459 News and Notes From the General Servce Offce of A.A. VOL. 45, No. 1./ FEBRUARY -MARCl 1. 999 15th World Servce Meetng Thrty-nne delegates from 22 countres gathered n Auckland, New Zealand, October 4-8, 1998, for the 15th World Servce Meetng of Alcoholcs Anonymous. Many of the parncpants had traveled 20 to 25 hours to anve, qute lterally, on the other sde of the world, but noth.ng could quench ther energy, humor, and A.A. sprt as they plunged nto a busy and productve four days. The theme, "Servce-Bacc to Personal Recovery and A.A. Unty," opened the door to a rch and vared program of presentatons, worl<shops and sh.anng sessons. For the frst tune, proceedngs were translated nto three languages, Sparush,Japanese and Polsh. Establshed n 1969, the WSM, whch meets every two years, altematng between New York Cty and an overseas locaton, provdes a forum n whch delegates can share the experence, strength, and hope of ther countres. Each partcpatng country may send two delegates, and staff members of the U.S/Canada G.S.O. tal~e care of arrangements and organzaton and provde commttee support. n between the beruual meetngs, three zonal meetngs (European Servce Meetmg, Meetmg of the Amercas, and the Asa-Oceana Servce Meetng) nclude not only WSM countres but representatves from smaller or less developed servce structures that are unable to get to the WSM because of fmancal tures nvolved, they express a consensus of world experence and set forth gudelnes for developng servce structures to follow. At the 15th meetng, conunttees made the followng recommendatons: A,genda: The theme of the 16th WSM (to take place n New York Cty, October.22-26, 2000) wll be "A.A.: Our Future s Our Responsblty." Polcy/Admssons/Fnance: Lowered delegate fees for the 16th meetmg to encourage wder partcpaton, and added that countres can contrbute to the WSM over and above the fee; the conunttee also decded that t was not approprate for the Onlme ntergroup of A.A to be part of the WSM. Lterature/Publshng: Recommended that a report on the status of the nternatonal Lterature Fund be sent annually to delegates and country G.S.O.s, and reafj'rmed the mportance of protectmg copyrghts and lcenses so that A.A. can contnue to control ts own lt- erature and protect the ntegrty of the message. Workng Wlt11 Others: Dscussed workng wth pro- fessonals, correctonal facltes, and treatment facltes. More tune than ever before was bullt n to the agenda for general shalng sessons, and the change pad off n full and heartfelt partcpaton. rullally there was some hestaton, wth many partcpants feelng solated and or other consderatons. (t~~~, unque. Soon, though, Reports from the '-l. ~' ~ ~. ~.:-' ~ tf ~,. _ one delegate ~e zonal meetngs are. ~ ~~ ~ ~. R ~ '~-"'\ \ t.. -~ to the mtcromportant parts "?~.. 1 ~{- ~\,~. ~~l<\. 4. JJr 1 11 '>.. ' ~~-~ phone and of every World (~ '.1 1 ((":.<~ff, _..; -... ~ \ ~~'"'~/.A<P'~lll :_;,.. : revealed some Setvce Meetmg. ~ -, l,tj /~ ~ ~ 4, ~ "J.r-1 l~ t " problems fou~~::u:~ees :- j 1 4 - ;'?/ '. ~/\:'f 1 tt'~\{. ~~ ::s~c:;~ 1\ '/ ~ ;~ 1.~" { (...",'':~.1;~,1). Agenda, Lterature/. :;<.'. 11 11~ ~ '-'.\ fl,';,.. ~~ / l n her coun- Publshng Polcy/ ~....,.. 1,1; ~ ~,. \../ "f='l.rt. 1 ~.,.,...,. tn1, After that t ~ ~., ~... ~ 1 t) '» '/ "~ '.r ~~ Admssons~nance, ~~ :-.(.' _,v)~ -/..J. ~..:.l.j / (..;-~ ~~-, ;'t another deleand Workng p' y.. 1 t~-;. ~- ' gate got up, then Wth Others. - 7 "..~' 4[~j">'~k~'t another, and soon Whle commttee ~~.,. ~ ~- evetyone was able to actons are not bnd- _ :' ' <t> ~-,... / talk about dffcult stng upon any of the struc- k:l.:~ 1 ~ > K"4 'f: "tj<, ' uatons n ther own coun- ~~ \K y '-' -~ ~ ; ' t
Box 4-5-9 s publlshcd bmonthly by the General SelVlCe Offee of Alcoholcs Anonymous, 475 Rversde Drve, New York, NY 10115, C> Alcoholcs Anonymous World SeJVces, nc., 1999 Mal address: P.0. Box 459, Grand Central Staton New York, NY 10163 G.S.O.'s A.A. Web Ste: v;ww.alcoholx:s-anonymous.org Subscrptons: ndl111dual, $3.50 per year; group, $6.00 for each Wlt of10 per year. Check-made payable to AA W.S., nc.-should acoompany order. tres and benefts from the experence of countres that had fowld solutons. Dfferences n culture or extent of A.A. growth dd not matter; there was an abwldance of nfoxmaton to choose from, as each delegate dd what every AA. member s told to do: "take what you need, and leave the rest." New Zealand's conference, board, host contact, and hosptalty commttee ptched n to make sure everyone felt welcome and had a memorable experence and local A.A. members took delegates and staff sghtseeng and made sure they got to meetngs. Flghts were met a t the Auckland arport, even though many flghts arrved at four or fve o'clock n the mornng, by cheerful A.A. members holdng up stgns that sad "Welcome to the World Sentce Meetmg." One group of partcpants had a drtver who seemed a bt uncer tan of the route, a nd confessed that t was her frst trp to the arpo11 on her own. t turned out that she had j ust 90 days of sobrety, a nd the trp nto town became a mn-twelfth Step call - t was anyone's guess who was most enthusastc, the newcomer or the seasoned A.A.s. Every World Servce Meetng s characterzed by a mx of the famlar and the unfamlar, as delegates from wdely vared cultures meet on common A.A. ground. A delghtful surprse for some partcpants came when they were taken to a "toast meetng," at whch one member's servce job was to work a toaster and m ake sure everyone got a slce or two. Both new and fam lar was the experence of delegates who attended a loca l meetng and met a young woman who had been bused there from a treatment program. t was qute a Twelfth Step experence as she lstened amazed to sharng from fellow A.A. s from all over the world. The Tradtons are there forunty, and only n A.A. would a body of unfyng prncples be observed n such a fascnatng varety of ways. Kose from Japan talked about the extreme mportance of anonymty n hs country, where members often take false names, lke jack Danels or johnny Walker. Wthout mssng a beat hs fellow delegate, junj, came to the m crophone and sad, "H. My name s Tom, and 'm an alcoholc." Nonalcoholcs seem to get caught up n the sprt, too. At the openng