August 11 in A.A. History

In 1937, Paul [right] and Hildreth S. from Akron, Ohio, arrived in Brooklyn for a visit with Bill and Lois W. They would leave on 15 August.

In 1938, the Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation—Frank Amos [far left], Willard Richardson [center left], and Bill R. [near left]—held their first meeting. John Wood was unable to attend; Dr. Bob S.^* had sent a handwritten proxy letter authorizing Richardson to vote on his behalf, adding, “I instruct him, however, to vote for Mr. Frank B. Amos for Treasurer of said Foundation.”
    The six-day delay in officially establishing the Foundation was due to the time it took to mail the “Trust Indenture” document to Dr. Bob for his signature and notarization, which occurred on the 10th. The signed package from Dr. Bob arrived in New York City on the meeting date.
    

The Trustees met at the Honors Dealers office on the 6th floor of 17 Williams St. in Newark, New Jersey, where Ruth Hock [right], a secretary at Honor Dealers at the time, provided administrative assistance. At this first meeting, Frank Amos asked Hank P. to provide an update on their progress. Hank reported the following statistics on the “Eastern Section”:

    41    alcoholics recovered (“Definite on the ball” per Hank)
      6    alcoholics in the questionable class
    12    hopeless alcoholics (“so difficult practically denied” per Hank)
    10    alcoholics recovered but out of touch
    25    prospects 

     The Foundation and its office would eventually be known as the General Service Board and General Service Office, respectively. Ruth Hock would later become A.A.’s first National Secretary.

---

^*Dr. Bob did not attend any of the official Board of Trustees meetings during the critical period of 1938.