My name is Chad. I'm grateful recovered alcoholic. I appreciate I want to I wanna thank uh the committee for inviting me to do this. Um I appreciate it. It's it's I've come to this a couple years now and I I really appreciate I love I love what you guys are doing here. You know, this is a room full of seekers, you know, people that are seeking. So, you know, I'm honored to be here this on a I well really what attracted me was did you guys know that Walt made the donuts? I mean, it's just an incredible Walt's ability to, at least that's what he told me. So his ability to, I I just looked at those donuts. I thought, man, I don't know how you have time to do that, but um, he's pretty amazing. Um, but uh thank you, thank you guys. Thanks, Alan and uh and Walt and the committee here. Um, you know, I think that I'm very I've been very fortunate. I I've been a member of a home group for a number of times for a number of years now, over well over 20 years, that uh that I helped start. And we have we have always oscillated through the big book. We're a literature-based meeting. It's called Sobriety on Sunday. So if you ever find yourself in Anderson with maybe, I don't know, a flat tire in your downtown Anderson on a Sunday night and you're stranded and you're like, oh no, I need something to do. Uh, we have a great, great literature-based meeting on Sunday night at the chapter house. It's uh it's um it's where we preside and we uh we carry the message. We carry the message of hope. But but for that, you know, we have made a concerted effort. We we always talk about the traditions. So what we do is we we go through the first 164 in the big book, go through the this, we go through the 12 and 12 uh as far as the steps, and then we we boy our attendance gets down sometimes, but we we muddle through and we muster through the traditions because it was impressed upon me early in recovery that it is important. This is what fabricates us, this is what keeps us together. I mean, we're a I guess I would say a band of misfits, and uh not having these, I suppose the the words should be in red rather than black, because if you can imagine then the number of people that have probably uh passed away as a result of this knowledge, it's it's kind of humbling to realize the the efforts and the and the tragedies and the um the learning curve that we've had to go through as a society, as a as a group to to develop these traditions. So so I I think it's important uh, you know, as a home group member that we we continue to have that in there, uh because if we if we if we let it die, then it dies, you know. And and uh I think it it may be even the most valuable part. I mean, obviously the steps are super important, but the way that we function as a society, man, it's pretty amazing. I mean, we have this group of people that we really wouldn't get along in other in other capacities whatsoever, but but somehow these traditions, I believe that they were inspired, divinely inspired, have been able to keep us together in in groups that um that normally would not get along. So um great great presenters prior to me. I really appreciate hearing everybody's uh backgrounds and their and their uh info on and I've heard Lisa speak before over at the um um what's it called the Unlovable Creatures meeting. And and you did a wonderful job there as well. So it's very nice to to see you here as well. Um, but you know, in in our history, um you know, we've always had two continuums. And I think that that's kind of, you know, you you've got this far right traditionalist uh uh beliefs in AA, and then you also have a far-left belief that we should be, you know, very, very uh accommodating and stuff. So the two worlds have been pretty extreme, but then they come together and they make this beautiful harmony. Um there's there are some really good books that like my predecessors have mentioned. You know, they um, of course, the big book, uh, there's AA that comes of age. I've read that. It's a good book. The the the 12 and 12. Do you guys say 12 by 12 or 12 and 12? I was always told that the 12 by 12. I don't know. I thought that was more of a construction uh terminology, but but uh the 12 and 12, pass it on is another great one. Dr. Bob and the good old timers, um, language of the heart. There's some of us, those have already been mentioned, but but they go on to talk about uh in a lot of those readings about how these how these traditions were formed and forged out of just problems. And you know, it's probably these would would probably be more impressed upon our our 12 biggest problems and how we overcame them as a group. You know, and then of course there were there were groups that came along prior to AA's that attempted to to address the same thing. And of course, a lot of you have probably heard of the Washingtonians and and how you know they they were they you know it was wildly popular for a while, but then they they took some some very political decisions and then they they faded away. So, you know, some of these traditions have been bore out of previous um uh uh slip-ups as well. So you've always and you've also got you kind of got