News and Notes from the General Service Office of A.A.® www.aa.org Vol. 50, No.2 / April-May 2004

■ Singleness of Purpose “Our Singleness of Purpose – The Cornerstone of A.A.,” theme of this year’s General Service Conference, highlights one of the principal reasons the Fellowship has endured for nearly 70 years as a safe haven for the suffering alcoholic. Since that afternoon in 1935 when Bill W. and Dr. Bob first met and talked for hours, drunks have been sharing their experience, strength and hope with one purpose alone: to help themselves and other alcoholics recover through A.A.’s Twelve Steps. During the week of April 18-24, 2004, Conference members will reexamine our singleness of purpose – its spiritual foundation and the challenges the Fellowship faces today. They will hear presentations on such topics as responsibility to the newcomer, safeguarding our unity, and the role of the home group, and will participate in a workshop on the importance of singleness of purpose to the individual, group, district, area, and G.S.O. and Grapevine offices. On the face of it, the idea is simplicity itself. Traditions Three and Five state it clearly: “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.” “Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” A.A. is for alcoholics and people who think they might have a drinking problem, and as a Fellowship we do one thing only – share our program of recovery. Yet time and again, members, groups, and A.A. as a whole have encountered roadblocks as they sought to live out these most basic and essential of our traditional principles. All Twelve Traditions were hammered out over years of trial and error, and for the most part, they were shaped less by the founders’ inherent wisdom than by the recognition that they, as well as future generations, needed safeguards against their own character defects. In the formative years, power drivers among the early members would have diverted A.A.’s energies into hospitals, alcohol education, and other grandiose projects. Yet in tandem with their grandiosity ran a constant fear of losing their newfound sobriety. In Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill wrote that the early members, “scared witless that something or somebody would capsize the boat and dump us all back into the drink,” devised membership rules to protect themselves. “Our Foundation office asked each group to send in its list of ‘protective’ regulations. The total list was a mile long. If all those rules had been in effect everywhere, nobody could have possibly joined A.A. at all, so great was the sum of our anxiety and fear.

“We were resolved to admit nobody to A.A. but that hypothetical class of people we termed ‘pure alcoholics.’ . . . Maybe this sounds comical now. . . . Well, we were frightened. . . . After all, isn’t fear the true basis of intolerance?. . . How could we then guess that all those fears were to prove groundless?” More than half a century later, those words still do not sound comical. With the influx of prospective members who suffer from other problems, our faith that those fears are groundless is tested daily. As A.A. has become increasingly well known and respected in the eyes of the public, many other organizations have adapted our Twelve Steps to recovery for a wide variety of addictions and problems. One result has been a blurring of the distinction between A.A. and other fellowships – “a drug is a drug,” we hear from newcomers who are not alcoholics but believe (often because well-meaning friends of A.A. have told them so) that A.A. meetings are the place for those with any addiction. The guidelines for that situation are clear. In a 1958 Grapevine article, “Problems Other Than Alcohol,” Bill W. wrote: “Our first duty, as a Society, is to insure our own survival. Therefore we have to avoid distractions and multipurpose activities. . . . Sobriety – freedom from alcohol – through the teaching and practice of the Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of an A.A. group. . . . We have to confine our membership to alcoholics and we have to confine our A.A. groups to a single purpose. If we don’t stick to these principles, we shall almost surely collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone.” How to handle dually addicted alcoholics who persist in talking about other problems in meetings is a murkier issue. In that same article, Bill writes about “one of the best A.A.s I know” – a man who had been doing drugs for years before joining A.A., “but prior to that he had been a terrific alcoholic. . . . Therefore he could qualify for A.A. and this he certainly did.” Should groups today insist that dually addicted newcomers confine their discussion to alcoholism alone? Should we require prospective members to identify their “primary addiction” before participating in a group? Or can we simply welcome these men and women and trust that they will come, listen, and find their own way? In a presentation at the 1983 Conference entitled “Are we helping the dually addicted?” delegate Dyanne G. described the way her group welcomed her. “I will continue to thank God that I came into an A.A. group spiritually fit enough that its members did not find it necessary to censor my conversation or actions in order to protect themselves. I did talk about drugs, and I used a

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lot of four-letter words to do it! My group allowed me the dignity to choose to change these things and the freedom to do it when I could, not when they thought I should. . . . My group seems to have no trouble sticking to our single purpose, which is to carry the message to still-suffering alcoholics, however damaged and confused they are in the beginning . . . . There is a fine line between upholding our singleness-of-purpose Tradition and limiting or restricting our membership. The day A.A. appears to be rejecting people who may be alcoholic, we will begin to die. What good will it do us if, while we are defending our ‘rights,’ A.A. is destroyed?” Singleness of purpose has been the theme of several previous Conferences, and virtually every year discussion of related Advisory Actions has taken up long hours. The 1987 Conference debated for nearly a full day a recommendation for Conference approval of a statement differentiating open and closed meetings and suggesting that “when discussing our problems, we confine ourselves to those problems as they relate to alcoholism.” Some argued that no group has the right to tell anyone what to say; others pleaded for help in dealing with people with other additions who were dominating meetings. Normal voting rules were suspended, and several times votes for and against were reconsidered, until everyone was satisfied they had reached a true group conscience. In the end, the Conference compromised by voting with substantial unanimity against Conference approval, but it made a service piece (known as the “Blue Card”) available for groups that needed to use it. The “druggies” and other disruptive influences will not go away – they are one of the consequences of our own success. Ironically, some of our good friends in the field of alcoholism compound the problem because they believe our program works better than anything else for a variety of addictions. Good public information work and cooperation with professionals is part of the answer, but ultimately we cannot control what others do – only how we ourselves react. If we respond with a defensive flurry of restrictions, will we actually depart from our singleness of purpose by turning away alcoholics who have not yet recognized their problem? In 1986, retiring 2

G.S.O. general manager Bob P. gave the Conference closing talk. He said in part: “I echo those who feel that if this Fellowship ever falters or fails, it will not be because of any outside cause. . . . it will be simply because of us . . . . It will be because we have too much fear and rigidity and not enough trust and common sense. . . . “If you were to ask me what is the greatest danger facing Alcoholics Anonymous today, I would have to answer: the growing rigidity that is so apparent to me and many others. The increasing demand for absolute answers to nit-picking questions. Pressure for G.S.O. to ‘enforce’ our Traditions. Screening alcoholics at closed meetings. . . . And in this trend toward rigidity, we are drifting further and further away from our co-founders. Bill, in particular, must be spinning in his grave, for I remind you that he was perhaps the most permissive person I ever met. One of his favorite sayings was, ‘Every group has the right to be wrong;’ he was maddeningly tolerant of his critics; and he had absolute faith that faults in A.A. were self-correcting.”

