Housing Form to Long Beach! Six months ago I said “Maybe” and made a deposit on my fare. Today it is a reality — arriving June 24th”. And from Belfast – “We are planning to charter a plane for New York City. How do we go to Long Beach from there? There will be Irish, Scotch, Welsh and English 11 • HAVE YOU MAILED YOUR REGISTRATION FORM? . . A note to G. S. O. will bring your registration and h ousing forms pronto. Or c h eck with your GSR or Delegate or Central Office. Registration forms are plentiful. And may we suggest you check all forms of transportation. Many delightful routes and reasonable fares are available. 1 Tis a perfect opportunity to make that life dream of a trip to California come true~ Bus tours with stopovers . . Modern coach window domed trains . . Stopovers arranged • . Airlines with excursion fares • • Attractive tours . Those interested in your travel business are too numerous to list. But – check local offices or your travel agent. We believe you’ll find you can go too~ Your California Host Committee is going all out! For example 1. Kick Off –

Get Acquainted Dance

–

Thursday Night, June 30th.

2. Big Anniversary Show the night of July 3d in Memorial Stadium. 3. Transportation Committee , . arranging easy transportation for all guests f or all meetings – Disneyland – Marineland – AA high spots – and on and on. 4. Nursery Committee Will take care of all children – all ages – during the three days of the Convention. God love them! More later on plans of your Host Committee. As for the Pro g ram – Invitations have been mailed to some interested and wonderful non-A. A . f riends. Dr. D 1Alonzo of DuPont, author of a recent best seller on Alcoholism in Industry:lla’s just accepted. This meeting will be chaired by Dr. John Norris, a non-A. A. Trustee and Medical Director at Eastman Kodak Company. There will be continuous A. A. meetings. Yes – An Alkathon~ The Al-Anon Family Groups have big plans for their members too. More news next month. Incidentally, all but 15 States and Provinces have A. A. 1 s registered. So do plan to join us~ NEWS FROM THE NETHERLANDS • . From a letter from Ted Van W. , Amsterdam to Adrian F. , Babylon, N.Y.: Ted described the serious flood which recently struck Tuindorp Oostzaan, a suburb of Amsterdam; then continued • • “My brother was flooded out and I went with him to rescue some of his belongings from the house. What a dismal sight! It made me think of AA (almost everything does). I saw that three drops of water are like nothing, but that a great many drops of water , all moving

– 3 in the same direction, can do trem.endous things. The same (but in a more positive sense) goes for AA. The lot of us together can do so much. 11 From another letter: The newly formed A. A. group in a small city in the Southern part of Holland with three members, had trouble finding a suitable meeting place. They finally got permission from the local station master to meet in the railroad station after the last train for the evening had pas sed through. According to the latest report they are still meeting there and are keeping sober.

l

DON’T FORGET . If you and your group want to be sure of getting copies of AA TODAY your orders should be in the Grapevine Office by April!. WHY? Because the number of copies to be printed depends on the number of orders received by that date. HOW? Send your group and individual orders accompanied by payment to : The AA Grapevine P. 0. Box 1980, Grand Central Station New York 17, N.Y. (If you want to know more about AA TODAY look in the March Grapevine . or your Group mailbox. You’ll find advance notices and order forms there . Or, write the Grapevine direct for more information.)

~

I J

~6UNE IN YOUR RADIO TO NBC NETWORK, .Mar~h 20 and 27, 2:30 to 3:00p.m.,

Easte r n Standard Time. ( Check newspaper for local times and stations. ) Catholic Hour sponsored by National Council of Catholic Men will present programs on alcoholism and the help available through Alcoholics Anonymous. On March 20, a representative of the National Council on Alcoholism and a Staff Member from G. S. 0. will speak. On March 27, two AA members will relate their personal histories followed by discussion of AA’s Twelve Steps of Recovery. These two programs are part of a series of four entitled “Recovery Unlimited”. The first two will be broadcast the 6th and 13th of March. AA 1 s thanks to those making this series possible. WELCOME TO NEW GROUPS, LONERS, INTERNATIONALISTS ANii) CLUBS Registered dur i ng t h e month of January 19 6 0 Overseas U.S. and Canada New Groups • • . 7 8 37 New Clubs 4 New Lone Members 6 16 Inactive Groups •. 84 11 New Prison Groups 7 New Hospital Groups 6 New Internationalists 4 New Overseas Groups and Contacts are located in Belgium, New Zealand, Western Australia, El Salvador, Denmark, New South Wales, Holland, Mexico, Trinidad, Cuba, India, St. Croix, Korea, Victoria, Costa Rica, Italy, Puerto Rico, Cape Province. SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

