For GSRs
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To all GSRs, please email your Group’s ID number to the ECLO at: [email protected]
Information for GSRs
Already a GSR or just starting as a GSR with an existing group? This page aims to give GSRs useful information and resources to help do service.
Further down the page there’s also information for GSRs looking to start a new group.
For any other info you’d like to add, please email the ECLO at: [email protected]
Intergroup Meetings
GSRs attend Intergroup meetings in order to bring any of their group’s issues, questions etc. to Intergroup’s attention, as well as report back to their group on the issues discussed at the Intergroup meeting.
Intergroup meetings are held every 3 months, usually on the 2nd Thursday of that month.
The Intergroup meeting usually starts at 7.30pm with doors opening at 7pm at; Boscombe Baptist Church, 26 Palmerston Rd, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH1 4HS. (Tea; coffee; biscuits served).
Next Intergroup meeting: Thursday 12th November.
Before the meeting starts, GSR’s are asked to fill in the form by the ‘top table’ with their Group ID number and personal email address (only used for Intergroup communications relevant to GSRs).
Knowledge Resources
Books which can help GSRs.
– The AA Service Handbook for Great Britain & CE 2025/6 (download)
– The AA Structure Handbook for Great Britain & CE 2025/6 (download)
Or see your Literature officer. Group’s are recommended to keep a hard copy of the latest Handbooks for the GSR and other members to consult.
– ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Comes of Age.
AA Pamphlets:
The AA Group; The illustrated 12 Traditions; Growing into Service;
The rewards of being a GSR.
Document Library
Another source of AA information is the Document Library on the national GB AA website. AA keeps a lot of downloadable books/ documents/ texts here.
For Example:
The AA Service News is often used by GSRs. To find the latest (or an old) copy
go to the Document Library and search for “AA Service News”.
Updating your meeting details on the AA websites & ‘Where to Find’
Probably the first thing a new GSR does is register their details with GSO so that GSO can communicate with the group, and then also checks that the meeting details are correctly listed on 2 websites and the ‘Where to Find’.
The Group Registration and Update Meeting Form (aka The Pink Form)
‘The Pink Form’ online is how a GSR can communicate with GSO about their meeting. The form is kept on the national AA website under the ‘Members’ tab.
The meeting details you put on this form (except private info) will also be uploaded to the AA GB national website’s ‘Find a Meeting’ so that newcomers and members can find your meeting.
Update if;
– the group’s GSR, Treasurer or Literature services change (including addresses),
– the group’s meeting details need to be changed on the AA national ‘Find a Meeting’ website! E.g. meeting time, location, disability access etc.
– Starting a new group.
The Bournemouth AA website Meetings List
All Bournemouth & District meetings are listed on Bournemouth Intergroup’s microsite here .
The primary purpose is to inform newcomers and members looking for a local AA meeting.
Email the ECLO at [email protected] to;
– Add your meeting to the website,
– Request a change to your meeting’s listing (even temporary changes like being closed for a week etc).
The ‘Where to Find’
The primary purpose of the ‘Where to Find’ is to inform newcomers and members looking for a local AA meeting.
(Temporary) Email the ECLO at [email protected]
N.B. It is important that your meeting details are kept correct on the websites and the ‘Where to Find’ as this is how the membership, especially Newcomers find AA meetings!
Group Forms
“12 Step Responders” Lists (Print)
Supporting the Telephone Service are the ’12 Step Responders’.
These are volunteers in the area who receive calls from Telephone Responders and contact the original AA Helpline caller to offer help and assistance including house calls, taking them to / meeting them at meetings, and hospital calls.
We maintain a 12 Step Responders list of volunteers which is updated every 6 months by GSRs emailing their updated group 12 Step Responders lists to us at: [email protected]
Only Home Group members can go on a GSR’s 12 Step Responders list. These members should register/ update their details with their Home Group GSR only.
(NB please do not register members from another home group as it causes double entries on the Telephone Service’s main Responders List! Ask the volunteer to speak to their own home group GSRs instead).
“Group Services” Lists (Print)
(not an official document)
“Temporary Sponsors” Lists (Print)
(not an official document & not all groups choose to have Temporary Sponsors)
CHITS
If a Group has decided to offer CHITS at their meeting, then the CHITS are stored by the group and are only signed by a group officer if the member has been present during the entire meeting.
To enquire more about chits see the AA GB national website , contact the Bournemouth Probation Liaison Officer at: [email protected] ,or call GSO on 01904 644026.
(NB not all groups choose to have CHITS)
Gratitude Week
The history of Gratitude Week (download)
Gift Aid Form (download)
Legally, the Gift Aid form can only be used for working persons giving individual (not group) donations to charity.
More details on role of a GSR
G group S service R representative
Bill W said, “the strength of our whole structure starts with the group and with the General Service Representative (GSR) that the group elects”.
The GSR is the first vital link in the communications chain between group, intergroup, region and the General Service Board, carrying the group conscience to Intergroup and the Intergroup conscience to the group. A GSR may be elected to Intergroup office.
Working via the intergroup the GSR is the groups` link with the General Service Conference, through which groups share experiences and voice AA’s collective conscience.