■ Deadline for Directory Information—May 3, 2004 A reminder for area registrators/group record keepers: Please return your group information printouts or discs; the final deadline for inclusion in the directories is May 3, 2004. Printouts, corrected to show up-to-date group information and returned to G.S.O. by the areas, will be used to produce the 2004-2005 A.A. Directories: Eastern U.S., Western U.S., and Canadian. These confidential directories list groups and contacts; delegates and trustees; central offices/intergroups/answering services; and special international contacts.

■ Big Book Pricing When the Fourth Edition of the Big Book came out in late 2001, we lowered the price by one dollar for two main reasons: first, to say thank you to the Fellowship for all the hard work put into making this new edition; and second, because we anticipated sales revenue would push us over the limits of the Reserve Fund. Sales stayed so strong that we kept the discount for over two years. Big Book sales have now leveled off, and we will restore the original price on July 1, 2004. The price reinstatement will affect the Big Book in English, French and Spanish. The price of the hardcover Big Books (B-1, FB-1, SB-1) will be restored to $6.00; and the softcover (B-30, FB-30, SB-30) will be restored to $5.60. The price of the boxed set (B-11) of the Big Book and Experience, Strength and Hope will also go up one dollar, to $14.00. Other formats and languages will not be affected.

■ A Vision for A.A.’s Future —

“A Continuous Moral Inventory of Our Collective Behavior” What follows is taken from a presentation on “Our Vision for A.A.’s Future” given in November 2003 at a general sharing session, part of the quarterly weekend meeting of A.A.’s General Service Board. The presenter was John K., a general service trustee who spoke from his perspective as a director of A.A. World Services and as an A.A. member about some of the challenges that face our Fellowship, especially those that involve the General Service Board and its two operating corporations. Our co-founders were pragmatists – try something, test it, change it, review it, test it, then change, review, test it again. As a result, our knowledge as a Fellowship is based not on logic, or revelation, or authority – it is based on experience, on what works, and as such, it is always subject to change. Our basic vision of the future is simple: It is to carry our message of recovery from alcoholism to the stillsuffering alcoholic, and to do so through the efforts of each and every one of our members. The object of service in A.A. is not just to get the job done, but to get it done by working with others. This may not always be the most efficient way, but for us it is the best way, because the benefit to us is in making the effort to carry the message, whether or not the objective is ever attained. Co-founder Bill W. wrote frequently about his vision for A.A.’s future. In April 1959, he said: “Maybe we have a policy or plan that still looks fine and is apparently doing well. Nevertheless we ought to ponder very carefully what its longtime effect will be. Will today’s nearby advantages boomerang into large liabilities for tomorrow? The temptation will almost always be to seize the nearby benefits and quite forget about the harmful precedents or consequences that we may be setting in motion.” And further, in November 1960: “As we contemplate the Traditions we see that they have two main characteristics, and that each of these aspects reinforces the other. The first aspect of the Twelve Traditions is protection; the second aspect is progress. We are first reminded what our Fellowship’s temptations really are and by what means we may best deal with them. This is our basis for a continuous moral inventory of our collective behavior – the first step to actively casting aside our roadblocks.” A “continuous moral inventory of our collective behavior” is the challenge we face. Sometimes there comes a point in the life of a movement when most of its institutional energy is directed only toward preserving the administrative structure of the organization. We are not at such a point, but it may be hard to avoid in the long run unless we continue to take a collective moral inventory.

At this point, I want to segue from our vision to some of my own views of the future, which I offer solely as food for thought. I would like to make some personal observations regarding our international efforts, our Conference, and our Fellowship. International A.A.: The most exciting growth in A.A. today is occurring abroad, and those who have participated in that growth have been privileged to have what some have called “mountaintop experiences.” Perhaps we now need to build on the Fellowship’s overwhelming interest in our international expansion to broaden the range of such experiences, and the numbers of recovering alcoholics to whom such experiences are available. The U.S./Canada structure cannot in this area be seen as a deep pocket or project the attitude that we know best on all issues. We must proceed with the same humble purpose of looking to each other for help in staying sober. The Internet has brought us meetings without borders. Perhaps it could lead to A.A. group-to-group partnering on an international basis. Not sponsorship, but partnering, so that extraordinary experiences are expanded to include the greatest number of service entities and individuals. One way or another, we need to creatively explore ways to use technology to decentralize and broaden service opportunities, rather than permit the reverse to happen by default. Conference/Service Structure: Turning to our own backyard, maybe we need to look again, difficult and painful as it may be, into whether our General Service Conference is representative of our Fellowship, not just geographically or numerically, but by age and temperament. We are now well served by two corporate boards, A.A. World Services, Inc. and The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. In the beginning, these two separate boards served specific separate functions. A.A.W.S. dealt with services and publishing. The Grapevine dealt with the journalistic needs of the Fellowship – a means of communication that allowed for the free and open expression of views direct and unfiltered by the board, or by anything else save the bounds of editorial prudence. By and large, the Grapevine’s audience was limited to the Fellowship. There is still a need for editorial independence, but over time some of the other functions of G.S.O. and the Grapevine have come to overlap to a considerable degree. The General Service Office started out with publishing and services, but with its numerous newsletters and the like, it is now well into journalism. By the same token, the Grapevine is now beyond journalism and into publishing, and the Internet has considerably broadened its potential audience. 3

Bill W. argued that the need for two separate corporations was based on (1) a separation of function, (2) a need to avoid a concentration of power and (3) a need for an independent editorial voice. Those arguments are still basically valid. There is still a need, I believe, to maintain two active corporate boards. However, we have reached a point where we need to examine whether we can restore a separation of function (or, more specifically, avoid an overlap of function), and still observe the other two objectives noted above: avoidance of a concentration of power and maintenance of an independent editorial voice. I believe we need to reconsider the interrelationship of our corporate boards as a whole, and we need to do so at the level of the General Service Board, and include the Conference as an important part of the dialogue. Fellowship: Wearing my hat as an A.A.W.S. director, I want to briefly discuss a few issues relating to the Fellowship. • Every time we develop a new recovery pamphlet, I believe we say “welcome” to a whole group of alcoholics who might otherwise feel our message was not intended for them, or worse, that they would not be welcome. Every time we develop a “how to” guideline or the like, I believe we run the risk of implying that “this is the only way to do things.” In the process we may discourage innovation, or even scare our members off from service by creating the impression that they need vast training before even trying. I believe we need to produce more of the first type of literature, when appropriate, and less of the second. • At every Regional Forum I attend, I notice how eager some of our members are to turn over power to G.S.O. and the corporate boards. Some seem to want to reduce service, which should involve as much contact as possible with other recovering alcoholics, to as few computer keystrokes as possible. Some are eager to avoid inconvenience in service, even if it results in bypassing the service structure completely. Others want to install ritual and orthodoxy, which by their nature are always authoritative, even at the expense of setting our upsidedown triangle seriously a-wobble. To put it directly, while service should not be made unnecessarily difficult, it is not supposed to be easy or convenient – it is supposed to be service. We need to seek a balance. I think we need to constantly remind our members of the consequences of a softer, easier way, rather than cater to every request just because we have the technology to do so. • Perhaps, for example, we need to reexamine our Web site and other like activities. While I recognize the great benefit of online meetings for those who must rely on them, a Web site, in itself, is little more than a billboard – it speaks at people, not to them, and as our cofounders discovered, speaking at people does not really do the trick. The Web site does not appear to have 4