two camps in AA. You've got the the you've got the the the the Bill W side and then you've got the Dr. Bob side. Bill would probably uh we would have built a tremendous amount of hospitals, and we would have AA hospitals all over the country, and and Bob probably, you know, he he was uh he was he probably would have had one gigantic group, you know, and and uh so so there's there's varying degrees of that. But but the two worlds kind of came together, much like uh, you know, what was that old commercial where the chocolate and the peanut butter come together for a Reese? It's kind of like the perfect perfect setup for that. But in 1941, uh the Great Bine article, Bill W. talked about our greatest, our next greatest undertaking is is our working together. So that's where, you know, and and he was right, you know, he started, he probably started seeing where we were starting to have a lot of division and we were starting to fray at the seams, and and uh he thought it was important to have these. So uh, you know, can you imagine how crazy those days would have been? It was probably the wild, wild west, you know, and we have these wonderful guide guardrails now uh that that keep us uh in cohesion. You know, I've been fortunate. I have um I've I've been retired for a couple years now, so and I've been I've had the the ability and opportunity. I've attended a lot of meetings elsewhere, uh all over. And it's amazing. I I say to my wife, I say, man, it's just amazing. I've I come into, I don't know, a meeting, and there was this meeting in Iowa. Um we were we were we were in Iowa for a couple days. No one goes there, right? Um, but but I was there uh for a couple days, and my one of my favorite things to do when I travel, I travel by RV and is I'll look on my my AA, the the meeting guide, and I'll find a meeting and I'll I'll read the title of it and I'll like that sounds like a cool meeting. And we'll we'll kind of make that a part of our our journey. And we were in this meeting in Iowa, huge meeting, and you know, we we were uh what we were doing, I was at, I was close to the uh Winnebago headquarters and they were servicing my RV. So I was there. I was able to, and this, these people were just unbelievable. They had no idea who I was. I just befriended me, just super friendly. Said, hey, why are you sleeping in a hotel? Come to our home and sleep. I was like, what? I just I mean, I didn't know this gentleman and his wife, and they were virtually insistent. Now we did not, but but it was just a just it it never surprises me how kind and grateful and great people are in this. I mean, it's I've heard Walt say this a lot. Some of the best people I've met and that I know are in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, and I believe that to be a truthful statement. And I remember I was in um I was in a meeting in Montana, and it was a it was a Native American uh group, and uh man, everyone, uh it's the only white man there, and there were everyone was super friendly, super welcoming, and it was a very powerful meeting. Um, they they have a a tremendous problem on the reservations, and and they loved AA there. So I was grateful to be there. So so I guess it's just a long way of saying it's it's it's really great to see um the language of the heart and the traditions being followed. Now, meetings follow different formats, um and and and like downtown Seattle is much different than uh Fresno, California. And you know, they they all have a little bit of a little maybe a different flair in what we do and stuff like that. But I've always found that it's like I try to see the similarities, but but sometimes that it's like, hey, that's a neat how they do that. And in uh in in central in the valley in California, they always they always um they clap after everyone speaks. So I thought, oh, that's kind of interesting. You know, just just little nuances like that. But that goes, that's that's how every group can be different, you know, and it's kind of it, but what but it's within the guardrails is what I like about it. But um Bill goes on to talk about the the importance of preserving AA and that that AA must continue to live or will die, you know. Um and and he understood that our problems, our our two biggest problems with our problems with with with ourselves and how we conduct ourselves internally, and then but but also with the outside world. So those were the two problems that he was trying to address. If you look at the the the theme of the 12 traditions, those are the two things that he's trying to to to to corral us around. Um and originally it was called the the 12 points to ensure our 12 biggest mistakes, right? Or it's our 12 points. Uh and then he he uh he he changed it traded to traditions. Now they weren't traditions when he named it that way, but it's a great way to brand something, right? This is our tradition. So so I think that was incredible. So they and like was mentioned by Lisa, it was 1951 in our first convention was when they ratified it. And and I I think that's an important to realize. And then they turned it over, they turned over uh in 1955 to the general services. Uh