The 61st General Service was held on May 1st thru May 7th at the Crown Plaza Hotel in New York City in down town Manhattan on Times Square.

The theme of this years Conference is We are Responsible for A.A.s Future, Let it Begin with us.

The average age at the conference was 57. The oldest was 74the youngest was 33. Average length of sobriety was 21, the longest length was 40 years and the shortest length was 8 the average length of service was 16 years the longest being 29 and the shortest being 6.

The Saturday prior to the opening of the conference we had a remote communities workshop followed by a Delegates only dinner. The Delegates only dinner is designed for 1st year Delegates to ask questions about what to expect or concerns about the upcoming week and also is an opportunity for us to get to know the other Delegates.

Sunday, May 1, first day of the conference

We had registration in the Atrium on the fourth floor. This is when we were given our binder which contained our agenda for the week, general data, rosters, board reports, GSO and Grapevine reports, financial reports, committee background information, workshop presentations, and miscellaneous. At 10 am the conference officially opened with the chairman of the board and the chairman of the conference our Trustee at Large Canada, our General Manager, and our Delegate Chair as our Vice Chairpersons. We had an opening reading from the Delegate from
Tennessee, reading from Concept Twelve, followed by the Conference roll call.
Following the roll call we had a greeting from our Delegate Chair from Nebraska.
We had the privilege of our Southwest Regional Trustee give the keynote address to the Conference. After the keynote address we talked about the week ahead of us. We had our General Manager share on the mechanics of The Conference. Our Conference secretary, reviewed our agenda and manual and then we had questions and answers from the Conference members.

Voting members of the Conference are broken down as follows;
68.9% are the 93 Delegates from the U.S. and Canada.
20% are Trustees, AAWS directors, and Grapevine directors.
11.1% is made up of 15 GSO and Grapevine staff for a total of 135 voting members.

From noon till 1pm we had our first Regional luncheon. The purpose of this luncheon is for our SW Regional Delegates to ask questions of our Regional Trustee.

The Sunday afternoon session we had a presentation and discussion on diversity in AA. The moderator was one of our Class A non-alcoholic trustees. Presentation of the workshop was The Language of the Heart is spoken here, by The delegate from NW Quebec, The Hand of AA-Inclusive, never exclusive by the delegate from south Indiana, and Tradition 5, Our Primary purpose by the delegate from Wyoming. We had the closing of this session with a reading from Concept 12 by the delegate from New Hampshire.

Following this session we had our first conference committee meetings with policy and admissions and report and charter. Also meeting was our joint trustee and conference committee meeting starting with agenda, corrections, and the trustee´s Committees.

Then we had treatment facilities/special needs accessibility, finance, and the grapevine committees meeting followed by the literature, public information and the CPC committees. This session is where the trustees from the coinciding trustee´s committee meets with the Delegates of that same committee meet.

Sunday evening was the opening dinner and AA meeting. This was an open meeting with 5 speakers, from New Brunswick, New Mexico, GSO staff, a class B Trustee (alcoholic) and an AAWS director.

Monday, May 2

We had our first Conference committee meeting. The afternoon session was opened by the Delegate from Alaska. In this session we had a report given by our chair of the General Service Board, followed by questions and answers. We had our AAWS Board report given by the AAWS chairman of the board, followed by more questions and answers.

Monday afternoon was the start of Area highlights by the Panel 61 Delegates. ( 1st year Delegates). We started with the East Central Region with reports from Chicago, Southern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Central Michigan, Southeast Michigan, Central Southeast Ohio, Northeast Ohio, and Southern Wisconsin. Following this region we had the West Central Region that consisted of Iowa, Southern Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota.
Following our first wave of Area highlights we had our Grapevine Board report given by the chairman of the Grapevine Board, followed again by questions and answers.

Next we had a presentation and discussion on finances presented by a Class A Trustee and the chairman of the trustees finance and budgetary committee.

Monday evening we started back on Area Service highlights. We started with our region, the SW region, with reports from Arkansas, Colorado, Eastern Missouri, The great Western Area of Missouri, Oklahoma, Northeast Texas, and Southeast Texas. Next was the Pacific Region with highlights from Southern California, Northern Coastal California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Western Washington, and Central California. Then we broke for dinner.

Steve´s 2 minute area highlights

After our Dinner break we started back with Area Service Highlights with the Northeast Region that consists of Connecticut, District of Columbia, Eastern Massachusetts, Northern New Jersey, Central New York, Southeast New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Western Pennsylvania. The next region to give their highlights was the Eastern Canada region with Nova Scotia, Eastern Ontario, Northeast Ontario, Northwest Ontario, Southwest Quebec, and Northeast Quebec.

To close the Monday evening session we had a presentation and discussion on informed group conscience-the voice of A.A. The moderator was our Trustee at large US. We had presentations on self-support, where do money and spirituality mix, by the Delegate from Kansas, Humility-accepting the group conscience by the Delegate from Delaware, and an informed group conscience-using the three legacy´s by the Delegate from Idaho. We closed this session with a reading by a Class A non-alcoholic Trustee

Tuesday, May 3

The morning session was opened at 9 and closed at noon with the second meeting of the Conference Committees. Tuesday afternoon was the wrap-up of the Area service highlights. First was the western Canada region with reports from British Columbia/Yukon, followed by Saskatchewan. Last but not least was the Southeast Region with reports from Alabama/Northwest Florida Area, Northern Florida, Florida Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and Antigua Area, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

After a break the next session was opened by a Class A non-alcoholic Trustee. We had a presentation and discussion on sponsorship. The moderator was a Class B Trustee. Presenters were the Delegates from Mississippi, Western Michigan, and Manatoba.

