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IAC Newsletter – September 1991

  • Steve N.
  • Nov 15
  • 4 min read

IAC Newsletter – September 1991 (Special 10th Anniversary Edition).

(International Advisory Council for Homosexual Men & Women in AA)


IAC Logo: IAC Newsletter – September 1991

The September 1991 special edition of IACTIVITY celebrates the 10th anniversary of the International Advisory Council, offering the most complete and authoritative history of LGBTQ+ AA service ever published. This issue contains foundational documents, early gay AA history from the 1940s–70s, major updates on the IAC’s relationship with A.A. World Services, a powerful essay on LGBTQ+ sobriety, financial reports, and an extensive roundup calendar for 1991–1992.


🎉 Chairperson’s Report — Celebrating 10 Years of Service

Mike Z., IAC Chair, opens the anniversary edition with:

  • Gratitude for 10 years of LGBTQ+ AA service

  • Announcement that this issue features a full historical insert written by IAC founder Nancy T.

  • Introduction of the new masthead featuring:✔ The AAWS-approved AA logo✔ The revised IAC Gay Pride triangle (circle removed per AA logo standards)

  • Confirmation that AA World Services requested the redesign to further legitimize IAC as an AA entity

  • Encouragement for groups to honor the AA and IAC logos properly in their own literature and banners


He also highlights the IAC Board’s trip to Edmonton, Alberta — one of the first major IAC meetings held outside the U.S.


🏳️‍🌈 Vice Chair’s Report — Sobriety Trends in LGBTQ+ AA


Reilly K. reports on:

  • Strength of sobriety among LGBTQ+ AA members

  • Increasing numbers of people with 10–19 years in countdowns at gay roundups

  • How LGBTQ+ AA groups have helped create continuous sobriety since the early 1970s

  • A reminder that “special purpose groups” can absolutely thrive within AA’s primary purpose


Her message is a gratitude-filled celebration of the courage of early LGBTQ+ AA pioneers.


💰 Treasurer’s Report — Record Growth in 1991


Financial highlights show historic increases:

  • Group contributions: $2,610.83 (already surpassing last year’s total)

  • Individual contributions: $967 (almost double 1990 totals)

  • Roundup contributions: $427.54

  • Directory sales: $1,618.36

  • Total income YTD: $5,574.61


Hundreds of LGBTQ+ AA groups and roundups from the U.S., Canada, and Europe are represented.


📦 Special Insert — “How IAC Happened” by Nancy T.


This is the definitive history of LGBTQ+ AA service before GaL-AA existed.

Nancy shares:

🌈 Early LGBTQ+ AA History (1972–1980)

  • 1972: Nancy joins The Gay Group of Washington, D.C.

  • Collaboration with the Friday Night Group (Princeton, NJ) to write The Homosexual Alcoholic pamphlet

  • Her compulsive work building the world’s first LGBTQ+ AA meeting directory by:

    • Calling intergroups nationwide

    • Visiting cities

    • Collecting local meeting lists

    • Hunting for listings like “The Group That Dared Not Speak Its Name”

    • Tracking meeting locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, and beyond

  • Creation of a pamphlet & directory distribution system that eventually reached thousands


📚 Birth of the IAC (1980–1981)

  • Nancy’s cooperation with GSO on gay/lesbian workshops for the 1980 International Convention

  • The first LGBTQ+ AA organizational meeting during the 1980 Washington, DC roundup

  • Early collaboration with New York groups

  • Inspiration drawn from ICYPAA, the Young People’s AA conference

  • January 1981: The first “Acting Advisory Council” forms

  • May 1981: Charter-writing session at the Boston Roundup

  • The name “International Advisory Council for Homosexual Men and Women in AA” chosen after debate

  • IAC formally established in 1981

  • Nancy hands off responsibility and steps back — but stays connected for life


This essay is one of the most valuable archival LGBTQ+ AA documents in existence.


🏳️‍🌈 “Gays & Lesbians in AA Before IAC” — by Rey A.


A groundbreaking historical summary covering:

  • 1949 Boston: first known gay-focused AA meeting (met at the Stag Hotel)

  • 1968 San Francisco: Fell Street Group formed

  • 1970 Los Angeles: AT (Alcoholics Together) founded

  • 1971 Washington, DC: The Gay Group formed — still meeting today

  • 1972–1974: Dozens of new LGBTQ+ AA meetings emerge

  • 1974: AA World Directory begins listing gay/lesbian groups


This article documents the pre-IAC era, bridging the gap between early LGBTQ+ AA meetings and the formation of the IAC.


📨 We Get Letters — Homophobia in AA & Solutions


Member letters respond to a story about homophobia at a Big Book seminar. LGBTQ+ AA members share:

  • Courageous ways they addressed harmful comments

  • How speaking up can change hearts

  • Why educating long-timers matters

  • The importance of protecting newcomers from hurtful remarks


This section remains relevant today.


🎧 Call for Speaker Tapes (30–40 minutes)


International groups — especially in Denmark — request LGBTQ+ AA speaker recordings.

IAC announces:

  • A new Speaker Tape Library

  • Need for a Tape Coordinator

  • Need for contributions before LGBTQ+ old-timers are gone


🏳️‍🌈 International Updates


  • NEW LGBTQ+ AA group in Bournemouth, England opens

  • Regional Rep list grows across U.S., Canada, Denmark, and the UK

  • International mail sponsorship established for a gay AA member in Nigeria


🎉 1991–1992 Roundup Calendar


One of the fullest roundup directories of the early 90s, including:

  • Hotlanta (Atlanta)

  • Rocky Mountain Roundup

  • Gratitude (Toronto)

  • Freedom (Philadelphia)

  • Provincetown Roundup

  • Soberfest Las Vegas

  • Jennings Roundup

  • Houston Roundup

  • Big Apple Roundup

  • River City Roundup

  • Grand Ole Roundup (Nashville)

  • SE Massachusetts Roundup

  • East Bay Conference (Oakland)

  • Florida Roundup

  • Albuquerque Roundup ’92

…along with dozens more.


IAC Newsletter – September 1991

👉 Download the full PDF:


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