Delegate's Report - March 2003

Hello everyone, my name is Brenda L. and I am an alcoholic. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Delegate for the next two years. You have entrusted me to carry your voice to the General Service Conference and I will do my best to live up to that responsibility. I pray that I will never lose sight of why we have the structure we do- to reach those who still live in the darkness of alcoholism! As the late Bernard Smith, nonalcoholic, chairperson of the board of trustees stated in his opening talk at the 1954 conference: “We may not need a General Service Conference to ensure our own recovery. We do need it to ensure the recovery of the alcoholic who still stumbles in the darkness one short block from this room. We need it to ensure the recovery of a child being born tonight, destined for alcoholism. We need it to provide, in keeping with our Twelfth Step, a permanent haven for all alcoholics who, in the ages ahead, can find in A.A. that rebirth that brought us back to life.” (The remainder of his remarks can be found in The A.A. Service Manual, 2002-2003 edition, page S19, titled Why Do We Need a Conference?)

You will find printed in this edition of the newsletter the final Conference Agenda Items. These are the items that will be discussed at the General Service Conference I will attend the end of April. At your March District meetings you will be discussing these items and taking them back to your groups for further consideration. Please plan to attend the Delegate’s Workshop on April 12, 2003 at the Hennepin Technical Center in Eden Prairie to share your group’s voice on these matters.

I will be attending an optional Remote Communities Meeting held prior to the opening of the General Service Conference on Sunday, April 27, 2003. The theme for this year’s meeting will be, “Remote Communities: Meeting the Challenge”. We will hear presentations from areas around the US and Canada summarizing activities relative to remote communities work. There will also be time for questions and discussion. I will be submitting a request to give a 2-5 minute presentation for this meeting. There may not be time available at the meeting to hear every request, however, copies of all presentations will be available. A Remote Communities newsletter is also published with shared experience from other areas. Heather H., our Remote Communities Committee Chair for Area 36, has submitted an article for this publication. I will bring copies back with me from the conference and make them available in our area.

The General Service Office (GSO) recently sent a mailing to approximately 1,650 Spanish-speaking groups, 50 DCMs and 60 Spanish-speaking Central Offices that included information on service material, the A.A. Service Manual, new Spanish group contribution envelopes and most recent translated A.A. literature available in Spanish (Problems Other Than Alcohol Excerpts, Let’s Be Friendly With Our Friends, It Sure Beats Sitting in a Cell and the Archives Workbook).

A.A. World Services reports that for the 11-month period ending November, 2002, that overall book sales are 8.4% higher than the same period in 2001. The publications department will also be moving forward with the production of a new 12 Concepts (short form) Window Shade in English. The board also approved the Greek translations of “Living Sober”, “Is A.A. for You”, “A Newcomer Asks”, and “44 Questions”.

The new public service announcement (P.S.A.)“Reach Out” continues to do well. The General Service Office recently supplied the CBS Television Network, at their request, copies of the 30 second version of the P.S.A. This P.S.A. has been shown over 5,000 times in the U.S. and Canada since it was distributed at the end of June last year.

Don’t forget about the West Central Regional Service Conference being held in Bemidji, MN, March 7-9, 2003. This event is moved around our region each year and is not always this close. Please plan to attend and encourage others to join us. I will be attending a Delegates meeting with our Regional Trustee, Ted S., on Thursday night and a Past and Present Delegates meeting during the day on Friday. You will get the chance to meet people from all the areas in our region, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Northern Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and of course Southern Minnesota. We will also have great discussion regarding the General Service Conference Agenda Items.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve!

In Love and Service,
Brenda L.
Delegate, Panel 53, Area 36