Revised main page after committee recommendations, this content is for purposes of review by PI committee for sign off & replacement of original content presently located @ this link.

Public Information (P.I.) in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) began in 1956. The Public Information Committee is one of nine standing committees in Western Washington Area 72’s General Service Structure. Public Information is the oldest committee in Area 72, established in the 1950s and in 1963 the committee was first officially funded by the area. PI service involves means carrying the message of the A.A. Program of Recovery to the still suffering alcoholic by speaking to alcoholics and non-alcoholics and informing the general public about the A.A. program. If you are sober several years and have a desire to serve, you can help! When someone has they’ve had enough, we want A.A. to be there in the Google Searches, the yellow pages, at the library, in the health and fitness classes in middle and high schools, community colleges, undergraduate, on the bus, light rail and ferry signage, hosting a booth at the local fair, parade, health conference, ensuring A.A. literature and meeting schedules are provided at public meeting spaces, such as libraries, hotels, motels, neighborhood centers, senior centers, medical clinics, hospitals, etc. – and that’s Public Information.

When anyone anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that… I AM RESPONSIBLE.

What We Do

Public Information Committee Members meet the general public in-person and online. We may never know how PI members’ speaking engagements connect with a still suffering alcoholic or a potential Al-Anon. We may be the only copy of the Big Book that our audience sees:

  • Create and Deliver Educational Trainings & Power Point Presentations
  • Purchase and Deliver Current Literature and Meeting Schedules for distribution
  • Explain the A.A. Program of Recovery and Anonymity to different groups and institutions, including:
    • Media (local radio, television, newspapers, and the internet)
    • Schools (middle school, high school, undergraduate and community colleges)
    • Industry (organizations such as the chambers of commerce, etc.)
    • Police Departments
    • Fire Departments
    • Faith Leaders
    • Senior Residential Facilities and Senior Centers
    • Libraries and Librarians (provide up-to-date literature and meeting lists, train librarians on aa.org, Area72 and local District websites)
    • Hotels & Motels (provide up-to-date literature and meeting lists and show Meeting Guide App)
    • Hospitals (provide up-to-date literature and meeting lists and show Meeting Guide App)
    • Medical Facilities (provide up-to-date literature and meeting lists and show Meeting Guide App)
    • Bus, Ferry, Train & Light Rail Signage and Advertising
    • General Public
    • Local, county and state conferences and fairs
    • Al-Anon Fellowship
    • A.A. Fellowship (provide trainings on Anonymity, 12 Traditions, Social Media, Safety in A.A.: Our Common Welfare, and how carrying the A.A. message of recovery differs from telling a Member’s personal story of recovery)

Like all of A.A., the primary purpose of members involved with public information service is to carry the A.A. message of recovery to the alcoholic who still suffers. Working together, members of local Public Information Committees convey A.A. information to the general public, including the media.

PI Committee members share their Personal Recovery Story, briefly, and focus on the A.A. Program of Recovery:

  1. Drinking pattern and experience
  2. Why you decided to seek help
  3. What you found in A.A. that helped you
  4. How you feel and what your life is like today

Why We Do It

The first Public Information Committee in A.A. was formed by the General Service Board in 1956. At that time, the following statement of “A.A.’s movement-wide public information policy” was written and approved at the General Service Conference:

In all public relations, A.A.’s sole objective is to help the still suffering alcoholic. Always mindful of the importance of personal anonymity we believe this can be done by making known to those who may be interested in their problems of alcoholism, our own experience as individuals and as a Fellowship in learning to live without alcohol. We believe that our experience should be made available freely to all who express sincere interest. We believe further that all efforts in this field should always reflect our gratitude of the gift of sobriety and our awareness that many outside A.A. are equally concerned with the serious problems of alcoholism.

In 1960, in amplification of the above statement, the board of trustees approved certain guidelines to be followed by the Public Information Committee in the release of information about A.A. to news sources. Among these principles, which may also be adapted to public speaking, are the following:

The release must be factual; boasting, disparagement of other groups concerned with the problem of alcoholism, or engagement in controversy in any form, whether by direct representation or by implication, must be carefully avoided.

We should recognize that our experience to speak about alcoholism is limited in subject matter to Alcoholics Anonymous and its recovery program; hence, any statement in reference to other or broader aspects of the problem of alcoholism should be accurately attributed to authoritative sources outside the movement, identified by name.

