- The views and opinions expressed

during this podcast are

those of our guests.

No one person speaks for A.A. as a whole.

- Most of us come to A.A.

looking for relief, connection,

and a way to stay sober one day at a time.

For over 90 years,

Alcoholics Anonymous has

provided these opportunities

to anyone who comes to A.A.

suffering from a drinking problem.

But how is it organized?

Who is making sure A.A. will be here

for the next suffering alcoholic?

In the first episode of last season,

we explored A.A.'s

general service structure

and the upside-down triangle

that's represented by it.

This episode, we're gonna dig a bit deeper

by hearing from GSO staff

and trusted servants of A.A. to learn

how the general service structure

and the General Service

Office fit together.

Not as a hierarchy,

but as a living example

of "our common welfare comes first."

My name is Nathan and I'm an

alcoholic. Welcome to GSO.

Let's start down at the bottom

of the upside-down triangle.

Once a year, Alcoholics

Anonymous brings together members

of the A.A. General Service Board,

the General Service Office,

and elected representatives

from the 93 geographical areas

of the US and Canada for an

intense week of discussion,

deliberation, debate,

and voting known as the

General Service Conference.

The work that is accomplished during

that one busy week will help set the stage

for Alcoholics Anonymous

in the following year.

To better understand how that

process works, we sat down

with Rainer L., a relatively

new GSO staff member,

but a longtime A.A. member

who has served at all levels

of the A.A. service structure.

Rainer, thanks for joining us today.

- Glad to be here.

- Rainer,

we wanna learn more about the

General Service Conference,

what it is, how it functions,

and you have a lot of experience

you could share with us.

You are currently the

GSO staff coordinator

for the conference,

but prior to working at

the General Service Office,

you were delegate for Area 51,

North Carolina back in 2021, 2022.

I, I was wondering if

maybe in your own words,

you could break down what the

General Service Conference is,

why it's important to

Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.

- So there are two parts of it.

There's an annual meeting of

the General Service Conference,

which is what is generally

referred to as the conference.

But I think that the General

Service Conference is something

that happens at a broader level.

There's also a conference structure,

which we have well represented within an

upside-down triangle.

- Yeah, we dug into the

upside-down triangle

of the A.A. service structure

in episode one of last season.

- The activities that take place outside

of the conference week,

like a home group's business

meeting, a monthly district meeting,

or the quarterly area assemblies allow

for a growing group conscience,

which aggregates the

collective voice that speaks

for A.A. as a whole.

- When did you start learning more about

the A.A. service structure?

- I fell in love with Alcoholics Anonymous

because of the stories that

I heard from other members.

What I eventually realized is

that Alcoholics Anonymous

itself has a story.

- Mm. - And so there is a chapter

of that A.A. Comes of Age.

There is this transfer of

responsibility that happens in

1951 with the implementation

of the General Service

Conference, which is the channel

and the path by which A.A.

can run its own affairs.

- So in 1951, A.A. comes of age

and the General Service

Conference is introduced.

There's about 135 people

in the room together

from all over the US and

Canada, various perspectives.

H- how do they come together

and form this group conscience?

That sounds like a hot mess.

- Absolutely. There, there is

a, a thorough, often a robust,

and at times contentious discussion

that happens at the conference.

You know, these are prolonged

and thorough discussions,

but the recognition is

that the service needs

to serve Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.

And there is a clear

understanding that regardless

of the disagreement that

people may have in terms

of the right and the wrong of an action,

there is a tremendous underlying unity

and s- singleness of purpose in wanting

to offer the very best

that each can to the future

and the continuation of

Alcoholics Anonymous.

- Excellent. Now, to get more

specific about the functions

of the conference, can you tell us

what a Proposed Agenda Item is?

- Proposed Agenda Items,

we call them PAIs.

Proposals that are important to the future

of Alcoholics Anonymous in

matters of policy decision

and the revision of our

conference approved literature.

- So, like, I'm a member

of Alcoholics Anonymous,

and in my home group, I

say, "You know, I think

that A.A. would benefit if

we had X, Y, Z pamphlet."

I now express this to my home group.

What happens next that allows

that concept, that idea,

turn into a Proposed Agenda Item

and make it all the way to conference?

- So there are a couple

of different avenues.

