Getting Involved in Pre-Conference
By Douglas (webservant@aascv.org)
How to Have a Voice in General Service
I used to think “General Service” was something other people did—people with more time, people who knew the “right words,” people who had been around longer or had some kind of special confidence I didn’t have.
But over time I learned something simple and freeing: General Service is not a separate club inside AA. It’s the way our Fellowship stays connected, stays accountable to the groups, and keeps carrying the message in a changing world. And the most important part? The informed group conscience is where it starts.
Your group may already have the key role built in: the GSR (General Service Representative.)
This is a practical guide to help you participate in General Service and have a real voice in the Pre-Conference process.
So if you want a voice at Pre-Conference—and any AA member may participate in the process leading up to the General Service Conference (GSC)—you don’t need to “be somebody.” You just need to show up on April 12th at the Moose Lodge, 3101 E Ave Q, Palmdale, CA 93550 around 8:30 am, learn the pathway, and use the simple tools AA already gave us. I’m also sharing the 76th General Service Conference final agenda items as the “map” for what the Fellowship is being asked to consider this year.
What is the General Service Conference
The General Service Conference is where AA’s “service conscience” meets. It is the annual gathering where trusted servants from across the U.S. and Canada some 93 Area Delegates and GSO Trustees come together to discuss agenda items that affect AA as a whole. This year’s conference is from April 26th - May 2nd in New York.
If you have ever benefited from:
- AA literature being updated thoughtfully
- Sent emails or letters to GSO asking for clarity on a subject
- Public information efforts that protect anonymity and carry the message
- Resources for Corrections, Treatment, Accessibility, and Cooperation with Professionals
- The AA Service Manual being kept current
- AA Grapevine and La Viña adapting to the times
…then you have benefited from General Service and the Conference process.
But here’s the crucial principle: Conference members are not there to express personal opinions. They are there to represent the informed group conscience that rises up from Groups, Districts and Areas through the service structure. That’s where you and I come in.
The Pre-Conference Process
Most members first hear about “Pre-Conference” as a special meeting. But it helps to think of it as a process, not just an event. The Pre-Conference is the time when:
- Agenda items are shared
- Background information is reviewed
- Districts are assigned items, members and groups discuss the issues in detail
- Input is gathered
- Delegates hear what the Fellowship thinks before Conference
In other words, Pre-Conference is one of the main ways the delegate can honestly say: “This is what the groups in our area believe.”
If you want your voice heard, the question becomes: How does your voice travel from you to your group to the delegate? And the answer is usually: through your GSR. What if you do not know your GSR or your meeting is not a group. It is still your AA and you can reach out to your delegate directly.
The General Service Conference meets April 26th - May 2nd in New York and we will send our Delete Rudy M to the conference to participate in the conference.
This year’s it is referred as Panel 76 and the agenda has 76 items (The pre-conference Area 93 will discuss 32 of those items), but you can reach out to Rudy M. on any or all the conference items.
The Simple Path of a Group Conscience
Here is the basic pipeline that makes AA’s service structure work. AA does not communicate with meetings (Your Central Office does.) Meetings are not part of the General Service Structure. Groups are the top of the Service Structure. Read The AA Group… Where it all Begins (P-16) pamphlet for information on Groups.
Get the details of the agenda items from a GSR, District 7 member, or Area 93 General Service member. The agenda is available at (area93.org) but requires a password, since it contains members’ private information. This protects member anonymity. If you contact me, I will share it with you privately—I can’t post it in the article.
- You learn about agenda items
- You bring discussion to your group
- Your group forms an informed group conscience
- Your GSR carries that conscience to District 7 and Area 93
- Your delegate carries it to the General Service Conference
- That may sound formal, but in practice it’s often very simple:
You ask for time on Group’s meeting agenda or share at your meeting
- You share one or two agenda items
- You offer printed or emailed summaries
- You ask the group to discuss and vote as an informed Group conscious.
- Your GSR records the input and takes it forward
You do not need to be the GSR to help. You can support your GSR by doing the legwork:
- Reading the material and background information
- Summarizing the content for easy communication
- Bringing clarity to the information for your group
- Helping the group stay focused on principles
That’s service.
Agenda Items
This year’s conference agenda items are organized into 14 topics, each containing several agenda items. I’ve listed the items by committee and numbered them starting with A, B, and so on. For example, the first topic is the Agenda Committee, and its first item is labeled A.1.
