Author: Cushing P

The Tallassee Ray of Hope Group meets at 7 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at 3 pm on Sunday. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

When Ray S. got out of treatment in October, 1982, there was no A.A. group in Tallassee.  There had been several groups that came and went, but none had ever been registered with the General Service Office. Ray, being in need of regular meetings, and as a way of helping other alcoholics, was advised by his sponsor to begin a group in Tallassee, which he did in November, 1982.

Meetings were first held in the old Carrville city hall and little by little the group grew.  Ray registered the group with GSO on January 8, 1983.  The group was known as the Tallassee Group. On January 8, 1984, the group held its first anniversary celebration with 67 members and friends from many groups in attendance.

The group continued to meet in the Carrville city hall until January 1990, when the City of Tallassee needed to use the building for other purposes.  The group then moved to the old personnel office over the filter plant at Tallassee Mills, where they stayed until the winter of 1992 when the space was condemned by the city.  In the street again, they found space in the old Robertson Building Supply Store on W. Butler Street.  They held meetings there until the People’s Bank of Carrville bought the property in the winter of 1993.

When Ray passed away in 1993, the group thought it fitting and proper to rename the group in honor of its founder. In January 1994, at the 11th anniversary celebration, the Tallassee Group was officially renamed the Tallassee “Ray of Hope” Group.

After the 1993 move from the supply store, meetings were held in members’ homes until May, 1994, when the group moved to the Kent Community Center, where it remains to this day.  They thank God for this group, and all the members living and dead who have contributed to its success.

The Braveheart Group meets at 6 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays for a closed meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

The Selma Group meets at 12:30 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at 6 pm on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday for open discussion meetings. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

The archives contains a paper written by the wife of an early Selma Group member.  She wrote that a local gambler who had sobered up in A.A. had visited her husband, Glenn, in a local hospital.  He said that he had tried to start a local A.A. group here, but it folded. He felt that because of his reputation as a gambler we would hurt any group with which he affiliated, but he did tell Glenn about the Montgomery Group, its meetings and times. Glenn went to Montgomery and, as recalled by his wife, “Charlie met us at the door with a friendly greeting and warm handshake. He saw that we met everyone.”

Glenn and his wife commuted to Montgomery three times a week for five months.  Glenn then scheduled a meeting in Selma, It was to be held on August 24, 1949 in the Hospitality Room of the Alabama Gas Company, with Charlie A., Montgomery’s founder, and Hal W. as speakers. However, Glenn missed the meeting since he was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix.  Charlie and a large group of Montgomery members went to the hospital and visited Glenn after the meeting.

So it began and so it has continued with people helping people, some being successful from the beginning, others after a slip or two, but everyone having the chance to find sobriety if they really want it.

The 5th Tradition Group meets every Friday night at 6:00 pm for a closed discussion meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

The Autauga S.O.S. Group meets for a closed discussion meeting at noon on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and for a closed discussion women’s meeting on Saturday at 9 am.

The Millbrook Serenity Group meets Tuesday nights at 7 pm for an open discussion meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

The Millbrook Serenity Group held its first meeting on January 4, 2000. This was actually the fourth time a meeting was started in Millbrook, and the second time at the First United Methodist Church.

In the beginning, as with many new groups, only one person showed up. Today you can find as many as 24, but the group averages about 12 to 15 each week. There are around seven members who attend regularly, and there are generally quite a number of new people — often court referrals.

When a newcomer is present, the meeting is directed to them, so you can actually refer to Millbrook Serenity as a “newcomers'” group. The group is located in the Hester House of the First United Methodist Church, which is wheelchair-accessible. They welcome all newcomers, old-timers, and visitors with the same Southern hospitality.

P.O.S.T. Newsletter, July 2002

The Maplesville Group meets at 8:00 pm on Sunday for a closed discussion meeting, and on Friday at 8:00 pm for an open discussion meeting. On the third Friday of every month they hold an open speaker meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

The Camellia City Group meets on Monday and Thursday at 7:00 pm for closed discussion meetings. All meetings are non-smoking. There is an Al-Anon Family Group meeting at the same time and location on Thursday night.

The Clanton Group meets on Monday and Saturday at 7:00 pm for an open discussion meeting, on Thursday at noon for a closed Big Book study. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

The Clanton Group was started in February, 1950.  There were three people at that first meeting, and two more at the second.  These five members formed the group, and are considered the co-founders: Red W., Myrtle W.J., Joe J., Cecil E., and Raymond P.  The archives contains a copy of a contract between a Mrs. Upchurch and the A.A. Club of Clanton Alabama for the lease of a hall located over the Klinner Furniture Store on Seventieth Street North, to commence on January 1, 1958.

The Clanton Group met at two locations — this one and another location in Thorsby — for a number of years.  The Thorsby location closed its doors on July 1, 2015 when their meeting space was no longer available to them.

The Clanton Group meets in two locations — this one in Thorsby, and another just down the road in Clanton, Alabama.

At the Thorsby location, the group meets on Tuesday at 7:00 pm for an open discussion meeting, on Friday at noon for a closed discussion, and on Sunday morning at 8 am for an open discussion. All meetings at this location are non-smoking.