RECOVERY TIMES Vol. 44, No. 6, June 2020 The Alcoholics Anonymous San Fernando Valley Central Office Newsletter Remembering How It Started Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The date commonly referred to as the anniversary of AA is acknowledged as June 10, 1935, the date of Dr. Bob’s last drink. It is also the day the two men pledged to work on a program that would help others become sober. How the two met: Bill W. had been on a business trip to Akron, Ohio when he got the urge to drink. Using a church directory, he found Henrietta Seiberling, a member of the Oxford Group of Akron. Bill knew about the Oxford Group from his close friend Ebby Thatcher who had taken him to Oxford Group meetings in New York. Ebby had been a drinking buddy of Bill’s and told him that he had ‘found religion” and gotten sober. However, Bill’s moment of reckoning came while he was on his fourth admission to Towns Hospital under the care of Dr. Silkworth. While lying on the bed, he experienced a “hot flash” spiritual conversion where he called out to God and asked for help in getting sober. He then had the sensation of a bright light, a feeling of ecstasy, and a new serenity. Wilson described his experience to Dr. Silkworth, who told him not to discount it. After contacting Mrs. Henrietta Seiberling and asking for her help, she asked him to meet with one of their local drunks, a Dr. Robert Smith who the Oxford Group had not been able to help get sober. She then asked Dr. Bob to meet with Bill W. at her gatehouse home. Smith said he would give the meeting 15 minutes, but instead, his historic first meeting with Bill W. lasted six hours due to Bill’s knowledge of alcoholism and ability to share from his own experience. Following that meeting, Wilson moved into Bob and Anne Smith's family home. There both men made plans to take their message of recovery on the road. During this period, however, Smith returned to drinking while attending a medical convention. Bill continued to work with Dr. Bob for the next month at which point, on June 10th, 1935, Dr. Bob took his last drink - a beer to steady his hands for surgery. This date is considered by members to be the founding date of AA. Both men began devoting their free time to reforming other alcoholics at Akron’s City Hospital, and were able to help one man achieve sobriety (the man on the bed, Bill D.). Though the name Alcoholics Anonymous had not yet been coined, these three men actually made up the nucleus of the first A.A. group. In 1935, a second group of alcoholics formed in New York, followed by a third group in Cleveland in 1939. Through the group, Wilson emphasized that alcoholism was a malady of mind, emotions and body. And in 1939, the group published its textbook, “Alcoholics Anonymous.” San Fernando Valley Central Office Minutes of Intergroup Representatives Meeting In April and May there were no Intergroup meetings held for the San Fernando Valley’s AA Central Office. However, Central Office has remained open to service individual and group’s needs and of course, our 24/7 help line always stays open to answer calls from AAs in need. The office is open for book and literature sales and we look forward to seeing you again when it is safe for us to assemble in large groups. In the meantime, please continue to check in at Central Office if you have any questions about meetings opening up or online (virtual) meetings. To find an online meeting in the San Fernando Valley, call Central Office at: (818) 988-3001 or go to: sfvaa.org. You can also look up meeting schedules on Group websites or Facebook pages, or go to this online directory: www.LAAAonlinemeetings.org and http://aa-intergroup.org. The 7th Tradition States That We Are Self Supporting Consider setting up a mailbox or Venmo (or other app) system to collect the 7th Tradition. Your group will still need to purchase supplies and you may still be obligated to pay rent. If you are able to make a contribution to the different entities that comprise Alcoholics Anonymous, please do so. A.A. Central Office of the San Fernando Valley is a legitimate non-profit. Personal donations cannot exceed $5,000 per year and must be from members of AA, not from outsiders. AA Central Office maintains a 24 hour phone line for alcoholics in need, hosted by volunteers. Call: 818 988-3001 anytime to speak to a “live” person on the phones. After hours we still answer phones for those in need, so don’t be afraid to refer people to our phone lines. SFV Central Office is located at 16132 Sherman Way, Van Nuys on the SW corner of Woodley & Sherman Way, west of the Mobil Station. Our large warehouse has chips, medallions and all the A.A. approved literature and pamphlets your group needs. Want to be of service? We are always in need of volunteers to answer phones, especially on weekends and holidays. If you have a year or more of continuous sobriety, please call to volunteer. (818) 