Greetings from the General Service Conference in New York.
First, I cannot say THANK YOU enough for the amazing feedback I received from our Area groups. There were some very interesting ideas and thoughtful comments. I really enjoyed reading every single one!
And now, it’s conference week! Yesterday, Saturday, was an informal start to the conference with a Pacific Region Area AA history tour. A few of the Panel 74 delegates rented a bus for all the delegates, their guests, and some past trustees from our region. We visited several places in Brooklyn, such as 38 Livingstone Street, where Bill and Louis lived when he was “flying high” working on Wall Street. In Manhattan, for example, we visited the site where Towns Hospital used to be located.
We also had a meet-and-greet, where people exchanged delegate pins or similar items. It’s a tradition, and attached is a collection I have so far! I have made a pin too! If you attend a conference report back you will get one. A picture of my pin, amongst a group of others, was posted on the Grapevine Instagram page.
Today, we opened the conference with roll call, and I had the honor and privilege of formally saying “present” while representing Area 72.
Part of the day was spent discussing the Conference Inventory. We were broken into groups and given four specific questions to discuss in detail during our two-hour session. I came prepared with summaries of themes, key quotes, and suggested solutions (where possible). During the discussion, notes were taken, and throughout the week, the different groups will report on their discussions. The four questions our group was assigned were also assigned to other groups. I look forward to hearing their feedback and discussion.
In the afternoon, we had the first report-outs from the inventory discussions. A summary of the information will be shared later this summer and will be included in the final conference report. I will talk more about this in detail during my conference report-backs.
In the evening, we had our opening dinner and AA meeting. There was assigned seating, and I ended up sitting with four other Panel 75 delegates, the Canada Trustee at Large, and one of the French interpreters. We had some interesting discussions!
I start bright and early tomorrow morning with the Grapevine Conference Committee, where we will begin discussing our specific agenda items.
Thank you for the well-wishes, thoughts, calls, and texts. I absolutely feel the love from our amazing Area!
You will hear from me soon!
Courtney S.
Area 72 Western Washington
Delegate Panel 75
