AREA 49  S.E.N.Y.

The General Service Representative (GSR) and the District Committee Member (DCM) serve vital roles in establishing and maintaining the two-way flow of communication within the General Service structure. That flow helps keep AA unified, both in a practical sense and spiritually.

This online toolkit for new GSRs and DCMs provides a brief overview of the role and function of each. Following that is information to help you make your initial connection with the General Service Office (GSO), SENY, and your county (most areas do not have county-level committees) and district service committees. In addition to some tips on getting started, we also provide links so you can download some useful resources.

The GSR

GSRs connect their groups with the rest of the Fellowship, mainly through active and thoughtful participation at service meetings. The flow of information, ideas and points of view back and forth through the GSR supports the development of an informed group conscience at all levels of AA: home group, district, county, area (SENY) and ultimately the General Service Conference (US/Canada) of which we are a part. Although this sharing of information is crucial, the GSR is more than just a conduit.

An effective GSR will become particularly familiar with each of AA's Three Legacies: Recovery (as reflected in the Twelve Steps), Unity (as reflected in the Twelve Traditions) and Service (as reflected in the Twelve Concepts) along with the related AA literature. (See some suggestions below.) A good jumping off point for beginning to understand the role of the GSR is the AAWS pamphlet, GSR May Be the Most Important Job in AA.

The DCM

Also an important part of the two-way communication in General Service, DCMs serve as a support and resource for the GSRs in the districts, and as constituent members of the area's (SENY's) committee and assembly meetings. An important activity for DCMs is engaging groups to become involved in the service structure by fielding a GSR. Active districts can support a range of local AA projects such as helping place "Big Books" in libraries or assisting local Public Information and other service committees.

DCMs too need to be familiar with our Three Legacies and our literature. The new DCM may want to start with the AAWS pamphlet, Your DCM.

In SENY there is also a county level service committee intermediate between the districts and the area led by a District Committee Member Chair (DCMC). For more on the DCMC, see pages 20-21 of the SENY Service Handbook.

Registration: GSO, SENY, County, District & Intergroup

Register with SENY online here. If you prefer, you can download and print a registration form and mail it to:

SENY Registrar
PO Box 571, New York, NY 10116-0571

If you register with SENY, we will register you with GSO. If you register first with AAWS/GSO (Records Department, tel. 212-870-3400 or by mail to PO Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163; forms are below or online under "Group Life" at the link above), they will pass your information on to SENY. Once registered, you will receive a GSR Kit from GSO and begin to receive periodic informational mailings from both GSO and SENY.

Register with your county General Service committee by e-mail or mail (see pages 21-22 of the SENY Service Handbook for county mailing addresses). If you do not know your district, your county committee can provide that information.

To complete your linkage with the service structure, you may also want to register with your local Intergroup/Central Office if your group is not already know to them. Mailing addresses are found on pages 41-42 of the SENY Service Handbook. Each Intergroup/Central Office will have its own registration procedure.

Outside SENY, similar channels are available for hooking into the service structure. You may want to check your area's website or use GSO as a starting point.

A Few Suggestions

Begin to attend local service meetings: district and county meetings and area assemblies (for GSRs and DCMs) and area committee meetings (for DCMs). The districts, counties and SENY also host informative service workshops from time to time. You can find out more about locally scheduled AA activities by checking SENY's Calendar of Events. Feel free to question and challenge, particularly if you hear something in a service meeting you do not understand or with which you do not agree. Remember, the informed group conscience develops in an atmosphere willing to take the time to answer questions and to listen to and consider the minority voice. A service sponsor can also help smooth your entry and continuing participation.

Resources

The AA Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service (published and updated annually by AAWS) and the SENY Service Handbook and Articles of Association and By-Laws, taken together, will answer many questions. Sections 1 and 2 in the SENY Service Handbook (pages 7-24) will be particularly helpful in getting a new GSR or DCM going.

Some additional resources from AAWS supporting GSR and DCM service work include:

• GSR May Be the Most Important Job in AA (P-19)
• Your DCM (F-12)
• AA New Group Form (GSO)
• AA Group Information Change Form (GSO)
• AA District Information Change Form (GSO)
• The AA Group . . . Where it all begins (P-16)
• Questions and Answers on Sponsorship (P-15)- Includes a section on service sponsorship.
• AA's Legacy of Service (P-44)- Forward to The AA Service Manual by Bill W.
• The Twelve Traditions Illustrated (P-43)
• Traditions Checklist (SMF-131)- From, The AA Grapevine.
• The Twelve Concepts for World Service Illustrated (P-8)
• Concepts Checklist (SMF-91)
• Circles of Love and Service (P-45)- an outline of the General Service structure
• Box-4-5-9: News and Notes from GSO- Bimonthly bulletin from GSO. Download copies or enter a subscription.

We recommend the following pages on this website under About SENY:

• Service Handbook
• Articles of Association
  
• Rules of Order
  
• Elections

Also, SENY's Bulletin Board provides a forum for the free exchange of experience, strength and hope, ideas and opinions on any aspect of AA's Three Legacies.