0x 1-El-g
AND NOTESFROM THE GENERALSERVICEOFFICEOF A. A.
Languageof the Heart
'World
oRound
the
Heard
The A.A. Fellowshipovercomes
both naturalandman-madeboundariesbecausealcoholicsaroundthe
in the
world hearthe A.A, message
the
heart-whatever
of
language
their nativetongue.
These truths becameespecially
evidentin NewYork,October9-1l,
joinedus
1969, when 27 delegates
here at G.S.O. for the very first
A.A. World ServiceMeeting.
The unity keynotewassounded
at the openingsessionin eloquent
greetingsfrom Dr. John L. (Dr.
Jack) Norris, nonalcoholicchair-
.fr
a,
t
Aara l/rkttdq . .
This is possiblY the finest
Chrtrtmaswehaveeverknown.
A.A.'s unexampledProgress
worldwide, culminatingin the
recent WorldServiceMeeting,
must be counted among the
in thls
greatestof our blesslngs
year, 1969. M
man of our GeneralServiceBoard
for North A*nerioa;and in the account by Bill W. of the birth of
A.A. services.
Unity was echoedby the delegateswho recited,eachin his country's own language,A.A.'s First
Tradition:
Our common uelfare shouldcome first;
personal recot)ery depenils upon AÀ.
unity.
Bill also describedthe U.S. and
Canadian experiencesof A.A.'s
early years,which gavebirth to the
l2 Traditions.
Reportsfrom eachregionrepresentedat the meetingpointedup
the similarity of A.A. challenges
and answerseverywhere.
Highlightsof the reportsare:
ATJSTRALIA:A.A.'s FIND
SUCCESS
BRINGSPROBLEMS
"A.A. has beComesuchan acceptedpart of our communitythat
it is of little interestto our news
media," said Bereniceand Laurie.
Since Australia has no national
serviceoffice as yet, groupsin each
state are separatelyresponsible
for
services
in their own areas.TheP.R,
officer for eachstate,for example,
regularly arrangesfor A.A. members to act asspeakers
beforenongroups.
alcoholic
All hospitalstreat alcoholismas
a specific diseaseand cooperate
with A.A. Prison authoritiesuse
A.A. asanessentialpart of their rehabilitation.efforts.
Beginningin 1959, an annual
conventionhas brought together
membersfrom all overthe continent, a different state hostingeach
yeal.
Meetingthe sameweekendasthe
convention, the yearly Australian
ServiceConference has also begun
to assist,coordinate,and add to the
existing independent service centers. It makesrecommendations on
A.A. matters common to all and
now has a publishingcompany.
BELGIUM:
A.A,FOUND
PUBLtrCITY
PAYSOFF
Both French-and Dutch-speaking A.A. groups now flourish in
Belgium.But in 1968A.A. services
for Flemishalcoholicswereorganizedaccording
to "PartnersinA.A."
and"GuidetoG.S.Structure"fumished from New York, reported
(To p, 3)
20th GeneralServiceConference
AgendaTopics
WHE RE $ S $ G O
"If A.A. is self*upporting, why
give money?" whispeted the new
pigeonto his sponsor.
does approvalneedto come from
Now is the time to start thinkIf you know some A.A.'s who
ing about the topicsto be covered the whole area-or from just the still wonder, ask G.S.O. for free
gxoupsinvolved?
at the 20th annual meetingof the
copiesof a new pamphletexplain(5) Should we be concerned
Service
North American General
ing what A.A. servicesare supportabout A.A. members being emConferenceto be held in APril,
ed by the contributions you send
ployed as "A.A. counselors"when
l97O.In order to truly reflectthe
G,S.O.
overall A.A. thinking, the experi- traditionally A.A. is not to be proDEADLINE: To be acknowlencesandviewsof eachgroupneed fessionalized?
edgedin the 1970 WorldDirectory,
The themewill be basedon ,Serv- group
Group discussions,
to be expressed.
or individual gifts must be
ice,
the actual wording to come
district meeting and assemblydisreceivedat G.S.O.byDec.31, I 969.
later.Ifyou haveagendatopicsyou
cussionswould be interestingand
Oh yes-that sponsor replie{,
feel should be discussed,please
would provide information from
"We're only self-supportingIF we
your areafor the delegates'discus- give them to your G.S.R., com- givemoney.Welet no one but ourmittee member or delegate.Make
sion. Let's truly reflect the'loice
selvespay our expenses."
the 20th GeneralServiceConferof A.A." on the following topics:
enceyour servicetool.