1712 /60

279/60

Arizona, Tucson New Year’s Eve Party Ontario, St. Catharine Niagara Frontier Groups Minnesota, Minneapolis Squad 6 Florida, Miami Greater Miami Area Massachusetts Eastern Mass. State Committee Southern Rhodesia Bulawyo Groups

l/12/60 l/13/60 l/27/60 2/3 /60 2/4 /60 2/9 /60

$ 74.00 50.00 15.00 32.00 50.00 5.00

– 4 FROM AN INTERNATIONALIST “One turning up in Buenos Aires and failing to contact Hector G . and t h e A rth ur Group is going to miss a lot of good A. A. in action. You may have a bit of trouble getting through on the phone and even the mail service is uncertain, but you won’t have nearly the trouble you will have if you decide to take a drink instead. “Arriving in B. A. on a Monday with one A. A. passenger aboard, Virginia M. a fellow Californian, we moor away out in the ‘boon-docks’ with no phone or trans portation in sight. We’ve both written Hector from Brazil, but there has been a postal workers strike in Argentina for some time. So we were stewing all day over how to contact someone. About the time our serenity was wearing pretty thin, along ~arne Hector, with that smile only peace of mind can put on a man’s face. He speaks English very well, and we made arrangements to meet later that evening for dinner and some A. A . yakking. “Before the night was over we met an Argentine lady with three days of sobriety, an alky from Spain and another from Canada with his Al-Anon wife. With Hector’s English, the Canadian’s Spanish and a fancy bit of translating we put the roes sage over to the new Argentine lady, and called it an evening well spent. We arranged to attend the Arthur Group meeting on Tuesday night. ILVirginia was the speaker with Hector translating, and a very excellent job they do, too. The meeting was well attended and had a United Nations flavor with several Irish, the Canadian, an ex-Norwegian seaman, the Argentinas, and we two ‘Norte Americanos’. Now we are off again on our respective ways, some of us to meet again, others we may never see again. What impressed me about the whole incident is the fact you are never alone while working this program. 11 GSR-SECRETAR Y MEETING ON SERVICES • ~ was held in Stamford, Connecticut l ast month . It was arranged b y memb ers of the State Conference Committee for District 6 to strengthen understanding and cooperation between GSRs and Secretaries. Suggestions from the floor: 1) The State Committee might build secretary interest in servTCeSl)y mailing to Secretaries direct a duplicate copy of their bulletins to GSRs (Committee will do). • . 2) More reading of incoming mail. . announcements of other groups’ and State 1 s special meetings might build member interest in A. A. as a whole . • 3) Joint meetings of a group’s secretary, GSR and Intergroup delegate to pool service information could be basis for monthly report on all services to group members (good idea!). 4) Hold regular District meetings of GSRs to create better feel for work and to exchange ideas (Those present endorsed this). How the GSR ~get his group’s ~: 1) Don’t be afraid to start with newcomers. one member told ofbeing thnlled to learn that A. A. maintained an International Office •• she’d been around 6 weeks and had never heard of world-wide A. A. It brought her the full meaning of A. A. 2) Put messages into anecdote form . even express personal feelings about services • • and keep your “chats” and announcements brief . . . 3) Enlist Secretary’s cooperation for a regular spot on the program at group meetings. • . 4) Invite GSR from neighboring group to give a service talk. • • 5) Stress individual member benefit from World Services . . it is probable that if each of us traced our AA ancestors back a couple of generations or more, we would find that we owe our life and sobriety to the activity of our General Service Office. w

•

1960 World Directory Directory Cards have gone to the printer! Some time in April, copies of the new Directory will be sent to all groups, loners, and Central Offices on our mailing list.