so I think it's it's good to see that that that um that lineage. But you know, after the uh Jack Alexander report, you know, we grew radically, we grew very quickly. Uh so that's that's also another real important reason that these guardrails came up. We were just flooded with people. Groups were starting up everywhere, and it could get out of hand quickly. You know, if you can imagine groups are just popping up all over. Um I I do enjoy the long form. It's already been read. So I mean, I am a great reader, as Alan says, but I'm not gonna sit here and bore you all with with rereading it all. But but um I will I will uh because I think it's important, you know, there is there is a lot of wordsmithing there, probably, you know, in be in the difference, there's a lot of difference between the long form and the short form. And and and I think that things can be misconstrued out of it. I think the long form is essentially important uh in in that. So so I too, I'm gonna read off um the the traditions and and kind of give you some maybe a little bit of my experience with a couple of them that I think are important or that I've had uh relevant experience in. Um to uh, you know, I I um when I before I retired, I've I've owned a I started a a company that that actually grew and we were we were a pretty good-sized company. And and a lot of people that worked for me didn't realize this, but then there were a lot that knew that we were we were running this company based on the steps and the traditions, and and a lot of the people that weren't in AA didn't have any idea that that's what we were doing, that that our common welfare would come first, and that we practiced uh you know the principles of AA, you know, honesty. And and this was in a in an industry that you don't normally hear that. So so what I did for a number of years was was I was a bill collector and then I started several collection agencies. I've I've been a prolific um uh entrepreneur where I would start them and then spin them off and sell them, and and uh I was I don't know, just gifted at that. I really can't take any credit to that, um, just other than I can, I I have a good line of BS, right? Um but um but so we we started this, and I've done this a couple of times, but but the in particular this last company, we would we would start the day with with a prayer, and we would ask God to to come into our work so that we can help others. So we would do that uniformly across the comp the company, and we even had so much we had we had our we had a Phoenix prayer, and we would um I didn't require people, there's some HR situations in that, but but I would hand out the prayer and I would encourage them to. And uh, but but it but I wanted to somehow, if we could bring God into our daily life, into our daily work, I knew it would cascade out. And it's in an end, Bill Collections is a difficult industry. It's not an industry that you hear a lot of that of. It's usually, uh, I don't know, it kind of takes a bad taste in most people's mouth. But but here is a here is an opportunity where we were trying to bring this this thought pattern that we all know and and love into uh into the business world and into you know a daily, we were interacting with people chronically. Uh and I knew that if we could do that in our work, that we would be wildly successful. So I can't say that that anything I did was was other than adopting these principles and being steadfast and encouraging the staff to do the same thing. And we were we were wildly successful. Uh our EVDO was crazy. Um, I had companies that that that uh insisted on buying us because of that. And they they um send a team of people to come in to try to figure out what is going on. This company in that industry, you normally have very high turnover, it's usually a hundred percent turnover. Um, and we had single-digit turnover. Um, it was pretty amazing. And and we had uh we had meetings on site every day. Uh we had, you know, we had a a very big uh basement room, we had a room about this size, and we were having like 85 people a day at uh an AA, and we also had uh other fellowships in in the building too. So it was it was chronic and it was uh constant, and and I was it was truly a roam to be able to have a presence in the work environment, and I was the owner, so I could do that, right? And so so then, and there were a lot of employees that were not a part of that, and and uh while I really didn't care what they thought, but but they were always supportive and they they understood that we had a purpose and we were we had a a a theme that we were trying to do good, and it was hard to deny that, and that purpose would rub off to to everybody. So I was I was just I'm just grateful for that opportunity. I can't say that that uh I did anything other than just employ that. So I encourage you, if you you know, it you can bring these concepts and these steps and these traditions into your life in the business world or in in whatever in your daily life. And and like it's just a harmony that it that it cohibits and so I I've I'm grateful for that opportunity. But but what happened? Uh we we attempted to go