(l) How can A.A. better cooperatewith outsideagencies,
i.e.,
MIAMI BEAC}I, HERE WE COME!
courts,medicalprofession,etc.?
Inside, he found that the letter
(2) The problem of the A.A.
Registration and housing appliwriter,
a new4.A., had found Alfs
memberand "pills."
cationformsarepouringinto G.S.O.
addressin the l4)orldDîrectory.
(3) How canthe percentage
of
No housingforms were forwarded
It was no ordinary A.A. letter,
groups contributing to General
to the Miami HousingBureauprior
either. It was signed 1''W-," a
Servicesbe improved in order to
to Oct. 15.All roomsare being asbrother Alf had not seen in 20
meet financial responsibilities?
signed by them on a first-come,
years.
(4) What is the experienceof
first-servedbasis;you will hear dithe Fellowshipwhen a local Conrect from your assigned
hotel about
ference area needs redistricting?
your
reservation.
AÀ CAI,ENDAR
lVho drafts it and on what basis
The opening dance will be on
o
NOVEMBER
Thursday, July 2, 1970; the Big
AN IMPORTANT DEADLINE2I-23 - Loveland, Co., Winter Regional
Show will be on Sunday evening,
Conf. lVrite: Conf. Sec.,Rt. 2, Box
DECEMBER FIRST
July
5.
109-H, Berthoud, Co.
29 - Baltimorg,Md., l2th Annu. "SobriWalter T., Florida Host Cometies" Show. lVrite: Intersrouo OfIf we are to refer to your group
mittee chairman,hashad to resign
Iïce, 311I St. Paul St., Bal-timôre.
any sick alcoholicfrom your comthis position; businessreasonsneJANUARY I97O
munity, wehaveto havecorrectincessitated his moving to Ohio.
16.18- Ocean Springs,Mis. Gulf Coast
formation. PLEASEgetyour Group
Round-Up.\ilrite: Orairman,Drawer U, OceanSprings,
Miss.
Information Card in for the 1970
'8th
16.18- Bearimont,
fèxas]
S.E.Texas
ll orld Directory Part I (U.S.{anada
Gen.Serv.Conf.lVrite:Conf.Chm,.
P.O.Box 3322.Beaumont.
only) by December1, 1969!
23-25- 3rd Tar Heel Midwlnter Conf.
Write: Chm., Box 2271,Durham,
Travelersuseit to find you, too,
N.C_
and it tells aswhereto sendyou an24 - Bedford,N.H.,3rd Annu.Midwinter Banquet,Write;N,H,S.A.,Box
nouncementsabout Miami Beach,
182,Portsmouth,
N.H.
30-31- Blytheville,tuk., 13th AnnualTrinew books, worldwide A,A., and
State Coon Supper.lilrite: Chm., Wesley P. has nov/ assumedthis
much more.
P.O.Box401,Blytheville.
important post. Our thanks and
tl .*{.*
FEBRUARY
best to Walter and our sinceregratThe postmark on the envelope
20.22- Louiwille,Ky.,l9thKentuckyState itude to Wes.
Conf.Wrlto:Conf.Chm.,P.O.Box
said, "Dawson Creek,8.C.," but
Getyour formsfrom your group
13082,Louisvlile.
2l - Phila.,Pa,Intergroup30th Anniv. or write P.O.Box 459, Grand
Alf M., in Ottawa, couldn't think
CenDinner and Dance.Write: Chm.,
o f a n yon e ....
tral PostOffice,N.Y., N,Y, 10017.
2202Sl. JamesSt.,Philadelphia.
.|
BELGIUM ffro^p.t)
Dolfe, secretary,and AndriesVan
frB Staen, nonalcoholicchairmanof
*.J
lll
i/
theif Board.
There are now 94 groups,plus
threein psychiatricinstitutionsand
one in a hospital.Belgianlaw forbids formation of prison gJoups,
but armed forcesgroupsexist in
nearlyeachgarrisontown.
