Greetings to all members of Area 43 NH, my name is Sue and I am a grateful alcoholic. You have entrusted me with the role of your Area 43 Delegate, to which I am deeply honored. Representing all of you at the General Service Conference in April 2024 as your Panel 74 Delegate will be an opportunity of a lifetime. I am extremely excited to fulfill this duty and give back in service to all who have accompanied me on their journeys in our fellowship. An even greater experience will be serving the worldwide fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. The theme of the 2024 General Service Conference is: Connecting with Love, Unity, and Service.
The AA Service Manual (p. 32) tells us that “Delegates are charged with understanding the experiences, viewpoints and group conscience of their areas, while assuming responsibility for the U.S./Canada Conference as a whole. This is why the experience of being a delegate is like no other.”
There will be much work to do prior to this April’s 2024 General Service Conference, so I look forward to connecting with districts, area officers and committee chairs, as well as opportunities with members in person and virtually. Never hesitate to contact me, it is the collective conscience of Area 43 that I hope to carry with me next April.
What else does a Delegate do? Here is a list of duties and responsibilities printed in The AA Service Manual, to give you a good guideline of what you can expect from me as your Area 43 delegate these next two years:
The AA Service Manual, pp. 32-33
In addition to the annual Conference meeting, the delegate is involved in all aspects of the Conference structure throughout the year. The specific duties and responsibilities of each delegate will take on the flavor and customs of the area that they represent. However, delegates are encouraged to:
- Attend the annual Conference meeting fully prepared. Immediately upon election, every delegate is put on the G.S.O. mailing list to receive Conference materials and is given a password to the Conference dashboard maintained by G.S.O. to access important Conference-related information, including direct communications from the Conference coordinator and other G.S.O. employees.
- Communicate the actions of the Conference to area committee members and encourage them to pass on this information to groups and to intergroup/central offices. If an area is too large for the delegate to cover in person, they will ask area officers and committee members to share the load.
- Help the area generate greater interest among A.A. members in serving as GSRs and DCMs and in area positions. Inspire greater participation in area assemblies and other activities among GSRs and DCMs.
- Be prepared to attend all area and regional service meetings and assemblies applicable to their respective areas. From these meetings, delegates come to better understand their own areas and can make suggestions for the Conference agenda. Here, too, they come in contact with A.A. members who might not be reached otherwise.
- Help area committees encourage greater Seventh Tradition support for the area, G.S.O. and other local service entities.
- Provide leadership in solving local problems involving the A.A. Traditions.
- Remind GSRs to inform groups and individual A.A. members about Grapevine and La Viña magazines and all Conference-approved literature.
- Pass along calls for résumés for trustee and non-trustee director positions as requested by G.S.O.
- Cooperate with G.S.O. in obtaining information from groups for records and periodic membership surveys.
- Visit groups and districts in the area whenever possible.
- Work closely with committee members and officers, sharing experience throughout the year. After GSRs and committee members have reported on the Conference, learn from them how groups and individual A.A. members have reacted.
- Assume added responsibility if the area chair and alternate chair are unable to serve. Or, if an area committee is not functioning effectively, the delegate may take an active role in remedying the situation.
- Keep the alternate delegate fully informed and active, so that the alternate can step in for the delegate if necessary.
- Late in year 2 of the term, work with newly elected delegates to pass along a basic knowledge of Conference proceedings.