Alcoholics Anonymous offers

its membership a tremendous

freedom, and this is

expressed as well within

that right of participation.

If you felt so inclined,

you could forget your group altogether-.

... and simply submit that item.

- Directly to the General Service

- Conference.

Directly to the conference. Y- you

may be well-served to bringing

that to a group conscience

for a wider decision,

approaching the district,

forwarding to the area,

which would then have

a different refinement

and expressed support in proposing

that agenda item to the conference.

A proposed agenda item can come

from anyone, an individual,

a group, a district, an area.

I as a GSO staff member-.

... could, theoretically,

and haven't, submit a

Proposed Agenda Item.

One of the things that we

hope to see are matters

of overall policy.

It's within a primary purpose

to carry an effective message

to the alcoholic who still

suffers, to speak broadly

to a need within Alcoholics Anonymous,

and so the involvement of a

group conscience at a group,

a district, and area at these

different levels within the

str- service structure gathers

and expresses that support so

that the Proposed Agenda Item process

doesn't simply turn into a complaint box.

So we want the items that

are coming forward, ideally,

to be those broad expressions,

while at the same time balancing the right

and the warm welcome, the

invitation that A.A. gives to all

of its members for their full

and growing participation.

- As a delegate, you're

representing your area at the

General Service Conference.

You're bringing the collective

conscience of your area

to the conference,

and then the actions

that take place there,

you then report back

to your area. Could you speak more to that

process?

What I felt as an area delegate is

that I had a responsibility

to deliver the area's voice..

The voice that I

contributed was not my own.

These were not my thoughts.

They were the expressions of

the members in the, in my area.

In Alcoholics Anonymous, we

also have a right of decision.

And so while the voice

that I had to contribute

to the General Service

Conference was not my own,

my vote was well-informed by the thoughts

of the membership in North Carolina,

so my responsibility was to vote on behalf

of Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.

And one of the cases that this came up,

I believe it was at the

72nd Conference in 2022,

there was a Proposed Agenda

Item to revise the pamphlet A.A.

for the Native North American.

And as I engaged

with the fellowship in Area

51 about their feelings,

their thoughts and perspectives

and concerns on the conference

agenda, there was not a lot

of appetite for this revision.

- Okay.

- There was not a, a clear objection.

There was just not really

an appetite to engage

with one more thing.

- Uh-huh. - When I went to

the conference, I was exposed

to a very different set of perspectives.

I started to hear from

delegates in Thunder Bay

and the Yukon territory in New Mexico

and places that had a larger

indigenous population.

- Yeah. - And I became

convinced that there was a need

for this revision based on the

information that was presented.

And ultimately, that

was an advisory action.

Over the course of two years

and the involvement of members

from indigenous communities,

the establishment of a working

group of trustees literature,

an amazing pamphlet was

created, revised, retitled

as Indigenous People in A.A.

And at the conference in 2025,

at the 75th General

Service Conference, that

draft pamphlet was presented,

reviewed, and approved,

and is now in publication

and print and on aa.org.

- Wow. What an experience.

Now, when that advisory action took place

and you came back to Area 51

to report that, how was that

- Received?

My experience is that A.A.s

will receive things well if

they're given the opportunity to.

And so as I offered a clear explanation,

it was well received.

- Yeah, that's great to hear.

I think that right of decision

is a very interesting concept

where it allows for the

delegate to be swayed

or change their mind

and to make decisions at the

conference that are best for A.A.

as a whole with the new information

that you obtained at the conference.

I think there's probably

a lot of people listening

that would think that things

could turn into chaos if anyone

could change their mind

at any certain time,

but it doesn't turn into chaos.

Our structure does maintain.

- So I would say that

we're guided in principle,

and so it's not simply a whim.

And we have open-mindedness as one

of our indispensable elements.

We have an understanding

that the spiritual

life is not a theory.

We have to live it. One of the things

that happens when we come

to some of these rights

that we have in Alcoholics

Anonymous, the right of decision

is that I believe there's a

corresponding responsibility.

If I have a right of decision,

I also have a responsibility

to report on that decision.

If I'm given a seat at

the table, I have a sense

of commitment to show up for

that obligation, to tend to it

with a seriousness

and a recognition that my

decision is bigger than

my preference or my whim.

- There's been a lot of

Proposed Agenda Items

that have turned into Advisory

Actions over the years.