public and then COVID hit. And so then, but then I had companies that wanted to buy us. And they they would come in and they would bring this, uh I don't know, a team of experts, like 12, 12 to 15 people that were experts in all these different areas. And I remember the uh the lady that was um she was like uh she was very high up in she was published in HR theme, and and she would she just wanted to talk to me about what are you doing? This is crazy. You know, it just did not make sense. And and I and then they started looking at like the background rechecks on the on the employees, and and I had to tell her, I said, I said, well, this is what we do, and we practice recovery at work, and it just blew her mind, blew her mind. And and um, but but uh I stood by it and and anyway, it's a long way of saying that if you can practice recovery in your your occupation, there's ways to do this, and and it's really easy to practice recovery uh uh, you know, in here. You know, it's really great. I can shake Walt's hand and be considerate and be mindful of him. And but but to do it in the real world is is a different application. But it it is it it has uh been proven by my experience that it is it it really makes a business run. And and hopefully you'll you'll do the same thing. Um so uh our common welfare should come first. Personal recovery depends upon a a unity. I I I as I just mentioned that was what we employed in in the the business world. Uh for our number two, uh for our our well, let's see. I also want to talk about um there was this gentleman, so I had I had some relevant experience on on this as well. There we had a guy that um he he had moved to Anderson and he had came from a different town. He was the guy that came in and allegedly had, you know, like I don't know, 28 years or something like that. And he took over a meeting, a small meeting, and we knew he and he was pocketing, the rumor was he was pocketing the money. And um it was a small, it was a beginner's meeting, and uh, a group of us, there was like three of us, decided to come and check out what what was going on. And and uh we didn't we it was pretty obvious what he was doing. So we we had a we took uh we formed a committee and we threw some guys in there, we voted. He was the only home group member of this meeting, and we threw some people in there and they called a uh meeting, and this guy basically commandeered the meeting and and uh wanted to to have an accounting of it and and all this. It really infuriated this guy because it was getting into his, I don't know, his lunch money or something. And um he wanted to he wanted to kill me. He wanted to kill me and a couple other people that that had done this um because we just knew it wasn't right. And and at the time I was a lot of the meetings I go to is at the chapter house in Anderson. And I can I won't mention this guy's name, he's passed away since then, but but he wanted to kill me. His sponsor, who's still sober today, he's uh uh a legend in in Anderson, he's been sober a long time. He calls me up and he says, Chad, uh, this guy, I won't say his name, he he wants to kill you. He said, and he's got a gun and he's he's calling me as his sponsor, and he's plotting to kill you. You need to be really careful about what's going on. And so I knew I couldn't kick him out of AA, right? Um, um, but uh but what I did do, uh I took it upon myself to make sure he couldn't go to to uh the the the club in Anderson because and he had made public threats to me. There were four of us that had commandeered this meeting and and questioned, called into question the accounting of it. And and uh he uh we we made it a point to to get him barred from the club. So the club is different than the meeting, and there was a lot of pushback about that because you know we're not allowed to bar people from meetings, well, uh or from AA. Well, out of our safety and our welfare, we thought it was important that that we take a little bit more extraneous action. So so that was some some relevant experience, but but there is a difference between suburban north and a meeting, you know, or the chapter house and a meeting, or a group um in that regard. But um I uh I thought that was important to talk about. And um, so tradition two, for our group purpose, there's but one ultimate authority, a loving God is he may express himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants. Here's another one that I've had some um maybe I guess learning opportunities. So, so my home group for you know, I I started this meeting and it's been around for a while now, and I I've always thought it was important that we have a literature-based meeting. And um we've bounced around from over the over the 20 years it's been in existence. We've bounced around to a couple different locations. Uh, we started out in a halfway house. We had a meeting uh in a recovery house, uh, which I'm very fond of. Uh we were in the three-quarter house, uh, the Blackwell house in Anderson. It was awesome. We're like started out with like 10 of us, and it grew so big. Um, I mean, it snaked around every room and and it we got so big that we outgrew