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Delegate’s Report – January 2025

By DCM 35 on February 14, 2025

Delegate’s Report – Courtney S.

Area 72, Panel 75                                              

January 2025 

Hello Area 72!

I am excited to represent Area 72 as your Delegate for Panel 75 on the Grapevine Conference Committee! My goal as delegate is to ensure that our area’s voice is represented and that you receive communication up and down our service structure. To help do that, we have created a Delegate’s Corner on the area72aa.org website where you will find a variety of the detailed documents mentioned in this report. This links on the Delegate’s Corner page direct you to a shared google drive that I will keep updated. Pre-conference and other conference related documents will be posted as they become available. The goal of this web page is to provide real-time access to the latest information and documents to share with your districts and groups.

I’m so excited for each of you as you step into your new service positions. Service has been a bright spot in my recovery and I hope it is for you too. Starting a new rotation can bring a mix of excitement, nerves, and even a little uncertainty—but remember, you’re not alone in this. Lean on one another and allow this experience to deepen your recovery journey. We’re going to have a lot of fun together! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions about the report or if there’s anything I can do to support you.

Thank you,

Courtney S.

delegate@area72aa.org

206-795-8311

Plain Language Big Book:

  • All 70,000 copies of the first print run sold out in less than one month.
  • A second print run (100,000 copies) will include revisions that better align with the Conference Advisory Action, dropping several references to addiction that were unintentionally included in that first print run. The book will be back in stock by early January 2025.
  • In the Delegates Corner you will find more information about the book and the changes being made between the first and second print run. The document is called Changes to the PLBB Communication.

Preliminary Agenda Topics

  • This year 145 Proposed Agenda Items (PAI) were received prior to the September 30th deadline.
  • We will have a final list of Agenda Topics in February 2025. Background for those topics will also be available by mid-February. The background information will be placed in our shared Google drive. The link will be emailed to the Area.

Pre-conference Schedule

  • I am working with our District Committee Members to finalize dates and information will be posted on the area72aa.org website shortly. Tentative dates are:
    • Saturday, March 15 – Southern Districts
    • Sunday, March 16 – Northern Districts
    • Saturday, March 22 – Eastside Districts
    • Sunday, March 23 – Central Districts
    • Wednesday, March 26 – Virtual

For groups’ convenience and ease of putting feedback together, I will use a google form to collect feedback from the groups. Of course, people can also email, mail, or call me with their feedback. I will be holding a share with your delegate session on Saturday, April 12th if they would like to share their feedback verbally. Don’t worry, I will be sending out emails with this information too. You don’t have to remember all this now!

Literature Price Increases

  • The AA Grapevine will increase the price of the La Viña magazine for the first time in more than 10 years. The new price for a yearly print subscription is $18, effective January 1, 2025. Digital subscription prices are not increasing, and active subscribers will stay at their current rate until their term ends.
  • Grapevine announced a $1.00 price increase in books effective February 1, 2025. This affects both Grapevine and La Vina titles.
  • The 2025 Catalog of Conference Literature, the full catalog with all conference approved literature and pricing, is posted in the shared Google Drive folder under Delegate Information Quarterly Documents.

Pacific Region Alcoholics Anonymous Service Assembly (PRAASA)

  • Registration for the PRAASA is now open. PRAASA brings together alcoholics from across the Pacific Region (Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and a small part of western Montana) to talk about AA service. The purpose of PRAASA is to develop greater unity among the members, groups, and Areas of the Pacific Region, to encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences, and to provide an opportunity for members to discuss pertinent aspects of AA.
  • PRAASA will be held March 7-9, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. Registration (and a significantly discounted hotel rate) can be accessed through the PRAASA website, www.praasa.org. Pre-registration is not required, but it is encouraged.