dnner on Sunday nght, the menu specfed butter syrup on the dessert. t tasted a lot lke butterscotch-but the hotel staff, not wantng to offend, had taken out the word "scotch." n the sprt of how others see us, the non-a.a. who handled tapng was heard to remark, " have never heard so many people take so long to repeat what they have just heard." The closng m eetng on Thursday afternoon featur ed a trbute from delegates to the U.S./ Canada G.S.O.'s outgong general manager George D., who had served as co-charman of the meetng, along wth a closng presentaton by Bll S., of the New Zealand General Servce Conference. And, as always, the m eetng closed wth the Serenty Prayer, spoken n the 15 languages of the attendng countres. A G.S.O. staff member attendng her fll'st WSM descrbed that experence: "'ve often heard that the closng of the World Servce Meetng cannot be compared to any other experence, and of course thought that was overly dramatc. But as the delegates lned up at the mcrophone and began to say the Serenty Prayer n ther own languages, a hush came over the room. As we all joned hands and sad the prayer together, - and everyone else-began to cry." Many of the partcpants were heard to say that ths was the most relaxed and nformal World Servce Meetng of all. There was "a lghtness of spt and full partcpaton, drunk to drunk, peer to peer." That sprt reached ts peak when the four days came to an end Thursday nght. Followmg the closng dmner, gven by the host commttee, there were natve Maor sngers and dancers who told the story of Aoteroa-the "land of the clouds.'' But no one could let t end. The WSM staff coordnator, Rchard B., commented: "And then came a surprse that thnk no one wll ever forget. After the formal program was fmshed, no one wanted the evenng to end, and prodded by the urgngs of Svenn from celand, one attendee after another treated the a udence to songs, jokes and stores, a spontaneous happerung that can never be reproduced.'' f the joy of lvng s what sobrety s all about, the 15th World Servce Meetng was a powerful statement of the essence of Alcoholcs Anonymous. 2
Experence of a WSM ntetpreter "When attended my frst A.A. meetngs," remnsces Doug G. of Mountan Vew, Calforna, " dscovered that even though they were talkng n Englsh, A.A. people communcated n a language of ther own. So, whle 'm fluent n Japanese and Englsh, A.A. lngo wasn't part of my Japanese vocabulary, and quckly began to create lsts of all the A.A.-specfc termnology mght need. also prnted out Japanese versons of the Steps, Tradtons and Concepts." These early exercses n understandng have served hm well. Doug, an alternate dstrct commttee member of the Calforna Northern Coastal Area, recently traveled to Auckland, New Zealand, where he served as nterpreter for Jtmj, the Japanese delegate to A.A.'s 15th World Servce Meetng. "The gudelnes stpulate," Doug explans, "that each delegate needs to have a workng knowledge of Englsh or Spansh; and whle the Japan Servce Offce G.S.O.) n Tokyo had several well-qualfed A.A.s, none had the language sklls requred. Because my busness frequently takes me to Japan, 've been fortunate n establshng rapport wth the staff at ].S.O., where often stop n for coffee and a chat. When the need for an nterpreter arose, there was, a volunteer at the ready for what knew would be a prceless opportunty to be of servce to Alcoholcs Anonymous. Back home n Northern Calforna, at the August area meetng n Petaluma, Doug spoke of hs comng servce assgnment. "n our area," he says, "we have four Spansh-speakng dstrcts, and one of our blngual members nterprets the monthly meetng as well as the four assembles, maltng them accessble to our Spanshspeakng D.C.M.s and general servce representatves. At the area meetng asked to borrow the wreless translaton equpment we use n order to tal<.e t to Auckland. There was no oqjecton, and got the strong sense that everyone was excted and honored to thnk they were helpng to carry the message, n some small way, halfway around the world. was gven advce by fellow blngual members on how to nterpret servce meetngs, maltng specal note to keep lots of water handy and pace myself. The Spansh-speakng delegates would have several nterpreters rotatng every 20 to 30 mnutes. would be nterpretng alone." To help Doug prepare for the comng World Servce Meetng, he relates, 'junj-san at J.S.O. was mmensely helpful n revewng my notes and addng vocabulary terms of hs own. G.S.O. New York sent me the agenda, workshop topcs and copes of the presentatons and country reports so could famlarze myself wth the materal n advance. Ths would later prove to be a huge help n nterpretng for Japanese delegatejunj. Auspcously, Doug says, hs plane landed n Auckland on Saturday, October 3, "my 11th A.A. brthday. On Monday mornng the work began," he says. "A specal table was set up for me n the back of the room wth a japanese translator' sgn on t. was to spend 48 hours over the next four days here, so quckly bult my 'nest,' whch ncluded my laptop computer, translatng equpment, headset for hearng the Spansh translaton, extra batteres, notepad, Japanese-Englsh Dctonaryand a large ptcher of water. My blood pressure rose a few ponts as felt the responsblty of knowng that for Junj-san was the sole nterpreter of everythng shared, dscussed, debated and recommended at the World Servce Meetng." Sometmes, Doug notes, "my job got complcated. When our Spansh-spealtng frends came to the mke, say, would put on a second headset to lsten to the Englsh translaton, then translate agan to Japanese. f the Spansh/Englsh nterpreters mssed somethng, 'd become lost and apologze to Junj-san. Perodcally, delegates wth unfamlar accents would share and, despte ther spealtng n Englsh, ddn't always understand what they were sayng. 