How We Do It

Favorite Public Information projects in Western Washington:

  • Placing several copies of Conference approved books, e.g. the Big Book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, and Living Sober in public libraries. Work with librarians on determining which A.A. books they want in their system and on accessing e-books of A.A. literature.
  • Placing literature racks in schools, libraries, clinics and other public locations, and keeping the racks stocked with appropriate literature and local meeting schedules.
  • Providing PDFs of current literature and links to aa.org literature to schools, librarians, faith leaders, police and fire departments, and
  • Mailing letters to middle and high schools, faith leaders, librarians, and senior facilities offering A.A. literature and/or a presentation on A.A. does and does not do.
  • Mailing information (flyers and pamphlets) to senior centers and senior residential facilities.
  • Responding to speaking requests at non-A.A. meetings in the district.
  • Speaking at A.A. home groups to spread the word about P.I. and how it helps us fulfill our primary purpose.
  • Participating and staffing booths with literature at municipal, county and state fairs.
  • Placing meeting schedules behind the front desks of hotels and motels.
  • Training the general public on the downloading and use of the Meeting Guide App: https://www.aa.org/meeting-guide-app
  • Participating in speaking engagements with Al-Anon members.
  • Speaking at A.A. home groups and districts about our tradition of anonymity, 12 Traditions, speaking at non-A.A. meetings, preparing for PI events and Safety in AA: Our Common Welfare.

How You Can Help

The Public Information Committee needs all types of volunteers, from the shy to the bold:

  • We need members to help plan events, to make phone calls and stuff envelopes, to fill literature racks in libraries, schools and other public locations and to build digital literature racks for use in online presentations and sharing of A.A. literature with the general public.
  • We need members who can build and maintain databases of the institutions in their districts and track individuals’ contact information and the history and frequency of contacts made
  • We need members to contact police stations, fire stations, hospitals, medical clinics, motels and hotels, and senior centers and senior residences about placing literature and schedules in their facilities.
  • We need members who would like to learn to collectively speak to groups or as part of a panel, and who are excited at the prospect of going to our middle schools, high schools and colleges to talk about the A.A Program of Recovery.
  • Some examples of presentations: (Embed from PDFs in Appointed PI Shared Drive)
    • Anonymity and the Digital Age (Embed PDF of 2022 A72 Assembly panel presentation) <link required>
    • Speaking at Non A.A. Meetings Trainings (Embed PDF of 2021-22 WA State Fair Volunteer Trainings) <link required>
    • Speaking at High Schools (Embed PDF of 2021-2022 East King County) <link required>
    • Speaking at Colleges (Embed PDF of 2022 Pepperdine University) <link required>

Like all of A.A., the primary purpose of members involved with public information service is to carry the A.A. message of recovery to the general public and to the alcoholic who still suffers. Working together, members of local Public Information Committees convey A.A. information to the general public, including the media.

Are you a new Public Information Committee Member, Representative or Chair? (NEW)

There are a variety of resources for new committee chairs.  Here are some suggestions to help you make the most of your rotation as a District or Intergroup Public Information Chair, Representative or Committee Member:

  • Fill out the Area 72 District Trusted Servant Update form & submit.
  • Contact AA’s General Service Office and let them know you are a new Public Information Chair and ask for a Public Information Kit. They will send it to you free of charge to help you in your service position.  It contains all the pamphlets, literature and videos you will need.  You can reach GSO by email at publicinfo@aa.org or online at: https://www.aa.org/information-for-new-trusted-servants
  • Contact your Area Public Information Committee Chair at pi@area72aa.org and let them know you are the new District Corrections Chair or Representative for your District.  The area PI chair will help you with accessing your area72aa.org email and notify you of upcoming public information events such as:
    • Quarterly: Area 72’s Public Information Quarterlies held every second Saturday in the afternoon in February, May, August and November
    • Annual: North American PI & CPC Conference –
    • They are also a great resource for suggestions on how to approach and access the general public and PI audiences in your District, the institutions and key A.A. members in your district for additional information.
    • Review the Area Public Information Committee webpage it provides access to the literature, videos, PSAs, and website links to much of the public information you will need.
    • Order your A.A. Public Information Kit online here: https://onlineliterature.aa.org/Public-Information-Kit  GSO is experiencing supply chain issues and literature printing backlogs. In the meantime, you are encouraged to assemble your own Public Information Kit using the Public Information Kit Contents [English] as a checklist to hyperlink to, search for and download one copy of most of the information in the kit. Many of the contents are available on this webpage in the Literature section below. If you need further assistance, contact your Area Public Information Chair.

Public Information Events – Mark your Calendar: (NEW)

  • Area 72 Public Information Quarterlies – 2nd Saturday in the afternoon in February, May, August,  November  (except Mother’s Day weekend)
  • National PI & CPC Working Group Meeting – Monthly Online, 2nd Saturday 9 am, Contact the meeting chair at picpceastbay@gmail.com to get on the mailing list.
  • North American CPC & PI Conference – Annually. May 6 & 7, 2023 Online. Contact conference chair at ourgreatresponsibility@gmail.com or 2023picpcconferencechair@area72aa.org
  • Washington State Fair – Annually. 4 days over Labor Day Weekend

Important & Helpful A.A. Literature: (NEW)

Contact Email: pi@area72aa.org

Our Purpose

“We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven’t been given the truth may die” (from A.A.’s Legacy of Service by Bill W.)

Copyright © 2022 Western Washington Area 72 | All Rights Reserved.

1901 Cornwall AVE #745 | Bellingham, WA 98225