it. So then we went to a church. It was a little bit farther out of town, and and it was fine, but attendance waned and We made the decision to move the meeting uh back in, you know, or group uh back into the club because at the time our club, we didn't have a lot of groups. Uh we had a lot of meetings, but we didn't have a lot of groups. And I said, look, our primary purpose is to carry this message. So let's let's get back in the club. Let's go where we're people, the central location where people that are hurting will come to, in theory, more often uh than than where we were at. So we made that decision. Great decision. Our home group is, I mean, before COVID, we were we were standing room only. There's 80 people there. Now we're back up. I mean, every seat's filled. There's there's at least 60 people there every Sunday. Um, which uh, you know, we but we made that that decision. Uh, but after a while, I I started getting involved with um there's a a a um a recovery center in Anderson. Anderson, we're really blessed. We have a lot of uh recovery houses and we have a lot of recovery uh detoxes. I mean, we are just hemorrhaging at the scene with with people that need help. And that's that's one of my my my beliefs is that that there's a lot of great recovery in Noblesville, and there's a great need in in Madison County. So I there's a lot of men here that come over and help bridge that gap. And I'm I'm super grateful for for you guys. But but but my decision or my thought was there was a new uh treatment facility in in Anderson. I'm not gonna say the name of the place, but um it uh it was it was struggling and it needed some help. And I I thought that it was my responsibility. I thought this is where we need to be. We need to be on the front lines, we need to be helping, you know, getting some, as my sponsor says, uh getting some puke on our shoes. And I I brought it to my home group and I said, look, here's what I think we should do. We should go to this place and we should move our meeting over here. They had a room big enough for us, and I I thought that was a wonderful idea. I thought, who's not gonna follow me? This is this is my meeting, and and this is where charge. Let's go this way. Nobody followed me, and and everybody voted against it. And man, I was I was probably a bleeding deacon for a little while. You know, I was I was a little bit upset. I was uh disjointed. I thought, well, wait a minute. You know, this isn't that what we're supposed to do. We should be on the front lines. And where we were at was also the front lines. I mean, the chapter house is is where a a tremendous amount of people uh will come come from the street too. So there's there's that argument. But I got outvoted, and matter of fact, no, and then I thought, well, I'm just gonna still do what I feel called to do, and I'm gonna bring a meeting and I'm gonna make it a literature-based meeting, and I'm still gonna do it. But I was I was a little, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit upset. Um, uh, probably a little bit, you know, some of these guys that I had sponsored over the a lot of them that I had sponsored over the years, and they didn't want to come and and see the vision, and I just I was a little to I was disappointed. But uh it took a little while, and what happened over a period of time, I gained to accept that um because that's what we're supposed to do. And I I agree with the group's decision today. I just have both worlds, right? And now it's so so um, but it took me, there was a process in that. I didn't say anything verbally out loud, and it was just difficult for me to accept the group's decision um personally, and I really felt like I was standing on principle, and and so so what ended up happening, um I did both. And and you know, I was able to to develop new friendships, and I was able to to develop uh new relationships, and I had a whole new group of sponsees at this place, and you know, I kind of grew up a uh a whole another little group in there, so it's just as uh um as relevant in my life today as my home group, so so I'm very fond of that. So, but but it my point is is that I had to accept the group decision, uh uh, you know, because that's God expressing himself in our vote. Um so I'll move on to three. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. Um and they they they talk about in uh I think it's actually in the verbiage in tradition three, it talks about this this gentleman that talks about, hey, you may not want me to be a part of your fellowship. I have a stigma that's worse than what you have. And you know, um, and back then, it's my understanding, he was a a crossdresser and he was a transvestite, and really didn't feel like, you know, can you imagine he didn't feel like he would definitely fit in back then. So, but you know, that's that's the the beauty of our fellowship is we are so open and inviting. And if you need help and if you're an alcoholic, we we want you to be a part of. I'm grateful for that. Um, each group, uh number four, each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting other groups as a whole. You know, we uh we we we