'd apologze agan- sad 'summasen' frequently durng the fve days of the meetng. But the language of the heart often supercedes words, and 'd watch Junj-san react to somethng sad before could translate. just pray that any 'holes' n my vocabulary were flled wth that language of the heart." Throughout the busy week, Doug sad " saw a ltnd of sponsorshp dfferent from any 'd known before: country sponsorshp. There are stll many places n ths world where the A.A. message of recovery hasn't arrved; or f t has, perhaps there's no ntergroup offce or General Servce Conference structure to gve t a foothold. Consequently many countres sponsor others to help them carry the A.A. message. "For nstance, Mexco sponsors Cuba, shppng n A.A. lterature and helpng to prnt a newsletter. Japan sponsors Korea, and Poland s sponsorng some of the former Eastern-block natons. New Zealand s tryng to carry the message to many of the Pacfc sland countres and terrtores, and France s Twelfth Steppng Frenchspeakng countres of Afrca. Around the world alcoholcs are stll dyng, unaware that there s a remedy for ther llness. So we've a lot of work to do, whether faceto-face or by supportng translatons of lterature and other A.A. World Servce actvtes. "For me the World Servce Meetng dramatzed the fact that n A.A. we each have a job to do. was n Auckland to be a worker among workers, to help our Japanese delegate partcpate fully, wthout lmtatons. Hs role as a delegate was dfferent from mne as just an nterpreter, but dscovered that our love and passon for Alcoholcs Anonymous were equally strong." 3
Request: Please Separate Mall to G.S.O. Recently, newsletters receved at the General Servce Offce have contamed a generous contrbuton check and two Group nformaton Change forms. We welcome and read area, dstrct and centravntergroup offce newsletters. However, these publcatons may stack up for a month before they are crculated throughout the G.S.O. and Grapevne offces. t would be easy to overlook a contrbuton, group nformaton or other vtal nformaton. Please remnd members n your area to send contrbutons and group, dstrct and area nformaton changes to G.S.O. separate from more routne malngs. Area Web Ste Helps Canadans to Cany the Message Now two years old, the B.C. Yukon Area Web ste (http//www.bcyukonaa.org) has proved effectve as a Publc nformaton tool. Says Arne G., who n January stepped down as charman of the Web ste commttee that formerly functoned as an arm of the P.. commttee but now s an ndependent entty: "We already average close to 2,000 hts a month. The Dstrct pages get the hghest number of hts, followed by Events. receve e-mal complmentng us on our Web page from all over the world, and we've been contacted by people n remote parts of Alaska and South Afrca. Last fall was e-maled by someone n San francsco who planned on comng to Brtsh Columba and was delghted to learn from our Web ste about the Vancouver roundup n October." He stresses that "even as the Web ste s successfully fu lfllng ts purpose n helpng to carry the A.A. message, t also serves as a unfjmg force. You can't magne how many A.A.s n surroundng dstrcts have worked together to make the Web ste, partcularly, the Dstrct pages, a realty. Everythng has been accomplshed by people reachng out and helpng each other, whch of course s the essence of Twelfth Step work." The dea for the Web ste germnated back n 1995. "Before beng approved," recalls Arne, "t was brought up at two assembles. Emotons ran hgh durng these dscussons, both for and aganst havng a ste. Several people were fearful because they ddn't really know what the nternet was. Others were concerned that some D.C.M.s [dstnct commttee members] mght receve nformaton n a more tmely fashon than others f the electronc meda were used for purposes of dssemnaton." But by January 1996 all sgnals were go. "n Aprl," Arne says, "a computer was brought to the assembly for demonstraton of the Web ste. That was when even the people who had adamantly opposed havng one reversed ther opnons upon seeng t for themselves. Ever snce, support has run strong." Besdes Web pages carryng up-to-date dstrct nformaton and upcomng events, he relates, "the B.C, Yukon Area Web ste features general nformaton, about what A.A. s and how t works; Commt tee Reports, a secton that ncludes job descrptons of all the steerng commttee postons; and lnks to G.S.O.'s Web ste [www.alcoholcs-anonymous.org], the Grapevne ste [www.aagrapevne.orgj and the Vancouver ntergroup. We dd have a couple of other lnks but had to remove them because they n turn were lnked to stes that mght be consdered napproprate. We try to be careful about ths, just as we are about protectng anonymjty. As noted n the servce pece the General Servce Offce compled recently (Ten frequently Asked Questons About A.A. Web Stes], we observe A.A.'s prncples and Tradtons on our Web ste at all tmes." As a part of the P.. commttee report at each area quarterly meetmg, the Web ste team, now headed by Hllmar E., ncludes a Web page wrte-up. Addtonally, Arne says, "one of us takes along a computer to demonstrate how the ste works. We've found ths to be a good practce because t allows people who don't have nternet access at home to see the Web ste. t also generates a lot of nterest. There are alwavs one or two more dstrcts that express a desre to jon' us on the ste after each quarterly." Now that ther Web ste s up and rurmng well, the B.C. Yukon group s pleased to share ts knowhow on the nternet fronter. "For me personally," Arne says, "ths project has opened up a whole new world of servce n A.A. t gves me a tremendous sense of belongng and, as a dvdend, 've met nterestng, wonderful people. Lke most of them, 1 feel that maybe what we're dong now wll help to expand the ways n whch A.A.'s message s carred-rasng the level of hope and help for the sufferng alcoholc another notch hgher.'' Note: A remnder to members postng Web stes and Web pages related to A.A.: Please bear n mnd that these tools are part of a major publc forum accessble to nulhons, that Tradtons Eleven and Twelve, relatng to anonymty, are as applcable to communcaton on the nternet as to press, rado, televson and fllm. 4
