General service began to form in the late forties, and they held the first general service conference in 1951. The General Service Office mapped out into districts and areas in the US and Canada. By the late eighties and early nineties all or most of the districts in Greater Cincinnati were inactive. Over the next few decades, there were a few unsuccessful attempts to reactivate individual districts in Cincinnati.
Next, someone from Cincinnati was visiting a friend and attended a district meeting in another part of Ohio. She came back to Cincinnati wondering why we don’t have active districts in Cincinnati. She contacted the central office in Cincinnati and asked how to start district meetings. She was told to find a meeting place and invite all those she could find who were interested in reactivating districts in Cincinnati.
Then someone in Cincinnati noticed that in Hamilton-Fairfield area districts 12 & 13 were working to gather as one district. So, the idea of uniting districts 1-10 was conceived and only one of the members at the first meeting was a GSR. This small group knew that a District Committee Member (DCM) must be elected by General Service Representatives (GSRs). The went on for months and finally there were three GSRs and several others present at a meeting, and someone said, let’s hold our first election.
Finally, at that very meeting those GSRs elected a secretary, DCM, alternate DCM, and treasurer. They decided to open a checking account and get a P.O. Box. At the next meeting they started forming a structure or bylaws. They appointed some standing committees chairpersons and gave them a voice and a vote. The new DCM started participating in area 56 committee meetings and area assemblies. He also became active in the Greater Cincinnati Intergroup and served as chairperson of the Grapevine committee. To make things fun, because we are not a glum lot, he wore a grape suit for area assemblies and intergroup events. At one point he even served on the intergroup board.
By the end of 2019, the new districts were doing well. Then, the pandemic hit. Both district and area meetings went virtual. Some were concerned about districts 1-10 survival. Then something amazing happened. Not only did the groups come together, but they grew and became more active. In no time, it seemed like everyone was on Zoom. Contributions dropped but continued to come in and expenses were minimal. The biggest expense for districts and areas is sending representatives to meetings. However, in a time of virtual meetings nobody is reimbursed for travel. Before long districts 1-10 along with other districts in areas had a surplus of funds. Our 7th tradition teaches us too much money is not a good for us.
Young districts begin to find other ways to be of service to the still suffering alcoholic both inside and outside our meetings. They begin to distribute pamphlets and books to homeless people who may have a problem with alcohol. They purchased display ads on the inside of metro buses that said, “If you want to drink that’s your business. If you want to stop that’s ours. We’re Alcoholics Anonymous call us at 513-351-0422 24/7.” At the same time of this surplus central offices and our General Service Office we’re struggling. Their expenses to maintain buildings, personnel, and supplies remained the same though contributions were down because meetings we’re not meeting in person and passing a basket. During this troubling time districts 1-10 made contributions to both the General Service Office in NY and Central Service Office in Cincinnati.
Today, Districts 1-10 have rotated service positions four times. They finally started meeting in person again just a few months ago. At the election meeting in November, they elected a DCM, Alternate DCM, treasurer, and secretary. Their numbers continue to grow. It was an amazing thing to witness these budding districts reactivated and bringing so many into general service. It is our hope that the districts of Cincinnati continue to grow and split in more districts. Perhaps one day all 10 districts will flourish again individually and still be united.