Agenda Items Can Look “Misplaced”
The final agenda list explains the Equitable Distribution of Workload (EDW) process. The EDW process allows some new agenda items to be assigned to committees with shorter agendas, to create a fair and balanced experience for Conference members. For us at the group level, this matters because:
- You might see a topic land in a committee you wouldn’t expect
- The goal is not “perfect categorization,” but fair participation and workable agendas
- It is a deliberate, approved process that helps distribute the work
So if you’re reviewing agenda items and something seems out of place, that’s likely EDW at work. I’ve labeled those topics with (EDW).
What’s on the 76th GSC Agenda
The agenda is organized by Conference committees that work throughout the year. You don’t need to tackle all of them—just focus on the topics your group cares about. Below is the title of each agenda item. Not all items will be discussed at Area 93’s Pre-Conference on April 12th. Progress reports, for example, don’t require area-level discussion. Items marked (PC) will be discussed at Pre-Conference.
1) Agenda Committee
1.A Theme and workshop ideas for the 2027 General Service Conference
1.B Review presentation/discussion topic ideas for the 2027 General Service Conference
1.C Discuss workshop topic ideas for the 2027 General Service Conference
1.D Review the 2026 General Service Conference Evaluation Form, distribution process and the 2025 Evaluation Summary
1.E Discuss progress report on Conference improvement
1.F Discuss offering 10 minutes of presentation time during the General Service Conference to La Vigne
2) Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC)
2.A Review progress report on AAWS LinkedIn page. (PC)
2.B Review progress report on the development of outward facing pamphlet for mental health professionals
2.C Review content and format of C.P.C. Kit and Workbook
2.D Review progress report on the effective use of CPC videos on aa.org (PC)
2.E Consider a request that standalone audio/visual clips be created when developing any new/revised videos for professionals (PC)
3) Corrections
3.A Review content and format of Corrections Kit and Workbook
3.B Review progress report on development of a pamphlet on the transgender alcoholic in AA
3.C Consider a request to update the pamphlet The AA Member – Medications and Other Drugs. (PC)
4) Finance
4.A Review Self-Support Packet.
4.B Discuss motion to add wording to Item F-3, Self-Support: Where Money and Spirituality Mix (PC)
4.C Consider a request to create a Twelve Step study guide or workbook (PC)
4.D Consider a request to discuss the location of the General Service Conference (GSC)
5) Grapevine / La Viña
5.A Review AA Grapevine Workbook
5.B Consider the list of suggested AA Grapevine and La Viña book topics for 2027 or after
5.C Review the 5-year plans for both Grapevine and La Viña
5.D Review the progress on the AA Grapevine Survey of the membership to identify relevance, usefulness and financial viability of products and services provided by Grapevine, such as magazines, books (print, digital, and audio), podcast and social media (Instagram and YouTube)
5.E Review AA Grapevine / La Viña Media Platforms report (PC)
5.F Consider that the AA Grapevine, Inc, accept contributions (PC)
6) Literature
6.A Annual review of recovery literature matrix
6.B Review content and format of Literature Kit and Workbook
6.C Review progress report on the development of the Fourth Edition of the book Alcohólicos Anónimos - Spanish (PC)
6.D Review draft of the Fifth Edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous (PC)
6.E Review progress report on the update of the book Living Sober (PC)
6.F Review progress report on the development of a Plain Language Big Book amendment process
6.G Review progress report of subcommittee exploring the needs of Spanish-speaking members for tools to access the Big Book (PC)
6.H Review progress report on the development of a pamphlet for the Asian and Asian American Alcoholic
6.I Consider publishing the personal stories from the Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous not included in the draft Fifth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (PC)
7) Policy and Admissions
7.A Review GSO general manager’s report regarding General Service Conference site selection
7.B Review dates for the 2030 General Service Conference
7.C (EDW) – Discuss the suggestion to discontinue the annual review of service kits and workbooks by Conference committees:
7.C.1 Discuss the suggestion to discontinue the annual review of service kits and workbooks by Conference committees (PC)
7.C.2 Discuss the suggestion that a similar number of agenda items be assigned to each Conference committee (PC)
7.C.3 Discuss creating a “Conference Committee on Digital Communications” (PC)
8) Public Information (P.I.)
