“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear!” Open the door of the Service Manual! What do we see? We see how to begin this journey, this new challenging part of the journey, the journey of General Service. What a blessing, the teacher gave so much so that we could have the experience and learn the lessons that are taught in service. The teacher did the job and gave more! What was the “more”? The “more” was the opportunity to learn this service through actions, the Service Manual came alive! Financial issues are everywhere, and we felt them in our Area also, including individually. Our teacher asked us about attending Conferences, oh no we could not afford that! Oh my!! So the teacher got out the “Bus”, filled it up and away we began an adventure that would afford us many opportunities in service around our Region. Our first opportunity, Doral, FL, the Southeast Conference, and then Southeast Regional Forum in Myrtle Beach, SC. just a bite of the apple as we later traveled and traveled – Raleigh, NC, a train ride to Fairfax, VA, Innisbrook, FL, Metairie, LA, Boca Raton, FL. What was our cost? We were expected to participate and give back! We greeted so much in Doral, we were following up with people we met at each conference, years later. A true blessing of how service works. Through these adventures we were able to see how the service structure works as described in our service manual. We now had met the Chairman of the Board, the General Manager of our General Service Office, and the people behind the phone calls. We saw a representation of Big Books for countries around the world. We experienced “Sharing” by going to the microphone and speaking. We had answers for our questions and we learned from others comments and suggestions. We were asked to participate and we became facilitators, registrars and 7 dwarfs! How do we say Thank You? We keep giving back, continue to be a part of the process, continue to be teachable, and continue to help others. This December the Southeast Regional Forum will be at the Orlando Marriott in Lake Mary, Florida, December 2-4! This is a free conference, but you still need to register. There will be a First Timer Orientation, Sharing Sessions/Ask-It-Basket, Presentations, Grapevine/LaVina and many workshops. This is a great opportunity for members to exchange group, district, area and regional experience. How to register? Go to this link, http://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/online-forum-registration and follow directions, ask your DCM, register at the Area Assembly, check in at your Intergroup. The list is long, don’t miss out of the fun, the fellowship and the opportunity to learn how to continue to carry the message to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety!