From the Area Delegate

Conference Committee on Agenda:

1. The Committee recommended that the Theme for the 2005 General Service Conference be:
   “Basics of Our Home Group – Recovery, Unity and Service”.
2. It was recommended that the following be Presentation/Discussion topics for the 2005 General Service Conference:
   1. Recovery:
      1. “How It Works” in Our Home Group
      2. Carrying the Message Through Practicing the Principles in Our Daily Lives
   2. Unity:
      1. Love and Tolerance of Others is Our Code
      2. The Basket – Where Money and Spirituality Mix
      3. The Spiritual Principle of Our Twelfth Tradition
   3. Service:
      1. Concept One – Final Responsibility and Ultimate Authority
      2. Concept Five – Minority Opinion – Are We Listening?
      3. Leadership – Responsibility for AA’s Future – Concept Nine
3. It was recommended that the following be the Workshop Topic for the 2005 General Service Conference:
   “Do I Carry the AA Message Or My Own?”

The Committee elected Laurie E, Delegate for Southern New Jersey, Area 45, Northeast Region, Chairperson of the Conference Agenda Committee.

Conference Committee on Archives:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee reviewed the “Guidelines for Collecting Oral Histories” and expressed their appreciation to the Trustees’ Archives Committee for developing the document. The revised Guidelines will replace the oral history section currently included in the Archives Workbook.
2. The Committee expressed their appreciation for the revised editorial vision and reformatted design of “Markings, Your Archives Interchange” newsletter. The Committee asked the Trustees’ Committee to explore possibilities for wider distribution of the newsletter, along with the related costs involved.

Conference Committee on Cooperation with the Professional Community:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee discussed ways CPC Committees can help when it comes to individuals referred to AA who focus on problems other that alcohol at AA meetings, and agreed that the following are useful suggestions:
   • Spending time one-on-one with professionals
   • Making use of available AA literature
   • Asking local professional friends of AA and utilizing AA’s employed in professional fields to participate in CPC work
   • Informing professionals about the difference between open and closed AA meetings and encouraging them to refer people to open meetings
   • Working with professionals to coordinate orientation meetings for people referred to AA
   • Sharing information about twelve step groups that focus on problems other than alcoholism
   • Making sure that all AA members, not only those doing CPC work, are familiar with all of AA’s Traditions
2. The Committee shared local experience and emphasized the benefits of Cooperation with the Professional Community, Correctional Facilities, Public Information and Treatment Facilities committees cooperating and working together to carry the message.
3. The Committee discussed ways of reaching a wider variety of professionals, including lawyers, police officers, counselors and others involved in the social welfare system, educators, mental health professionals, as well as professionals who interact with young people. They encouraged local committee sharing about literature that may be useful in informing legal professionals about AA.
4. The Committee also noted the importance of contacting professionals who serve those who speak other languages.
5. The Committee requested that the Cooperation with the Professional Community Kit and Workbook be made available in a three-ring binder format, similar to the Correctional Facilities and Treatment Facilities Kits.

Conference Committee on Correctional Facilities:

The Conference Committee on Correctional Facilities met separately three times following the Joint Meeting with the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities on April 18, 2004. The Committee accepted the report of the Trustees’ Committee, and considered the following Agenda item:

• The Committee agreed to include the statement on AA’s Singleness of Purpose in the Correctional Facilities Workbook and unanimously recommended that the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities consider including the statement on AA’s Singleness of Purpose, which follows, in the pamphlet “A Message to Correctional Professionals:”

  Some professionals refer to alcoholism and drug addiction as ‘substance abuse’ or ‘chemical dependency.’ Non-alcoholics are, therefore, sometimes introduced to AA and encouraged to attend AA meetings. Anyone may attend open AA meetings, but only those with a drinking problem may attend closed meetings.”

Additional Considerations:

• The Committee supports the proposed name change from “Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities” to “Trustees’ Committee on Corrections.”
• The Committee accepted with appreciation the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities’ progress report on the revision of AA in Prison: Inmate to Inmate and looks forward to receiving a draft manuscript at the 2005 General Service Conference.
• The Committee selected and reformatted generic pre-release brochures from the samples forwarded by the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities and requested that they be included in both the Correctional Facilities Workbook and under a new tab in the Correctional Facilities Kit.
• The Committee strongly suggested that the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities present a report to the 2005 Conference Committee on Correctional Facilities on the feasibility and cost of producing and distributing a video featuring someone highly credible in the corrections field introducing AA to correctional personnel.
• The Committee unanimously requested that the Trustees’ Committee on Correctional Facilities continue to gather and review additional sharing from Area Delegates and Correctional Committee, CPC and Bridging the Gap Area Chairs on the topic of introducing AA into training programs for correctional personnel, and that they use this information to write guidelines to present to the 2005 Conference Committee on Correctional Facilities for the development of workshops and training sessions on introducing AA to correctional personnel.

The Committee elected Jacki P, Delegate from Area 70, Vermont, Northeast Region as Chairperson of the Conference Committee on Correctional Facilities.

Conference Committee on Finance:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee spent considerable time discussing sponsorship and the spiritual aspects of voluntary contributions. We agreed that membership and support of a home group is the fundamental cornerstone of AA. Participation centered at the home group will support our primary purpose to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
2. The Committee requests that the Trustees’ Finance Committee review the level of delegate area participation (delegate fees & area contributions) to the General Service Conference, forwarding this information to the 2005 Conference Finance Committee next year.

Conference Committee on the Grapevine:

Committee Considerations

1. The Committee expressed gratitude for the AA Grapevine Corporate Board’s final report on placing Grapevine items for resale in non-AA outlets and unanimously recommended that, to allow the widest distribution of the AA Grapevine and LaViña to all purchasers, while guarding against affiliation with any outside enterprise;
   1. subscriptions to the AA Grapevine and LaViña magazines be issued only by the AA Grapevine, Inc or by AA trusted servants directly; and
   2. the AA Grapevine, Inc adopt standardized sales practices and pricing structures for all purchasers.
   Note: This recommendation is to clarify the 1993 Advisory Action stating that “the Grapevine Corporate Board not actively pursue the placement of Grapevine materials for resale in commercial (non-AA) outlets.”
2. The Committee unanimously recommended that “The AA Grapevine: Our Meeting in Print” pamphlet be revised to include the proposed references to LaViña and LaViña representatives where the Grapevine magazine and its representatives are mentioned.
3. The Committee unanimously recommended that the AA Grapevine Workbook be designated as service material and be reviewed on an annual basis, by the Conference Committee on the AA Grapevine.

The Committee elected Steven W, Delegate for Area 48, Hudson/Mohawk/Berkshire, Northeast Region, as Chairperson for the Conference Committee on the AA Grapevine.

Conference Committee on International Conventions/Regional Forums:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee recommended that an anonymity-protected photograph of the flag ceremony be taken at the 2005 International Convention.
2. The Committee discussed an editorial amendment to the Trustees’ Committee on International Conventions/Regional Forums Policy on discounts and subsidies made at the General Service Board meeting of November 2, 2003 and unanimously recommended that the General Service Conference support the General Service Board Policy as amended on November 2, 2003 which reads:

   Whenever a discount or subsidy is that which would be offered to any other organization of similar size requiring a purchased service or product of similar character and magnitude, for example, convention rates at hotels, it may be accepted. Whenever a discount or subsidy is partly or in total offered because we are Alcoholics Anonymous, it must be declined.

   Note: The original Board Policy text contained the letters “ie” which were replaced with the words “for example.” The General Service Board amended the policy because “for example” more accurately reflected the intention of the 1989 Trustees’ Committee on International Conventions/Regional Forums. The 1999 General Service Conference supported the Board’s 1989 policy through an Advisory Action.
   The Committee noted the Additional Consideration of the 1999 Conference Committee on Finance, which reads:

   The Committee unanimously recognizes that the acceptance of discounts or subsidies in the form of cash causes discomfort to some members of our Fellowship. The Committee suggests that any future negotiations regarding International Convention discounts or subsidies be carried out with this in mind.

Conference Committee on Literature:

The Conference Committee on Literature met separately 3 times following the Joint Meeting with the Trustees’ Committee on April 18, 2004. The Committee accepted the report of the Trustees’ Committee and considered the following Agenda items:

