News and Notes from the General Service Office of A.A.®
Vol. 53, No. 5 / October-November 2007

• Coming in Young and Staying Sober in A.A.

In a trend that extends back decades, ever greater numbers of problem drinkers in their teens are recovering in Alcoholics Anonymous.
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• Reminder: Résumés for Trustees Election due Jan. 1, 2008

Two new Class B (alcoholic) trustees—from the West Central U.S. and Western Canada—will be nominated at the General Service Conference in April 2008. Résumés must be received at G.S.O. no later than January 1, 2008, and must be submitted by delegates only.
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• After Six Years in the Works, Hebrew Big Book Makes Its Appearance

A Hebrew translation of the Big Book, a project an Israeli A.A. member embarked on in 2001, has now been published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.
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• Anonymity Resonates More than Ever in Today’s Transparent World

Because A.A. has given thousands of alcoholics their very lives back, some thoughtful people are questioning our continued adherence to anonymity. In an era when the electronic media can be used with lightning speed to reach and inform so many people, they wonder if perhaps our Anonymity Tradition keeps us from connecting with the alcoholic still in pain. But informed by the lessons of our history, most members believe that individual recovery in A.A. comes first; and that the Anonymity Tradition more than ever gives us a way to reign in our drive for
power and prestige—in short, the spiritual sacrifice received by anonymity helps us to stay sober.
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• Guarding Anonymity Online: Questions Members Ask

Sharing one-to-one in sobriety is as old and healing as the Fellowship itself. But in cyberspace, privacy is not to be taken for granted. Because communication flows from one alcoholic to another in ways that are high-tech, relatively open-ended and evolving faster than you can say Alcoholics Anonymous, protecting anonymity is a major concern for members, who are accessing the Internet in ever-growing numbers. Here are some of the questions they most frequently ask the General Service Office, along with responses that reflect the collective experience of A.A.s across the U.S. and Canada:
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• Local Forums to Replace Special Forums

Special Forums, the scaled-down versions of Regional Forums, are being replaced by a new type of gathering called Local Forums. As was the case with Special Forums,
the purpose of Local Forums is to provide a Forum experience to A.A. members unable to attend a regular Regional Forum.

• Workshop Promotes Communication Between Spanish A.A. and Area

A major aim of the Spanish Literature Workshop, organized by Area 44 (Northern New Jersey), was to promote contact between Spanish-speaking A.A. members and the area service structure.
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• ‘I Am an Alcoholic.’ Who Said it First?

Who was the first to start a meeting or a qualification with the statement, “I am an alcoholic”? How did the worldwide custom begin? As late co-founder Bill W. used
to observe, “Nobody invented A.A., it just grew.” And so probably did its classic introduction at meetings.
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• Putting Gratitude into Action

The premium that A.A. members put on gratitude led tothe custom of designating November as “gratitude month.” (In Canada, it’s October.)
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• A.A. Guidelines Reflect Shared A.A. Experience

Information on topics of demonstrated interest to A.A. members is contained in the A.A. Guidelines. These two-to-four-page yellow printed sheets reflect extensive
shared A.A. experience. There are Guidelines on 16 topics, ranging from the relationship between A.A. and Al-Anon to Treatment Facilities Committees. They are available in Spanish, French, and English.
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• Head Trauma Facility Site of A.A. Meeting

In A. A. there are no special groups, but there are individuals with special needs. As Pat L., of Albany, New York, chair of the Special Needs Committee of District 1, New
York, Hudson/Mohawk/Berkshire Area, has learned firsthand helping to fulfill such needs has made service in the Fellowship “an incredibly rewarding experience.”
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• Foreign-Language Big Books Carry Message for Small Group

The display of Big Books in various languages at the Into Action Group in New York City grew over time, and has had an impact in carrying A.A.’s message of recovery.
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• Going Out on a LIM Keeps Sobriety High

“Thank God for LIM” (the bimonthly Loners- Internationalist Meeting in print), says Marty M. of New Brighton, Pennsylvania. “As my husband, Morris, and I learned in A.A., in order to keep our sobriety we need to give away what we learned from [A.A. co-founders] Dr. Bob and Bill. Sobriety gives us many bl ssings, and being LIM correspondents for more than 20 years has contributed hugely to them.”
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