My name is Evan and I am an alcoholic. Driving down to Ogden the back way, I started replaying my experience at the pre-conference assembly. Recalling the agenda items my home group discussed, I was curious as to what outcomes would surface- feeling excited, nervous and honored for this opportunity. Opening night began with a moment of silence and the serenity prayer. There were familiar faces, and names remembered even without name tags. We broke into groups and discussed growth in AA- diversity, safety, and communication were the power points. We spoke about diversity as to the evolution of AA: from mostly men, to men and women, to men and women with mixed ethnics, to LGBTQ, to the youth of today, arriving younger than ever. We spent time thinking of solutions how to communicate with teens in that moment of desperation… we wait patiently until they are ready. We spoke about safety in meetings which seems obvious, but is more complicated. Do we do our monthly fire drills like we did in elementary school? We are not the healthiest bunch when we arrive at the doors of AA . Some may take offense to what we have to offer, which may trigger an unhealthy reaction. Are we prepared for that “Human Hurricane”? The 13th step surfaced as well- are we having that conversation? It’s hard enough to get sober and dealing with unwanted attention may be overwhelming. Are we having these conversations? We shared our notes with the other groups and ended the evening with the Responsibility declaration. Saturday morning began with a moment of silence followed by the serenity prayer. Kurt J. went over the minutes from the pre-conference assembly held by district 5. The assembly was attended by 118 drunks and ended up being under budget, returning $1,885.00 to the Area . We took roll call, familiar faces and voices representing home groups across the state still sober and in service . The registrar report was given by Devin C…this guy is just a humble warrior. Matt D. gave his alt. delegate report about working on translations with District 12.. Renee, the immediate past delegate, produced a kickass Area 69 newsletter, always looking for more experience, strength, and hope . We moved on to the delegates report by Wade J. His gratitude to serve other alcoholics at a group level was so thick it seemed to choke him up a few times. I listened for the agenda items my home group discussed- some I recognized, and many I didn’t but I was present. We were considering to consider and recommending to recommend, reflecting to reflect . It reminded me of my program, one day at a time. There were standing chair reports, a PA system give away and a Grapevine drawing. Our goal to be fully self supporting was at 82%, always better than it was. Sunday, we had GSR school which was humbling for me. I realized there was more work to be done- guidelines to read, manuals to decipher and concepts to follow. Service for me has become a new avocation. The challenge to understand the process in order to better relay the message is exhausting, but it’s exactly what my program needed . I don’t sponsor anyone at the moment, so I’m totally lost , lost in Service.

Mahalo, Evan J. District 10 Alt, GSR Central Office Liaison