Grapevine

  • Grapevine Podcast: 980,000 total downloads — up 59,69 since July. Averaging 869 downloads per day, 6,080 per week and 24,300 per month. On track to exceed one million downloads in 2024.
  • Grapevine Apps: Downloads in Q3: 6,916
    • Total in-app subscriptions in Q3: 6,020, total subscribers with app access: 14,337
  • La Vina downloads in Q3: 291, total in-app subscriptions through Q3: 253
    • Total subscribers with app access through Q3: 435
  • There are videos for “LV app how to” on Instagram and You Tube platforms.
  • The La Viña committee is creating a five-year plan. Customer Service has hired a new Spanish-speaking rep to help support the fellowship.

Finances as of September 30th, 2024 (These figures are unaudited, and may change slightly):

  • Contributions – 8.1 Mil – 7% over budget and 11% higher than last year
  • Literature Sales – 10.8 Mil – 10% under budget
  • Literature gross margin – 5.9 M – 4% under budget
  • Total operating expenses – 13.4 Mil – 3% less than budget
  • Operating surplus before depreciation through September 30th is $1.2 M
    • At this point in the year a $314K surplus was projected
  • Reserve fund 12.36 Mil – 6.41 months
  • Grapevine – 612K Deficit through September 30th, but subscriptions are up 10% year over year
  • La Viña – 436K cost as a service through September 30th, but subscriptions are up 10% year over year

AAWS/General Service Board Financial Indicators

Grapevine Financial Indicators

International Convention

  • The international convention will be held July 3rd – July 6th, 2025, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
  • They continue to update room blocks, continue to check back! You can register and book housing / hotels at https://www.aa.org/international-convention
  • The 2025 International Convention will offer opportunities to participate online for those who cannot attend the event in person and make available a recording of the three big meetings.
  • That is in Canada, so a passport will be needed. Also, if you are worried about crossing an international border, there is some pertinent information on the FAQ section of AA.org. https://www.aa.org/international-convention-2025-faqs
  • Currently over 25K people are registered for the event. A lot of the downtown hotels have been booked. However, there are still options available including rooms at local Universities. These are competitively priced and close to the convention. Additionally, canceled rooms will become available as people release them and rooms can be transferred from one person to another.
  • If you booked a room and need to cancel, you will be charged one night’s stay. However, you can transfer the room to another to avoid this fee.
  • Volunteers Needed!  ICVWC website, www.icvwc2025.org is available with all the information for volunteering. On January 6th people can sign up for VolunteerHub and create a profile. VolunteerHub is the application we are using to have members sign up for shifts at a later date. There will be a kick-off video posted for you to watch to learn more.

Pacific Region Forum Report

  • The PacificRegional Forum Final Report is now available in Spanish and English. As you know, this report contains the delegate presentations, workshop reports, ask-it-basket questions and answers, past trustees’ sharing, and closing remarks from the Pacific Regional Forum.
  • The regional form is held once a rotation in Pacific Region, the next Pacific Regional Form will be on December 4 – 6, 2026 in San Diego, California.

General Service Office Updates

  • Call For Stories and Shared Experience from members who have experience getting sober in the military, reaching out to active duty and veterans, taking meetings into military bases and VA hospitals.
  • The recorded military audio interviews have been edited and uploaded to one page. They can now be found at https://www.aa.org/military-members-in-aa.

 Service Safety Material

  • Long-worked-on revisions to Safety in AA: Our Common Welfare (service material discussed at the General Service Conference in 2023) are likely to be available to groups soon. They will be reviewed by the General Service Board in December and possibly shared with groups soon thereafter.

New Service Manual

  • The digital version of the A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service: 2024-2026 Edition, Revised and Updated is now available online, at www.aa.org/aa-service-manualtwelve-concepts-world-services.
  • English book is now available for $4.
  • Spanish and French versions will be posted digitally as soon as they become available. Print editions will be coming off press mid-January, and we will receive information when they are available for ordering.

Published in Delegate & Alt-Delegate Reports

DCM 35

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