1. The Committee recommended that the Publications Department rewrite the pamphlet “Too Young?” with changes to layout and style as determined by Publications, targeting the ages of 11-17, and present the revised draft pamphlet to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee following review by the Trustees’ Literature Committee.
2. The Committee recommended that the Publications Department update and shorten the existing stories, wherever appropriate, in the pamphlet “Young People and AA,” and that the Trustees’ Literature Committee add new younger age stories solicited from the Fellowship to reflect current experience, and present the revised draft pamphlet or a progress report to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee.
3. The Committee recommended that a draft Spanish-language Third Edition Big Book, “Alcohólicos Anónimos,” be developed by the Trustees’ Literature Committee and that a progress report be brought back to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee, in keeping with the Trustees’ recommendations on contents, process and story solicitation, as follows:
   1. Contents
      1. The Third Edition Spanish-language Big Book to be similar in page count to the English Fourth Edition Big Book.
      2. The first 164 pages of the Big Book, “Alcohólicos Anónimos,” the Preface, the Forewords, “The Doctor’s Opinion,” “Dr Bob’s Nightmare,” and the Appendices will undergo a complete review to assure accuracy of translation and consistency of style and tone throughout the text. As in translations of all languages, the Publications Department strives to reflect the best possible translation of Bill W’s writings and does not require Conference-approval.
      3. Personal Stories:
         • Retain selected stories from current Spanish-language Second Edition.
         • Select stories from AA’s LaVina magazine.
         • Select new stories from Spanish-speaking membership.
         • Stories to be designated to three main sections similar to the English Fourth Edition Big Book.
   2. Story Selection:
      • Within the United States and Canada and internationally to Spanish-speaking countries.
   3. Story Selection Process:
      1. To be under the direction of the Trustees’ Literature subcommittee on the Third Edition Spanish-language Big Book.
      2. Story selection subcommittee:
         • All bi-lingual – Spanish and English
         • Spanish Editors
         • Spanish-speaking Staff Members
         • Chair to appoint some subcommittee members from the Fellowship
      3. Basic Selection Criteria:
         • To use the same criteria as the English Fourth Edition Big Book based on Bill W’s recommendations.
         • Each story must, as Bill W recommended, reach out to the newcomer who is still looking for the AA solution.
         • Each story must be a standard AA story that tells what it was like, what happened, and what it is like today.
4. The Committee recommended that the text on page 11 under the heading “May a newcomer have more than one sponsor?” in the pamphlet “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship” be removed and replaced with the following text:

   Many feel it is best for a newcomer to have only one sponsor. Choosing one sponsor helps to avoid the precarious practice of a newcomer going from sponsor to sponsor seeking the advice he or she wants to hear.
   However, some newcomers benefit from more than one sponsor. Here the newcomer shares in a wide range of experience and hears a great variety of ways to use the AA program. In addition, this is a means of averting the crisis mentioned in the preceding question – it is unlikely that two or more sponsors would be unavailable at the same time.

   And, the sentence “Again, the answer is yes.” be removed from the paragraph under the heading “May a newcomer change sponsors?” on page 11.
5. The Committee considered the request that the Trustees’ Literature Committee develop a Conference-approved pamphlet on “service sponsorship” and, following a lengthy discussion, the Committee recommended that the Trustees’ Literature Committee broaden the section titled “service sponsorship” on page 28 in the pamphlet “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship” to reflect current shared experience and present a revised draft to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee.

Additional Considerations:

• After lengthy discussion, the Committee requested that the Publications Department rewrite the draft introduction to be added to the front matter of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, as recommended by the 2003 General Service Conference, taking into consideration suggestions from the Committee, and present it to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee following review by the Trustees’ Literature Committee.
• The Committee considered the suggestion that the Trustees’ Literature Committee develop comic books for the new and younger members in the Fellowship and took no action.
• The Committee considered the request to develop a booklet for teenagers, similar to the booklets Living Sober, Came to Believe, and AA In Prison: Inmate to Inmate, and took no action.
• The Committee considered the request to restore punctuation in “Dr Bob’s Nightmare” in the Fourth Edition as it appears in the Third Edition of the Big Book and after lengthy discussion and with unified consensus, agreed to take no action.
• The Committee reviewed the draft manuscript of a new comic book format pamphlet to replace the pamphlet “It Happened to Alice!” and requested that the Publications Department present a storyboard draft to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee for consideration following review by the Trustees’ Literature Committee. The Committee made some suggestions for changes to the sample manuscript.
• The Committee reviewed and accepted the Trustees’ Literature Committee progress report on the comprehensive review of “The AA Group” pamphlet recommended by the 2003 General Service Conference. The Committee noted that the deadline for suggestions to changes in the pamphlet was January 2004. A draft manuscript of the revised pamphlet will be presented to the 2005 Conference Literature Committee for review.
• The Committee considered the request to develop a separate Intergroup/Central Office pamphlet and took no action. The Committee suggested that “The AA Group” pamphlet include a definition of Intergroup/Central Offices in the section “The AA group’s relations with others in the community” on page 33, to be taken from the “AA Guidelines on Central or Intergroup Offices.”

Conference Committee On Policy/Admissions:

Committee Considerations:

1. After extensive discussion, the Committee expressed gratitude for the hard work involved in preparing this request and unanimously recommended that the request from Area 15 to form an additional Delegate Area be denied. The Committee suggested that the area reconsider this request and explore alternatives at the area level to address the challenges of the general service structure in Area 15.
2. The Committee recommended that the current practice for viewing or examining all materials other than service material submitted for Conference approval be continued, adhering to the principle of the “right of decision” throughout the Conference process.

Additional Considerations:

• The Committee concurred with the AAWS Board’s report indicating that the use of a CD format is the most practical method of electronically distributing Conference background material. The Committee requested that the current statement of confidentiality be prominently displayed in the proposed CD format. If the CD format becomes available, the Committee requested that Conference members be offered the option of receiving the General Service Conference Final Agendas and all corresponding background materials in either CD format and/or paper format.
• In response to a request from the AAWS Board, the Committee encourages full Conference input on the ramifications of electronic distribution of Conference agendas and background material.