Some things that a lot of people familiar

with Alcoholics Anonymous

would be aware of,

but might not know that

they started as PAIs.

Can you think of some other ones that are,

that are pretty well known

that you could share with us?

- One of the things that we

are working on right now,

the development of a fifth

edition of The Big Book.

- Yeah. Plain Language Big

Book would be another PAI

that turned to Advisory

Action. Is that true?

- Yes.

- How about the

podcast we're listening to right now?

Do you have any memories of

that being brought to the floor?

- I remember well an experience.

We had a pre-conference

structure in Area 51

where the delegate held events

and there was a lady in Charlotte

who was an alternate DCM at the time,

and she was just on fire

with this podcast idea.

I had never heard a podcast.

I didn't know what it was, you know?

I was living in an age of radio.

And so the podcast, the

opportunity to speak with members

and to share those voices, it's part

of the reason why Alcoholics

Anonymous has found such a

timeless value because it's

an opportunity to present

in real time the voices

and the experience of

A.A.'s current membership.

- Yeah. Yeah. I think you've

done a great job painting a

picture for us of what the

conference is, how it works,

and a lot of the actions that come out

of this really amazing

spiritual experience

of these representatives coming together.

You obviously have a passion for service.

- When I look at my personal

journey in Alcoholics

Anonymous, what I fundamentally find is

that I have fallen in love

with indebtedness, with a sense

of obligation and commitment to make sure

that this thing is here

for the member in the

future who needs us.

I am in debt to Alcoholics

Anonymous for my life,

and I have an obligation to carry that on.

The way that I can exercise that is

by my involvement within

our service structure,

because Alcoholics Anonymous

isn't just gonna be here

because people need it.

People have to show up for

it. They have to offer to it.

You know, the, the work

and self-sacrifice that is the growth

and maintenance of a spiritual condition.

And as much as our literature

is a point of inheritance

that we've received from

the members who preceded us,

this structure is an inheritance too

because it allows A.A. to

self-govern, to respond to the needs

and the wants of the whole.

- Thank you, Rainer.

- Thank you so much.

- For more information about AA,

please visit our website at aa.org.

- In our explorations today

of the A.A. general service

structure, we wanna make sure

and cover the entire upside-down triangle.

We've spent some time with

Rainer down near the bottom

of the triangle with the

General Service Conference

and how it connects with

the area assemblies,

which is the next layer up.

So we're gonna continue up

the triangle by taking you

to an area assembly.

- Everybody ready?

- This is where the GSRs,

General Service Representatives,

and the DCMs, District

Committee Members, communicate

to the area the collected group

conscience of the top layer

of the upside-down triangle

and A.A.'s ultimate

authority, the A.A. groups.

- Okay let's do the voting

on this motion, please!

This is also where the area communicates

to the groups any information

and updates from the

General Service Conference

and General Service Office.

Often, area assemblies will take advantage

of these gatherings to

familiarize new GSRs

with the functionalities

and responsibilities of their roles.

- Okay. Awesome.

- This is unofficially known

as GSR School.

- Is this anybody's first assembly is GSR?

- GSO staff member, Misha

Q., was in West Virginia

for the Area 73 Fall Assembly.

- So, hey, thanks for being here.

We're at Area 73's fall assembly,

and I'm just here talking to a few people.

Can you tell me your name and

a little bit about yourself?

- Hi, I'm Erica. My home

group is the KISS Group

of Alcoholics Anonymous in

Morgantown, West Virginia,

and my service position right

now is I am the group General

Service Representative.

So you're a GSR? I'm a GSR. Awesome.

So I really didn't know

what I was getting into,

but what I really love about

general service is I love

to know how things work.

My dad's an engineer, and

so I'm always interested in,

you know, how does this work?

Even when I started getting

involved in service at my home

group, I, I just felt like I

was seeing behind the curtain.

And then when you see behind the curtain,

you realize there's

really nobody there except

for all the members of

Alcoholics Anonymous.

And it's just so fun here in

Area 73. The people are great.

I'm not a native West Virginian

and I've just been so welcomed into-

- My name's Jayna.

Communication is key, I think, with GSR,

really with any position.

I think it's great to be a

voice for a group of people

that you share your life with.

- Hi, yeah, my name is

Sean, and I'm an alcoholic.