A G.S.Board(six nonalcoholics,
two A.A.'s from eachprovince)is
responsiblefor G.S.O.,publishing,
and a committee on Public Information.
VolunteerspublishanA.A. periodicalandtranslateliterature.Hopefully, a joint AdvisoryBoardwith
A.A.'s will soon
French-speaking
be formed.
Each group sendsdelegatesto
a Provincial Workgroup, run by a
ProvincialWorkcommittee.These,
plus trusteesand a delegatefrom
eachprovince,a sectetary,tteasurof publishing,make
er,and delegate
up the FlemishG.S.Conference'
CENTRAL AMERICA: SEVERAL
SERVICECENTERS
")
From Central America, both
Northern and SouthernZones,the
A.A. story is one of growth.El
CostaRicaand
Salvador,Honduras,
Guatemalahaveone nationalservice office,enablinggroups,old and
new, to keep in touch with each
other tlrough the office and also
actingas a "force againstnegative
localism,"RobertoandGustavoreported.TheEl Salvador
G.S.Board
has recently published the Big
Book in Spanish.
Nicaraguahasthree separateintergroups and Panamahas only
groups.
Most Central Americangroups
meet every day, and many groups
go on excursionsto Twelfth Step
other groups,
Financesare a problem,but literaturesales,excursionprofits and
Worlil map "at a glonce" shouingA.A. areas
representei! at the Meettry - one of a num'
ber of display boarils set up in the meeting
room ot the RooserseltHotel.
contributionssofar havepermitted
observanceof the 7th Tradition.
The Central American groups
have an annual convention,many
public meetings,group anniversary
meetingsand just lots of A.A. activity. All countriesare in needof
better publishing facilities so that
literafure will bemorereadilv availableto all.
This problemwill be studiedby
the Board of Directors of A.A.
WorldSewices,Inc.
COLOMBIA: 119 GROUPS
IN FIVE YEARS
Whenthe ColombianG.S.O.began asjust a literaturedistribution
centerin 1964,therewereonly 1l
groups in l0 cities.A 1965 loan
from North America'sG.S.B.was
a big help,reportedArturo, G.S.O.
staff in Medellin.
At first, A.A. therewassupported ($20 a month) by a commercial
firm, but problemsgrew.Members
have mostly overcomethem and
are proudto observethe Traditions
now.
In 1969,thereare 130groupsin
63 cities,severalgoodintergroups,
and the Medellin office supplies
free literature to new groups in
- 3-
eightnearbycountries.Its exp'enses
arenow about$330(U.S.)amonth.
If there had not been a general
informationcenter(G.S.O.)for the
new groups,each may have gone
its own way and Colombia A.A.
would have bpen divided, maybe
operating inadequately and fighting each other in disregardof the
Traditions.
Six nonalcoholictrusteeshave
done outstandingpublic information work-such as.AttorneyG.V,
Bustamente,board president,who
persuadedlargecompaniesto buy
A.A. literature,especiallythe Spanish "WhatHappenedto Joe."
FINLAND: A.A. INTERGROUPS
DO NOT SUCCEED
"Area meetings and national
roundups(nearly 1,000 in attendance quarterly) are very popular,
and the servicecenter(G.S.O.)for
the wholecountry hasworked well
over 15 years," said Johan and
Veikko.
This centerpublishesThe Information semi-monthly(it has 700
subscribers)with news, a financial
statement,
members'A.A. anniversaries,and directory corrections.A
group directory is issued thrice
yearly. Nearly every meeting is
"closed," so yery seldom do outsidersget to seeA.A. work.
The Decision, a monthly magazine (with 2,000 subscribers)has
(To p.
itt
FINLANDffTomP'
artic'lesby local menlbers,Plus
Grapevineillustrationsand translations.
The FinnishBig Book containsa
history of A.A. there,l6 Finnish
stories,and statementsfrom the
Archbishop of Finland and the
presidentof its MedicalBoard.
for
Finding the bestexpressions
Finliterature
into
A.A.
translating
nish and Swedishhas been difficult. Correctionsare madein each
new printing.
FRANCE: MANY LONERSIN
THE PROVINCES
Five Parisgroupsand threesuburban onesform the stout heart of
French A.A., but in the provinces
many Lonersfind toughgoing,reported Jacquesand Bernard.