increased our membership or lessened its average age; maybe we should reconsider the resources we direct toward it, or the assumptions we make about its effectiveness. • Almost every act has an unintended consequence, yet often we give too little thought to follow-up testing and assessment to determine whether anything we have, as Bill said, “boomeranged into a large liability for tomorrow.” In my time on the board, I have witnessed a number of changes in the way we communicate, changes that threaten to bypass the service structure and tie member and group issues more directly to G.S.O. and the Grapevine. These changes have been made with the best of intentions, and with the hope that they would increase our members’ ability to carry the message. However, I think we now need to pause to ask if in the process, the cumulative effect of individual “minor” changes might make, over time, a significant change overall. If we as office and board usurp service opportunities – no matter how well-intentioned or effective our actions may be in the short run – we will have served our membership badly in the long run. In conclusion, I hope our vision for the future emphasizes the A.A. group as the fundamental unit of recovery. I hope our vision includes an A.A. where groups still have the right to be wrong. I hope our vision includes an A.A. where service involving actual human contact with other recovering alcoholics remains a matter of emphasis. I hope our vision includes an A.A. where organizational words like “speed” and “convenience” do not replace the basic service structure and the language of the heart, which often takes a long time and a good deal of effort, both to express and to hear. In short, I hope our vision for A.A.’s future includes a willingness to engage in a “continuous moral inventory of our collective behavior,” and to include as many of our members as possible in every aspect of that exercise.

■ Unity and Sharing Are the Glue of Intergroup Seminar The ambience of the 18th Annual Central Office/ Intergroup/A.A.W.S. Seminar, held September 25-28 in San Diego, California, embodied its overall theme—“All Together.” Says Connie J., manager of the San Diego Central Office: “Thanks in large part to great representation from the General Service Office and the Grapevine, there was a strong sense of unity throughout.” All told, 175 people were on hand for the 2003 seminar. They included intergroup/central office managers and employees from the U.S./Canada, trustees of the

International Convention ■ Who’s Responsible? —We Are Excitement is building among A.A. members around the world as many of us plan and prepare to join together to celebrate A.A.’s 70th Anniversary, June 30-July 3, 2005, in Toronto. Trustees’ and Conference Committees, G.S.O. staff, the Toronto Convention Bureau and the Canadian government encourage early preparations by all who will travel to the celebration. U.S. members are encouraged to obtain or renew their passports, and the same is true for members traveling from South America and overseas countries, some of whom will also need to obtain a visa. Last year, G.S.O.’s Web site, www.aa.org, added vital Convention information, including “Frequently Asked Questions on Travel to Canada,” as well as preliminary news about when and how to register and how to obtain hotel accommodations. In 2003, the Convention Web page was accessed 56,000 times, one indication that members understand the need to prepare and plan ahead. If you have not yet read that valuable information, now is the time to read and follow through, especially for those of us who experienced driving while intoxicated (DWI or DUI) or other felony convictions. We know that some members may feel discouraged by the need to address the process necessary to travel into Canada—or any future International Convention in North America. We understand, yet we also know that sobriety provides opportunities to become responsible through working the Twelve Steps, and applying A.A. principles in our daily living. One of those principles is that we respect and abide by the law. We are all familiar with the need to adhere to immigration rules and regulations, some of which have been strengthened since

Photo courtesy of: Tourism Toronto.

General Service Board, and directors and staff of A.A. World Services and the Grapevine. Together they shared problems, solutions, and ideas with each other, and examined key issues ranging from financial support to the distribution of A.A. literature. The seminar’s main activities centered around the workshops, which offered lively sharing on many matters of importance to the attendees. One that aroused considerable interest focused on Web sites and e-mail. It was chaired by Maury P., manager of the San Francisco Central Office, who discussed her office’s new Web site (www.aasf.org), which offers meeting schedules, a list of where to send group contributions, and a calendar of service committee meetings. Maury noted that to date the office had received few Twelfth Step e-mails and, in general, encouraged office staff and volunteers to make contact via phone whenever feasible. In a workshop entitled “A.A. Phones,” chaired by Janis R., assistant director of the Dallas Intergroup Association, laughter rippled when Janis related, “We have four phone lines. Something is wrong with our fourth line because we get a lot of pizza calls. . . . We get everything from Twelfth Step calls to Al-Anon, angermanagement, and those pizza calls.” At a session on “Volunteers,” there was good-humored sharing on ways to treat volunteers, among them: “Feed them well. Lots of chocolates, lots of Tootsie Rolls and popcorn.” . . . “Have a special day of celebration for all office volunteers.” . . . “Always thank them when they arrive and when they leave.” In still another workshop on “Twelve Traditions Usage,” the chair, David F., manager of the East Valley Intergroup in Mesa, Arizona, said that some groups use the Twelve Traditions checklist. In his experience, he added, “if we have a problem, we need to define it and then look to the Tradition that relates to that problem.” David also suggested that intergoups and central offices refrain from selling non-A.A. literature, noting “it might imply that A.A. literature is not sufficient to stay sober.” At the seminar’s end, many participants observed that it had given them a strong sense of community, reminding them that by continuing to share with each other all year long, they can strengthen their efforts to help the alcoholic. Copies of the Final Report of the 2003 seminar are still available. To order, contact: Connie J., Manager, San Diego Central Office, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92120-7075; call (619) 265-8762; fax (619) 265-2954; or e-mail sdaaco@aol.com. Please include a $5 contribution to help cover production and mailing costs. The 2004 Central Office/Intergroup/A.A.W.S. Seminar will be held in Denver, Colorado, from September 30October 3. For more information, or to register, contact Jo Nickell, Manager, Denver Area Central Office, 2765 North Speer Blvd., Suite 224, Denver, CO 80211-4440; call 303-322-4440; or e-mail denveraa@daccaa.org.

SkyDome Stadium, where the big meetings will be held.

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September 2001. We trust that the A.A. Fellowship will continue beyond our 70th Anniversary when we will join together in Toronto to say, “I Am Responsible. . . When Anyone, Anywhere, Reaches Out for Help, I Want the Hand of A.A. Always to Be There. And For That: I Am Responsible.” We recently received a letter from a member who realized that he’d need to obtain clearance to attend the 2005 International Convention. Before finding sobriety in A.A., Bill T. shares that he was incarcerated several times. Having gained sobriety, Bill was keenly interested in carrying the A.A. message into prisons and jails, yet several felony convictions meant that he’d have to be willing to go to any lengths to obtain clearance. Bill writes that in a similar fashion to his experience with gaining access to correctional facilities, the Steps also enabled him to apply his experience, strength and hope when complying with the rules, regulations and fees for entering Canada. He’s been granted a Temporary Resident Permit so that he can stand with us as we celebrate this A.A. milestone in Toronto.