~ So Why Go to The nternatonal Conventon?' A.A.'s 65th brthday party wll be held june 29-July 2, 2000, n Mnneapols, Mnnesota. As t nears, Barbara C. of Coeur d'alene, daho, remembers back to the last nternatonal Conventon n 1995 n San Dego, Calforna. Rght afl erward, she says, "a frend looked at me, her eyebrows archng. 'So why go the nternatonal?' she quzzed. 'Uh, well, uh,' responded, gropng for words and wonderng: Why exactly dd use fly free plane tcket, spend who knows how much money on coffee, food, a trp to Tjuana, and go alone to San Dego?" But Barbara collected her thoughts quckly. Wrhng n the July 1995 ssue of The Eye, her Dstrct (25) newsletter, she offered her "top rca>ons for gong to an A.A. nternatonal Conventon." Here are eght of them: 1. "Badges. These dentty you by your name, cty and state and are passports nto a lovng communty of fnends and fellowshp not often encountered. They have the magcal effect ofbreakmg down any possblty of solaton. You belong, and you are welcomed by name and a handshake 2. "Hosts. Wonderful volunteers greet, drect and comfort any confused, terrfed or happy A.A.s. The hosts are everywhere- at :llrports, bus stops, beaches, border crossngs-cheerfully askng f they can help you. 3. ''Fun Run/Walk. You get to run wtl1 people who are out to have fun, no matter what And n ths race t s the las t -plc~ce fnshers who get the bggest cheers. 4. "Panel Dscussons and Marathon Meetngs (or any of the many spontaneously held smaller meetngs). Meetngs, meetngs... all the tme, all languages, all people. Panel-dscusson topcs ranged from 'Happy, joyous and Free' to 'A.A. n Eastern Europe.' People told ther stores, sharng ler experence, strength and hope. Laughter, tears and learnng came from those n.eetngs... and some great one-lners. 5. "Stadum Meetngs. magne 60,000 happy people celebratng ther sobrety and yours. ma~;ne lne dances n the asles and a wave that ncludes le speakers on the stage. magne a 'count-up' to fmd someone wth more than 50 years of sobrety. magne sayng the Lord's r ayer n that many voces. magne the power of A.A. n all those lves. 6. "People. Take the funnest, greatest people you know n A.A. and multply them by the thousands. The feelng of bemg ncluded, the genune warml, frendshp and grattude all envelope you. Wow. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 7. "Joy and Celebraton. Awesome Nonstop ncredble B. "Presence of a Hgher Power. Stadum speaker Cora Louse B. sad, ' don't have goals anymore. have a way.' The mracles around me confrmed the true power of A.A., a lovng Hgher Power that shows us the way, one day at a tme. See you n Mnneapols" BllA. From Montreal Jons G.S.O. Staff There s a specal synchroncty to the A.A. story of past Canadan delegate Bll A., who n October joned the General Servce Offce staff, wth assgnment to the Treatment Facltes desk. Under the current structure, le staff member on the T.F. desk also covers the Loners, ntematlonalsts and Homers assgrunent, and s responsble for the Loners-nternatonal.st Meetng (UM). n the early 1980s, allough n the throes of hs own alcoholsm, Bll helped to steer hs older brother Dav~ nto recovery va a treatmen t faclty and then nto Alcoholcs Anonymous. Fve months later, n a 360- degree turnabout renunscent of A.A. co-founder Bll W.'s relatonshp wth hs lfelong frend Ebby T., Dave guded hs younger brother mto the Fellowshp. "Frst," remembers Bll, "Dave lterally saved my lfe. At the tme, n tl1e sprng of 1984, we were lvng togel- 5 ~ l f f
er. He came home early from a meetng and found me on the couch, n a drunken stupor and catchng t:~re from a smolderng cgarette 'd let drop. Later, when the fu-e was out and found myself stll alve, was shaken up. Soon after, on May 21, 1984, went wth Dave to a meetng of Monday Central, the oldest survvng A.A. group n Montreal." Notng that "my brother, who's two years older than, was my measurng stck growng up," Bll says that Dave «was the key to my recovery. After dtymg up hunself, he saw wth clear eyes what trouble was n wth alcohol, yet he ddn't push. He watched and wated and hoped and was hmself a vbrant example of sobrety n acton." Bll adds wth a smle, "You mght say that over the cow-se of many years, Dave and lved, drank and got sober together." Bll's sobrety took. And grew. " had a lot of help," he says, "especally from Don, a member who was warm and welcomng, then from my sponsor Frank, who unstuck me from Step Three and encouraged me to clmb the other 11 Steps as well. Just 30 at the tme, joned Sobrety and Beyond, a young people's group. After the thrd week agreed to make coffee (makng sure to buy a gourmet blend), and though ddn't know t then, was startng to use that remarkable tool of recovery n A.A. -servce. "Sx months later was elected group secretary; over the next decade, even as was fgurng out all those A.A. acronyms-from P.. [Publc nformaton] to C.F. [Correctonal Facltes]- served as general servce representatve, dstrct conunttee member, area char and, from 1996-98, as Southwest Quebec delegate [Panel46]. As a delegate from a provnce where maybe 80 percent of the people are French-speakng, worred that my language sklls weren't up to snuff. But everyone was nnderstandng and knd, and thanks to ther patence, my faulty French mproved notceably." Predctably, Bll's personal lfe also saw many changes. "Early n sobrety, got a job n sales," he says. "But seven years later my lust for wealth, power and prestge mploded. As an actve drunk, had always thought myself much too brght for unversty, but now that changed, and ht the books wth the dea of becomng a teacher. also became a June groom n 1997. 'd met my wfe, Audrey, n A.A. n '92, when she was a G.S.R. and was the area char. As keep cbscoverng, good thngs happen to people sober n ths Fellowshp of ours." n July '97 the newlyweds traveled to Nagoya, Japan, where for more than a year they taught Englsh and dd some language study of ther own. "Audrey and had expected to be A.A. Loners," Bll relates, "and we were a bt apprehensve. But nstead we became part of the Nagoya nternatonal Group, and t was a heartwarmng experence 'll never forget. Frshand we saw for sure that language s never a 6 barrer n A.A., where communcaton s truly n the language of the heart." n hs assgnment on G.S.O.'s Treatment Faclttes/ LM desk, Bll replaces Valere O'N., who has her hands full coordnatng A.A.'s Eleventh nternatonal Conventon, to be held n June 2000 n Mnneapols, Mnnesota. "Rght now," says Bll, "'m learnng the ropes, hardly a chore snce everyone s so frendly and helpful. especally rehsh correspondmg wth A.A.s on my partcular beat-west Canada and West Central U.S. The A.A. world may be far-flung but t's ntrrnate. One of the f~rst letters to cross my desk came from a Loner n Arctc Bay, the Northwest Terrtores. t was wrtten by a member named Sharon, who happens to be my wfe's f~rst sponsor." Just another example of that synchro.lcty that colors Bll's lfe. And, oh, yes, he and Audrey have found a new home n Brooklyn Heghts-a stone's throw from 182 Clnton Street, where that other Bll-Bll W.