History’s Corner, August 2016 – Vic L., Decisions Group, Winter Springs FL

The importance of the group to the society and fellowship of AA When I first tried to get sober in the early 80’s I made no attempt to “join an AA group” or consider getting a “sponsor” to help me understand why I needed to get sober using the 12 steps and how to stay sober a day at a time. After repeated failures over the years it finally dawned on me that I was outside AA or, if you will “on the sidelines“ rather than in AA. By 1985 I wanted to be sober more than anything and many long-timers Said JOIN A GROUP, GET ACTIVE WITH SERVICE IN THE GROUP, and FIND a SPONSOR TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE 12 STEPS. So, in 1985 I joined the Maitland group, became involved in service, and asked for help in sobriety with a sponsor. I am now sober 31 years and never drank after joining Maitland in 1985. I stay sober one day at a time. The first group of AA started in Akron, Ohio, when our co-founders Dr. Bob and Bill W sobered up alcoholic # 3, the man on the bed in1935. Then Bill W. returned to New York and started group #2. Clarence S. a sponsee of Dr. Bob started groups in Cleveland. Clarence sobered up in early 1938, and Cleveland became a hotbed of recovery because of Clarence’s work in spreading the message. 80 years later we have over 120,000 groups worldwide operating in well over 100 countries. It would be a gross understatement to ignore the vital importance of the group to the society of AA. We know from traditions that the only purpose of an AA group is to carry the message of sobriety to the alcoholic who still suffers. Why do we share? Because we have found a way out on which we agree and stand in unity to share with all who suffer. AA is a spiritual entity in which we carry this message and is the backbone of our fellowship. Without our groups our founders believed AA would weaken and possibly die. Knowing this it is important for us as active members to keep the group healthy and unified in its primary message. The healthier the groups, the stronger the fellowship becomes. Why is this case? Because most sober alcoholics find sobriety at the group level. Our power to share sobriety is vested in the individual groups and this fact remains a vital and important in AA today all these years later. Best wishes and blessings in sobriety.