Being an effective Regional Liaison Officer
It usually takes me a year or so to settle in to an intergroup or regional service role. By then I often have a clearer idea of what I'm trying to do and how I'm going to do it. When I approach people about service positions the most common question I'm asked is 'what does the role involve?'.
This short guide aims to address the second question and expedite the process of becoming familiar with how to carry the messages of service, unity and recovery as a regional liaison officer.
1. After your election to an intergroup or regional service position download an intergroup and regional officer registration form available from the 'Forms' section of the Document Library, complete it and send it to chris.north@gsogb.org.uk.
2. You will be sent a password which gives you access to the Confidential Directory. it lists intergroup and regional officers as well as General Service Office and General Service Board staff.
3. Look up the liaison officers in our eleven intergroups: Brighton Area; East Kent; East Sussex; Hastings & Rother; Mid Surrey; North East Surrey; Northdown; Solent; Southdown; West Kent; West Sussex.
4. Once you have their email addresses and telephone numbers you can create a group email and/or a WhatsApp group to make it easy to contact them.
5. We have two workshops each year for employment, communications, prisons and probation, health, share, young people, archivists, public information, armed services, share and telephones. The first is held in January and the second in September.
6. Contact the liaison officers for your role, eg employment, and let them know the dates and the venue for our workshops. They are here
7. Between the workshops aim to call each of the liaison officers and have a chat with them. Ask them how they are getting on with their service. Offer to help of they have queries or need support. Share your experience of service. Try and be for them what a good sponsor is for you.
">8. Once each year you will be invited to York to share your experience of the role and to meet your peers from our other fifteen regions. It usually involves an overnight stay. All your travel accommodation and meal expenses will be met by the fellowship. It's not to be missed as it's a wonderful experience. Like so much service in AA it requires a big commitment but, in my experience, the rewards far exceed the commitment.
9. If you need help with your role, or would like to talk about it, please email ecomm.se@aamail.org your telephone number and I'll call you for a chat.
10. Although service in this part of our triangle is very rewarding it can also be quite challenging emotionally. If you're like me you may need to resist the urge to resign from time to time. Don't be discouraged! Ask for help! We are here for you. Let us help you through the difficult times. You'll be glad you did. Good luck!
Alan M Regional Electronic Communications Liaison Officer and Conference Delegate