-and hs wfe, Los, lved and held meetngs n A.A.'s formatve days. 'he Hand of A.A... The wnds that roared through Honduras-Hurrcane Mtch-had hardly ded down when the General Servce Offce n New York began recetvng calls from groups and members n the U.S. and Canada, askng how serous the destructon was as far as A.A. n Centt al Amerca was concerned, and offerng to help. Staff members on the nternatonal and Spansh Servces desks were able to contact the Ncaraguan General Servce Offce by phone mmedately and were thanked for the thoughts and prayers, but they dd not have storm-related devastaton that requred outsde help. n md-january they reported extreme dffcultes n gettng dehvery oflterature they had ordered nternatonally. Also, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rca were contacted by G.S.O. New York to learn about the stuaton after Mtch, and they reported mnor damage and expressed grattude for the hand of A.A. beng there n a tme of need. The story was dfferent n Honduras. All efforts to reach G.S.O. followng the storm faled, so a letter was sent n early December to let them know of the concern that had been expressed to us by members here. A letter to G.S.O. n early January sad "we are thankful for your nterest and good wshes n these days when Nature has caused great economc, moral and sprtual damage to our communty." They reported that 1,423 members have been drectly affected. Three were known l lj
dead, 24 groups have physcally dsappeared, 38 groups have been partally affected and the economc damage was substantal. However, a great number of these groups are gettng on ther feet. G.S.O. Honduras also suffered losses because oflootng followng the storm, and were badly n need of lterature. New York G.S.O., wth the cooperaton of the Grapevne, mmedately sent lterature. A contnung dscusson s takng place by the management and the AA.W.S. Board as to how we may best respond to the mmedate needs expressed by the Honduras offce staff and board. f there are groups and members who would lke to share by sendng any Spansh lterature to Honduras, t would be much apprecated by them. Also, n the sprt of the Twelfth Step, we are sure that letters of support, love and prayers wll be receved wth much grattude. The address of the Honduras G.S.O. s: Ofcna de Servcos Generales, Bo. Lempra, 8 Avenda, 13 y 14 Calles-No. 1329, Tegucgalpa, Honduras, Central Amerca. FrankM. n Memoraxn t was wth great sadness that we learned of the death of :Frank M., former G.S.O. archvst, on January 19 n Vero Beach, Florda. Frank, sober snce June 10, 1970, was wdely known throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as abroad, as a dedcated A.A. member and A.A. hst01an. He was a 21 year employee of the General Servce Offce-frst as admnstratve assstant and, from 1982 untl hs retrement 13 months ago, as G.S.O.'s archvst. n Vero Beach he was a member of the Beachsde Begmners Group. When back n New York he could be found evety Monday and Wednesday evenng n hs regular seat at the Oxford Group-hs spanel Tmothy at hs feet. Members of the Oxford Group shared ther memores of Frank at ther Wednesday meetng the day after hs passng. A rose had been placed anonymously on hs empty chatr. The theme runnng through all the sharng was Frank's ablty to make everyone feel speaal. «You're my favorte," he would say, and " apprecate you." "Maybe you need a bgger God," was a frequent suggeston made when someone talked to hm of a problem. At a memoral servce n Vero Beach, Florda, Brenda S., the current South FlOJda delegate, recalled that "be taught me how to pass the message of AA. on." Phone conversatons nevtably ended wth, "Pray for me." Frank often referred to hmself as "the Happy Archvst." n hs many talks about the G.S.O. Archves, he emphaszed the chef reason for havng an archves was so "we don't forget where we've come from." Hs famly, hs many frends and those wth whom he shared hs strength, hope and experence of A.A. wll not forget Frank. Update The A.A. Message s Breakng the ce n Remote Vllages "The defmton of a remote communty s any one to whch t s chffcult to cany the A.A. message because of geography or dfferences n language or culture.'' Furthermore, Northwest Quebec delegate Monque N. told the Eastem Canada Regonal Forum n September, ''n carrymg the A.A. message of sobrety, our members are guded by the admonton on page 102 of the Bg Book: 'Your job now s to be at the place where you may be of maxmum helpfulness to others, so never hestate to go anywhere f you can be helpful.'" More than a decade ago, she reported, "nformaton receved n A.A. ndcated the serous problems encountered by our Northern Natve people concernng ther drmkmg habts. A commttee had been formed to communcate wth the Natve communtes and heghten ther awareness of A.A. However, ths assstance ceased, for whatever reason, and we heard no more untl 1993. At that tme our then Area [90] delegate, Mchel G., was n contact wth Noah, from Sallut. Afterward Noah wrote to Mchel, thankng hm for the assstance A.A. was gvng. Hs note was read aloud at the General Servce Conference n New York Cty." Lstenng to Noah's words, Monque recalled, "we realzed for the frst tme that we had some people rght here at home wth serous alcoholc problems. Ths awareness led to the formaton of a commttee of fve Canadans. Ther msson: to look nto how we mght be of servce to our Northern frends." n 1996, she noted, "the Quebec government closed fve prsons and relocated the ncarcerated Natves to the St. Jerome detenton center n our area. The local authortes asked us to start an A.A. meetng for the Natves--mostly nut, though we see a Cree once n a whle. Some of the Natves translated A.A. lterature nto nukttut. "n nukttut we now have such materal as the A.A. Preamble, the Serenty Prayer, Twelve Steps and Twelve Tradtons, the pamphlet 'Twelve Tradtons, 7