Conference Committee on Public Information:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee unanimously recommended that the tag line on all radio PSA’s be changed from “Look us up in the phone book” or “Phone or check your newspaper,” to the tag line currently in use in the television PSA’s, “Look us up. We’re in the phone book and on the web at www.aa.org.”
2. The Committee reviewed the report from the General Service Board on oversight of GSO’s AA Web site and unanimously recommended that:
   1. The AAWS Board should continue to manage the Web site through its Services Committee.
   2. Any correspondence, requests for changes or requests for reports on the Web site would continue to be responded to by the AAWS Board.
   3. The AAWS Board would be responsible for preparing a quarterly report to the Trustees’ Public Information Committee for their review. The report would include the following information:
      • Changes to the Web site
      • Updates on Web site activity
      • A summary of requests or correspondence from the Fellowship regarding the Web site and a summary of actions taken by the AAWS Board in response to those requests or correspondence.
   4. The AAWS Board would prepare an annual report for the Trustees’ PI Committee summarizing all Web site quarterly report information. The report, along with any additional comments from the Trustees’ Committee would be forwarded to the Conference PI Committee for their consideration.
   5. The Conference Public Information Committee agenda would include a permanent agenda item, “Consider report from Trustees’ PI Committee regarding GSO’s AA Web site.”
   6. As with the placing of the Fourth Edition of the Big Book on the Web site, the AAWS Board may consult the General Service Conference, Trustees’ PI Committee, the Conference PI Committee and any other Trustees’ Committee or Conference Committee, as appropriate, if Major changes were to be made to the GSO’s AA Web site.
3. The Committee unanimously recommended that the 2004 AA Membership Survey be conducted by area on a random basis as was done in the 2001 AA Membership Survey.

Additional Considerations:

• The Committee viewed the proposed television Public Service Announcement (PSA) – “Living in Chaos” – developed by the Trustees’ Public Information Committee, expressed deep appreciation for the concept and the diversity portrayed, and asked that the first segment be re-filmed and the amended version of “Living in Chaos” be forwarded to the 2005 Conference PI Committee.
• The Committee considered centralized distribution, tracking and evaluation of the proposed television PSA – “Living in Chaos” – at a cost not to exceed $30,000, in addition to the work of local PI Committees and, as there will be no new PSA this year, the Committee took no action.
• The Committee requested that the Trustees’ Public Information Committee submit a report to the 2005 Conference Committee on Public Information which includes feasibility, costs and timelines for update/replacing the two videos “AA – Rap With Us” and “Young People in AA.”

Conference Committee on Report & Charter:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee reviewed proposed editorial changes to The AA Service Manual with appreciation, and forwarded suggestions to the Publications Department for their consideration. The Committee also requested that the Publications Department consider reviewing the format and quality of the current Service Manual.
2. The Committee discussed a suggestion the Conference Final Report be mailed in English, French and Spanish at the same time and took No Action.
3. The Committee discussed the purpose and usefulness of the Eastern and Western United States, Canada and International AA directories, and agreed with the 2003 Report & Charter Conference Committee that the directories continue to be useful and serve the Fellowship.

Conference Committee on Treatment Facilities:

Committee Considerations:

1. The Committee expressed appreciation for the new three-ring binder Treatment Facilities Kit. The Committee reviewed the Treatment Facilities Workbook and Kit and requested that the Singleness of Purpose Statement currently used in 6 Cooperation With the Professional Community pamphlets be included in the Treatment Facilities Workbook, and that the Fall/Winter 2002 & Fall 2003 issues of About AA be included in the Treatment Facilities Kit.
2. The Committee discussed Treatment Facilities area and district committee service work at homeless shelters, halfway houses, outpatient treatment programs, and nursing homes. Committee sharing indicated that in some areas Special Needs or CPC Committees contact nursing home personnel; in other areas, Treatment Facilities Committees perform this valuable service work.
3. The Committee discussed Bridging the Gap activities, which also reflected a wide range of experience. The Committee discovered that, in some areas, the Treatment Facilities Committee and Correctional Facilities Committee do their own Bridging the Gap work and in other areas a separate Bridging the Gap committee has this responsibility.
4. The Committee discussed ways of carrying AA’s message of singleness of purpose, which includes mailing letters and making visits to treatment facilities professionals, and conducting workshops for AA members and professionals on what AA is and is not.

Floor Actions:

It was recommended that:

1. The punctuation in “Dr Bob’s Nightmare” in the 4th Edition be restored as it appears in the 3rd Edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
2. Centralized distribution and tracking of the two newest public service announcements, “Reach Out” and “We Know What It’s Like” be continued over the next year at a cost not to exceed $30,000.