Since French A.A. got started
only nine yearsago(helpedby the
Americangroupin Paris),the grow'
ini pains aremany. Suchasl. Confusionamongmembersabout the distinction between the
Paris Intergroup Committee and
the FrenchG.S.Board.Intergroup
handlesA.A. telephoneanswering
triesto handle
with paidpersonnel,
public relationsandinter-grouprelations.
The Board,on tlte other hand, followedtheNorthAmericanplan,'
at present said Guenter, chairman and Dr.
is primarily responsible
for A,A. publishing,distribution, Walter H. Lechler, nonalcoholic
and relationswith A.A. in other memberof their G.S.Board.
At first, however,Germansfelt
countries.
2. Lack of funds. Many new no A:4. structureof any kind was
Frenchmembers-likethoseevery- needed, because "Germans had,
tinre,anallergyagainst
where-have little or no money. sinceHitler's
A.A.,"respect- any form of organization."
Nevertheless,French
Therefore,for someyearstransing the ?th Traditior. . ., hasrefused to becomea public service." lation anddistributionof literature,
assistance
It couldmeanfinancialadvantages, contactsbetweengroups,
groups,
on
public
to
new
and
but A.A. would be dependent
information activitieswerenot undertaken
the government.
3. Literature is purchasedfrom at all, exceptby individuals.
Nevertheless,
eachgroupha'dits
Quebec.Only a few smallitemsare
own structure and elected"servpublishedin France.
French A.A.'s held their first ants," and about l0 yearsagoone
alcoholic started to give informaG.S. Conferencethis autumn in
tion from group to group. All
Paris,with "greatheartandhope."
groupscorresponded
with him, and
thus a generalserviceof{ice developedcalledthe ContactCenter.
GERMANY: A.A. PATTERNED
ThenationalContactCenterand
AFTER NORTH AMERICAN
publishing
a
companyareself-supporting
guidedby the Genand
are
because
American
"Perhaps
eral
Service
Board.
soldiersstationedin Germany12thSteppedGermanalcoholics,forming the first group in Munich in
1953, German A.A. has largely
We are grateful to report thot the
Big Book is nou auaîloble in B
Ianguaget other than English: AfTikoonc, finnblr, Flemhh, French,
Cerman,Norueghn, Portugueseand
Sponirh.
This is the t'East Room" in the
Rooseuelt Hotel, Neu York City,
wherethe delegatetfrom arounil the
world shared A,A. in the longmge
of the heaft.
-4 -
Theæ disploy boords addeil color
ond meaûng to the World Sen:îce
Meetfiry, ot they disployeil A,A.
pamphlets in more than seuenteen
hngaages.
formedtheir IntergroupOffice,and
organizedthe First NationalMexican A.A. Congressfor all Mexican
groups,now held semiannuallyin
"We arebut a smallcountry, and
variouscities.
A.A. in The Netherlandsis also
Widespreadinterest throughout
small in comparisonwith A.A. in
the country has resulted in 200
the U.S.A. But we try with the
flourishing groups, and the Intertools we haveto make the bestof
to
$oup of MexicoCity endeavors
it." Piet andHanssaid.
give whateverseryiceit can to new
Structure includestwo foundagroupsstartedanywherein Mexico.
of A.A.andPubtions: Workgroups
Only someMexicoCity groupssuplicity in A.A. Their boardsareadport the office, however.
visedby non-A.4.'sfrom medicine,
A plan to organize along the
the judiciary, industry, and by soNorth American lines for General
cial workers andclergymen.These
Seryicesto all Mexicangroupswas
boardsalsoincludeA.A. members.
approvedin Sept.,1969.A plan for
There are 15 large groups, l0
a.G.S.Board,G.S.O.and publishI 5 Loners.Groups
smallerones,and
ing companyis beingstudied.
a Step
meetoncea weekto discuss
or Tradition, and also members'
problems.DeBoei,a monthlymag- NEWZEALAND:KEEPSA.A.
azine,carrieslocal stories,Grape- SERVICESTRUCTURE
FLUID
vine translations, and interviews
with non-A.4.'s.
GeneralServiceworkersin New
The big problem, they said, is
Zealandtrytomake no movewiththat A.A. in Holland is not grow- out substantialmembershipbacking comparedto the number of
ing, and to do nothingthat cannot
alcoholics.
be easilyundone.This promisesto
work for sometime to come,Ian
and Irvan reported.
MEXICO: APPROVES
Without legalincorporation,they
GENERAL SERVICEPLAN
are guided by simplebylawslargely about delêgatesto the New
ln 1964, in Guatemala,at the
Zealand G.S. Conferenceand its
A.A.
Convention
of
CenSecond
tral America-Mexico-Panama- SteeringCommittee(a kind of G.S.
CaribbeanAreas,Mexico City was Board).Appointmentof threenonalcoholics-well-knownmen with
designatedas the site of the third
suchconvention,Antonio
andJorge time to devote to A.A.-has been
an unqualifiedsuccess.
told us.
In response,the five SpanishThe four largest cities have InspeakingMexico City A.A. groups tergroups,andthe G.S.Office (one
HOLLAND:A.A.HAS
UNUSUALFEATURES
-5 -I
room, one A.A. employee)opened
in Wellington,the capital,in 1968.
Each geographicalarea (three)
has area assembly meetings, all
memberswelcome.Theseinclude a
meal and a public meetingin the
evening, often featuring a guest
speaker,usuallya doctor.
Groupscompeteforthe assembly
to be held in their home towns.
Most literatureis importedfrom
Australiaùd NewYork.It includes
Conference-approved
material as
well as other alcoholismpublications. The national A.A. pgpei is
calledMainstay.
NORWAY: A.A. HAD STORMY
TIMES
Whathappenswhen government
fundsof considerable
sizeare availableto supportA.A.? Sucha quandary faced Norwegian A.A.'s in
1952-53,Haakon
andErlingtold us,
and many members.wanted the
moneyacceptedWhen the Norwegian Board
senseddangerand declinedthe outsidecontributions-holdingout for
the A.A. Tradition of self-supportalmost half the membershipseceded. Slipsand chaosresulted.
However,time healedthe wounds,
survivinggroups returned, and todayA.A. in Norway hasno debtseventhoughit hasan almost empty
cashbox!
Recent publication, in Norwegian, of "Twelve Stepsand Twelve
Traditions" took most of the capital on hand. Translationsof the
Big Book and eight pamphletshad
alreadybeenpublishedthere.
Years ago, A.A.'s despairedof
getting hospitalsto acceptalcoholics and set up their own lS-bed
clinic, then turned it over to the
authorities for operation in cooperationwith A.A.
Sofar,little hasbeendoneabout
public information, but they plan
to initiate someactivitiessoon.
SOUTHAFRICA:A.A. GROWS
SERVICES
BY PROVIDING
"We have to carry literaturein
English,
six languages-Afrikaans,
Sesutu,
Swahili,
ZuluIsixhosa,
plus somein French,German,and
Portuguese,"
saidGlenandAndries.
there
are 78 items,29 of
In all,
them printedin SouthAfrica, some
in the office on an offsetpress.
The BigBookin Afrikaans( "Alkoholiste Anoniem") came out in
1961.BillW.'swaivingof his royalties has greatly assistedA.A. in
South Africa and in South West
Africa. Flannednext is translation
into Afrikaansof much more Conliterature.
ference-approved
In 1968,40,000itemsweredistributed, mostly to the white minority. The question of reaching
alcoholicsamong the larger nonwhite population causesgtreatconcem, but there ale hopeful signs
that some efforts are at last being
Shipmentsfor 1969 are
successful.
ove
u p 2 5 V o r1 9 6 8 .
Ever since 1951 responsibility
for suchservices
restedmainly with
groupsin one province,Transvaal.
As of this March, however, it is
sharedon a national basisthrough
the newly-electedGeneralService
Board and the functioning G.S.
Office and Conference.
A P.I. Committeehasjust been
set up, as requestedby the annual
Conference
of the Grapevine)and accountable
to the Conference
"Groups in Scotlandand Northern lreland previouslyformed their
own intergroups for most aspects
of A.A. services,"Allan and Wick
said,"but Scotlandwill be actively
associatedin the working of the
newstructureandhopefullyIreland
too, in due course."
A Board-ownedpublishingcompanypublishesanddistributesA.A.
Conference-approvedmaterial
throughout the sterlingarea.