Following we had a sharing session on What´s on your Mind. We closed this session with a reading from the Delegate from Maryland.

From 3:15 to 5:00 we took a trip to our GSO.

At 7pm we had a Delegate´s dinner followed by a Delegate´s only meeting. Also at 7 pm was a Trustee´s dinner.

Wednesday, May 4

We Started the day off by have a workshop on how to increase participation in AA, striving for self support in all our affairs. We opened the Wednesday session with a reading from our Grapevine director. Then we had a sharing session on What´s on your mind.

The Wednesday afternoon session we started by electing 3 new Trustees to our General Service Board. We started with the election of our Northeast Regional Trustee who is from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Next was our Region, the Southwest Region. Our new Trustee is from Sikeston Missouri in Area 38. Our new Trustee at large/Canada is from Oakwood Ontario.

From 3:30 to 10:30pm we started on our committee reports.

Thursday, May 5

We started back with committee reports. From 9 to 5 we listened to reports and had discussion on them. After dinner we had a presentation and discussion on AA in the digital age. The topics were practicing our traditions in a digital age by the Delegate from San Diego/Imperial California, Carrying the AA message on-line by the Delegate from Southwest Ohio and Grapevine, Our meeting in print/and more by the Delegate from SW New Jersey.

To finish out the evening we went back to committee reports.

Friday, May 6

We had 3 committees left to report and discuss. We thought we were going to set a record for getting done the earliest. From 9 to 5 we discussed those 3 committee reports. Following this, we had farewell talks by the rotating Delegates, the Panel 60´s. At 6:55 we closed with the Serenity Prayer in French, Spanish, and English.

Saturday Morning

Saturday morning we had a closing brunch at 8 am. To me that´s breakfast. We had farewell talks by our rotating Trustee´s chaired by our Chairman of the Board.
At 10:30am the 61´st General Service Conference came to a close.

I would like to take a few minutes and share with you some of my thoughts and feelings that I had and experienced by going to Conference.

My wife and I were scheduled to fly out on Friday two days before the conference. We had to reschedule her flight because we had to call in hospice for her dad.

Friday morning I got on the plain excited and nervous about what I was getting ready to experience. We were on our final approach into New York and I looked out the window and saw downtown Manhattan with all the skyscrapers and I was amazed, and reality set in and I realized where I was. We landed, and for some unknown reason my bags were at the same airport that I was. I grabbed them and off on the taxi ride I went, at a very fast pace I might add.

I got to the hotel and got checked into my room and put all my stuff away and looked out the window on the 35 floor and I felt alone. Sunday morning came and it was opening day of the conference. I walked into the Ball room and saw what I would call the Super Bowl of the A.A. Service Structure. I looked around the room and saw 92 other Delegates from across the United States and Canada our board of Trustees and Directors Class A and Bs about 50 office personal and I thought what am I doing here. I thought that you have made the biggest mistake in the history of Area 39. I went to my room that night and asked the god of my understanding for help.

Here is what he came up with. This week is not about me and this week was not about you this week is about us its about my daughter and my son and about your daughters and your sons. Its about the people that have not found this gift of life. It’s about making sure Alcoholics Anonymous is here tomorrow. I realized that the Super Bowl is not played in New York it is played right here in this room and in our districts and our home groups and in the other 92 Areas across the United States and Canada. I realized that the people in that ball room are people just like you and me. I realized that those of us that were at conference are just the equipment managers. We help provide the equipment so that you can carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous. I also know that you all were there with me by all the faxes and all the phone calls and the daily play by play that I got from John telling me what was about to happen. I did not feel alone anymore.

At our last Assembly I told you that I had been in training for this for the past 16 years. I haven’t been in training for the past 16 years to be your Delegate. You have been training me for the past 16 years to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous and to fight for it and our survival and to do my part to make sure this program is here for my daughter and my son and your daughters and your sons

When we were taking our tour through our General Service Office, I received a phone call from home telling me that my Aunt had passed away. After hanging up I went and found our Regional Trustee and told him about what happened as he put it he is our Sponsor for the week. He stood by me the rest of the day

The next day we had our Regional luncheon and he asked me if he could tell the rest of our Regional Delegates what happened and then I hade a team looking out for me. We can be very proud to be part of the Southwest Region.

After the Conference was over Carolyn, Amy and I went to dinner and we had been talking about the week and what had gone on, and my daughter Amy asked me “Dad why do you do all this, why do you do all this traveling and stuff that you do. What do you get out of all this?”

I told her what I get out of all this is you back in my life. I get the reassurance that this program will be here for you if you need it and my grandchildren if you ever give us any. That is why I do all this.

There is no way that I can tell you all or explain to you all the constant spirituality that was in the air and in our hearts at conference. All I can do is to encourage each and every one of you to strive to become Delegate so that you will be able to experience this amazing week.

Thank You for giving me the privilege and honor to serve as your Panel 61 Delegate 

Steve P.