2013 World Service Conference
Virginia Beach, VA
April 14-18, 2013

Memorial Contributions
Task Force
 Charge was to consider if we could allow gifts from family members in memorial to an AFG member
 Current policy does not if family member is not a member of Al-Anon
 Tradition 7 vs. Tradition 5
(Giving comfort…)
 Have family members been considered ‘outside’

Task Force: Service Jobs for
Dual Members
 Not a discussion about changing current policy
 Create a piece that emphasizes what dual members can do in service vs. what they cannot do

Task Force: Service Jobs for
Dual Members

Policy Discussion - Anonymity
 New text in the Anonymity section of the “Digest of Al-Anon and Alateen
Policies
 Websites accessible to the public
 Functions where Al-Anon members are recorded
 Subject lines and addresses of emails
 Postal correspondence

Chosen Agenda Item: “Improving the retention of newcomers and experienced Al-Anon members”
 Most newcomers do not stay
 Older members have an attrition rate
 Al-Anon, thus is not growing

Chosen Agenda Item: “Improving the retention of newcomers and experienced Al-Anon members”
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Friendship
Newcomer’s judge
Ask newcomer’s for their phone number
“Lend” them copies of the Forum
Give newcomer’s How Al-Anon Works.
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Have people arrive meetings at least 15 minutes
See WSO website, “How Does Your Group
Welcome Newcomers?”

 S-13 Translation of Conference
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Approved Literature
Coming this spring; a catalog of translated literature
Those listed will be available and on-hand at WSO vs. the past when WSO had to get copies from the country that produced it; long delays that seemed to be the fault of WSO when it was not
 S-72 Conflict Resolution using our Twelve
Traditions cards
○ $4.00

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Three-year conversation and 16 revisions
Section of our Service Manual is renamed
Public Outreach.
Revises current text on pp 107 -109 of the 2010-
2013 Service Manual.
Does not change the 6 th World Service
Conference statement of 1966, reaffirmed in
1971
Policy Committee did not consider pursuing a change to our Traditions
Emphasize “Members and groups carry the message”
It takes at least 6 contacts with a message

 AFG, Inc projects an annual revenue shortfall that is consistently $150,000/ year
 Quarterly Appeal letter is the opportunity for individual members to express their gratitude.
 Individuals may give a maximum of 1% of general revenue to AFG; this amount currently is $46,331.04
 Does my contribution to the basket at my meetings reflect the level of my gratitude to
Al-Anon?

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Annual Report – Executive
Director
Forum as e-literature; update
 2013 Conference Summary
 Soft-cover version of “How Al-
Anon Works”, misunderstood
 “How Al-Anon Works” is coming out as an e-book! ($11.99)
 Audio version of “How Al-Anon
Works” this summer ($24.99)

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Annual Report – Executive
Director
Legacy posters are no longer available – they don’t sell
 Local groups may produce their own
 But if they sell them must be for their cost – no profit

 March, 1952 Al-Anon asked each member to contribute $1 per year
 Today, that same contribution would be $17.00 twice per year

 Individual appeal; not an appeal to the groups
 2013 Letter explains how funds are used for:
○ Fellowship communication
○ Public Outreach
○ Group Services
○ Membership Outreach
○ Supports the structures of the district, area, and WSC

Lois Wilson

 July, 2014 Board Meeting
 Opportunity for members to interact with the Board
 Areas apply by September
15, 2013
 Three-year Trial

 Encourage use of other CAL literature besides daily readers
 Parents of alcoholics timely reprint – 37,327 copies sold


“Reach for Personal
Freedom: Living the
Legacies” B-92
 176 pages
 $15.00
 Released at the 2013
International Convention


“Intimacy in Alcoholic
Relationships” (working title) update
 775 sharings received; only
76 from men
 Need more sharings from everyone; encourage men to share

Public Service Announcement
 15, 30, & 60 seconds in English
 30 & 60 seconds in French and
Spanish
 Features parent (Jack) of alcoholic child and wife (Rose) of an alcoholic
 Increase from 3,300 to 5,000 television stations and 6,000 gatekeepers to over 10,000 radio stations

Task Force: Toolkit on Service and Personal Growth
 How service contributes to personal growth
 Apply to both new and experienced to service
 Will include full bibliography of service references

Task Force: Toolkit on Service and Personal Growth
 Board of Trustees will review & pass along to WSO staff for development
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“We need to break the idea that recovery is separate from service and promote that without service there can be no recovery.” Ric B .

 Survey on Readiness for Step
12 Service
 Members will be asked to survey their service
 May 13 – July 21, 2013
 Encourage member participation (see ‘Surveys for
Members’ on Members-only website)


137,000 copies of “Al-Anon
Faces Alcoholism” received/filled
 Professionals having been thanking Al-Anon and asking for more copies for their waiting areas

24 Hour Meeting Information
 WSO in final stages of testing
 Caller provides zip code and preference for weekday, weekend, or day/evening meeting
 Could be available very soon

New & Improved e-Communities
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New & Improved
Members-only Website!
 New Look
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Rotating topics
Each Category – Own
Webpage
 Service Manual on each
 Go live, July 1, 2013
 Same log-on as current
Members-only site

 Encourage groups to get Current
Mailing Address (CMA) e-mail registered with WSO
 Of 14,667 registered groups only
7,791 (53%) have valid e-mail addresses for their group

 WSO is considering other options to allow delegates to visit Stepping Stones
 Expense of having World
Service Conferences in
Connecticut

 Equalized Expense of Delegates to
WSC:
 16 Areas paid $1,280 Equalized Expense
 38 Areas paid $1,968 full amount per delegate to attend WSC
 7 Areas paid somewhere between the equalized expense amount and the full amount
 6 Areas paid more than the full expense

2014 World Service Conference
Friday, April 25 – Tuesday,
April 29, 2014
Wyndham Virginia Beach
Hotel, Virginia Beach, VA

2018 International Al-
Anon/Alateen Convention Site

“This building, our literature, our legacies, and our service – all of it is worthless if we don’t pass it on to the next newcomer who needs our help.”
Ric B., Executive Director, World Service Office
60 th Anniversary Open House, April 16, 2011