[Businessmtg] ATTN: 24 hour notice

[Mary Beth]

I must chime in one more time in regard to this topic, it is intense and important and certainly something that will get revisited regardless of how the vote goes...because this is the evolution of the program and recovery as a whole.  Maybe I live in a unique area in which dual members are on the increase.  If that is true, than I consider myself and the families in our community incredibly fortunate.  We have a few meetings that are even very "dual member heavy" and the question of how to appropriately identify a group rep and an alternate rep are of issue.   There isn't a meeting I attend that doesn't include dual members, and I'm not aware of their dual members because they bring AA into the rooms, but because I've gotten to know them.  

It is often heard that one attends AA in order to learn how to survive, but attends Al-Anon in order to learn how to live.  These are intermingled family diseases, and those who enter the rooms of AA have typically qualified for our rooms long before they qualified for AA. And many of us in our rooms, pass on the genetic code of alcoholism from our parents to our children.  Some of us women even manifest eating disorders, which is the same gene.  I've witnessed very healthy Al-Anon programs in dual members who would serve wonderfully as a treasurer or webmaster here.  If someone has these gifts and wishes to serve, I personally think we as ASP would benefit from their service.  I, on the other hand, w/out the AA statis, would stink at both positions.  The potential risk has been mentioned of an "alcoholic slip" while holding these positions-- which is no different from my perspective than an Al-Anon slip where someone could fall back into
 behaviors of controlling behaviors, or shopoholic behaviors (often mentioned in the rooms).  It is a possibility...yes to all of the above.  The comfort that someone would do honor to these positions lies within the person ... not the disease, as we're all diseased here.  But we also have learned that service is part of program growth and taking on these group positions is a part of service.  These are not Al-Anon policy maker positions, they are group service positions.  Our webmaster does not attend WSO meetings and determine Al-Anon policy.  Our treasurer is the same.  That is the guideline which currently stands for curtailing a dual member from service.  I don't believe the goal in limiting service opportunities for dual members is a means of trying to confine them, put them at 2nd class, establish officially in program that we don't trust them, not allow them to "touch the WSO" -- I believe Al-Anon simply wishes to remove them from the
 potential "conflict of interest" of policymaking for the future good of Al-Anon as a whole.  It keeps it simple.

If trust of these service positions is of issue and we do not have measures of reassurance to remove either of these positionholders because of abused responsibilities, than I suggest that is where we turn to find comfort.  These positions can be abused by a person, with either disease, and we simply need to know how to respond to it appropriately.  From the risk and worry expressed on this topic, we may wish to do so.

And I simply must say for the record that I've seen Bill W's quote regarding "leaving the drunks out" on this topic more than once.  It strikes me very odd that an alcoholics quote is being brought in on decision-making for the topic of giving alcoholics say in Al-Anon service, and against it at that.  But to that quote I simply applaud the growth of recovery since his era.  Bill W created an effective treatment for alcoholics to survive.  We now are seeing those survivors also strive for good recovery of the family disease, since they too have parents, siblings, partners, friends with alcoholism.  It gives good credit to the lasting effect of both programs and its positive effect of families.  I see this as a wonderful thing as recovery as a whole continues to enhance and increase the healthiness of our families.  

Mary Beth