Report of the General Delegate Assembly, Chicago, IL

Dear Fellow SA Members:

The General Delegate Assembly met on Thursday and Friday, July 8-9, prior to the July convention in Chicago. Attendees included 15 Delegates, seven Alternates, seven Trustees, four Trustee nominees, one representative from SAICO, and several observers. Throughout the meetings, I felt God directing our discussions and decision making. What a gift for this fellowship to be able to let go and let God direct us!

Assembly Actions

• GDA approved International Convention Committee mission statement to be included in SA Service Manual.
• GDA tasked Literature Committee with producing a pamphlet on the “Home Group in SA.”
• GDA approved 2011 budget.
• Trustees announced the formation of a Public Information Committee.
• Literature Committee requested more writers of meditations. A vast amount of material is needed to produce a worthwhile project.
• GDA affirmed Betsy T., Dave T., Carlton B., and Francis H. for another year of service as Trustees; elected Art C. and Bob H. to the position of Non-Sexaholic Trustees; and elected Jerry L. and Hugh G. to the position of Trustees.

More information regarding other reports and concerns discussed at the meeting can be found in the full minutes report, which will be published after approval at the October GDA Teleconference.

Recognition of Members Rotating Off

The fellowship thanks Sean R., John C., Gene J., Nicholas S., and Lee W. as they step down as Trustees and Delegates for the service they have given to SA. We welcome the new Trustees and Delegates to the GDA.

The Spirit of Service

As Tradition Nine states: “AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” The Spirit of this Tradition is described as follows (as adapted for SA):

“ . . . Unless each SA member follows to the best of his ability our suggested Twelve Steps to recovery, he almost certainly signs his own death warrant. His drunkenness and dissolution are not penalties inflicted by people in authority; they result from his personal disobedience to spiritual principles. …So we of SA do obey spiritual principles, first because we must, and ultimately because we love the kind of life such obedience brings. Great suffering and great love are SA’s disciplinarians; we need no others . . . Just as the aim of each SA member’s personal sobriety, the aim of our services is to bring sobriety within reach of all who want it” (12&12 174-175).

May we all find the spirit of service—a true fellowship within each of us—as we trudge the road of happy destiny and continue to insist on enjoying life as we live the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of SA.