How It Works for an Ex-Con — Clearing Away the Wreckage of the Past “Approximately nine months after coming into this program and doing Steps One through Seven, I began working on my Eighth and Ninth Steps, and doing monetary and emotional amends. When I first came into the program, there were several warrants for my arrest. My sponsor took me around and we met with the judges responsible for holding me accountable. Eventually the warrants were dropped. “In 1994, I was elected chair of the Area Correctional Committee and, with my sponsor’s encouragement, I accepted. Much to my consternation, I learned I could not be cleared to go inside the walls to carry our message of recovery because of my record. I worked with the committee for a year, when the doors of the county jails started opening to me. Later, I was accepted to carry our message inside state prisons, and I could see the promises (benefits of Steps Eight and Nine) beginning to work for me. “In 1997, I applied for a clearance to a Federal Penitentiary, which meant filling out many forms, obtaining letters of recommendation from people in the community (church, local police department, business leaders, etc.). I heard nothing for about two years and figured that I was not wanted, when I received a phone call at work from a person with the U.S. Government. He wanted to speak to me about my past convictions, and then told me that I had been cleared to go inside with a Level II clearance—the same clearance as a prison staff member. “More good news — I will be in Toronto for the 2005 International Convention, and have gone through the procedures that are necessary for people like me—those with felony convictions. On learning the procedures and fees necessary for me to attend the 2005 International, I could have become angry and resentful, but that’s not 6

good for me or my A.A. program. I knew that long ago I’d made the choices that caused so much heartache throughout my life. “I’ve completed the process and paid the fees necessary to obtain a U.S. Passport and a Temporary Residence Permit (formally called a Minister’s Permit) to enter and enjoy Toronto in 2005 along with thousands of A.A.s from around our world. To begin, please go online, www.gc.ca to download the forms to obtain a Temporary Residence Permit. One can also download forms applicable to members with offenses committed within the last five years, as well as other forms for members with offenses more than five years old. After doing the work, and paying several fees, I have completed the processes. “If you identify with my story, please begin now to do what is necessary to be with us in Toronto. The first, best resource for details is www.aa.org.” ___________ For U.S. residents, only these Canadian offices in the U.S. have information regarding Temporary Resident Permit, Granted & Deemed Rehabilitation and other border crossing matters related to any criminal convictions in the past contact by telephone, fax or e-mail: Washington, D.C.: Embassy of Canada, (202) 682-1740, Fax: (202) 682-7701, wshdc.outpack@dfait-maeci.gc.ca Buffalo, N.Y.: Consulate General of Canada, (716) 8589500, Fax: (716) 858-9562, bfalo-td@dfait-maeci.gc.ca Detroit: Consulate General of Canada, (313) 567-2340, Fax: (313) 567-2164, dtrot@dfait-maeci.gc.ca Immigration inquires: (313) 567-2085, Fax: (313) 5672125, dtrot-im@dfait-maeci.gc.ca Los Angeles: Consulate General of Canada, (213) 3462700, Fax: (213) 346-2767, lngls-td@dfait-maeci.gc.ca New York City: Consulate General of Canada, (212) 5961628, Fax: (212) 596-1793, cngny-td@dfait-maeci.gc.ca; Seattle: Consulate General of Canada, (206) 443-1777, Fax: (206) 443-9735, seatl-gr@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

■ Do Your Trusted Servants Get Lost in Transition? See What Southern Indiana Did Trusted servants in the Southern Indiana Area don’t just rotate out of office and fade away. They are passing on their service experience, strength and hope to incoming officers and making themselves available for future mentoring and assistance when asked. “We’ve been doing this with a view toward smoothing the transition from one slate of officers to another,” explains Carolyn C., a past delegate (Panel 50) who rotated out as Treatment Facilities chair in January and now is serving as chair of

the Public Information committee. “The result is that the new people don’t have to feel their way for a year before knowing the score.” The effort to improve the changeover process grew from awareness that “after rotation there was some confusion,” says Carolyn. “So last September an ad hoc area committee transition meeting was held to discuss different ways of handling things and, hopefully, arrive at a group conscience, which we did. Fifteen area committee chairs and members participated. “Our committee saw there were problems and definitely wanted to be part of the solutions,” Carolyn reports, “and the committee tried to take a long-range view. One outcome of the consensus is that during the rotation itself, all outgoing chairs and officers are now encouraged to be at the area assembly for the entire weekend of meetings— to show their commitment to service work and to answer questions of those who might be interested in standing for a position. To make sure outgoing officers are easily identifiable, they wear name tags signifying their commitments and availability to offer assistance.” Today, as soon as elections are over, outgoing committee members begin working actively with the incoming officers. “We try to ensure,” Carolyn emphasizes, “that they are included in all upcoming events. We also arrange to meet one-to-one with the incoming trusted servant before the end of the year, or when the two-year term of office ends, both during the assembly weekend and at other times. This involves more than just ‘handing over a box.’ It means that outgoing members are expected to actually go over what they have learned while in the position. Additionally, it is suggested that outgoing chairs attend the first committee meetings held by the new officers after the first of the year.” An important long-term aim, she points out, is to sponsor people into service work. That could mean encouraging them to stand for positions, asking them just what they would like to do next in the service arena—district committee members were specifically mentioned. One way of making certain that incoming A.A.s familiarize themselves with their new office is to urge them to take a good look at the “Area 23 Guidelines and Structure,” read pertinent service literature (in particular, The A.A. Service Manual), and study any workbooks that are available from the General Service Office. One warming touch, Carolyn notes, is that the area is now sending congratulatory letters to incoming officers, to welcome them to their new positions and share contact and other information. “Because budgets are a big issue in the work of the area committees,” she adds, “it is important to discuss with the new officers ways in which the area sets up the budgets so they can clearly understand what is going on. An effort is presently being made to give the new officers an opportunity to have input in the budget proposal for the November committee meeting—one that will become their budget for the following year.” A dividend of the step-up in face to face communica-

tion between ingoing and outgoing officers, Carolyn says, is that important papers and other material are less likely to get lost in transition, as has happened to her. “Instead of haphazardly trusting the mails or the kindness of others,” she explains, “we make the transfers directly.” Noting that “we’re still in the trial-and-error stage,” Carolyn acknowledges that “transitions are not always as smooth as we’d wish and sometimes people fall in the cracks, but on the whole we feel that we’re making solid progress. And it is so important, because right up there with the Anonymity Tradition, rotation is the main method we have in A.A. to prevent the pursuit for power, prestige, and personal recognition from distorting our best intentions. Also, since the process of rotation in all service positions—from the group level to the district and assembly and board of trustees—limits the length of individual service, it pretty much does away with popularity contests and keeps principles before personalities.” But what about the experienced trusted servants who have rotated out of their jobs and no longer hold any office? As Tradition Two clearly states, they can “become the voice of the group conscience; in fact these are the true voice of Alcoholics Anonymous. They do not drive by mandate, they lead by example.”

■ A.A. Elections Avoid Politics By the Third Legacy Procedure In November 1950, co-founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob agreed to a proposal forming the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous. At the time, the service structure as we know it today did not exist. The founding members, along with a board of trustees who had little direct contact The Third Legacy Procedure

BALLOT Does one candidate have 2/3

1ST majority of total vote?

Yes

Candidate with 2/3 majority is elected

No Does one candidate have 2/3

2ND majority of total vote?

No

Does one candidate have 2/3

3RD majority of total vote?

No

Does one candidate have 2/3

4TH majority of total vote?

Yes

Candidate with 2/3 majority is elected

Candidates with less than 1/5 of total vote are withdrawn [ Top candidate and all runners-up must remain ]

Yes

Candidate with 2/3 majority is elected

Candidates with less than 1/3 of total vote are withdrawn [ Top candidate and all runners-up must remain ]

Yes

Candidate with 2/3 majority is elected

No Chairperson asks for motion to conduct a Fifth Vote

Motion Defeated

GO TO THE HAT

Motion Passed (by simple majority)

Does one candidate have 2/3

5TH majority of total vote?

Yes

Candidate with 2/3 majority is elected

No GO TO THE HAT

The A.A. Service Manual, p. S21

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with the membership, had guided A.A.’s growth and development from the early years. But Dr. Bob was very ill, the other early members would not be around forever, and Bill believed it was time for the Fellowship as a whole to take over the responsibility for A.A.’s essential services. A.A. had “come of age,” and it was time for the membership as a whole to guide its own future. To accomplish this goal, it was necessary to create a structure that would make it possible for groups across the U.S. and Canada to communicate and work together. The proposed formation of committees in the various states and provinces, and the election of delegates to a Conference would operate on a trial basis for five years. Bill took as his model not the familiar American political process, but a method grounded firmly in the Traditions. Mindful of the First Tradition, “Our common welfare should come first . . . ,” he based the procedure for electing Conference delegates primarily on Tradition Two: “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.” In the initial proposal, under the heading “Keeping Politics Out of It,” Bill wrote: “A noncontroversial method has been devised for the selection of state committees and Conference delegates. It will be seen that this method carefully avoids political troubles. No delegate so chosen could possibly consider himself a political victor. He will feel himself a servant, but not a senator.” Bill suggested that state and provincial assemblies be organized, each of which would elect committee members by written ballot. All of these committee members would then automatically be placed in nomination as candidates for delegate to the General Service Conference. Bill emphasized the importance of electing the delegate by a two-thirds vote: “a delegate ought to be chosen by a majority of two-thirds because all delegates should feel themselves servants of world A.A. rather than marginal victors of troublesome political contests.” Before the election, Bill specified that the assembly should vote on using this procedure, and if it was approved (by a two-thirds vote), a ballot should be cast. “If one of the committeemen receives two-thirds or more, he becomes the delegate for two years. Otherwise the method of election is discarded. . . . The tellers then place in a hat the names of each committeeman willing to serve as delegate. The first man (or lady) out of the hat becomes state or provincial delegate.” By July 1955, when the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service were turned over to the Fellowship at the 20th Anniversary Convention in St. Louis, making the Conference structure official, the Third Legacy Procedure had proved its worth. In a 1955 draft for the Manual of World Service (now The A.A. Service Manual), Bill underlined the importance of avoiding politics: “The Third Legacy method for assemblies is designed to prevent the hot political contests that arise out of personal nominations from the floor or from a committee, and from close 8

elections. Hence the Third Legacy plan requires written ballots, no personal nominations, two-thirds vote to elect or the drawing of lots if voting fails.” Some areas had apparently tried other methods, and not surprisingly, they didn’t work. “It can now be said, on the basis of actual experience, that every time an assembly has gone back to ordinary business and political practices, permitting personal nominations and defeats, and allowing elections of delegates to be won by close majorities, there has been needless trouble. The spirit of service is lost and delegates so chosen have opposing and often hostile minorities at their backs. Most of us think the Third Legacy method has elevated the conduct of A.A. affairs from partisan politics to statesmanship.” Today, the Third Legacy Procedure remains in essence what Bill envisioned in 1950, with a few steps added. If no candidate receives a two-thirds majority on the first ballot, the assembly goes to a second and if necessary a third and a fourth. At each step, candidates with a stated percentage of votes are dropped. After the fourth ballot, the chairman asks for a vote whether to go to a fifth ballot. If the vote is yes, a fifth ballot is taken, and if no one is elected, it goes to the hat. If the vote is no, the assembly goes directly to the hat and the delegate is chosen. Third Legacy Procedure is used primarily for the election of delegates and trustees, two A.A. service jobs for which a world view is essential. Political wisdom anywhere else might say that leaving the choice of people to fill these vital jobs to “chance” could never work. But this is Alcoholics Anonymous, and many of our finest and most effective trusted servants have proudly come “out of the hat.”

■ AA Grapevine Digital Archives While past Grapevine articles contain a wealth of experience, finding them has not always been easy. Now there is a much faster path to A.A. history — the Grapevine’s new Digital Archives. In June 2004, coinciding with the 60th Anniversary of the magazine, the new AA Grapevine Digital Archives will go live, and you’ll be able to access easily and rapidly all those early issues of the Grapevine. Every Grapevine article and letter ever published (all 12,000 of them) will be available, including the 150 articles Bill wrote for the magazine, to everyone with access to the Internet. The Archives will be free for the month of June. If you’re a Grapevine magazine subscriber, or become one by October 31, 2004, you can have unlimited access to the AA Grapevine Digital Archives for one full year for just $5.00. To take advantage of this introductory rate, you have to act before October 31, 2004. After that date, the price to subscribers for access for one year will be $10.00.

The subscription process will begin July 1, 2004. To subscribe it is necessary to go online: www.aa.grapevine.org. For details on how accessing the Digital Archive is going to work, stay tuned to the A.A. Grapevine magazine and the Web site.

■ New Material Helps ASL Signers Meet the Needs of Deaf Alcoholics Imagine a language that can’t be written or spoken—yet one that for thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing alcoholics may spell the difference between a life of fulfilling sobriety and chronic illness or early death. At meetings across the U.S. and Canada, American Sign Language (ASL) opens wide windows to A.A.’s message of recovery and hope—but this happens only when an ASL interpreter is on hand to communicate that message to those who cannot hear. For sure, ASL interpreters are needed at meetings where the deaf and near-deaf gather; at the same time, they need all the help they can get in order to meet the challenges of signing at A.A. meetings. Because ASL is a separate language with a different way of saying things, A.A.-speak does not always translate accurately or consistently. For example: Step One—”We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable”—has been translated by some deaf A.A. members and interpreters into ASL as “Admit alcohol more strong than us. We can’t help ourselves.” Step Three, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him”— becomes “We decided to allow ‘God’ to help our minds and lives. We pick ‘God’ to believe.” In this interpretation of all Twelve Steps, available from the General Service Office, it is noted that “ ‘God’ can mean anything, group of things, anyone or group of people.” G.S.O. has long provided audiovisual A.A. material for the deaf, including two books that are available in ASL: a five-volume, 1/2″ VHS video of the first 11 chapters and other portions of the Big Book; and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, also a five-volume, 1/2″ VHS video. But recognizing the pressing need for A.A. service material that ASL signers can accurately communicate to the deaf, G.S.O. recently added the following three pamphlets specifically “for signing purposes,” “Do You Think You’re Different?,” “This Is A.A.” and “Is A.A. for You?,” to the already existing list of: “A Brief Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous,” “A Newcomer Asks,” “How It Works,” “Is A.A. For Me,” “The Twelve Steps” and “The Twelve Traditions” (in both short and long forms)—all available from G.S.O. upon request. All were developed by hard-of-hearing members and ASL interpreters.

Also available from G.S.O. are “Transcription Notes to Assist Signers/Interpreters.” One of the pointers offered: “There are two common signs for ‘drink’ (one is for ‘nonalcoholic drinks’). The one to be used here is the index-and-thumb hand shape, as [one might use] if grasping a shot glass, which denotes alcoholic beverages in general.” Also noted: that members of the deaf community “often sign ‘A.A.’ to mean a person is an alcoholic, whether the person attends A.A. meetings or not.” It is suggested, too, that alcoholism be translated as “alcohol” (as in the sign for “whisky” or another alcoholic beverage) plus “addicted” (or “addiction”) in the sign for “hooked.” One experienced (nonalcoholic) interpreter, Debbie Ciraolo, who for about 10 years has simultaneously signed and lip-synched at the Oxford A.A. Group in Manhattan, is pleased about G.S.O.’s new help-aids for interpreters who sign at A.A. meetings. She said that “every bit of clarification helps the interpreter to help the hard of hearing.” She further points out that “no matter how devoted deaf alcoholics are to A.A. or how much they read its literature, they still need to feel connected to the people in the Fellowship. An interpreter at meetings can help make that connection, and the group’s willingness to provide one makes the deaf person feel validated as a member.”

Treatment Facilities ■ Some Suggested Activities for T.F. Committees This list is intended as a committee “starting point” only. It is A.A. experience that if a committee group conscience selects a single project and follows it through to completion, there is a great sense of unity and love and service shared by all committee members. For further experience, please review the Treatment Facilities Workbook, talk to experienced members in the area, and remember that our first responsibility is to the Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. 1. Study the Treatment Facilities Workbook and related material. 2. Purchase Treatment Facilities Workbooks for all committee members. 3. Send a list of Treatment Facilities meetings to all D.C.M.s and to local intergroup/central offices. 4. Invite Correctional Facilities, Cooperation With the Professional Community, and Public Information Committee liaisons to Treatment Facilities committee meetings. 5. Make presentations to three Treatment Facilities and offer follow-up presentations every four months to 9

accommodate staff changes. 6. Set up Treatment Facilities literature displays at district meetings, area meetings, seminars, conventions, etc. 7. Create a local Treatment Facilities presentation based on the Treatment Facilities Workbook and local experience, i.e., for psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, youth noncorrectional facilities, shelters, halfway houses. 8. Create a Temporary Contact (Bridging the Gap) program. 9. Contact three nursing homes to offer A.A. presentations or meetings. 10. Contact three psychiatric hospitals to offer A.A. presentations or meetings. 11. Fight apathy within the Fellowship; find a co-chair and interested people in order to achieve all of the above. 12. Write to the General Service Office with additional suggestions for this list. Note: The Treatment Facilities Kit, in a three-ring binder format, is now available from G.S.O. (M-40; $12.00). The Workbook is included in the Kit, but can also be purchased as a stand-alone item (Item M-401, $2.50).

P.I. ■ A.A. Is There for Homeless Veterans at Philadelphia ‘Stand Down’ For the past several years, committees of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Intergroup Association (SEPIA) have participated in the Philadelphia Stand Down—a community event organized in 1994 as a volunteer effort to give homeless veterans the hope and support they need to transform their lives. “Stand Down,” a military term describing a period of rest and resupply for exhausted combat troops, seems appropriate for what happens every fall at Philadelphia’s Lighthouse Field, where homeless veterans live together in a temporary tent city for a whole weekend of structured activities. Among the services offered are food, health care, counseling, legal aid, clothing and haircuts, all without charge. No alcohol or drugs are allowed on the field. Advance information about the Stand Down, which has counterparts in cities across the U.S., emphasizes that it is “a hand up, not a handout.” At the Philadelphia Stand Down, held the weekend of September 5-7, 2003 the SEPIA service committees worked closely together in the spirit of “cooperation, not affiliation,” as detailed in Tradition Six, to take the A.A. message to the veterans. Reports immediate past director (chair) Dorothy H. “In order to ensure the widest possible A.A. participation, our P.I. committee decided to 10

involve as many of the other standing Intergroup committees as possible, along with several A.A. members who were themselves veterans. The committee also decided to hold just three types of open meetings: speaker-discussion and Step One meetings, and a final ‘God as I Understand Him’ get-together on Sunday morning.” “Our experience exceeded our expectations,” says Dorothy. “Even the weather cooperated. Instead of the rain that had been falling most of the previous week and would have turned the entire field into a muddy, soggy mess, we were given a sunny, warm, dry weekend.” When she and Tony H. arrived Friday afternoon to set up, “we were gratified to see that the Stand Down organizers had supplied A.A. not only with a tent containing three long tables and about 20 chairs, but also with a light powered by a generator for after-dark activities,” Tony notes. “We received help from some of the nonA.A. vets who were serving as volunteers for the event,” he adds. “They rolled up the flaps at the side of the tent so we could have both light and air.” Outside the tent a table was covered with what Dorothy describes as “one of our new Big Book-blue P.I. table skirts bearing the words ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ and our local Intergroup phone number in contrasting white. Inside the tent we used the second table skirt for our chairperson’s table; on it was a clearly marked binder containing the formats we had prepared for each of the scheduled meetings. A third table was reserved for the pamphlets, meeting lists and other A.A. literature that volunteers would be handing out. Outside the tent, high up and facing the entrance to the field, we hung our blueand-gold Intergroup banner. A P.I. committee member had sent us a large ‘A.A.’ sign painted on cloth that was suspended on the back of the tent. Now we knew that nobody on the field would have difficulty finding A.A.” The A.A. service committee members took turns working four-hour shifts and coordinating the meetings. There were nine in all, held morning, noon and night, starting with a speaker-discussion meeting Friday afternoon from 3:30-4:25 by members of the committee on Cooperation With the Professional Community. Besides the P.I. and C.P.C. committees, participating service entities included the Prisons (Correctional Facilities), Special Events, and Treatment Facilities committees. Three of the meetings were led by A.A.s who also are veterans. Says Karen T., current director of the P.I. committee: “In A.A. identification and sharing are the glue of recovery. So imagine the power of the sharing between two alcoholics, one sober, one not, when both are veterans as well.” During one meeting, an A.A. volunteer commented that “carrying the A.A. message in such a setting—a tent on a field for homeless veterans—seems like ‘A.A. on wheels.’ ” The experience, she affirmed, “has given me a new appreciation of the Fellowship.” And for all who were involved in the effort, a P.I. committee report concludes, “the 2003 September Stand Down was a very special, very spiritual and rewarding experience.”

