Behind the Mic [Season 1, Episode 3]

- The views and opinions expressed during this podcast are those of our guests. No one person speaks for A.A. as a whole - And a major industry. A.A. - Co-founder, Bill W. at the 1951 General Service Conference, speaking on a dilemma, Alcoholics Anonymous was facing in its early years. - Then very early we began to have the public relations problem. A tradition had to be created that no drunk was to run to a microphone and speak for all of A.A.

Well, since that time, we have had an almost impeccable public relations record. We've had good luck. Of course, we're a movement that minds our own business. But one of the main reasons we have a good public relations record is because we have been looking after these things for you all these years. And when you get into the guts of the office over there,

you'll begin to see how important that has been. Then - The issue the bill addressed in that recording spoke to the need of a public information policy in A.A. So let's learn more about that. My name is Nathan and I'm an alcoholic. Welcome to GSO. In Alcoholics Anonymous, Public Information, or PI, is all about spreading the word on how recovery is possible through A.A.

It involves reaching out and responding to the media, schools, businesses, and various organizations to inform them about what A.A. is, how it works, and the positive impact it can have on those struggling with alcoholism. Essentially, it's about making sure the broader community knows about the support and solutions A.A. offers.

The first PI Committee was formed by the General Service Board in 1956, and since then PI work has been fulfilled throughout the A.A. service structure in the area, district and group levels, as well as local A.A. offices known as central offices or intergroups. Here at this office, one way we endeavor toward our primary purpose of carrying the message of A.A. is through our Public Information desk.

I sat down with Patrick C., who was the PI Staff Coordinator at the time, to learn more about staff services, the role of PI Coordinator and beyond. Patrick! Nathan. Hi. I'm happy you're here. Thanks for joining us. Yep. You came to GSO as a staff member back in spring of 2017, but before that you had extensive experience in general service all the way down the triangle. Did you jump right into service?

- No. So service meant responsibility and my whole journey was as far running from responsibility and I didn't really know what service was. I knew service at the group level, like picking up after the meeting, cleaning up coffee cups and things like that. But it wasn't until I was about 18 months sober and I was asked to become the general service representative of the group at the time that I called my home group. And I didn't know what that meant, but I said yes.

'cause there was a bunch of older A.A. members staring at me saying, say yes. Yeah. And so I did. And from there, that mini journey of being a general service rep, I was only a general service rep for six months. I had a six year rotation on the public information committee. Starting out as a, a member who didn't know anything about public information and what that meant.

And what it, what it means is you simply are sharing the message of A.A. to any third party in the general public who might come in contact with an alcoholic, so that they would have that little story in them to say like, Hmm, if you have a problem with alcohol, guess what? I heard something about that A.A., that Alcoholics Anonymous that might be of help to you.

- And now you are on the Public Information desk and, and you spoke about being on a PI Committee, but let's break down this assignment position. - Yeah. - What does the Public Information Coordinator do?

- So the Public Information Coordinator for the General Service Office for the US and Canada is responsible for the messaging that is going out from this office in the publications that we make, in the public service announcements that we produce, in the press releases that we carry out in a very simple way, sharing about what A.A. is, what A.A. does, and how you get ahold of us. So that basic PI message doesn't change, it's just the channels of communication that change.

And so we're, we're always on the cutting edge of trying to figure out how can we communicate about Alcoholics Anonymous to the general public in a way that meets our traditions. 'cause traditions, you know, we've gotta make sure that we're not breaking our anonymity, right. - So let's talk on that. So what constitutes an anonymity break and and how would you address that? - So an anonymity break is defined in one of our pamphlets that we put out. It's called Understanding Anonymity.

It's a great tool for anyone who wants to learn about what is anonymity with Alcoholics Anonymous. Why is it so important and anonymity in a, in a general way, is that we're trying to not carry the person, we're trying to carry the message, right? So it's not about me being the public information coordinator, it's about Alcoholics Anonymous and what is the message that we're trying to put out to the public about how I can help someone with a drinking problem.

So we don't want anybody to be a spokesperson for Alcoholics Anonymous. If you've ever seen a public service announcement, there's not a actor or a star or somebody famous who's promoted as the voice of A.A., right? We are trying to carry just a basic PI message. Like again, I mentioned whether you're wanting to come to an A.A. meeting in person or online. If you've got a problem with alcohol, we've got a solution. Here's how to get ahold of us.

And so the way that you don't break your anonymity at the public level is that you don't go on camera and show your full face and say that you're a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, but you also don't state your full name. - So this directly correlates with tradition 11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion. We need to always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press radio and films, but. That's right. Yep. Inevitably this will happen.

