Greetings from the General Service Conference!
First, I want to thank you, OR Area for the privilege of serving you at the 68th General Service Conference!!
I thought I might check in and share some of the activities I’ve been involved in since Saturday. On Saturday, I along with other Conference members went on a historical bus tour of significant places in A.A history. After that, I attended a Meet & Greet, a Remote Communities meeting and the Delegates meeting. Sunday was Roll Call, Greetings, the Keynote Address, and Area Highlights. Area Highlights are given by first-year Delegates only. This is a formal way to present first-year Delegates to the Conference. Once the highlights are completed the Regional Trustee presents the first-year Delegates to the Conference body. Highlights are done by the eight Regions. The Pacific Region Delegates presented on Monday night. At that time, I along with 6 other first-year Delegates from the Pacific Region were formally presented to the Conference Body.
There is an A.A. meeting in the hotel every morning at 7:30. This how I’ve been starting my day. Next are Conference Committee meetings, AAWS, General Service Board and Grapevine Board Reports. Conference members have an opportunity to ask questions after these reports. As some of you may remember, I am on the Conference Finance Committee. We have met 3 times and I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this process. Today we visited the General Service Office and toured the various Service Desks such as; Corrections, Public Information, Grapevine and several others. The staff was gracious and very accommodating. They are amazing in their efforts and energy to support this Conference and to support the work of carrying the message to the sick and suffering alcoholic! Our Conference Finance Committee was given a special tour of the Finance Department. We saw firsthand the process involved in processing our 7th tradition contributions. The rest of my day was spent listening to presentations and reports. I will share more all of this in my Delegate Report. I will do my best to send out at least one more update before the close of Conference on Sunday. However, they keep us plenty busy here!
It is hard for me to describe to you the emotions I feel knowing you sent me to represent you. However, I can say you are with me in spirit and I appreciate your love for and service to Alcoholic Anonymous.
In Gratitude & Service,
Vera
Vera Y. Farrell
Oregon Area 58
Panel 68 Delegate
541-408-7470