By choosing as GSR one of the group’s most qualified individuals the group helps its own future and the future of AA as a whole. It is suggested that groups should also elect an alternate representative who would attend meetings should the need arise.
More from Bill W… “The GSR – as the general service representative is known – has the job of linking his or her group with AA as a whole. The GSR represents the voice of the group conscience, reporting the groups’ wishes to the committee member and to the delegate, who passes them on to the Conference and to the movement. For this, GSRs need the confidence of the group. They also need a good ear for listening”
“We all realize whatever “authority” there is in AA resides in the group conscience. Because of this, a GSR can determine exactly what a group needs, what a group thinks about a situation, and can pass this information along to where it will be most useful in policy-making. This is a two-way street, allowing the GSR to bring back to the group the problems and remedies that affect AA unity, health, and growth.”
“To the extent that a GSR keeps the group informed, then expresses the group conscience, only to that extent can the Conference feel it is acting for AA as a whole”.
The GSR & The Traditions
The conscience of each group decides for itself what it will do and the best way of getting it done. There are many ways of living up to Tradition Five, which says “Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”
Tradition Two reminds us that “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”
When taking a group conscience or business meeting. We need always remember that “it is the groups over all decision and not a single members” Tradition 1.
Through regular group Conscience meetings, generally chaired by the GSR, the conscience of the group is then carried to Intergroup, which takes place quarterly.
It is then the GSR’s responsibility to bring back a report from the Intergroup, letting the group member know of any changes, any up coming events, service positions at intergroup, region or GSO available. You are the link between your home group members and the fellowship at large.
It maybe the GSR’s responsibility to correspond with the landlord of the meeting venue. Of course, each group is autonomous and this responsibility may lay with another group officer. If it is you then you need to keep the group up-to date of any changes or requirements, complaints etc from the landlord.
If your group decides that it would like something discussed at intergroup it is your responsibility to contact the intergroup secretary and ask for them to add the issue onto any-other business at the next intergroup meeting. You can also ask the intergroup secretary to post out any changes to the group, and to ask other members to circulate them at other meetings.
It is also the GSR’s responsibility to keep the twelve step responders list up-to date. This can be taken to the intergroup and given to the TLO if any changes have occurred since the last intergroup meeting; making sure that any members who may have left the area, have left AA are taken off of the list and any newer willing members are added.
Other Responsibilities
– Share with the group all Fellowship mail, communication and news items,
– Keep members informed about local service activities,
– GSRs may be contacts for referral to carry the AA message,
– GSRs can also help their group solve problems by drawing upon the facilities of the General Service Office in York where the staff is ready to relay helpful AA experience from all over the World,
– GSRs can help see that up-to-date group information for the AA directory is sent promptly to GSO,
– The GSR is the vital link in the chain of two-way communication between the group and intergroup. Each represents his or her group at intergroup service assemblies, sharing experiences with neighbouring GSRs in workshops and sharing sessions,
– Prior to attending intergroup meetings, fully discuss agenda items with the group,
– Represent and express the group’s conscience at all intergroup meetings. The GSR should faithfully express the group’s opinions whatever his or her feelings may be, thus putting principles before personalities,
– Following intergroup, report back to the group,
– The GSR has a responsibility to attend all such meetings and, if this is impossible, to brief thoroughly an alternate, chosen by the group to stand in,
– Encourage observers to attend intergroup in order to foster their interest in the Fellowship and sponsor other members into Service,
– Only GSRs and members of the intergroup committee are entitled to vote at intergroup meetings,
– It is the GSR’s responsibility to know the group so well that should unexpected matters come before the intergroup meeting he or she will have a fair idea of group’s conscience.
Qualifications
Each group is autonomous and decides for itself. This is AA guidance only.
Groups may take due care in electing their GSR, giving particular regard to the following:
– It is suggested that the GSR should have at least two- or three-years’ continuous sobriety and preferably not hold any other group office. (It should be remembered that the GSR may be eligible for candidature as a regional representative or as a Conference delegate),
– The GSR may have a working knowledge of the AA publications referred to at the top of this page,
– The GSR may have a good knowledge of the structure of AA,
– The GSR may be a regular weekly attender at his or her own group and therefore be able, should necessity arise, to stand in for any other officer of the group who is unable to be present,
– AA recommends that the GSR serve for a minimum of two years.
Thinking of starting a new group?
Bournemouth Intergroup has about 40 Groups within its boundaries so it is very likely that any potential requirement for a new Group is already covered by existing Groups in your area. It’s worth considering the following points before proceeding –
- Will you regularly attract enough members to take sufficient pot money to cover your expenses (such as meeting room hire, literature, tea and coffee) and contribute your share of the phone and insurance costs to Intergroup?
- Do you have sufficient members with enough sobriety to fill the main Service positions in the group such as GSR, Chair and Treasurer and are they committed to make the proposed meeting their Home Group?
- Speak to your Sponsor and ask how?
- Bear Tradition 4 “Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole” in mind. You could ask meetings close by & meetings being held at a similar time/ day if they might be affected before opening the new meeting.
- Email the Secretary of Intergroup at [email protected] for details on Intergroup affiliation etc.