So what do we do when this happens? When there's an anonymity break? - Yeah. As we know, traditions are suggestions. So it does happen. And part of the responsibility that I have as the Public Information Coordinator here at the General Service Office is if we become aware of an anonymity break at the public level, there's no like, you know, let's go get 'em attitude. What we're trying to share in this situation is, reach out to the member through their delegate representative of their area.

The delegate could then decide, whether they would send them an a letter or an email that describes, Hey, you might wanna remember we're trying to maintain our anonymity at the public level. We saw you, you did an article in X, Y, Z magazine, or you are on camera and you were filmed sharing that you're a member of Alcoholics Anonymous on the latest talk show.

And so it would be more of a reminder about the importance of anonymity, you know, not reprimanding the member for breaking their anonymity. - Another big project is the A.A. membership survey. - Yes. - What is a membership survey? - Yeah, it's a very interesting question. What is a membership survey of a fellowship that doesn't keep records of members? How is this possibly done?

So the membership survey is really a very basic way that we try and capture information from A.A. members in a anonymity protected way about certain questions that we want to ask. How old are you? You know, what's your race? When did you have your last drink? How did you get to A.A.? Was it through a family member? Did your doctor guide you to A.A.? Did your high school, you know, counselor guide you to A.A., how did you find your way here?

- What was different about this survey compared to past years? - It's a great question. There had been a pandemic since the last survey. I heard about that. One of the things that really popped up during the pandemic was that we had to have online virtual meetings. And they really exploded in a way that even though they were around before the pandemic, because of the pandemic and we were all at home and you know, there wasn't a lot of interaction face-to-face.

A.A. really exploded with groups online. And so we asked questions, how many meetings do you attend? What types of meetings do you attend? And we did learn a lot of women and a lot of elderly folks are attending meetings online more so than any other population or demographic of alcoholics. - That's interesting. How could people find out more? What about people who are just curious about A.A.?

- Well, the best way that a non-A.A member can find out about what an A.A. meeting is about is to go to an open A.A. meeting. Oh, say more. There are local A.A. groups all over the US and Canada. We have a great tool one on our website called Find A.A. Near You, and one, which is our Meeting Guide app, which allows folks to type in a city, a zip code and find local meetings within the area that they live in.

And if you're a non A.A. member, a lot of people don't realize that that, you know, you can actually go to a meeting, just to go check it out or just to go find out about it. You may have a friend who has a problem with drinking and you wanna know more about what does A.A. offer, Attend an open meeting, find out for yourself. It's really the best way that we share with anybody who's interested to know more about Alcoholics Anonymous. You know, come see about it for yourself.

Yeah, attend a meeting. But you wanna look for what is known as an open meeting because those are for non A.A. members to attend as well. - In your role as Public Information Coordinator, you share with folks about things like open and closed meetings, but when you first started, you were on the treatment, accessibilities and remote communities desk, then you rotated to the conference assignment. Yep. Can you tell us a bit more about the concept of rotation?

Sure. What is it? Why is it important? - Yep. So rotation was one of the things that intrigued me about working at the General Service Office and rotation in the General Service Office structure, for 11 to 12 staff members, who rotate in these various staff member positions, happens every two years. They get to move from one position to another.

The main reason for that movement is to build a staff that's strong, that ultimately has a lot of cross training, so that there are various staff members who've served on various staff positions and can really have that experience to share when members of the fellowship are calling with questions for us to answer. It's, it's a great depth of knowledge concept, but it also falls in line with the spirit rotation that A.A. has throughout the structure.

And now your next GSO staff assignment rotation will be to coordinate the 2025 International Convention. It's very exciting. What do we have to look forward to? - What you have to look forward to is a huge party. All right. Picture 50,000 of your closest friends and relatives coming to Vancouver, British Columbia to celebrate Alcoholics Anonymous in 2025. It's gonna be our 90th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous. So it's a, a really big deal.

We have not had an international convention since 2015. We had planned one for 2020, but because of covid we had to cancel that party. - Yeah. - So we've got a lot of folks who are really looking forward to it and planning and preparing for it. - So yeah, talk about planning and preparing for it. - So we do get a lot of questions about how do I get across the border? That's one of the most frequently asked questions, - Right?

- A.A. members have things that have happened in their past DWIs, maybe some convictions. - And if this is the case, they might not be able to pass the border from the US to Canada. - There might be some steps that they need to take in order to get across the border. - Great. - And so we have a webpage on aa.org for the International Convention of 2025 that is up and running on the site, are frequently asked questions.

