Ad Hoc Committee on Reopening Physical Meetings

Area 44 – Considerations for Reopening Physical Meetings:


Many of us are excited by the prospect of getting back to our meeting rooms, church halls and club houses and restarting in-person meetings again. In that spirit, an ad hoc committee has been created to develop and present guidance to our area members, groups and districts on safely re-opening meetings in our Area.


Throughout the discussions on this subject, considerations on a number of our Traditions surfaced repeatedly. These included:


Tradition 1 – “Our common welfare comes first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity”


Tradition 2 – “For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority- a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern.”


Tradition 4 - “Each group is autonomous, except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.”


We must not lose sight that our group decisions can impact our members, other groups or A.A. as a whole as well as members of our local communities and other entities that may share our meeting space or host facility. So, as individuals and groups, our attitudes and actions should ensure our common welfare, including health and safety, of all individuals around us.


We should also be cognizant of local, state and federal regulations regarding personal interactions and group gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. While outright directives to the membership would be contrary to the spirit of Tradition 2, many members felt very strongly that the “law of the land” was of paramount consideration when establishing an informed group conscience. Please do your due diligence in researching legislative actions that are applicable to your area.


The following represents the committee’s consolidated research, knowledge and experience as of mid- July 2020 and is presented for groups to use as they consider re-opening their meetings.


Has the group reviewed and considered:

  1. All Executive Orders related to COVID-19

  2. Any guidelines, suggestions or rules set in place by the facility or landlord?

  3. Their own group conscience, representing the collective thoughts and decisions of its members?

  4. A.A. best practices based upon the experience of other groups, districts, areas, intergroups, etc.?


How the 7th Tradition contributions will be handled?

1. How will the group implement a physical and/or virtual basket?

How will in-person meetings be managed? Legislation on many of the following items should be considered.

  1. Indoor meetings:

    1. Maximum attendees in-line with the most recent Executive Order

    2. The wearing of masks/face coverings

    3. 6-foot social distancing

    4. No physical contact (hugging, shaking hands, holding hands)

    5. Proper ventilation within the facility

    6. Will the group take temperatures using contactless thermometers

      1. Establish a limit on high temperatures?

      2. Create protocols for helping a member that is not allowed in due to a high temperature? Ideas to consider, you may supply:

        1. Pre-sealed literature (Grapevine, Serenity card, Big Book)

        2. Members name and numbers

        3. List of virtual meetings

    7. No sharing of physical items, materials or equipment (books, literature, window shades, food, beverage)


  2. Outdoor meetings:

    1. Provisions for foul weather (tarp, virtual meeting)

    2. BYOC (bring your own chair)

    3. Will the landlord permit restroom availability and supply access?

    4. The wearing of mask/face coverings

    5. 6 foot social distancing

    6. No physical contact (hugging, shaking hands, holding hands)

    7. No sharing of physical items, materials or equipment (books, literature, window shades, food, beverage)

    8. Can anonymity be protected (busy streets, neighboring homes, businesses, etc.)

    9. Can the group maintain an acceptable noise level

    10. Consider asking the facility/landlord to provide written permission on letterhead if ever needed; it is not necessary that the letter reference A.A., only that permission has been granted

    11. Will the group take temperatures using contactless thermometers

      1. Establish a limit on high temperatures?

      2. Create protocols for helping a member that is not allowed in due to high temperature? Ideas to consider, you may supply:

        1. Pre-sealed literature (Grapevine, Serenity card, Big Book)

        2. Members name and numbers

        3. List of virtual meetings


What safety protocols should be considered?

  1. Will the group provide masks, sanitizer, wipes, etc.?

  2. Has the group discussed with the landlord who is responsible for sanitizing the environment before and after the meeting?

  3. What are the considerations for reducing high touch surfaces (electronic basket, electronic readings, virtual meeting and phone lists, hospitality)

  4. Are any groups providing “single use” items? (pens, cups, personal beverages, etc.)?

  5. Does the group have a Safety Service Person/team? Duties may include the wiping down of surfaces, doorknobs, chairs, handling of PPE equip. etc.?

  6. Will the group notify members if someone gets sick?


Does the group understand contact tracing and its anonymity concerns?

  1. Contact tracing involves identifying people who have an infectious disease (cases) and their contacts (people who may have been exposed) and working with them to interrupt disease transmission. For COVID-19, this includes asking cases to isolate and contacts to quarantine at home voluntarily.

  2. Does the group have a member list?

  3. Will the group keep a record of those attending meetings to assist in contact tracing?

    1. What contact information will be collected? (First name, last initial, email or phone)

    2. For how long will it be kept?

    3. Who will hold the actual list and be responsible for its destruction?


Considerations on how to handle non-complying members

  1. Has the group considered how it intends to monitor and honor its own reopening group conscience? (e.g. – capacity & temperatures)

  2. How will your group be mindful of “safety in the rooms” suggestions?


How to handle “over-capacity” situations

  1. Does the group know its facility’s capacity?

  2. Is there an assigned member to track occupancy and capacity?

  3. Has the group considered hybridi or concurrentii virtual meetings to reduce capacity?

  4. Has the group considered having a sign-up sheet for volunteers who agree to leave the meeting to allow others in when at maximum capacity?

  5. Provide pre-sealed literature and member telephone contact list in a baggie to hand out to newcomers?


Has the group considered hybrid (in-person meeting that is also being held on-line)

  1. Who will communicate the meeting format to Intergroup (meetingupdates@nnjaa.org)

  2. How will the anonymity of these physically present be protected?


i A hybrid meeting is a single meeting with one leader that is broadcast virtually while the in-person physical meeting occurs.

ii A concurrent meeting is held both on-line and in-person at the same time. They each have their own unique leader and group. They do not mix.