988-3001, or ask your group to volunteer for a shift every month. Please buy your meeting supplies from AA Central Office of the Valley. By doing so, you are supporting our office. (It’s always more expensive to buy them from a retail store). We’re open Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and weekends: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Literature closed last Fri. of every month for Inventory and on major holidays). Update us with your meeting information via email: [email protected], or stop by and pick up your medallions and literature at SFVCO, 16132 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91406. Visit our website: www.sfvaa.org for meeting information and copies of Recovery Times. AA SERVICE COMMITTEES CALENDAR: GS Area 93 All or some of the following meetings are temporarily on hold during FROM THE FOUNDERS the pandemic. Please consult the leadership of your district for further “Before the coming of faith I information. had lived as an alien in a st cosmos that too often District 1: Meets 1 Wednesday of the month at 7552 Remmet Street, seemed both hostile and Canoga Park, CA at 6 p.m. orientation; 6:30 for general meeting. cruel.” District 11: Meets the 1st Monday of the month at 123 W. Windsor Road, AA Co-Founder, Bill W., Glendale, CA at 6:30 orientation; 7 p.m. general meeting. January 1962, “This Matter st of Fear,” Best of Bill District 16: Meets the 1 Monday of the month at 16132 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA. (Central Office) at 6 p.m. for orientation then meeting. “Not all of the problems created during the days District 17: Meets the 1st Monday of the month at 5000 Colfax Ave., North when I hid in the fog of Hollywood at 6 p.m. orientation; 6:30 p.m. general meeting. booze have straightened out, but I now have enough OTHER AA COMMITTEES: courage to face them Public Information Committee provides info to the public about what A.A. squarely.” Dar es Salaam, does & doesn’t do. We need volunteers, especially young people and Tanzania, AFRICA Spanish-speaking AAs, for health fairs & to speak at schools & businesses. “It surprises some people To volunteer call Central Office: (818) 988-3001. that AA members continue to attend meetings after SF Valley Hospitals and Institutions Committee (H & I): Temporary years of recovery. But I find contacts are needed to pair the alcoholic leaving rehabilitation, treatment or at least three good reasons for this practice: first, it jail with A.A. in their home community. Contact Central Office for info. H & I helps me maintain and also needs volunteers to carry the message of A.A. into hospitals, prisons enhance my personal and treatment facilities to those who are unable to get to meetings. Meets 3rd sobriety; second, I can Monday of the month at 5657 Lindley Ave., Tarzana (St. Innocent) at 7 p.m. contribute to, and benefit for orientation and 8 p.m. for the general business meeting. from, AA's caring community; and finally, I st can stay close to the San Fernando Valley Young People in AA: 1 Sunday of the month @ 1 spiritual ideas which are the p.m. at Unit A., 10641 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood. Regular weekly basis of our Twelve Step meeting Monday nights at 8 pm. program.” Toledo, Ohio San Fernando Valley Intergroup: Central Office holds a monthly meeting “I cannot give anyone the for all Intergroup reps on the 2nd Monday at St. Innocent Church, 5657 precious gift of sobriety; but Lindley Ave., Tarzana. (6:30 p.m. for orientation; 7 p.m. for business I can listen to a newcomer's meeting). Intergroup reps provide an important service to the group, sharing problems and tell her how it info on upcoming AA events in the Valley. Support Central Office by sending works for me.” a rep from your group to the monthly Intergroup meeting. Lombard, Illinois Celebrating an A.A. Anniversary? Lisa K. – 18 Years, Laurie Jane – “Feelings are neither right nor wrong. It is what we do 24 Years, Teresa C. – 31 Years and Anonymous – 47 Years.☆¨¯`♥´ with them that we need to ¸¸.☆¨¯`♥¸¸.☆¨¯`♥´ ¸¸.☆¨¯`♥ concentrate on.” Temple, (¯`•´¯) [ ̲̅̅H ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅A ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅P̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅P̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅Y ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅B ̲̅̅ ][I ̲̅̅ ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅R ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅T ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅H ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅D ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅A ̲̅̅ ][ ̲̅̅Y ̲̅̅ ]!! ¨¯`♥ .•´.☆¨¯`♥¸¸.¸.☆¨¯`♥´ Texas ¸¸.☆¨¯`♥´ ¸¸.☆¨¯`♥ Copyright © 2018 by Consider making a $1.00 donation to Central Office for each year of your Alcoholics Anonymous World sobriety during your birthday month.