Every year we stay sober, AA gathers another year of proof that this program works. We're all spread out, but we're connected by a common solution. The next suffering alcoholic looking for answers needs us to still be here. That's one reason Founders Day means so much to so many people.
Around this time every year, thousands of alcoholics gather in Akron, Ohio, the birthplace of AA. It's the place where Bill W. met Dr. Bob in 1935. But if they met in May of 1935, why is AA's birthday in June?
Well, Bill already had a little program of action he was practicing. There were only six steps at the time. One of those ideas eventually blossomed into what we know today as Step Nine: making amends. Bob wasn't having it. He refused. And he kept getting drunk.
After a few weeks of not being able to stay sober, Dr. Bob finally threw in the towel and did the amends. On June 10, 1935, he took his last drink and never drank again. That was the day AA was born.
It wasn't the day Bill and Bob met. It was the day AA finally had two members who agreed on the formula for staying sober and were willing to practice it. Since then, millions upon millions of alcoholics have followed that same formula and stayed sober too.
Every Founders Day is another reminder that this thing works. Every year we stay sober adds another year of proof. And the next alcoholic who walks through the doors looking for answers needs us to still be here when they arrive.
Meeting Starter: If it worked for them, why wouldn't it work for you?
