What is AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous??
The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to quit drinking.
Alcoholics Anonymous began in 1935 in Akron, Ohio, as the outcome of a meeting between Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron surgeon. Both had been hopeless alcoholics.
Bill emphasized that alcoholism was a malady of mind, emotions, and body. Both men began working with alcoholics at Akron’s City Hospital and one patient that they worked with achieved complete sobriety. These three men made up the first AA group (though the name Alcoholics Anonymous was not yet used).
In the fall of 1935, a second group of alcoholics slowly took shape in New York. A third appeared at Cleveland in 1939. It took four years to produce about 100 sober alcoholics in the three founding groups.
Early in 1939, the Fellowship published its basic textbook, "Alcoholics Anonymous". The book explained AA’s philosophy and methods, and the core of this work is now well-known as the "12 Steps".
From this point, AA’s development was rapid. As of today, AA is active in over 150 countries and its basic text has been translated into over 70 languages.
Alcoholics Anonymous came to the Brazos Valley in 1947 when a group was started in Bryan. It spread to the surrounding areas, with the Brenham group starting in mid 1960's and originally meeting in the basement of the courthouse.
When COVID hit, most groups and meetings moved to Zoom, and some disbanded. One AA group in College Station applied to the local police department for permission to keep meeting in person
since they deemed it medically necessary for their members. Their request was granted, and their group held multiple meetings a week in one of their member's garage and on their back porch throughout COVID.
After COVID, most AA groups resumed in-person meetings. 6 Groups went dark permanently, but there have been 5 new Groups established since then.
There are currently 37 AA groups in our local district, from Brenham to Bryan to Madisonville to Hearne to Cameron, with 131 meetings each week. To find a local meeting visit. www.bvig.org
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