OtherwisetheBoard(eightA.A.'s
with six-year terms, plus six nonalcoholics)maintainsliaison with
many official andunofficial national bodies,adviseson interpretation
and observanceof the Traditions,
and servicesthe General Service
Conference.It also shouldersprimary legal and financial responsibilities.
'trt t *t{t i&tr.St trit?
In addition to the delegates'reports, Dr. Jack, Eric, Mauriceand
Bayard (trusteesfrom our Board)
sharedtheir GeneralServiceBoard
responsibilities.Chuck and Warren
(delegatesfrom the North American General Service Conference)
shared their experience.Ruth, a
trustee,and the Grapevinestaff reported on their publication, and
the G.S.O.staff sharedtheir service activities.
FUTURE WORLD MEETINGS
LJNITEDKINGDOM:A.A.
REORGANIZESSERVICES
As a resultof a 1968recommendation of the UnitedKingdomG.S.
Conference(whichstartedin I 965),
the RedcliffeGardensCentral Service Office in London is to become
the GeneralServiceOffice for England and Wales,maintainedby the
l957-established G.S. Board of
A.A. in Great Britain and lreland,
which also will be responsiblefor
the News Letter (U.K. equivalent
Ageement to hold anotlterWorld
Service Meeting in New York in
three years was reachedby delegatesto Jhe first, after unanimous
endorsementof the value of such
a session,
Subject to ratification by the
Conferences and Boards of the
countries involved, other tentative
decisionsmadeinclude:
1. Formationof Literature,Publishing,Policy,FinanceandAgendaAdmission Committees,member-6 -
ship to be assignedby lot.
2. Approvalof rotation principle
for selectionof delegates
(A.A. in
eachcountry to determineits own
electoralmethod).
3. Agreementthat cost of the
World ServiceMeetingshould be
sharedasequitablyaspossible.
Our heartsare especiallyfilled
with gratitudefor all that is A.A.
aroundtheworld.Thehand
of A.A.
is in many places.May it reach
evenmore.
.+r
<.o
SPECIALGIFTS TO G.S.O.
CALIFORNIA
SanLuis Obispo:
2nd Annu.22nd Dist. Conv. .$200.00
IOWA
Hamburg: lfaubonsie 4-State
Picnic. .
26.00
MICHIGAN
Lansing:CentralMich, InterAreaCouncilof A.A.
69.85
MISSOURI
JeffersonCity: State Conf.. . . . 33.43
NEW HAMPSHIRE
S t a t e A s æm b l y
. . . . 1 0 0 .0 0
NEWYORK
Schenectady:
6th Annu, N,Y,
StateConf.
. 600.24
OHIO
Cleveland:Ohio Gen. Sèr.Conf. 100.00
S./S.W.Ohio & No. Kentucky Gen.
Ser.Area8....
.. 1 0 0 .0 0
1969OhioStateG.S.C... . . . 1,114.38
SOUTH CAROLINA
Florence: lVaccamauArea Group
9.60
WESTVIRGINIA
Huntington: lTth W. Va. Conf. . 87.90
UTAH
SummerMeeting-Area4
50.35
CANADA
British Columbia: Pacifrc N.W.
Conf...
..9 1 0 .8 0
Manitoba: Loc du Bonnet - 9th
Ann.Banquet
....
1 0 0 .0 0
Ontario: .London- Westem
Conf..,
..2 0 0 .0 0
Ontario: Nippising and Parry
SguhdDist, Comm.
59,80
Ontario: Toronto€ntario Regnl.
Conf.. .
Saskatchewan: N o rth Battleforil '.
28.87
. Sask.DelegatesKitties', . ;
Intemational Advisory Council of
YoungPeopleinA.A... . . . 300.00
BOX +5-9 h publûhed 6 timee a yeor
by the Ceneral Senice Office of Alcoholiu ,4nonymout, 305 E.45th Street,
N,Y,C., N.Y. t00t7.
SUBSCruPIIOJYS: Inilioiiluol, 91.00
per f.t Group, 82.50 lot each unit of
I0 per yr. (Check should accompdny
order.)
Checkr payable to AÂ. Worlil Senticet, Inc., Box 459, Grcnil Cenfial
PostOffice, N.Y,C., N,Y. 10017,