So we have a question, a frequently asked question section about getting across the border and who do they call and what steps do they need to take in order to clear up the wreckage of their past. So check it out, come back and visit it often because we're gonna use that site on an ongoing basis to update the latest information about what's going on in preparation for the party. Preparation for the party, a lot to look forward to. A whole lot to look forward to.

I have a lot to do and a lot to look forward to. Well, we'll let you get back to it. Patrick, thank you so much. - Thank you Nathan. It was a pleasure - To find a meeting near you or a meeting online. Download the Meeting Guide app on your mobile device. - All this talk about the International Convention is a great reminder of how far the A.A. fellowship can reach. When Erin K. visited GSO, she shared the story of what it meant when the fellowship reached her.

- Well, hi, I am Erin. I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is June 14th, 2011. And I had an experience early in recovery that showed me what A.A. looks like and what A.A. feels like. I was living in Houston, Texas. I'm from New Jersey. And so my dad was inviting me home to New Jersey from Houston for the 4th of July and to be kind because he knew I had stopped drinking 'cause I'd been outta treatment. He got me a first class ticket, first class tickets come with alcohol and I was nervous.

And I'm in the airport and I don't know how other people feel about airports, but my favorite thing about being in the airport is that all you have to do is show up on an airplane and sit down. Which means you can do a lot of drinking between the terminal and the gate. And if you got a first class ticket, you can do a lot of drinking before you even take off. And so I'm scared. I had a big book and I went up to the flight attendant and I asked her to call for a friend of Bill.

She goes, what? I said, can you please call for a friend of Bill? But I'm like almost crying. And she leans forward, she goes, boop, gate C 87, friend of Bill, friend of Bill C 87, boop. And I turned around and I'm holding my big book like a limo driver. And I waited. And what's amazing is that you guys came. You know, eight to 10 alcoholics sat in a circle with me and they shared their experience, strength, and hope with me.

And I don't know what it is about airports, but there's something like hot about the windows and we're all sweating in the sun and we're sharing a story of recovery. And what's amazing about today is that if I go to an airport, I can listen for somebody calling for a friend of Bill W., you know, I can show up for somebody else. I couldn't, I couldn't be useful then, I barely knew what to do. Since then, my story isn't that I came all the way in and sat all the way down.

You know, A.A. showed up for me and I didn't show up for A.A. for another four years. And so my sobriety date stayed the same. I just didn't drink and I didn't have a sufficient substitute. And I proceeded to become what we call, you know, a dry drunk. And so I was still full of resentments, full of fear, still self-centered and things got worse. And so I started going to A.A. meetings.

I remember this guy comes up to me and he says, "Yo, what's wrong with you?" And I said, "I think I need a sponsor." And he said, "Yo, Maryanne, you think you could sponsor this woman?" And Maryanne comes over and she gave me a big book and she gave me a 12 and 12. And she said, open your big book to page 52. Read the middle paragraph and it has the bedevilments and I don't have it in front of me, but it says we were full of fear. We couldn't be of real use to others.

And I saw my problem in this book and my problems in my, in this book. Then maybe my solution is in here too. I read the book and something changed and it came through opportunities to be of service to others. The first service position I held was as a greeter. And so literally standing at the door, shaking people's hands that I didn't wanna shake hands with, saying hi and giving hugs to people I didn't wanna say hi and give hugs to, but they expected me.

And so I showed up 'cause they showed up and then showing them where the meeting was. I did that for a long time. I used to make the coffee. There were a lot of older women and we had a really heavy urn, coffee urn and I was 27. I was like, well, I'm strong, you know, I need, they need me to do this. I would sweep the floors with this little dust sweeper. It wasn't very big. You know, A.A. has continually showed up to, for me, and I try to show up for A.A..

So eventually I moved back to Houston, Texas. And my joke is that when I left Texas the first time, it was Houston, we have a problem. And I returned after having done the steps, it was Houston, we have a solution. Right? It's my favorite thing about A.A. is that when you give us an opportunity to help each other, we show up. And so I am here at the General Service Office because this is where it all happens.

You know, this is what enables us to have the literature where I saw my problem in it, which means I saw my solution. It enables us to have the pamphlets, questions, and answers on sponsorship. Tells me what A.A. does. You know, I'm at the General Service Office because our history can inform our future.

And so if we remember that A.A. started from one alcoholic talking to another, and we continue to keep the channels open for that higher power to speak through us, then we will ensure our fellowship for the alcoholic being born today. - Thank you, Erin. For more info on Public Information and the upcoming 2025 International Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, please visit our website at aa.org. We hope you enjoyed this week's episode. Be sure to subscribe so you can keep coming back.

- For more information about A.A., please visit our website at aa.org. Thank you for listening to Our Primary Purpose, a podcast produced by the General Service Office on behalf of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in the US and Canada.