Category: Groups

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.

The Strange Camels Group meets Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm for a closed meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

“They sometimes say all you need is a resentment and a coffeepot to start a new group. Drop the resentment, keep the coffeepot, and you had a new group in town. That group was Strange Camels, which started July 1, 2003 at Immanual Presbyterian Church Annex.” The name derives from Bill W.’s early writings where an alcoholic in A.A. is compared to a “Strange Camel” because they both start the day on their knees, can go 24 hours without a drink, and end the day on their knees.

The group started with six homegroup members who were looking for a smaller, more intimate group. The group’s conscience voted to divide the meeting when there are more than 24 people to afford this intimacy, and to allow each person a chance to share.

They now have a core home group of 22, and emphasize staying in the solution and adhering to the 12 Traditions.

The Tradition Three Group meets Monday through Friday at 11:00 am for an open meeting. All meetings are non-smoking.

History:

The Tradition Three group was first listed with the GSO on June 17, 1992. At that time, Carolyn C. served as the GSR and there were five group members. Open meetings were held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays on Mendel Parkway in Montgomery. The Tradition Three Group first appeared in the 1993-94 A.A. Directory.

G.S.O. Archives