Circle and Triangle Question

Recently, the use of the circle and triangle symbol on our flyers was brought into question. We talked about this at our last business meeting. Here is what we decided to do:

1. Our monthly speaker meeting is a meeting as defined by Tradition 3 “Any 2 or 3 alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an AA group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.” Since we are a group, we will register with GSO.

2. Having named entertainment on our flyers could be interpreted as “affiliation”. In the future, we will not name entertainment on our flyers. For example – for our January event we are having the Redding Improve Players provide entertainment. Our flyer calls out the Redding Improv Players as being our January entertainment. This could be “affiliation”. Instead, the group decided it would be better to say that “improv comedy” will follow our speaker meeting. This same ideal will apply to DJs and all other entertainment.

Here is the history of the circle and triange symbol to the best of my knowledge:

AA did have that it as their legal symbol from 1955 to 1994. After 1994 they let their rights to the symbol go and the logo is now free for anyone to use.

Here is an excerpt from the AA web site:

"Q: What is the story behind the Circle and Triangle logo?

A: The Circle and Triangle symbol has long been connected to the A.A. Fellowship. It was adopted as an official A.A. symbol at the International Convention in St. Louis in 1955, and from that point on was widely used in the Fellowship. For the Fellowship, the three legs of the triangle represented the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service, and the circle symbolized the world of A.A. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Bill W.’s 1955 speech, in which he describes the adoption of the symbol, is printed:

'Above us floats a banner on which is inscribed the new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.’s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. That we have chose this particular symbol is perhaps no accident. The priests and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off the spirits of evil, and A.A.’s circle and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service has certainly meant all of that to us and much more.' (p. 139)

Nevertheless, in the early 1990s, A.A.W.S. decided to phase out the use of the Circle and Triangle symbol on its literature, letterhead and other material. It was decided to phase out the “official” or “legal” use of the Circle and Triangle symbol, and in 1994 the General Service Conference resolved that the logo be discontinued on all Conference-approved literature. However, the symbol is still associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (and other kinds of 12-Step recovery fellowships) and has a special meaning for AA members all over the world."

Taken from: http://www.aa.org/subpage.cfm?page=287

Improv in January

Bingo was great! Folks came together, as always. Thanks to our speakers and to all those who contributed.

We took inventory at our last business meeting. We will review our inventory throughout the year so that we can better serve the alcoholic who still suffers.

We will have an improv group after our speaker meeting in January. Come out and be a part of. Flyer is at the bottom of the page.

ACYPAA is right around the corner. Time to start planning for the trip and our bid to get the conference to Redding.

I am grateful to be a part of this group!
-Ed