have a little bit of uh maybe it's a non-traditional way that we support world services at our home group member, I uh at our home group for uh and my my uh what we do is uh to to send instead of sending you know large checks, uh I don't know, once a quarter or or decent sized checks uh to world services, what we have elected to do, how we can support, um, is we buy cases of big books from World Services. So so then we can carry and we we want them to walk out the door. We want anyone that comes to our home group to walk out with a big book. So so any, you know, that money goes back to World Services that way. So that's how we've elected to do that, and could be controversial. And but that's okay. That's what we as a group have decided how we would do that. And and we I we feel that um that that's a good way to to to help the the new person, and then also to have money sent back to uh New York. Um five, each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. And that that is so essential. You know, I think we have to have that guiding light uh because it can get so off the rails. Hey, we want to do this or that. But but really, if you condense down what you're doing, you know, just like what I said there, my decision, or not my decision, our group's decision to purchase books, it's the the decision is based upon that's our our the best way we thought we could carry the message to the the alcoholic, the suffering alcoholic. And that's also why we have as a group have elected to make our meeting uh a big book study and a 12 and 12 study. We we uh we have oscillated between those for a very long time. Um and and I think it's important uh that we do all actually uh several of the meetings have started. We also have a Joe and Charlie meeting, also, so so I I think that's important as well. But um, but but carrying the message, carrying the message is is essential in all those groups. Six, an AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, less problems of money, property, and prestige diverse from our primary purpose. So, you know, I think that's very important. Um, like Alan mentioned, I I currently have a few of Silver Homes and and I believe in what we are doing in that regard, but it's different than AA. You know, we do practice uh AA there, and my hope is that my my whole concept is is I want to grow sponsors. I think that that's how you really can change a community if you have uh men and women that become sponsors in your in your in your uh facilities. That will be how you can make the that's how you can best carry the message. So that's what what we are essentially trying to do. Um and it's been it's been uh a purpose of mine. I've always had this dream to do this, and and uh so so I'm still still learning, but uh I appreciate uh everyone over here that's helped helped with their backbone and and efforts in helping us. Um seven, every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Um, I know you can I've I've been the past president of the chapter house, and actually I'm back on the board there again. I've been uh affiliated with several other halfway houses on various boards and stuff like that. It's funny, you know, AA, we can't really take, you know, donated checks. You know, someone dies and they uh they want to will a bunch of money, uh, you know, but the clubs could. And I remember I was in Akron, I was at Dr. Bob's house, and it was just bizarre. I was talking to the the curator there, and and um it's hallowed ground. If you've not been there, you know, go take a third step there. It's it's it's kind of I don't know, it's it's my uh it's it's it's a I've done it a couple times with sponsees, and and if you have not done that, do that uh on on on uh on on Dr. Bob's bed, kneeling at his bed and taking a third step with your sponsor is is truly uh amazing. But but I was talking to the curator there and he's like, eh, we got another one. I said, What are you talking about? And he said, Yeah, people come here with their loved ones' ashes and they try to sneak around on the ground and sprinkle it on and and evidently that's frowned upon. I didn't, you know, I thought I thought that's a pretty good idea, but I evidently, I mean, if you can imagine and she's he said it happens at least once a month. Well, hopefully, uh I it's kind of a profound statement or uh and uh uh profound it impacted me. I was like, huh, that's interesting. Um, but um let's see, what where was I? I I can get squirreled as well too. Where where am I at, Alan? Thank you. Ashes, yes, ashes, yes, yes. Uh Alpholics Anonymous should be for remain uh forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers, and and I I I I agree with that concept. You know, you know, service is a great way to lead. You know, it's it's not, you know, in in business, I think that that that that too, you know, if we and and also in AA, if we can be of service, that is our greatest position, you know, you know, to be the person that uh, you know, as as Kelse made these these wonderful handouts, you know, no one asked him to do that. That's service, you know, that's that's and and Walt and his man, I his baking skills, just