llustrated' as well as the flyers 'Where Do Go from Here?' and 'A.A. at a Glance.' What joy t s to see ~e people's eyes lght up when they read the A.A. lterature n ther own language" The fledglng commttee, Monque ponted out, "now communcates wth members n a number of communtes: Kuu.l)uarapk, nukjuak, Povungntuk, vujvk and Sallut along the Hudson Bay coast; and Kuujjuaq, Kang:rrsujuaq and Kangasualujjaq along the Ungava Bay coast. Personal contact contnues when these Natve members retum to ther communtes." At present, she sad, "we have a member from a Cree communty who has shown nterest n becomng a dstrct commttee member. Our area s revewng the possblty of creatng a new dstrct that would b e composed of Natve groups." Not long ago, Monque added, " heard an nut express hs feelngs about the Fellowshp: ' understand,' he sad, 'that must transmt and share what receve wth my brothers.' Whch n any language tells exactly bow A.A. works." Sobrety s a Famlly Affar "Wth much sadness am wrtng to advse you that my father, Stan F., passed away n August. By far the most mportant part of Dad's lfe was hs sobrety, but A.A., he so often sad, was hs lfe. Although tmes were Jess than easy for hm, could not magne what knd of person he would have been were t not for the lfehne of AA. and the wonderful people be met and became lfelong frends wth through ths orgaruzaton." So wrtes Stan's daughter of Hampshre, England. "Recently," she explans, " receved correspondence from LM [Loners-nternatonalst Meetng, an A.A. correspondence servce for members n solated areas). t had been sent to my Dad, then redrected to me. The famly also found n hs belongngs many papers relatng to your assocaton. Therefore we thought you would want to know of Stan's passng. ('Dad started gong to meetngs n 1979 when was 9 and my sster 7. Even then we understood he was an alcoholc. Ths awareness also meant that we would apprecate n later lfe just how A.A. turned thngs around, for the better, for both Dad and hs famly.'' Stan's daughter notes that "one of the parts of A.A. most admre s the mportant lnk to God wthout beng alled wth any sect or denomnaton. Through ths concept Dad became a wonderfully sprtual person-though no angel truly b eleve he would not have acheved ths wthout A.A.; nor would be have 8 shown hs chldren such a lovely path. For ths we wll be forever grateful to hm. "Dad would have celebrated hs 19th A.A. brthday on November 15; always remember hs sayng ths was more mportant to hm than hs 'other' brthday. t was very touchng when gong through hs personal effects to come across all hs brthday C'.ards for thls spec1al date n U1e year." P.. Anonymty Letter: At 50, t's Stll Our Man Meda Event The annual Anonymty Letter that the trustees' Publc nformaton Commttee sends to the meda s now 50. As befts the computer age, t s crsp, compressed and featured on A.A.'s Web ste (www.alcoh olcsanonymous.org), unhke the rather wordy mss1ve that was frst sent off n 1949. Yet the message, however many the tucks and trms, remans the sarne, askng that the meda present A.A. members n stores (1) only by ther frst names and (2) usng no recognzable pctures. And t thanks the meda for favorable coverage worldwde that "has been a prncpal means of brngng alcoholcs nto our Fellowshlp." Ths year's Anonymty Letter, dated February 1999, s be1ng released to a meda lst that ncludes nearly 9,000 daly and weekly newspapers and rado and TV statons n the U.S. and Canada (ncludng Spansh meda n U.S. and French meda n Quebec). Hopefully t wll be seen, absorbed and heeded by managng edtors, news reporters and photo edtors, rado and TV edtors and producers, talk show hosts, publcty personnel and many others. The letter states that "anonymty s the sprtual foundaton of our Fellowahp and assures our members that ther recovery wll be prvate." t further ponts out that AA. "s not afflated wth any other organzaton, although many have adapted A.A.'s Twelve Steps for ther own use. A.A. s self-supp ortng, declnng any outsde contrbutons; and we are nonprofessonal, offerng only the voluntary support of one alcoholc helpng another." Despte the saturaton coverage of the Anonymty Letter, and the vglance of A.A. groups and ndvdual members everywhere, anonymty breaks do happen-a number of them at the hands of well-meanng celebr- ' l r : l f
tes eager "to help other alcoholcs lke me." What s done about such breaks and the hundreds of others that occur yearly? As mal receved by the General Servce Offce reveals, members have expressed contnung concern about such volatons of the Anonymty Tradton, whch the Fellowshp's co-founder Bll W. called "the key to A.A.'s sprtual survval." When a specfc anonymty break occurs, A.A. members frequently ask G.S.O. to send a letter to the publcaton or broadcast staton nvolved. But t has long been the consensus of A.A.'s General Servce Conference that responsblty for protectng the Anonymty Tradton at the publc level, and for respondng to breaks n the meda, rests wth the ndvduals, groups and servce commttees wthn the Fellowshp. So when there s an anonymty break at the publc level, the P.. debk at G.S.O. wrtes to the approprate area delegate, recommendng that a gentle remnder of the Anonymty Tradton be sent to the member. Only f the delegate so requests does G.S.O. wrte the actual letter. C.P.C. Now, Duane notes expansvely, "wth our mplementaton package and our lterature kt, we can travel anywhere wth all our needs contaned n a 12"x12"x12" plastc mlk crate. t's a far cry from when became C.P.C. charman and thought 'd have to trade n my home and car for roomer models so could store and delver all the bulk.'d nherted." He adds that "we have been puttng our theores to work wth numerous C.P.C. workshops and presentatons, and the results so far have exceeded our expectatons." Calgary Commttee Fts Good Thngs n Smaller PacKa.ges Reachng out to professonals n Calgary, Alberta, s not the cumbersome proposton t used to be. Says Duane T., who chars the area commttee on Cooperaton Wth the Professonal Communty: "We have developed what we feel s a smple mplementaton package based on the C.P.C. Kt