It Takes a Village
Judy F., info@aascv.org
Congratulations to Santa Clarita Valley Convention for another successful, fun-filled weekend, with lots of fellowship, AA marathon meetings and great speakers. As many people know, our convention is a year in the planning, with lots of dedicated volunteers giving of their time and energy to pull this special event off. As with anything in AA – It Takes A Village.
It is not just one individual’s ideas and input but an entire group of people that have learned how to show up and be of service, one steering committee meeting, one planning meeting, at a time. Once again, It Takes A Village.
Each year the baton is passed on to the next trusted servant who will guide this group of volunteers in their endeavors to plan and arrange yet another convention for all of Santa Clarita AAs to participate. Will there be squabbling among these volunteers, will there be personality clashes and people who think their ideas are better? Oh God, I hope so, as there is no better place for any of us to learn how to become a worker among workers, to learn how to practice these principles in ALL our affairs, than amongst our fellow AAs. But it will It Takes A Village.
If you’re not sure you are creative enough, patient enough, sober enough, just show up. People will pull you along and find the right spot for you. They will encourage you to participate even when you don’t understand or know what the hell is going on. I got pulled into service by our friend Valerie, who said “come on Judy it will be fun”, and all these years later it still is. Why is that? While some of the faces have changed, I still get to fellowship with the same group who have been showing up for years. These are the people who have shown me how to be patient, have shown me how to bring my creativity and my talents to this very special, special event. Yes, They Are My Village.
If you feel like you are drowning crawl into a lifeboat of service. Show up at the “Wrap Party” for the 2025 convention, November 16th at 1:00 PM, at the Rafters. It is the “wrapping up” of old business for this past convention and then the beginning formation of the 2026 convention. Find out what jobs will be available to volunteer for. Raise your hand, even if you don’t want to, and then make a commitment to just keep showing up. I can tell you it is much more rewarding than washing ash trays. Remember, it’s going to Take A Village to put this on another year. Become a part of “that village” and you to will reap the benefits of another avenue of service.