In this unusual time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our primary purpose, while remaining constant, has evolved considerably in terms of how we fulfill it. The GSO offices had to shut down, with all employees working from home. Our International Convention, the source of so much interest and excitement throughout the Fellowship, was canceled. Two Regional Forums have been canceled. Area Assemblies throughout the US and Canada have been canceled. And the General Service Conference itself has been postponed and ultimately moved to an entirely digital platform. There are additional changes and adaptations that will be necessary as time moves on. And yet, we have continued moving forward – as individuals, as A.A. members, and as a Fellowship. In the face of such organizational challenges, it is a privilege to present this summary report on the 70 th General Service Conference. 1
70 th GENERAL SERVICE CONFERENCE 2020: A CLEAR VISION FOR YOU MAY 16 – MAY 19, 2020 HISTORIC 1ST VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ! 2
T he L e g a c y Co ntinue s I n 1951 the first Ge ne ra l Se rvic e Co nfe re nc e me t in Cle ve la nd, b e g inning a F ive Ye a r e xpe rime nta l pe rio d until the 1955 I nte rna tio na l Co nve ntio n in St L o uis, whe re A.A. Co - 3 F o unde r Bill W. fo rma lly turne d o ve r the ste wa rd ship o f A.A. to the Ge ne ra l Se rvic e Co nfe re nc e . T o da y the L e g a c y c o ntinue s.
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T he first sto p o n o ur wa y to the c o nfe re nc e this ye a r wa s a t PRAASA. T his ye a r PRAASA wa s in Arizo na Are a 3, in T uc so n o n Ma rc h 6,7,8. T he ho st c o mmitte e pro vide d a fa b ulo us se rvic e to the e ntire Pa c ific Re g io n. . F irst Sto p wa s PRAASA 5
I t se e ms like e ve ry de le g a te re po rt ha s a pic ture o f the c o nfe re nc e ha ll. He re is the c o nfe re nc e fo r this ye a r. 6 No te the b o x o f K le e ne x o n the b e d, I use d it fre q ue ntly !
A CLEAR VISION FOR YOU Confe r e nc e We e k Sc he dule May 16 – 19, 2020 Daily 10 – 10:30 a.m. Hospitality/Fellowship and Dancing MONDAY – MAY 18, 2020 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Serenity Group A.A. Meeting 1:15 – 8:30 p.m. Committee Reports and SAT URDAY – MAY 16, 2020 – OPE NING SE SSION Discussion 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. We lc ome , Ope ning, Roll Call, 8:30 – 9 p.m. Virtual Ice Cream Social and Gr e e tings, Ke ynote Addr e ss, D.J. Dance Party 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Confe r e nc e Committe e Me e tings TUESDAY – MAY 19, 2020 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Se c ondar y Committe e Me e tings 1:15 – 7:15p.m. Committee Reports and 6:45 – 7:45 p.m. Ope ning A.A. Me e ting Discussion SUNDAY – MAY 17, 2020 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Floor Motions 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. F inanc e Re por t: 8:30 p.m. Closing Remarks 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. Ge ne r al Shar ing Se ssion – What’s 70th General Service Conference Adjourns On Your Mind? Closing – Serenity Prayer: English, French, le c tions: We st Ce ntra l re g io na l 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. E Spanish truste e , We ste rn Ca na da re g io na l truste e 7 6:30 – 8 p.m. Ar e a De le gate s Only Me e ting
8 Co nfe re nc e me mb e rs c o me fro m the 8 Re g io ns in the US/ Ca na da se rvic e struc ture .
De le g a te Sta tistic s Ave r age Age 59 Olde st 76 Younge st 33 Ave r age sobr ie ty 22 L onge st sobr ie ty 43 Shor te st sobr ie ty 5 Ave r age le ngth of se r vic e 17 L onge st se r vic e 40 Shor te st se r vic e 5 9
