The Summer edition of Box 459 has hit the streets. It is a quarterly bulletin from the U.S./Canada General Service Office. This newsletter includes information about A.A. service, literature, events, sharing from groups, service committees and individual U.S./Canada A.A. members.

The current issue contains a recap of the 2013 General Service Conference. In that recap, the CNIA 07 delegate is quoted from her presentation of “Why is an Inventory Necessary?”

Also, there is a side-bar to the conference that is touching.

“It has happened before, perhaps thousands of times. Outside a gathering of A.A.s, be it the meeting of a local A.A. group, a Regional Forum, an area assembly, or even at an International Convention, there will be a lone drunk, just hanging around. How he or she knows where we are will most likely remain a mystery forever.

“So, as it happened on this particular Friday evening, when members of the 63rd General Service Conference were leaving the hotel for dinner, there he was, asking someone—anyone—to help him get into detox. Some A.A.s went back to the Conference workroom and enlisted a G.S.O. staff member, who took the man to a hospital unit to dry out.

“We will probably never know what happened to this potential member. But one thing is a given; those who witnessed this Twelfth Step action will not likely forget him and might take another look at ‘Why We Need a Conference,’ in Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“Conference-approved” — What It Means to You

The term “Conference-approved” describes written or audiovisual material approved by the Conference for publication by G.S.O. This process assures that everything in such literature is in accord with A.A. principles. Conference-approved material always deals with the recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous or with information about the A.A. Fellowship.

The term has no relation to material not published by G.S.O. It does not imply Conference disapproval of other material about A.A. A great deal of literature helpful to alcoholics is published by others, and A.A. does not try to tell any individual member what he or she may or may not read.

Conference approval assures us that a piece of literature represents solid A.A. experience. Any Conference-approved booklet or pamphlet goes through a lengthy and painstaking process, during which a variety of A.A.s from all over the United States and Canada read and express opinions at every stage of production.

How To Tell What Is and What Is Not Conference-approved

Look for the statement on books, pamphlets and films:
“This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature” Not all “A.A. Literature” is Conference-Approved.
Central offices and intergroups do write and distribute pamphlets or booklets that are not Conference-approved. If such pieces meet the needs of the local membership, they may be legitimately classified as “A.A. literature.” There is no conflict between A.A. World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S. — publishers of Conference-approved literature), and central offices or intergroups — rather they complement each other. The Conference does not disapprove of such material.

G.S.O. does develop some literature that does not have to be approved by the Conference, such as service material, Guidelines and bulletins.

Available at Most A.A. Groups

Most local A.A. groups purchase and display a representative sampling of Conference approved pamphlets, and usually carry a supply of hardcover books. Conference approved literature may be available at central offices and intergroups, or it may be
ordered directly from G.S.O. Groups normally offer pamphlets free of charge, and the books at cost.

Copyright

Conference-approved literature is copyrighted with the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. To insure the continued integrity of A.A. literature, and to make sure the A.A. recovery program will not be distorted or diluted, permission to reprint must be obtained from A.A.W.S. in writing.
However, A.A. newsletters, bulletins, or meeting lists have blanket permission to use the material, providing proper credit is given to insure that the copyrights of A.A. literature are protected.
The A.A. Preamble is copyrighted by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. (not by A.A. World Services). Beneath it, these words should appear: Reprinted with permission of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. The Steps and Traditions should be followed by these words:
Reprinted with Permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Accredited to: SM F-29