March is a month to consider “Participation” as part of the Concept 3 – “To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A.—the Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives—with a traditional “Right of Decision.“ and the Long Form – “As a traditional means of creating and maintaining a clearly defined working relation between the groups, the Conference, the A.A. General Service Board and its several service corporations, staffs, committees and executives, and of thus insuring their effective leadership, it is here suggested that we endow each of these elements of world service with a traditional “Right of Decision.” The principle of the concept – Trust. One thing you need to know – Trusted Servants have a Right of Decision. There will be times where we’ll need to trust our trusted servants to make decisions without a group or service entities approval. Concept 1 – [ Responsibility – Groups Have Ultimate Authority] & Concept 2 – [Reliance – The Conference Listens – Then Speaks] by themselves cannot ensure smooth operation of A.A. business. There will be times that full facts (additional background information) and debate not available to groups, will help further inform our trusted servants and their decisions (and their votes on our behalf). (source: http://takethe12.org/). Those decisions may ultimately differ from original group consciences given to them when we ask them to vote on our behalf – but those differently made decisions are vital in allowing them to be more than mere messengers. They have the ability to hear new information and inform on their decisions, let’s let them learn more and let us know the new decision.
- A.A. Comes of Age
- VI: A Friend Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous
- “The Individual, A.A., and Society”
- Bernard Smith
- Chairman, General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, 1951-1956
- (Based on talks by Mr. Smith at the first six General Service Conferences)
“But this Third Legacy of Service has a string to it. And the string is that we are granted the use of this legacy for our lifetime upon the condition that we will not only look after it but increase its spiritual content for the generations that will follow us. Each succeeding generation, as it receives this legacy, must similarly protect it if they wish to employ it and gain life by it and pass it on to the next generation with an enriched spiritual content.”
“The General Service Conference of A.A. is, of course, the practical instrument for preserving, enhancing, and administering this great Third Legacy of Service. The concept of the Conference from the beginning has been simple and compelling. It is grounded in the belief that all of use who have been associated with A.A. during its early growth and development owe an obligation to society. That obligation is to insure that this fellowship survives, that this flame of faith, this beacon light of hope for the world, must never be extinguished.”
p.280-281
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: A Brief History of a Unique Movement
By Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. · 2012
Happenings in Mid-Southern California Area 09
The Final Agenda Items were received from GSO on February 10 and Background material arrived February 17 and 20. Area 09 Webmaster Faith B. posted the agenda items to msca09aa.org under “General Service Office (GSO) – Conference Materials” and the background material under “Delegate – Confidential Resources.”. There are 85 final agenda items following the final approval at the January Trustees Meeting from January 2023. Of the 85 agenda items, with a total of 102 line items, I have identified 34 items where area member can comment and thirteen than may be of greater interest. Of the 34 items there are 12-13 that may be of greatest interest to Area 09 members.
I attended 2023 PRAASA at http://praasa.org March 3- 5, 2023, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045, adjacent to LAX and hosted by Area 05. The final attendance was 1519 – 1079 Pre-registration and 440 onsite. There were 292 members from Area 09!
Activities within (and without) the Pacific Region
Pacific Northwest Conference (http://pnc1948.org/) in Portland, OR June 23-25, 2023.
Getting Ready for the 73rd General Service Conference
I am able to visit Districts, groups, or gatherings between Feb. 19 and April 14 in addition to the Pre-Conference Bootcamps and the Pre-Conference. I will visit District 8 & 11 on Wednesday, March 15 and Distinct 18 has asked for a Saturday pre-conference.
To help reach A.A. members in addition to in-person and District meetings, I will host Zoom meetings on Sundays between Feb.26 and April 16 as town halls and information sessions. They are intended to be Q&A with feedback the Delegate on agenda items or information for GSRs to take back to their groups. The sessions will be one hour 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. to have discussions with the Delegate on agenda items. I propose to have the following dates:
Skipping Mar.5 (PRAASA) and Mar.12 (ASC)
Mar.19
Mar.26
April 2
April 9 (yes, Easter Sunday at 4 pm, for those members that want to attend)
April 16
News from New York:
On April 3, 2023 GSO publications will have price increases for English, Spanish, and French books, booklets, and pamphlets. The new prices will go into effect on April 3, 2023, and generally reflect a 20% increase on books and a 30% increase on pamphlets (with rounding and some minor adjustments). For historical reference, the last price increases were made in 2014 (18.75%) and 2009 (33.3%). The decision to raise prices in 2023 resulted from prudent fiscal planning with the goal of longer-range stability. Alcoholics Anonymous is not immune from the changes that are impacting all businesses, and one of the greatest to us has been a notable drop in the margins associated with the sale of our literature. To be specific, prior to the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, the costs associated with the production, material, warehousing, and shipping of literature, collectively known as the cost of goods sold, hovered between 31-34% of sales. These same costs have fluctuated from 42-56% of sales in the last two years, resulting in a revenue loss that is greater than $1.2 million each year. We do not expect this change in the cost of goods sold to resolve in our favor, and the impact is great when considering that the General Service Office is supported through both voluntary contributions and this revenue associated with the sale of literature. We continue to monitor and trim expenses where possible, being mindful of the immense significance of each ‘nickel in the basket’ sent to the General Service Board.
Honored to be of Service!
Honored to be of Service!
Mitchell B., MSCA 09 Panel 72 Delegate
Cell: (949) 278-8263
Email: [email protected]