My home group is Steps

to Freedom down here in District 03,

Beckley, West Virginia.

I'm currently the servant as

the GSR for that whole group.

What's it like being a GSR?

You know, it's an absolute pleasure.

Sometimes it's like

herding cats a little bit,

but I enjoy getting into the

nitty-gritty of all the things

that come up at the home group

meetings, everything from

what books are we gonna buy

to now recently looking at

acoustic paneling for the room,

you know, everything in between.

It, it, it's been such a blessing.

- My name is Dana, and my

home group is the Design

for Living Group that meets

on Tuesday mornings in

Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Excellent. And what's your

current service position?

I am the DCM for District 11 and Area 73.

What does a DCM do? Well, let's see.

We hold monthly meetings

for all the GSRs to attend,

so I'm the liaison between

what's going on at the area

and the GSO level,

and I spread that

information to the GSRs so

that they can share it with their groups.

Patrice E.,

- Women on a Journey, online meeting,

Sundays 2 00:16:51

00, come join us.

Sundays 2 00:16:55

- So you're a new GSR?

- Yes.

Sundays 2 00:16:57

- And you came this weekend

Sundays 2 00:17:00

and they had GSR training.

What was that like?

Sundays 2 00:17:03

- Absolutely invaluable.

Sundays 2 00:17:06

You know, I thought, "Man,

I gotta start giving back."

Sundays 2 00:17:10

So I was offered the position

in my home group and I took it

Sundays 2 00:17:15

and it's been amazing.

Sundays 2 00:17:17

It's so different now

Sundays 2 00:17:21

than when I was brand new way back when.

Sundays 2 00:17:25

The training, I wish I had had it then,

Sundays 2 00:17:30

it would've made more sense,

Sundays 2 00:17:32

but this time it, it,

Sundays 2 00:17:36

it made me appreciate A.A.

Sundays 2 00:17:41

at a whole different level.

Sundays 2 00:17:44

- It's great to be a part of something.

Sundays 2 00:17:45

There's just something different

about it. I don't know.

Sundays 2 00:17:47

The energy and the love that people have

Sundays 2 00:17:49

for Alcoholics Anonymous, even

when we disagree, is really,

Sundays 2 00:17:51

really exciting to be a

part of. - What do you think

Sundays 2 00:17:54

being involved in service

did for your sobriety?

Sundays 2 00:17:56

- Wow. I really couldn't

overstate it, you know?

Sundays 2 00:17:59

I got into service work very early on.

Sundays 2 00:18:02

I had no idea what I was getting into,

Sundays 2 00:18:04

but as soon as I sat down

into that big meeting and,

Sundays 2 00:18:08

and just started listening

Sundays 2 00:18:09

and soaking it all in, I, I,

I absolutely fell in love.

Sundays 2 00:18:12

You know, being able to

be of service is, to me,

Sundays 2 00:18:17

providing the opportunity for people

Sundays 2 00:18:20

to carry this wonderful message.

Sundays 2 00:18:22

Anything that I can do to put

somebody else in that position

Sundays 2 00:18:26

to be able to carry this message to me,

Sundays 2 00:18:29

that's twofold, right?

Sundays 2 00:18:30

Because not only do

they get to stay sober,

Sundays 2 00:18:33

but we also plant the seed

Sundays 2 00:18:34

and hopefully someone else

gets to stay sober as well.

Sundays 2 00:18:37

- How long have you been

involved in general service

Sundays 2 00:18:38

or involved in doing service

work in A.A.? - Well, I just

Sundays 2 00:18:42

celebrated 28 years

Sundays 2 00:18:44

of continuous sobriety on September 5th,

Sundays 2 00:18:47

and I think I was about three months sober

Sundays 2 00:18:51

when M.J. said, "Dana, you wanna

go to a meeting?" And I said,

Sundays 2 00:18:54

"Yeah, I'll go to a

meeting." And she took me

Sundays 2 00:18:56

to the first district meeting,

Sundays 2 00:18:59

and I've been in service

work ever since. - It's kept

Sundays 2 00:19:01

me sober, bar none.

Sundays 2 00:19:03

It's kept me sober. I probably

wouldn't be here today.

Sundays 2 00:19:08

I might be back out there

or dead or who knows,

Sundays 2 00:19:10

but yeah, it's a life saver.

