May 16 in A.A. History

1941: Ruth Hock learned that Joseph Hooker W., Jr. had a “wet brain.”*
    Joe, an early member of New York City A.A. whom Bill W. called “our first literary light,” was a former writer for Metropolitan Magazine† [right: Sep 1917 cover]—who had recently been “scraped out of the Bowery.”
    He is sometimes credited‡ with coining the title Alcoholics Anonymous around October 1938, reportedly inspired by members’ habit of calling themselves “a nameless bunch of drunks.” According to Bill, Joe made “a burning issue” of the title, though his own sobriety remained “on and off.”

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^*“Wet brain” is the informal term for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a condition caused by chronic alcohol intake. It results from a severe deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) due to inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption from the gastrointestinal tract, and impaired cellular utilization. Without thiamine, the brain cannot process glucose, leading to a loss of energy and function.

^†While some have speculated otherwise, there is no evidence that Joe was a founder of Metropolitan Magazine or a founder and writer for The New Yorker.

^‡The earliest documented use of “Alcoholics Anonymous” as a name for the group and book is “likely” the first week of June 1938, according to William Schaberg. The term appears in Bill W.’s first draft of “There Is A Solution” and in Hank P.’s handwritten notes for the book, both from early June. Lois W. dated its first use to 15 June 1938, and Frank Amos used it in a letter to Albert Scott on 24 June 1938.

Today in A.A. History—May 16–19

2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 70th General Service Conference (GSC) was held online as a so-called “virtual conference” over four days [left: Michele Grinberg, Class A Trustee and A.A. Grapevine Chair addressing the 70th GSC]. With only a month’s notice, the General Service Office staff had scrambled to organize the event and, as a result, only a limited number of agenda items were addressed.
    Advisory Actions included:

9.	That the General Service Conference implement electronic voting for trustee elections starting in 2021.
11.	That all A.A.W.S. video titles be adjusted for search engine optimization (SEO).
12.	That [one] sentence in Article 4 of the current Conference Charter… [b]e amended to read:
	“It will be further understood, regardless of the legal prerogatives of the General Service Board, as a matter of tradition, that a three-quarters vote of all Conference members participating in the vote may bring about a reorganization of the General Service Board and the directors and staff members of its corporate services, if or when such reorganization is deemed essential” [add the four italicized words].

    Of the eight proposed floor actions, all but two were forwarded to the 71st GSC for consideration.
    A floor action to “approve the slate of Directors for Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. as originally presented by the General Service Board to the Conference Committee on Trustees” did not pass. However, a proposed slate of Directors was one of the floor actions forwarded to the 71st GSC.
    The Conference declined to consider extending the 71st GSC by up to three days, an action proposed due to the numerous agenda items deferred from the 70th GSC.