WHAT I LEARNED: There’s also info in this guideline about the Alternate District Rep &, if needed, they can serve as several other positions as well such as Secretary, Treasurer, or Public Outreach contact.  Whew – hopefully not all once! 😄

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**UPDATE (5/5/17): This guideline was revised in 2014 & the changes are somewhat substantial.  It was previously 2 pages & is now 3 total to give more space to a larger expense sheet example.  Listed below are a few update examples:

• • • The title has changed from the singular “District Representative” to now be plural: “District Representatives.”
    • The World Service Office’s (WSO’s) newsletter “Group e-News” is referenced.
    • There is a definite shift to communicating electronically rather than by regular mail or newsletters.
    • Any references to the service event “Regional Service Seminar (RSS)” have now been changed to: “Together Empowering Al-Anon Members (TEAM).”
    • The e-Communities Discussion Board appears as a resource tool.
    • A reference to the WSO’s two websites (“www.al-anon.alateen.org & www.al-anon.alateen.org/members”) appear as clickable links!!! 🎉
    • The word “Alateen” appeared only 7 times in the 2003 version, but now appears 13 times in this 2014 version. 
    • The WSOs website address (www.al-anon.alateen.org) also now appears on this guideline at the bottom of page 2. 

Because I’ve now started the “CAL Chat” podcast, it’s probably obvious that my favorite line in this guideline is: “There are many resources for members and groups posted on the Members’ Web site, including the complete Service Manual, Al-Anon/Alateen Guidelines, and group service podcasts.”

If you’d like to see all the changes that were made, I’ve highlighted them on this 2014 Version of G-37.

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***BONUS CAL QUESTION: What pamphlet still mentions both “Regional Service Seminars (RSSs)” & “TEAM (Together Empowering Al‑Anon Members)” service events?  (Hint: see item # AR-2!)

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****UPDATE (10/13/21): This guideline has been recently revised in 2021 & the changes are minimal – mostly grammatical/punctuation corrections & changes made to keep up with the latest trends in technology.  Listed below are a few update examples:

• • • The title has gone back to the singular “District Representative” version instead of being plural.  (Not really sure why since most of the other guidelines for service positions are pluralized…)
    • The word “district” is now capitalized.
    • The words “web site” & “e-mail” now appear as one word: “website” & “email.”
    • Any references to the service event “Together Empowering Al-Anon Members (T.E.A.M.)” have been removed completely.
    • References to the “e-Communities” & “group service podcasts” have been removed. 😢
    • A reference to WSO’s two websites (“www.al-anon.alateen.org & www.al-anon.alateen.org/members”) has been replaced with the World Service Office’s shortened website address: al-anon.org – without the “www” prefix oh by the way – but it’s strange that it’s not a clickable link like the other 2021 revised guidelines. 🤷
    • Both the shortened WSO website & the email address (wso@al-anon.org) now appear for the first time on this guideline at the bottom of page 2. 

I’m a little surprised that the “In The Loop” newsletter was not mentioned in this update since the previous one mentioned “Group e-News.”  Also maybe on future updates, anytime another guideline is referenced within the text, hopefully it will be a clickable link since WSO’s hyperlink addresses for the guidelines don’t change even though the documents behind them do.  It would be nice to see these guidelines a little more interactive – just sayin’!

If you’d like to see all the changes that were made, I’ve highlighted them on this 2021 Version of G-37.  And a clean, unmarked electronic copy of this new 2021 version can be downloaded directly from the World Service Office website by clicking this link: G-37 Guideline