Alcoholics Anonymous Oregon Area 58

Not Organized

"Alcoholics Anonymous is not organized in the formal or political sense. There are no governing officers, no rules or regulations, no fees or dues. The need for certain services to alcoholics and their families throughout the world has, however, been apparent from the beginning of the Fellowship. Inquiries have to be answered. Literature has to be written, printed, and distributed. Requests for help are followed up."

General:

Information about the structure and inspiration for Oregon Area 58 direction and activities can be found on this page.

The 12 Steps -- Our practice of Recovery
The 12 Traditions -- Our practice of Unity
The 12 Concepts -- Our practice of Service
Oregon Area 58 Guidelines
Oregon Area 58 Organizational Chart
General Service Office of A.A. (GSO)

Local:

Most communities have autonomous A.A. Groups which conduct A.A. meetings and organize volunteers from their membership to help with a variety of service activities. A.A. Districts are composed of representative members from local A.A. groups (G.S.R., or General Service Representative), and a local District is coordinated by a D.C.M. (District Committee Member), These are rotating service positions. These local service entities form the base of the Conference Service Structure which guides Alcoholics Anonymous.

Larger metropolitan communities with the need for more services often have an Intergroup or Central Office, which provides facilities, phone answering, printed meeting schedules, and helps coordinate service activities. Intergroups and Central Offices work in conjunction and cooperation with the Conference Service Structure, but are separate entities responsible to their local groups, for both historical and practical reasons.

Regional:

Areas such as Oregon Area 58, are typically state or province wide service bodies made up of G.S.R.'s, D.C.M.'s, Area Officers, and Service Committees. Oregon Area holds assemblies in the form of quarterly business meetings in various parts of the state, and does not maintain fixed facilities. We coordinate and help educate A.A. members in providing recovery resources. A delegate is elected which participates in the General Service Conference.

U.S. and Canada:

A General Service Conference, consisting of 93 delegates from A.A. areas in the United States and Canada, and trustees, A.A.W.S. and Grapevine directors, and staff from the General Service Office and the Grapevine in New York, meets once a year and provides a link between the groups throughout the U.S. and Canada and the trustees who serve as custodians of A.A. tradition and interpreters of policies affecting the Fellowship as a whole.

A.A. worldwide services, directed by A.A. World Services, Inc., are centered in the General Service Office in New York City, where 84 workers keep in touch with local groups, with A.A. groups in treatment and correctional facilities, with members and groups overseas, and with the thousands of “outsiders” who turn to A.A. each year for information on the recovery program. A.A. Conference-approved literature is prepared, published, and distributed through this office.

International

A similar structure is replicated in many countries or regions around the world.