and Workbook developed by the General Servce Offce. There was, and s, no ntent to replace ether, just a desre to make the job easer to pull off." At the same tme, Duane says, "we developed a tabletop lterature presentaton kt consstng of four small sgns wth stands. The kt serves two purposes: (1) lts low profle appears professonal; t does not consume the whole room; (2) t allows us to separate the categores of lterature as outlned n the C.P.C. Workbook: 'For C.P.C. Commttee Members,' 'For Professonals' and 'For the People Professonals Serve.' The professonals are not self-conscous about pamphlets such as 's A.A. for Me?' when the sgn clearly states they are dong so for ther clents' use rather than ther own." Correctonal Facltes Sgned Meetngs Gve Deaf A.A.s the Sounds of Sobre1y Thanks to a lot of persstence, cooperaton and carng, four deaf mmates at a North Carolna correctonal faclty are attendng ts regular A.A. meetngs, whch are equpped wth an ASL (Amercan Sgn Language) nterpreter. Explans Tony S., of Anger, South Carolna, who serves as an outsde sponsor: "We had our frst meetng wth a sgner named Mary just before Thanksgvng. t was a closed dscusson on slppng. After the openng reachngs,jerryw., another outsde sponsor, announced that Mary was not an A.A. member. She was there to sgn for the deaf A.A.s, wth her expenses pad by the correctonal faclty. adnut t was a lttle awkward at frst, but after a short whle we hardly notced her. 9
People shared freely and, after the guys returned to ther dorms, asked Mary f t bothered her to lsten to some of the graphc detals of experences n slppng. 'Oh, no,' she sad. ' was so busy stgnng, wasn't payng attenton to what was beng sad.'" Tony feels the sgned meetngs are mportant not only to the deaf nmates but to ther AA. mends and outsde sponsors as well. "Lke so many thmgs n the Fellowshp," he says, "ths experence teaches me to step out n fath. turned 42 on November 25, my eghth sober belly-button brthday, and know that servce goes a long way n keepng m e on track. Here n North Carolna we'll keep carryng the message and leave the results to God." He reports that "the A.A. materal for the hearng mpared sent recently by the General Servce Offce has been very helpful." ncluded was the new servce pece, "A.A. Lterature and Audovsual Materal for Specal Needs" catalog, whch affords complete lstngs of avalable fllms and vdeotapes, closed-captoned vdeos and llustrated, easy-to-read pamphlets. Treatment Facltes So. Florda Grows A Commttee from The Gronnd Up When Mndy W. was elected chru.r n 1996, the Tampa (Dstct 2) Treatment Facltes Corrunttee was not very actve and there were no regular meetngs. A few commtments were beng met by ndvdual members of the A.A. communty, but no communcaton exsted between these volunteers and the dstrct Spea.kmg at a South Florda Area (15) T.F. workshop last October, Mndy recalled that "my frrst proty was to establsh monthly meetmgs and to spread word of them to home group members. The meetngs were held consstently even though there was only a handful of partcpants to begn wth." At the outset, she sad, "we depended heavly on deas from other T.F. commttees, such as dstrbutng a flyer that announced our next meetng and nvted A.A.s to come." She also contacted the ntergroup offce and made sure t had nfonnaton about the commttee to offer local facltes. As tme went on, the T.F. commttee receved an ncreasng number of requests for meetngs from treat- ment centers n the vcnty. At the same tme, n order to attract A.A. volunteers, members put together nformaton packets, d1strbuted at the cbstrct's qumerly meetngs, that descrbed the wot k of the commttee and explaned how to get nvolved. Addtonally, home groups were encouraged to send T.F. commttee representatves to the meetngs. Another useful tool for spreachng the word was the ntergroup newsletter. Preparmg to rotate out of her A.A. char, Mndy told the workshop partcpants that she had dscovered "a hdden beneft" n buldng a commttee t om scratch. "'ve learned," she sad, "to tmst that whle there may never be an abundance of workers, the Hgher Power wll always provde the resources that are needed to accomplsh the work." At the South Florda workshop, whch focused on helpng new Dstrct T.F. commttees get started, Davd H., of the St. Petersburg (Dstrct 1) T.F. commttee, shared that t had been up and runnng when he became charman. There was, however, a contnung need for more volunteers. ''We followed the procedures that had worked n the past," he reported, "such as namng a coorchnator for each faclty where meetngs are taken. Ths person s responsble for securng meetng charrpersons; they n tum fnd the speakers." When seekng volunteers, he noted, "we make frequent announcements at meetmgs, but fmd that face-to-face contact wth ndvdual A.A.s works better." One workshop partcpant, Ed, from the Lower Florda Keys, observed, "We need to remember that most tmes, pushmg people nto servce work only pushes them away from t. fmd 'm more apt to attract people by tellng them how nvolvement n treatment servce work has kept me sober." Echong hm, Tom, from Lantana, remarked that general servce s the best-kept secret n A.A. '"We need to let people know why we do ths work," he declared, "and wha t t has done for our own sobety." Lany of Broward County sad he approaches people at meetngs who are celebratmg ther amuversares and offers them a chance to express grattude for ther sobrety by takng a treatment center meetng He s careful not to dscourage people who are sober just a short whle. nstead, he sad, " urge them to jon the T.F. commttee and learn the ropes whle gettng more sobrety under ther belts." n concluson, Area T.F. commttee charman jm C. observed that close communcaton between the T.F. commttee and other servce enttes, such as Publc nfonnaton and CoTectonal Facltes, generates cooperaton and help. He also emphaszed the mportance of gvng people a job to do: "Ths helps them to feel a part of A.A. and keeps them comng back. Remember, enthusasm s contagous, and watchng a fellowshp grow up about you can be very exctng.'" 10
:.a "' - ~ BULLETN BOARD tems and deas on Area Gatherngs for A.A.s-Va G.S.O. FEBRUARY - MARCH 1999 Calendar ofevents Events lsted here are presented solely as a scrvtce to readers, not as an endorsement by the General Servce Offce. For any addtonal nformaton, please use the addresses provded. February 5-7-Dc Haem, Bcl@um. Tenth North Sea Conv. Wnte; Trsr., Hof ter Lnden 9, 2640 MortseJ, Belgum 5-7-Rchnwnd, Brtsh Columba, Canada. WRAASA. Wrte: Ch., Box 27150 Collngwood P.O., Vancouver, BC V5R6A8 5-7- Brawley, Calforna. mperal Valley Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 393, El Centro, CA 92244-0393 5-7- Burbank, Calforna. 24th Annual SVAA Conventon. Wrte: Ch., Box 45, Agoura, Calforna 91376-0045 5-7-Lgoner, Pennsylvana. Mdwnter Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 55, Laughlnton, PA 15655 11-14-&m]o:;;e, Calforna. 35th AAWC. Wrte: Ch., Box 1049, Mlptas, CA 95036-1049 12-14-Lttle Rock, Arkansas. 17th Annual Wmter Holday. Wrte: Ch., Dox26135, Lttle Rock, AR 7.2211 12-14-No. Falmouth, Massachusetts. Second Annual cape COd Pockets of Enthusasm. Wrte: Ch., Box 991, No. Fahnouth, MA 02556 12-14-Lverpool, New York. 12th Annual Salt Cty Md-Wmter Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Hox 3588, Syracuse, NY 13220-3588 19-21--Suskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskatoon Roundup. Wrte: Ch., 311-2.20 3rd Ave., So., Saskatoon, SK S7K 1M1 19-21-Nnth Southeastern owa Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box298, West Pont, A 52656 19-21-Mtchell, Kentucky. 48th Annual State Conf. Wrte: Ch., 530 Berry Ave., Bellevue, KY 41073 19-21-Corpus Chrst, Ttu.ns. 45th Annual Coastal Bend jamboree. Wrte: Ch., 5433 S. Staples, Sute F, Corpus Chrst, TX 78411 19-21-V~aBeach, V~na. Ocean Front Conf., Wrte: Rgstr.. Box 2801, Vu-glnla &ach, VA 23450 26-27--Skeston, MSSDUr. 18th Annual Fve Comers COnv. Wrte: Ch., 501 Maple St., Kennett, MO 63857 26-28-Gu/fShore.s, Alabama. 15th Annual Dstrct 19Jublee. Wrte: Ch., Box 1183, Foley, A, 36536 U-28-Kansas Cty, Kansas. 17th A1mual Sunflower Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 26141, Overland Park, KS 662.25-6141 U-26-Pattaya, Thaland.1halland Conv. 1999. Wrte: Conv. Ch., Box 1032, New Petchbur Road Post Offce, Bangkok 10311, Thaland March 5-7-Jekyll sland, Georga. 12th Unty Weekend. Wrte: Ch., Box214911, South Daytona, FL 32121 5-7-KalUl-Ktma, HQH.\'l. PllAASA. Wrte: Rgr., Box 161271, Honolulu, H 96816 5-7- Rochester, New York. 18th Annual Conv., Wrte: Ch., 10 Manhattan square Dr., Ste. D. Rochester, NY 14607-3997 12.-14-f're.sno, Calforna. 52nd Annual Sprng NCCAA Conf. Wrte: Trsr., Box 508, Rockln, CA 95677 12-14-Vctorvlle, CalfOma. 15th Ann.ual Hgh Desert Conv. Wrte: Ch., Box 1894, Apple Valley, CA 92307 12-14-voryton, Connectcut. 24th New &gnnngyp Conf. Wrtte: Ch., Box 17, Bozrah, CT' 06334 12-14-Rornulus, Mclllgan. March Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 37931, Oak Park, M 48.23 7 18-21-Mam Beach, Flonda. Florda Roundup 98-99. Wrte: Ch., Box 7273, Ft. Laud~e,FL 33338-7273 19-21-Salmon Arm, Brtsh Columba, Canada. 31st Annual Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Salmon Arm Communty Center, Salmon Arm, BC VlE 4N6 19-21-Anchorage, Alaska. Pre-Conference Assembly. Wrte: Ch., Box.222.606, JUlchoragc,UK 99522-2602 19-21.-Cherry Hll, New jersey. 35th Annual Area 45 General Servce Conv. Wrte: Ch., Box 3724, Cherry HU, 1U 08034 19-21-Hood Rver, Or.. gon. Seventh Annual Columba Gorge How-L. Wrte: Ch., Box 26, Bngen, WA 98605 19-21-Amar/lo, Teras. 14th Annual Top oftexat1 Old tmers' Reunon. Wrte: Ch., 4711 Vtrgna #1706, Amarllo, TX 79109 U-28--asage Beach, M~. Crcle of Unty Conf. Wrte: Ch., Box 356, Lnn Crl(k, MO 65052 PlallUlg a Future Event? Closed Meettng Topcs From the Grapevne For more detaled suggestons, see the pages noted. February (page 35): "Retwn to Forever" March (page 19): The Thrd Step 26-28-Lncoln, Nebra:>ka. Sprng flmg. Wrte: Ch., Box 30691, Lncoln, NE 68503 U-28-Dayton, Oho. 16th Annual Mln Conf. Wrte: Ch., Box 3595, Cncnnat, OH 45201 U-28-Newport, Rhode sland. Rhode sland Conv. Wrte: Ch., Box553, Portsmouth, lu 02871 26-28-Ame.s, owa. Am for Ames Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 2491, Ames, A 50010 :t-5-brl.sbane, Qrteensland, Australa. 1999 Australtan ntematonal Conv. Wrte: Reg. Offcer, Box 5745, West End, Queensland 4101 Austraha. 2--4-New Orleans, Louszana. 31st Bg Deep South Conv. Wrte: Ch., 31 t 7 ndependence St., Ste. D., Metare, LA 70006 9-11~rand Forks, No1th Dakota. Northern Spnng Weekend. Wrte: Ch., Box 14121, Grand Forks, NO 56.208-4121 9-11--&lndusky, Oho. 24th Mn Conference. Wrte: Ch., Box 3834, Akron, OH 44314-0834 Please send your nfonnauon on AprU, May or june events, two days or more, n tme to reach GS.O. by February 10, the calendar deadlne for the AprlVMay ssue of&u: 4-5-9. For your convenence and ours - please type or prnt the nfo "rnaton to be lsted on the Bulletn Boord page, Wld mal to us: Dare of~mnt:jum - - --------to--- --- ---' 1.9 _ Name qfevent: - ---------------- ----- ----- Place (cty, stale or provj: For tfojmatcn, wrte: (exact rnalflg' addre.ss) ---------------------------------- Contact phone # for offce use only): ---~-"7----~~----------------- Flp up ths end of page -for events on reverse sufe l ' \ ' l l l l ;
15-18-Eureka Sprngs, Arkansas. 23rd Sprngtme n the Oz.arks Conv. Wrte: Conv. Trsr., Box 742, Eureka Sprngs, AR 7.2632 16-18-.Ermon., Pelopornrese, Greece. Fflh nt'l. Conv. Wrte: Ch., Box 52185, 14610 Nea Erythrea-Athens, Greece 16-18-Bcm.ff, Alberta, Canada. 26th Annual Banff Round-Up. Wrte: Ch., Box 6744, Staton D, Calgruy, AB T2P.2ES 30-May 2-Pocatello, lcklho. Area 18 Sp1ng Assembly. Wrte: Ch., Box 4573, PocatCllo,DD 83205-4573 30-May Zr-Soux Falls, South Dakota. Area S3 1999 Sprng Conf. Wrte: Ch., Dox 1872, Soux Fas, SO 57101 30-May 2-WSCOnsn Dells,wtsconsn. 48th Annual Sprng 1999 Conf. Wrte: Trsr., 159 Whtetall Blvd., Baraboo, W 53913 14-1.6-Daymn, Oho. Women's Workshop XX. Wrte: Ch., 39 Redwood Ave., Dayton, OH 45405 13-16-Daytona Beach, Florda. Nnth Sprng Con. Wrte: Ch., Box 214911, South Daytona, fl 3212.1 28-SO-Okefenokee, Georga. Okefenokee Roundup. Wrte: Ch., Box 403, Waycross, GA 31502 28-30-Dallas, 1'eras. Gatherng of the Eagles. Wrte: Ch., Box 35865, Dallas, TX 75235