8.A Review progress report on PSA Development and Review Plan
8.B Review report on the GSO Podcast, Our Primary Purpose. (PC)
8.C Review report on the AAWS YouTube channel (PC)
8.D Review report on Google Ads
8.E Review report on Meeting Guide app
8.F Review report on GSO’s A.A. website (PC)
8.G Review report for AAWS “Online Business Profiles”
8.H Review report on AAWS Social Media Policy
8.I Review proposed plan for 2026 Membership Survey (PC)
8.J Review draft revision of the pamphlet “Understanding Anonymity” (P-47)
8.K Review content and format of P.I. and Workbook
9) Report and Charter
9.A.1 Discuss the A.A. Service Manual, 2026-2028 Edition: Review list of editorial updates
9.A.2 Discuss the A.A. Service Manual, 2026-2028 Edition: Consider a request to remove a quote from Dr. Bob in The AA Service Manual (PC)
9.A.3 Review progress report on the development of a new “Amendments” section added to The A.A. Service Manual/Twelve Concepts for World Service
9.B Discuss the General Service Conference Final Report (PC)
9.C Discuss workflow and anonymizing practices for the Final Conference Report (PC)
9.D Discuss progress on classification of AAWS and AA Grapevine Literature (PC)
10) Treatment and Accessibilities
10.A Review progress report on the Military/Veteran Interview Project
10.B Review content and format of Treatment Kit and Workbook
10.C Review content and format of Accessibilities Kit and Workbook
10.D Review the A.A. Guidelines on Accessibility
10.E Consider a request to review locally produced safety-related video service material and provide input for this video service material to be adapted for use by GSO (PC)
11) Trustees
11.A.1 Review resumes of candidates for: Pacific Regional Trustee
11.A.2 Review resumes of candidates for: Eastern Canada Regional Trustee
11.B Review slates of trustees and officers of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc.
11.C Review slate of directors of A.A. World Services, Inc.
11.D Review slate of directors of AA Grapevine, Inc.
11.E Review progress report on process for receiving motions to censure (PC)
11.F Review progress report on the revision of the pamphlet Do You Think You’re Different? (PC)
11.G Consider the request to produce an animated video based on the pamphlet The Twelve Steps Illustrated (PC)
11.H Consider the request to produce an animated video based on the pamphlet The Twelve Traditions Illustrated (PC)
12) Archives
12.A Review content and format of Archives Workbook
12.B Consider a request to define eligibility for Area-level service for members residing outside of the geographic area they want to serve (PC)
13) International Conventions / Regional Forums
13.A Review progress report from Subcommittee on Inclusion of Sovereign State Flags in the IC Flag Ceremony
13.B Discuss ways to encourage interest and participation at Regional Forums (PC)
14) Inventory Implementation
14.A Review Inventory Implementation Report (PC)
A Five-Step Plan to Participate
Here is a simple, realistic way to get involved. Even if you are not the GSR or you do not know who your GSR is, or you do not participate in a group (only meetings)
Step 1: Ask another GSR or General Service Member
- “Which agenda items are you focusing on?”
- “Would it help if I summarized a few?”
- “When is the best time to bring this to group conscience?”
You’re not trying to take over. You’re trying to support.
Step 2: Pick 2–4 Agenda Items and Prepare a Summary
Choose items that connect to your group’s or your experience:
- Does your group do H&I or corrections work?
- Does your group rely on the Meeting Guide app?
- Does your group have members passionate about literature?
Then create a simple not longer than a one-page summary:
- The agenda item (in plain language)
- What decision or discussion seems to be requested (review background material)
- 2–3 key questions
Step 3: Bring it to a Group Conscience
A good group conscience isn’t a shouting match. It’s an informed spiritual process. A simple structure that helps:
- Read the agenda item
- Share relevant facts and context
- Discuss, one person at a time
- Vote or sense of the group
- Record results clearly
Step 4: Make it easy for the GSR to Carry the Message Forward
Help by giving:
- A written summary of your group’s vote
- Key minority viewpoints if they matter
- Any questions your group wants answered at Pre-Conference
Step 5: Attend Pre-Conference
If you attend Pre-Conference:
- Listen first
- Speak once or twice
- Keep it short
- Tie it back to group conscience and experience
The goal is not to “win.” The goal is to help the delegate hear the Fellowship.
Common Fears
“I don’t know enough.” — You will learn by participating. Start with one agenda item. Read it, summarize it, and ask questions.
“I’m just one person.” — Yes. And that’s exactly how AA works: one alcoholic helping another, and one member participating so the group conscience is real.
“I’m afraid it’ll get political.” — Some topics feel hot. The antidote is to keep returning to:
- AA’s primary purpose
- Unity
- Informed Conscience
- Spiritual principles over personalities
Your Voice Belongs Here
Service is one of the ways AA keeps me sober. Not because it makes me important, but because it makes me useful. If you want to participate in General Service and have a voice in Pre-Conference, you can start at the level that matters most: your group. The GSR is your bridge, but your participation is the fuel.
So where does this leave us? It leaves us with one simple next action: Pick a few committee item from this year’s agenda, bring it to your group, keep the discussion short and help form a group conscience. That’s not extra. That’s A.A. working exactly the way it was designed to work.