Cut along dotted line, and post this page on your group’s bulletin board

– – – -✁ ———————————————————————————

BULLETIN BOARD Items and Ideas on Area Gatherings for A.A.s — Via G.S.O.

Calendar of Events Events listed here are presented solely as a service to readers, not as an endorsement by the General Service Office. For any additional information, please use the addresses provided.

April 2-4—Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama/ Northwest Florida Area 1 Assembly. Write: Ch., 1314 Stanford Road, Dothan, AL 36305; areaonesecty@aol.com 2-4—Westwego, Louisiana. Serenity in the Swamp Campout. Write: Ch., 1028 Market St., Metairie, LA 70003 2-4—Bedford, New Hampshire. New Hampshire Area 43 State Conv. Write: Ch., 1330 Hooksett Rd., Hooksett, NH 03106; www.nhaa.net 3-4—Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Area 35 Spring Assembly. Write: Ch., 4409 Medina Street, Duluth, MN 55807; www.area35.org 3-4—Trieste, Italy. Annual Seminar/ Conv.: 2nd Tradition, 3rd Concept. Write: Ch., Via dei Saltuari 2, 34100 Trieste Italy 8-10—Panama City, Panama. XXXI Conv. de Centroamerica y Panama del 2004. Write: Ch., Apartado 6-3290, El Dorado, Ciudad de Panama, Panama 8-11—San Diego, California. San Diego Spring Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 3177, San Diego, CA 92103-3177; www.sandiegospringroundup.com 8-12—Townsville, Australia. 39th National Conv. Write: Ch., Box 60, Hyde Park Queensland 4812 Australia; aanatcon2004@hotmail.com or http://townsvilleaaconvention.cjb.net 9-11—Cape Town, South Africa. 55 th Annual National Conv. Write: Ch., Box 51871, Waterfront, 8002 South Africa; http://alcoholicsanonymous.cape.org.za 15-18—Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Springtime in the Ozarks Conv. Write: Ch., Box 692, Eureka Springs, AR 72764 16-18—Good Year, Arizona. 14th Annual West Valley Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 5495, Sun City West, AZ 85376-5495 16-18—Chico, California. Hospitals and Institutions Conf. Write: Ch., Box 2592, Paradise, CA 95967 16-18—Perris, California. 1er Congreso del Inland Empire. Write: Ch., 5418 34th St., Riverside, CA 92509 16-18—Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie Swing into Spring Conf. Write: Ch., Box 668, Northeast, PA 16428-0668 16-18—Leakey, Texas. Spiritual Unity on the Frio Conf. Write: Ch., Box 528, Utopia, TX 78884 16-18—Superior, Wisconsin. 59th Annual Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 996, Superior, WI 54880; superiorroundup@aol.com 16-18—Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. District 3 42nd Annual Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 141, Cold Lake, AB T9M 1P1 16-18—Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. Dauphin Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 453, Dauphin, MB R7N 2V3

17-18—Norfolk, Nebraska. 19th Annual 2004 Spring Classic. Write: Ch., 200 S. 11th St., Norfolk NE 68701 23-24—Hightstown, New Jersey. Big Book Seminar 2004. Write: Ch., Box 2562, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690 23-24—Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Lethbridge and Southern Alberta RoundUp. Write: Ch., Box 212, Lethbridge, AB T1J 3Z6 23-25—Galesburg, Illinois. Spring Fling Eleven. Write: Ch., Box 1772, Galesburg, IL 61402-1772 23-25—Fairmont, Minnesota. 10th Annual Sunlight of the Spirit Weekend. Write: Ch., Box 748, Fairmont, MN 56031-0748 23-25—Hightstown, New Jersey. Big Book Seminar 2004. Write: Ch., Box 2562, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690 23-25—Canandaigua, New York. 19 th Annual Conf. of the Lakes. Write: Ch., Box 982, Canandaigua, NY 14424 23-25—Banff, Alberta, Canada. Banff Round-Up. Write: Ch., 2-4015 1st St. SE, Calgary, Alberta, T2G 4X7 23-25—Mont-Tremblant, Québec, Canada. 31e Congrès des Laurentides. Write: Ch., 40 Charmain de Grand Pic, Saint Faustin, QC J0T 1J2 23-25—Dublin, Ireland. 47th All-Ireland Conv. Write: Ch., 109 South Circular Rd., Dublin 8 Ireland; www.alcoholicsanonymous.ie or ala@indigo.ie 30-May 1—Richardton, North Dakota. District 8 Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 521, Dickinson, ND 58602 30-May 1—Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. Pembroke District 74 Annual Spring Conf. Write: Ch., 9 Irene Street, Pembroke, ON K8A 7M2 30-May 2—Tampa, Florida. Young at Heart Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 76422, St. Petersburg, FL 33704; www.youngatheartroundup.com 30-May 2—Chubbuck, Idaho. 2004 Spring Assembly/Conv. Write: Ch., Box 4451, Pocatello, ID 83205-4451 30-May 2—Grants Pass, Oregon. 29 th Annual Rogue Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 1741, Grants Pass, OR 97528-0148

APRIL – MAY 2004 30-May 2—Greensburg, Pennsylvania. 61st Laurel Highland’s Conf. Write: Ch., Box 6, Bovard, PA 15619 30-May 2—Burlington, Vermont. 41 st Vermont State Conv. Write: Ch., Box 2004, Wallingford, VT 05773; area70list@aol.com 30-May 2—Oliver, British Columbia, Canada. 20th Annual South Okanagan – Oliver Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 392, Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 30-May 2—Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Northwestern Ontario 38 th Annual Area 85 Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 10073, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6T6 30-May 2—Longueuil, Québec, Canada. 22e Congrès Longueuil Rive-Sud. Write: Ch., C.P. 21061 Station Jacques-Cartier R-S., Longueuil, PQ J4J 5J4