10 A q uie t pla c e to pre pa re fo r e a c h da y.
He a rd a t the Se re nity Me e ting “rocketed into the 5 th dimension” “God of my experience not my understanding” 11 “We sacrifice our ego and pride” “Anonymity is part of each Tradition”
Conc e pt I T he fina l re sponsibility a nd the ultima te a uthority for A.A. world se rvic e s should a lwa ys re side in the c olle c tive c onsc ie nc e of our whole F e llowship. Bill in Conc e pt 1, "If the se our vita l a g e nc ie s we re to c olla pse or bog down, our unity within a nd the c a rrying of our me ssa g e to innume ra ble a lc oholic s without, would suffe r se rious a nd pe rha ps irre pa ra ble da ma g e . Unde r a ll c onditions a nd a t a ny sa c rific e , we would ha ve to susta in those se rvic e s a nd the flow of life blood tha t the y we re pumping into the world a rte rie s of our F e llowship.” The Mi Miracle le o of the 70th G General Serv rvic ice C Conference . We stc he ste r , NY, the or iginal c onfe r e nc e loc ation was the U.S. e pic e nte r of the COVID- 19 outbr e ak just we e ks be for e the c onfe r e nc e was to take plac e . L e t us r e me mbe r our GSO staff and all the wor ke r s who made the c onfe r e nc e a r e ality, thank you! 12
A.A.W.S REPORT 13
Disappointment comes when expectations don’t meet reality. And there has been much disappointment over the last few months . 14
Ho we ve r, if we ta ke a c lo se r lo o k, a lo ng with tho se disa ppo intme nts ha ve c o me so me re a l o ppo rtunitie s. T he fe llo wship ha s ste ppe d up, a nd q uic kly o rg a nize d o nline a nd te le pho ne me e ting s a nd wo rksho ps. I nte rg ro ups a nd Ce ntra l Offic e s ha ve sc ra mb le d to ke e p the ir me e ting lists upda te d. a nd ma ny ha ve pro vide d g uide line s fo r c o lle c ting dig ita l c o ntrib utio ns while ma inta ining priva c y a nd a no nymity. Our Ge ne ra l Se rvic e Offic e ma de the tra nsitio n to te le wo rk a nd o ur GSO e mplo ye e s while wo rking fo rm ho me ha ve ke pt o ur e sse ntia l se rvic e s up a nd running to suppo rt o ur 12th Ste p wo rk. T he y ha ve a c c o mplishe d this while b e ing in the re g io n mo st 15 a ffe c te d b y the pa nde mic . Just a no the r se t o f he ro e s to b e a c kno wle dg e d thro ug h a ll o f this. Pho ne c a lls a nd e ma ils a re still b e ing a nswe re d, lite ra ture is b e ing shippe d a nd pla ns fo r whe n life re turns to the ne w no rma l a re unde rwa y.
A lo t o f g re a t wo rk wa s do ne la st ye a r. We no w ha ve a Co mmunic a tio ns Se rvic e s De pa rtme nt, a n ide a tha t g o t it’ s sta rt fro m o ur Co mmunic a tio ns a udit. T his de pa rtme nt 16 will c o lla b o ra te with o the r G.S.O. de pa rtme nts, AAGV a nd sta ff a ssig nme nts o n vide o pro je c ts, PSAs, a nd muc h mo re .
Enterprise Resource Planning – We are beginning to see the positive impact it will have on office operations and the services provided throughout the Fellowship. Once fully implemented, 17 the new system will better facilitate the Fellowship’s involvement and maintenance of group, district and area records.
The Big Book is available in 71 languages, with 23 languages pending and 16 new translations in progress, along with 5 revisions/retranslations. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is available in 48 languages, with pending translation in Arabic and a revised Czech translation. Daily Reflections is 18 available in 34 languages. For Correctional Facilities : Digital distribution and staple-free pamphlet projects are u
L a st ye a r, Arc hive s re c e ive d a lmo st 1,500 re q ue sts fo r info / re se a rc h. Gro up Se rvic e s ha s b e e n a n inte g ra l pa rt o f impro ving c o mmunic a tio ns with I nte rg ro up a nd Ce ntra l Offic e s. T he CPC a nd Co rre c tio ns de sks re c e ntly se nt o ut upda te s a sking fo r sha ring fro m the fe llo wship a nd pro viding info rma tio n a b o ut wha t is g o ing o n – e ve n whe n the wo rld se e ms to b e shutdo wn. T he Co nfe re nc e de sk ha s b e e n c ra zy b usy g e tting e ve rything pre pa re d fo r the first e ve r dig ita l c o nfe re nc e ! T he I nte rna tio na l Co nve ntio n de sk – a fte r ye a rs o f e ffo rt a nd tho usa nds o f ta sks b e ing c o mple te d – o nly to ha ve it c a nc e lle d. No w we c a n lo o k fo rwa rd to 19 2025 in Ca na da . T he Pub lic I nfo rma tio n de sk, b e side s wo rking with the me dia a nd c o ming up with inno va tive wa ys to g e t the me ssa g e o ut, ha s c o ntinue d wo rking o n pro viding info rma tio n a b o ut Sa fe ty in A.A. a nd upda ting sa fe ty ma te ria ls.
A.A.GRAPEVINE REPORT 20
T o da y, the Gra pe vine re ma ins true to Bills visio n fo r it, re fle c ting o ur AA c o mmunity thro ug h the sha ring o f o ur sto rie s. I t is the spiritua l va lue inhe re nt in o ur sto rie s tha t ma ke Gra pe vine a nd L a Viña the b ro a de st e xpre ssio n o f o ur c urre nt me mb e rship. T he AA Gra pe vine ha s b e e n kno wn a s “o ur me e ting in print” o r the 21 I nte rna tio na l Jo urna l o f AA.
We a re fo rtuna te to ha ve te c hno lo g y a t o ur dispo sa l to da y. T his he lps re duc e the fe e ling s o f iso la tio n. I n AA, we o fte n ta lk a b o ut tho se re mo te c o mmunitie s whic h a re ha rd to re a c h. T o da y it so me time s 22 fe e ls tha t e a c h o f us is in a re mo te c o mmunity a nd so b rie ty (a nd sa nity) ma y b e je o pa rdize d.
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