amazing. You know, just things like that. I mean, it's just we um we're just grateful because we have a lot of people that are just so grateful that they're alive and they have to look for ways to contribute, you know, and and and when I got here, Ron was out here greeting. I mean, that is for me, when I first got here, there were people that greeted like that. And and it made me feel welcomed. I think it's important. It's something that a lot of groups don't do. We do it at our home group. I think it's important to because I needed that. I needed someone, I felt it felt different when I came to a meeting and there was someone there to shake my hand and make me feel welcome. Those that feeling that you can get, because nobody, everybody's scared to death when they come here. And if we can get out of ourselves and be of service and uh to welcome people, I mean they'll come back. They have a greater chance, a greater likelihood, you know, to come back. And that goes back to what is our primary purpose, right? So thank you for greeting me. You know, I appreciate that. Um let's see, AAS such ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly to those that they serve. Um, I've been on some of those service boards and committees. It sounds like there's been a lot of people in here that have as well. I think it's uh it's it's it's an honor to be on those things. It's a it's a it's a responsibility. You know, you're speaking and you're representing your area. I mean, it's it's very admirable. Um, and and it's a it's it takes up time and money and and you know, of yourself and and I and to to to make this cohesive and to keep this boat going down the river. Uh so I'm grateful for those that have that have that capacity. I I wildly thank you. Um and and I and uh it's also you know, like like was mentioned, like Lisa mentioned, you know, it's an upside down. The group is really, it's it's so amazing how our society functions. You know, the group um is at its like it should be. It's it's but it's it's just amazing how that every other organization is just the opposite. You know, it's always so it's amazing how well this works, and it's an upside down and inversion. So um Alcoholics Anonymous number 10. Uh Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues, hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Man, I am so glad that we don't. I mean, the world is so divisive now, and in a for the most part, that I rep that I see it's very non-political, and I'm so so grateful for that. I don't feel like there's any strife because of that. You know, we our our founders were very wise to keep politics and religion and and those divisive things out of out of what we do. And I think that, you know, there here recently, you know, we had some pretty major changes with the preamble. And I was in groups all over that. Really, I mean, there was varying degrees of this. And it and it got to be, well, in my opinion, a very political uh statement. And and I'm so glad that we're past a lot of that. But there for a while, it was tough. It was really tough for a lot of groups, um, and and probably still to this day, uh, on the on the controversy of that. And for one, I just like to keep the controversy outside of the door and and let us all, you know, let we need to practice recovery because unity is what we need. We need to have we need to have that cohesion. Um, so I'm I'm I'm grateful that we don't have that in our rooms to a very large degree. Um, number 11, our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion. We need to always maintain personal imminentity at the level of press, radio, and films. Um, a dear friend of mine, she's still alive. I won't say her name. Um, she was a recovering nun. I know Pat knows who I'm talking about. Uh, and and I had the opportunity, um I would haul her to meetings for, I don't know, maybe, maybe six years, maybe seven, and I would pick her up. And she had been so she was she was a circuit speaker. Um, she was uh an amazing woman. She impacted me very early in my recovery. She had this puppet. It was like a fighting boxing nun, and she she had an amazing, but I remember I heard her lead at a treatment center. I wasn't a patient there, but I went to a lead there, and she was talking about how she was as she, I don't know how long she was sober, maybe 20, 15, 20 years, a long time at the time. And and it was so profound. What she said to me, or to the group, but what I heard was she said, you know, I really never I she'd been a nun all her life, essentially. And you know, she was a retired surgical nurse, and she was like, you know, I really never knew God until I got into AA. And that was impactful. I I just was that just blew my mind. And and I befriended her over the years, and I uh sometimes it was it was interesting. There was this one time I had this old beat-up truck that I would drive to to meetings, and I'd pick her up, and it had kind of rust on the inside of the floorboard. I love this truck. I called it my sauna truck. The AC didn't work and the windows wouldn't go down, and and you were gonna, you know, you felt the ride, right? But and I would pick