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Alcoholics Anonymous in Canada and the US share one service structure. Every year, there is a General Service Conference in New York to discuss and decide important issues facing AA. To ensure fair representation of all AA groups at the conference Canada and the US have been divided into Areas.
These Areas are represented by a Delegate who attends the conference to express the voice and conscience of their Area. Some geographic regions which are densely populated are divided into many Areas. As Manitoba is geographically large but has a small population, the entire province is one Area (Area 80) and has one elected Delegate. Detailed explanations can be found in the AA Service Manual, Appendix C.
Area 80 is divided into districts each comprised of a number of AA groups. Each district has a committee made up of the General Service Representative (GSR) from each group and the elected District Committee Member (DCM). District Committee meetings are held at regular intervals so the groups can inform the DCM about the health of their group. The DCM represents the district at the Area Committee Meeting.
A General Service Representative links their group with AA as a whole. You are your group’s voice at District Meetings and Service Assemblies. Your groups’ conscience goes from you to your district committee, to the Assembly and from there our Area Delegate takes the Area’s conscience to the General Service Conference in New York. The GSR term is two years. Ideally districts and groups hold elections prior to area election assemblies held in October of the second year of each rotation. Rotations are called panels. All Manitoba Area 80 Panels are even numbered years. Chapter 1 of the AA Service Manual goes into the details of this position. There are many other sources of information on learning about being a GSR below.
The Area Committee is made up of DCMs, Service Chairs and Table Officers. Two Area Committee Meetings are held at each service Assembly. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss issues concerning the districts and Area 80.
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