Part I of IV
Northeast
Regional Forum
It was my privilege to represent AA groups of the Harrisburg/Carlisle area at the recent Northeast Regional Forum held in Somerset, NJ. This Forum took place June 26-28 and was the first of five Regional Forums that the General Service Board will hold this year, four in the U.S. and one in Canada. The Northeast Region includes all the U.S. states from Maine to Washington D.C. At a yearly regional forum, AA’s General Service Board, the General Service Office and the Grapevine combine to enhance communication and participation between AA members, service representatives and themselves. The Forums provide a meeting place to ask questions, transfer information relevant to AA members and those in AA service positions and to spark new ideas to help GSO and AA members carry the message of hope to the still sick and suffering alcoholic.
The forum structure of today originated in 1975, at the suggestion of the late chairman of the General Service Board of Trustees, Jack N. As Bill W. said…’we cannot sit comfortably in our groups and hope others will hear about us and come around’. Bill W. encouraged us all to remember the millions of sick alcoholics who still suffer. “Let us, at any cost or sacrifice, so improve our communication with all these that they may find what you have found—a new freedom under God.” As AAs in General Service take this action to meet and share with each other, it is believed that together our Fellowship will not only stay together but will continue to be that beacon of hope for alcoholics yet to come. Directors, Trustees, Area Delegates and Officers, DCMs, committee chairpersons, GSRs and most importantly, AA home group members, travelled many miles to attend this forum in order to ask questions and share experience, strength and hope and to learn better ways to serve AA groups now and in the future. This Forum, and the others, follow on the heels of the 2009 General Service Conference held in New York City this past April. This year’s theme was “Our Commitment to Carry AA’s Message—Enthusiasm and Gratitude in Action”.
During the Forum, each General Service Board position was represented and a presentation by each made clear each position’s purpose, roles and duties. Some GSO background information has been included here to explain some of these positions in more detail. Class A Trustees are the non-alcoholic trustees, ‘A for Amateur’, they like to call them. There are 7 Class A Trustees on the General Service Board. They are each selected because of their professional experience. They are not required to be anonymous and can comfortably deal with the media using their full names and faces. They serve a 6 year term. Class B Trustees, or Boozers, are the alcoholic members of the General Service Board. There are 14 such Class B Trustees. They serve 4 years. Of the 14, 4 are General Service Trustees, selected for their diversity and professional skills and talent. Two are Trustees-At-Large, one is from Canada and one from the U.S. The remaining 8 are regional trustees representing 6 geographic regions in the U.S. and 2 in Canada. The Trustee-At-Large is assigned to the International Committee and makes policy recommendations to the General Service Board regarding carrying the message to alcoholics in other countries, particularly in countries where there is no or a newly emerging service structure.
The Trustees (A and B) of the General Service Board, and its 13 trustees’ committees and the two service corporations (AA World Services and the Grapevine, Inc.) carry out the wishes of the AA groups as expressed in the group conscience of the General Service Conference, which is a year round process.
A representative of both Class A and B Trustees, as well as a Trustee-At-Large, made presentations at the Forum, discussing their roles and experience in General Service. Ward Ewing, Class A Trustee and Chairman of the General Service Board, welcomed the attendees and made opening remarks. Northeast Regional Class B Trustee, John K, served as the Forum’s MC throughout the weekend. JoAnne L, the Trustee-At-Large from Canada, spoke of AA Around the World, chronicling her travels to AA Conventions in different countries in a very interesting and inspirational presentation. She represented GSO at meetings and conventions in Iraq, Cuba, India, Finland, Brazil and Mongolia, just to name a few of the many locations requesting GSO assistance and experience. She will represent the General Service Board at the 21st World Service Meeting in Mexico City in October 2010. There are no borders in the realm of the spirit!