her up and my my sponsor and me, I would drive, and he would come with me, and and uh I would pick up Sister Ruth at the Harter house, and uh she would get in and and she this one time I she would always complain about the truck. When are you gonna get a new truck? And because she didn't like stepping up in it and stuff like that, but but she loved it. But I think she got on the back of my Harley one time. That was fun. But uh as she uh she she goes over to me. We were just talking on the way to the meeting, she said, Chad, I want to give you something. And she whipped out out of her purse, and it's this prayer. And she said, I want you to start praying this prayer. And I said, Okay, thanks, Sister Ruth. And I look at it and it says, prayer for humility. Just thank you very much. It was she had a she had a way with herself, and and I I she was uh a very near and dear to my heart, and she and and I I was very blessed with the opportunity to spend uh private, you know, uh had that opportunity. It was indelibly marked in my life to learning a lot. But anyway, she went on, she was an amazing woman, and she went on, and there was an article in the Anderson paper about her, and she was loved by everybody in the community and heralded, and I mean, I who didn't love Sid, I won't say her name, uh, but but who didn't love her? I don't think she'd care if I did. Um, but she's a hundred years old now, she's still alive, she's a hundred years old. Um and and but she had there was an article in the in the Anderson paper, and she mentioned that she was sober in AA. And oh my gosh, everybody, I mean, it was just this whole, it was an uproar, you know, we can make a mountain out of it, buddy. It was um interesting. The, you know, here's this pillar in our community. I'm uh a true, in my opinion, a saint, a saint. And and people were really upset that she did that. So, you know, so but but the point is, no matter who you are, we're not supposed to to talk about AA, you know, to Lisa's point. You know, you can talk about getting sober and that you've changed your life, but you don't stand behind the marquee and uh the circle triangle and AA itself, you know. So, so that was kind of I I learned that at a at a at a very um early age. There was also um another dear friend of mine. Um, he's gone. Um he was from he was from Alexandria, actually, and he had a recovery workshop or a cover recovery store. And he would he would travel the country and he had, I mean, he had the neatest stuff. This is way before Amazon, right? And he had crazy cool tokens that he made tokens, and he had, I mean, the coolest t-shirts and just slogans, and he was like a marketing genius. And and I mean, so what he would do is he'd put his dog and pony show and he would go to all these big conventions and he would set up set up shop. And I knew he was part of my home group, and and he had he took on a lot of um negativity because a lot of people uh were upset that he was making money off of what they perceived was AA. Well, he was he wasn't, in my opinion, I don't think he was making money on AA. He was he was marketing to a group of people. We didn't have any place else to uh this necklace I got, I got this cross AA's you know, circle triangle that uh that he made. I got it, I don't know, 25 years ago from him. And you know, you can't um nowadays I suppose you can find stuff like that anywhere. But but at the time, you couldn't find stuff like that. So I was grateful for it. And I I thought it was I thought it was um uh an invaluable service that he would, but there was this huge controversy about it. So so I I I talked to him, you know, he would defend himself and like, yeah, people are mad because I do this and that. And like he's not really making money off of AA, he is marketing to a group of us, but he's not actually peddling. But anyway, so that's just I guess that's kind of an opinion. Um, but um uh number 12, ammunity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. And and that that goes back to kind of this just my my story on Sister Ruth, you know, by we're we're not supposed to put a name and a face with with what we we do here. And and uh, you know, we're just grateful. We need to be, we need to practice humility and be recognized that that that we are man, I'm broken. I'm a broken person, and uh, and I need this fellowship and I need this this practice, you know. I look at AA as a practice, like much like a doctor practices medicine, much like a lawyer practices law. I practice AA. And if I couldn't do that, um, you know, not as uh, and I don't need to go and tell people outside of AA, but in AA, you know, I can say my full name. But um outside of here, you know, uh, you know, I can I can I can present it in a much different way, you know. People recognize that I am changed, I'm not the man I was, but I don't have to unless they're specifically asking. So um let me make sure I haven't left anything out. Um, that's really all I have. I really appreciate everybody's time and effort. I was told by Alan I'd be speaking for four hours. So I was much relieved that uh you and I'm sure you are as well. Thank you for your time.