Sundays 2 00:19:13

- Wow. Thank you so much,

Tina. - You're welcome, Misha.

Sundays 2 00:19:16

Can I hug you?

Sundays 2 00:19:18

Thank you for your service.

Sundays 2 00:19:19

- Thank you guys so much! - Yay!!

Sundays 2 00:19:30

- To find a meeting near you

Sundays 2 00:19:31

or a meeting online,

Sundays 2 00:19:33

download the Meeting Guide

app on your mobile device.

Sundays 2 00:19:38

- When Paul M. visited GSO

Sundays 2 00:19:40

and shared about his experience

in A.A. service throughout the

Sundays 2 00:19:43

upside-down triangle, the

opportunities it provided him

Sundays 2 00:19:46

and the lessons he learned, we knew we had

Sundays 2 00:19:49

to share his story with you.

Sundays 2 00:19:51

- My name's Paul. I'm an alcoholic.

Sundays 2 00:19:53

Because of people like

you in rooms like this,

Sundays 2 00:19:55

I'm sober today and for

that, I'm truly grateful.

Sundays 2 00:19:57

And I walked through these

rooms April the 12th of 1992.

Sundays 2 00:20:02

I spent years in and out of

A.A. and I couldn't stay sober.

Sundays 2 00:20:06

And this last time, my sponsor put me

Sundays 2 00:20:09

to work doing stuff at the group level.

Sundays 2 00:20:10

He said, "You need to make commitments.

Sundays 2 00:20:12

You need to get to be of service to the,

Sundays 2 00:20:13

to the group." And I didn't

understand what that had

Sundays 2 00:20:16

to do with staying sober.

Sundays 2 00:20:18

I'd come in and I'd make coffee

Sundays 2 00:20:20

and you wouldn't pat me on the back

Sundays 2 00:20:21

and tell me how great it was.

Sundays 2 00:20:22

I would clean up the

bathrooms, wash the ashtrays.

Sundays 2 00:20:24

Thank God the ashtrays are gone today,

Sundays 2 00:20:26

but we had to clean all those things

Sundays 2 00:20:28

and I didn't understand

what that sacrifice had

Sundays 2 00:20:31

to do with staying sober.

Sundays 2 00:20:32

And many years later, I came

to learn that this was made

Sundays 2 00:20:35

to practice humility

Sundays 2 00:20:36

and to do things for others

expecting nothing in return,

Sundays 2 00:20:40

just for the act of love of giving

Sundays 2 00:20:42

and caring for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Sundays 2 00:20:44

That carried on through my life.

Sundays 2 00:20:45

I mean my sponsor had me make

commitments to lead meetings,

Sundays 2 00:20:49

to let me be the group treasurer.

Sundays 2 00:20:52

Even though I was a hot

check writer, they trusted me

Sundays 2 00:20:54

with their dollar and 58 cents

Sundays 2 00:20:56

that I guarded underneath my pillow.

Sundays 2 00:20:58

I remember that. I was gonna

not lose a penny of that money.

Sundays 2 00:21:01

But what that did for me,

being a service like that,

Sundays 2 00:21:04

I started to build self-esteem.

Sundays 2 00:21:06

I started feeling better

about myself, that I,

Sundays 2 00:21:08

people would trust me, and

Sundays 2 00:21:09

that helps the recovery

process for myself.

Sundays 2 00:21:12

I believe that practicing

all three legacies

Sundays 2 00:21:16

of Alcoholics Anonymous, our

legacy of recovery, our legacy

Sundays 2 00:21:18

of unity, and our legacy of service

Sundays 2 00:21:21

have helped me round out my program.

Sundays 2 00:21:23

I have you know, I've

learned to give and travel

Sundays 2 00:21:26

and be part of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Sundays 2 00:21:28

- Yeah. It sounds like

you started off with a lot

Sundays 2 00:21:30

of service at the group level.

Sundays 2 00:21:31

When did you start working

your way down the triangle?

Sundays 2 00:21:34

- A- as my service history

continued, I was asked

Sundays 2 00:21:37

to serve the group as a,

as a General Service Rep.

Sundays 2 00:21:40

And I think that was my

introduction to really the legacy

Sundays 2 00:21:44

of service and structure of

the General Service Conference.