May 6-9—Ermioni-Plepi, Peloponnese, Greece. Tenth International Conv. Write: Ch., 6 Filis St., 14122 Athens, Greece 7-9—Grand Isle, Louisiana. 10th Annual Serenity By The Sea. Write: Ch., Box 1156, Grand Isle, LA 70358 14-15—Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, Canada. 20e Congrès de Cap-de-laMadeleine. Write: Ch., 1190 rue Principale, St-Prosper, PQ, G0X 3A0 14-16—Great Falls, Montana. Spring Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 201, Great Falls, MT 59403 14-16—Laughlin, Nevada. 20 th Annual Tri-State Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 2610, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405-2610 14-16—Dayton, Ohio. 26 th Women’s Workshop. Write: Ch., Box 1527, Dayton, OH 45401-1527; http://communities.msn.com/Womensworkshop or women_workshop@hotmail.com 14-16—Tulsa, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State Conf. Write: Ch., Box 471944, Tulsa, OK 74147-1994 14-16—Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Area 63 2004 Spring Conf. Write: Ch., Box 1872, Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Planning a Future Event? To be included in the Box 4-5-9 Calendar, information must be received at G.S.O. three months prior to the event. We list events of two or more days. For your convenience and ours — please type or print the information to be listed on the Bulletin Board page, and mail to us: Date of event: from ___________________________ to ________________________, 20 _________ Name of event: _______________________________________________________________________ Place (city, state or prov.): __________________________________________________________________________ For information, write: (exact mailing address) ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Contact phone # (for office use only): _______________________________________________________

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14-16—Lake Brownwood, Texas. 21 st Annual Texas Man to Man Conf. Write: Ch., Box 140114, Irving, TX 75014-0114; www.mantoman.org 14-16—Port Angeles, Washington. Olympic Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 1081, Port Angeles, WA 98362; www.olympicroundup.com 14-16—Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Area 74 2004 Spring Conf. Write: Ch., Box 261, Eau Claire, WI 54702-0261; www.aainwestwis.org or www.area74.org 14-16—Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 53 rd Annual Spring Conf. Write: Ch., Box 70534, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0534 20-23—Daytona Beach, Florida. 14 th Daytona Spring Conf. Write: Ch., 34 Glen Falls Drive, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 21-22—Orford, Quebec, Canada. 23 rd Townshipper’s Round-Up. Write: Ch., 1501 Mont Echo Road, Sutton, Quebec, J0E 2K0 21-23—Oak Brook, Illinois. Northern Illinois Area 30th Spring Conf. Write: Ch., Box 9213, Downers Grove, IL 60515; www.aa.nia.org 21-23—Louisville, Kentucky. 14th Falls City Conv. Write: Ch., 2076 Sherwood Ave. #2, Louisville, KY 40205 21-23—Jackson, Wyoming. Area 76 2004 Spring Conv. Write: Ch., Box 2159, Jackson, WY 83001 21-23—Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada. Comox Valley 53 rd Annual Rally. Write: Ch., Box 1337, Comox, BC V9N 7Z8 21-23—Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. 29th Yukon Annual Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 31612, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 6L2; aayukonevents@hotmail.com 27-30—Orlando, Florida. 47th Annual ICYPAA. Write: Ch., Box 150412, Altamonte Springs, FL 32715; www.icypaa47.org or info@icypaa47.org 28-30—Atlanta, Georgia. Primera Conv. Hispana del Estado de Georgia. Write: Ch., 3146 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. #215, Chamblee, GA 30041 28-30—Chicago, Illinois. XXIII Conv. de Habla Hispana del Estado de Illinois. Write: Ch., 2305 W. Foster Ave., Chicago, IL 60625 28-30—Chicago, Illinois. Second City Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 347, Oak Lawn, IL 60454; secondcityroundup@yahoo.com 28-30—Bloomington, Minnesota. Gopher State Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 65295, St. Paul, MN 55165-0295 28-30—Dallas, Texas. The Gathering of Eagles. Write: Ch., Box 35865, Dallas, TX 75235 28-31—Harker Heights Texas. District 5 Annual Memorial Day Campout. Write: Ch., Box 2876, Harker Heights, TX 76548; www.centraltexaadist5.org or district5area68@hotmail.com

2-4—Yakima, Washington. Pacific Northwest Conf. Write: Ch., Box 514, Newman Lake, WA 99025; www.area92aa.org 2-4—Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. 22nd Annual Chilliwack RoundUp. Write: Ch., 46196 Second Ave., Chilliwack, BC, V2P 157 9-11—Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama/ Northwest Florida Area 1 Assembly. Write: Ch., 1314 Stanford Road, Dothan, AL 36305; areaonesecty@aol.com 9-11—Appleton, Wisconsin. 4 th Annual Unity Conf. Write: Ch., Box 554, Pewaukee, WI 53072-554 15-18—Raleigh, North Carolina. 57 th Annual North Carolina Conv. Write: Ch., Box 71144, Durham, NC 27722-1144; ncconference@nc.rr.com 16-18—Portland, Oregon. Pacific Regional Forum. Write: Forum Coordinator, Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163 23-25—Des Moines, Iowa. Capital City Conf. Write: Ch., Box 30135, Des Moines, IA 50310; www.capitalcityconference.org 23-25—Morgantown, West Virginia. Area 73 West Virginia State Conv. Write: Ch., Box 803, Elkins, WV 26241-0803 25-30—Crested Butte, Colorado. 21 st Annual Crested Butte Mountain Conf. Write: Ch., Box 140114, Irving, TX 750140114; www.cbconference.org 30-Aug. 1—Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. 29 th Mini Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 1171, Truro, NS B2N 5H1

2-6—Wailea, Hawaii. Maui Fest Conv. Write: Ch., PMB 640, Box 959, Kihei, HI 96753 4-6—Flagstaff, Arizona. Flagstaff RoundUp. Write: Ch., Box 22148, Flagstaff, AZ 86002 4-6—Las Cruces, New Mexico. Area 46 Conv. Write: Ch., Box 394, Fair Acres, NM 88033 5-6—Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. Special Forum. Write: Forum Coordinator, Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163 11-13—Mobile, Alabama. 23 rd Annual Azalea City Jamboree. Write: Ch., Box 9005, Mobile, AL 36609 11-13—Springfield , Missouri. 14th Annual Heart of the Ozarks Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 1607, Springfield, MO 65801 11-13—Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. 36th Annual Round-Up. Write: Ch., Box 2813, Yellowknife, NWT X1A 2R1 17-20—Indian Wells, California. Desert Pow Wow. Write: Ch., Box 10128, Palm Desert, CA 92255 18-20—Sandwich, Massachusetts. Unity Over the Bridge Campout. Write: Ch., Box 3265, Waquoit, MA 02536 18-20—Parksville, British Columbia, Canada. Parksville/ Qualicum 44th Rally. Write: Ch., 117-211 S. Moilliet St., Parksville, BC V9P 1N8 25-27—Billings, Montana. Beartooth Mountain Conf. Write: Ch., Box 23406, Billings, MT 59104 25-27—North Platte, Nebraska. Area 41 Reunion. Write: Ch., Box 1563, Bellevue, NE 68005 25-27—Salt Lake City, Utah. Celebrating 60 Years in Utah Conv. Write: Ch., Box 154, Springville, UT 84663 25-27—Washington Island, Wisconsin. Keep It Simple Spirituality Weekend. Write: Registrar, RR1, Box 143-W, Washington Island, WI 54246-9746.

July

June

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