We are all invited to share, at any time this month, on Tradition 9. The Traditions certainly inform our
*** Tradition 9 ***
“AA., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.”
This Tradition is listed in one of the appendices in the book Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 562). There is a little more in The Long Form, which starts on p. 563, which has more about some of the Traditions, and lists them all together:
“Each A.A. group needs the least possible organization. Rotating leadership is the best. The small group may elect its secretary, the large group its rotating committee, and the groups of a large metropolitan area their central or intergroup committee, which often employs a full-time secretary. The trustees of the General Service Board are, in effect, our A.A. General Service Committee. They are the custodians of our A.A. Tradition and the receivers of voluntary A.A. contributions by which we maintain our A.A. General Service Office at New York. They are authorized by the groups to handle our over-all public relations and they guarantee the integrity of our principle newspaper, the A.A. Grapevine. All such representatives are to be guided in the spirit of service, for true leaders in A.A. are but trusted and experienced servants of the whole. They derive no real authority from their titles; they do not govern. Universal respect is the key to their usefulness.”
There is more about it in the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***
These books may be found at many f2f AA meetings, ordered online from many places, and available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org