Sundays 2 00:21:47

And I became a GSR.

Sundays 2 00:21:49

I moved on to become a

correctional chair from my area

Sundays 2 00:21:52

and worked in treatment.

Sundays 2 00:21:53

These were all things that the

opportunities that A.A. gave me

Sundays 2 00:21:57

to do to be a service to

them and the people about me.

Sundays 2 00:21:59

And I, you know, as I did these things,

Sundays 2 00:22:01

I started meeting more and more people.

Sundays 2 00:22:03

My circle of A.A. g-

grew bigger and bigger.

Sundays 2 00:22:06

Pretty soon I was involved

with people in the region,

Sundays 2 00:22:09

our Southwest Region.

Sundays 2 00:22:11

And then in 2003, I was

elected delegate for my area

Sundays 2 00:22:15

and got to serve the

General Service Conference

Sundays 2 00:22:17

for two years, and the

second year I, I became the,

Sundays 2 00:22:21

the Cooperation with the Professional

Sundays 2 00:22:22

Community chairperson and was

really introduced to CPC work.

Sundays 2 00:22:27

And I was sharing earlier on

today about what that's done

Sundays 2 00:22:30

for me to go out and speak

to the professionals about

Sundays 2 00:22:33

what A.A. is, what it's not.

Sundays 2 00:22:35

And I've, I've been

doing that for years now

Sundays 2 00:22:37

to speak into professional groups

Sundays 2 00:22:38

and being involved also in

Public Information, talking

Sundays 2 00:22:41

to young kids about

Sundays 2 00:22:43

what Alcoholics Anonymous

is, what it's not.

Sundays 2 00:22:45

- It sounds like you've learned

a lot of skillsets to be

Sundays 2 00:22:47

of service in A.A.

Sundays 2 00:22:49

- But it's done more than that.

Sundays 2 00:22:50

I learned how to be of

service to my family.

Sundays 2 00:22:53

I know when I got married

Sundays 2 00:22:54

and I learned how to be a

service to my wife- Yeah.

Sundays 2 00:22:56

... and family members,

and to look at that

Sundays 2 00:22:59

as a gift to be able to give back.

Sundays 2 00:23:01

I learned to be, be of

service in my community.

Sundays 2 00:23:04

The service has given me that opportunity

Sundays 2 00:23:05

to interact with people.

Sundays 2 00:23:07

Sometimes with people I

don't agree with, some,

Sundays 2 00:23:10

sometimes people that I

don't, might not like,

Sundays 2 00:23:12

but I've had to learn

through our legacy of

Sundays 2 00:23:14

the traditions thinking

about the common welfare.

Sundays 2 00:23:16

What can I do to help this relationship?

Sundays 2 00:23:19

Whe- whether I like this person or not,

Sundays 2 00:23:21

or agree with them, what can

I do to be loving and kind?

Sundays 2 00:23:24

And I think those, the services

opportunities gives me that

Sundays 2 00:23:28

chance to practice this.

Sundays 2 00:23:30

And it continues to be

that way for me today.

Sundays 2 00:23:32

- Have you ever had an opportunity

Sundays 2 00:23:34

to experience any other

service structures?

Sundays 2 00:23:37

I, I mean, like, outside

the US and Canada?

Sundays 2 00:23:39

- Well, in fact several

years ago I was in the UK,

Sundays 2 00:23:43

had a chance to go to the

General Service Office in the UK

Sundays 2 00:23:46

in, in York, England,

Sundays 2 00:23:48

and to meet some delegates

there as I was traveling.

Sundays 2 00:23:51

You know, I've been, had the

opportunity to go around.

Sundays 2 00:23:53

I was in a meeting in

Austria - Vienna, Austria and

Sundays 2 00:23:56

I talked to the service rep in that group

Sundays 2 00:23:58

about the seventh tradition.

Sundays 2 00:24:00

And they, he looked at me

Sundays 2 00:24:02

and says, "Well, they're still trying

Sundays 2 00:24:03

to put one Euro in the

basket." I said, "Well,

Sundays 2 00:24:06

over here in the US,

sometimes they're still trying

Sundays 2 00:24:08

to put a buck in the basket."

Sometimes we have this

Sundays 2 00:24:11

same challenges, whether it's here

Sundays 2 00:24:12

or around the other side of the world.

