July 29 in A.A. History

Today in A.A. History—July 29–August 2

In 1971, a 21-member General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous met for the first time in New York City. With the election of nine new members at the April General Service Conference (GSC), the Board reached a 2:1 ratio of Class A (alcoholic) Trustees to Class B (non-alcoholic) Trustees. This completed a reorganization begun by the 1966 GSC and advocated by Bill Wilson since before 1955. Historically, the GSB had always maintained a majority of non-alcoholic members. The 2:1 ratio has remained largely unchanged since [right: Report of the Trustees’ Nominating Committee to the 1971 GSC; all nominees were were approved by the GSC Trustees’ Committee and elected by the GSC].