Sundays 2 00:24:14

- As delegate of Area 67, Southeast Texas,

Sundays 2 00:24:17

you participated in two

General Service Conferences.

Sundays 2 00:24:21

Any memories that really stand out

Sundays 2 00:24:23

to you that you could share with us?

Sundays 2 00:24:25

- Oh, oh yeah. I, I, I, I was

elected delegate in 2003 and,

Sundays 2 00:24:30

and attended my first

General Service Conference.

Sundays 2 00:24:32

And I remember standing out

front of that at Times Square.

Sundays 2 00:24:36

I, I think it was a Crown

Plaza in Times Square.

Sundays 2 00:24:39

I, I had a three-piece

suit looking around.

Sundays 2 00:24:41

I could not, I could not

believe that a skid row drunk

Sundays 2 00:24:46

on parole from Texas Department

Sundays 2 00:24:47

of Corrections was standing

there representing A.A. in the

Sundays 2 00:24:50

United States and Canada

Sundays 2 00:24:52

and what the kind of

overwhelming feeling I got there

Sundays 2 00:24:55

of being that joy and responsibility

to be able to do that.

Sundays 2 00:24:59

And I remember the conference

Sundays 2 00:25:00

and you know, the conference was great,

Sundays 2 00:25:03

but I, I ended up chairing

the early morning meeting.

Sundays 2 00:25:05

They have an early morning

meeting at the conference.

Sundays 2 00:25:08

And it was an open meeting

Sundays 2 00:25:09

and somebody came in from the

streets to attend that meeting

Sundays 2 00:25:13

who was trying to sober up.

Sundays 2 00:25:14

And it really connected

with me the importance of

Sundays 2 00:25:17

what was going on at the

conference, what was going on GSO

Sundays 2 00:25:20

with that man who walked in

that meeting that morning

Sundays 2 00:25:24

before the conference started.

Sundays 2 00:25:25

And I always encourage

all the delegates go to

Sundays 2 00:25:28

that early morning meeting.

Sundays 2 00:25:29

I know it's difficult with

all the things going on,

Sundays 2 00:25:32

but you need to know why we're

here, why we have business

Sundays 2 00:25:35

to take care of Alcoholics Anonymous,

Sundays 2 00:25:37

because the real business

is carrying that message

Sundays 2 00:25:39

to the alcoholic who still suffers.

Sundays 2 00:25:41

- Wow. Paul, that's great.

Sundays 2 00:25:43

Really grateful you came in today.

Sundays 2 00:25:44

- Yeah, grateful for the stuff you do,

Sundays 2 00:25:46

the work you do. Yeah, I

Sundays 2 00:25:47

appreciate it.

Sundays 2 00:25:53

There's no short supply of resources

Sundays 2 00:25:55

to learn more about the general

service structure of A.A.

Sundays 2 00:25:57

There's the pamphlets, "The A.A.

Group...Where it all Begins",

Sundays 2 00:26:00

"Circles of Love and Service",

Sundays 2 00:26:02

and "The 12 Concepts Illustrated", along

Sundays 2 00:26:04

with the Animated 12 Concepts video.

Sundays 2 00:26:07

For the spiritual foundation of service,

Sundays 2 00:26:08

there are the tradition

essays in the book, "12 Steps

Sundays 2 00:26:11

and 12 Traditions", and

for the historical story

Sundays 2 00:26:13

of the General Service Conference,

checkout "A.A. Comes of Age".

Sundays 2 00:26:17

Don't forget about the "General

Service Manual, 12 Concepts

Sundays 2 00:26:20

of World Service", along with

GSO's free newsletter, "Box 459".

Sundays 2 00:26:25

And of course, a great way

Sundays 2 00:26:26

to keep learning about Alcoholics

Anonymous is by listening

Sundays 2 00:26:29

to this podcast, Our Primary Purpose.

Sundays 2 00:26:32

So if you haven't already,

be sure to subscribe

Sundays 2 00:26:34

so you can keep coming back.

Sundays 2 00:26:38

- Thank you for listening

to Our Primary Purpose,

Sundays 2 00:26:41

a podcast produced by the

General Service Office on behalf

Sundays 2 00:26:44

of the Fellowship of

Alcoholics Anonymous in the US

Sundays 2 00:26:47

and Canada.