As adapted and expanded from the SENY history book
A Brief History of A.A. in Nassau County
...what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now...
1940 - The first group in Nassau County started in a member’s home in
Garden City, Manhasset, or Freeport. Our sources all agree to when, but
not to where. Such explains the need for Archives. Many early groups met
in group members’ homes, which is why they were called “home groups.”
At this time our fellowship was five years old.
1946 - The first meeting list printed by New York Intergroup listed 5 meetings
here in Nassau County.
The Baldwin Group met in the Girl Scout Building on Park Avenue in Baldwin
on Sunday and Thursday,
the Mineola Group met in the Old Court House on Old Country Road on Monday
and Friday and
the North Shore Group met on Plandome Road in Manhasset on Wednesday.
While not listed in NY’s printed list, there were also meetings in
Freeport, Glen Head and Valley Stream.
1948 - 1969 - The Manhasset-Roslyn Telephone Service fulfilled a need at a
time when there were relatively few groups on Long Island and membership
was small. The Manhasset-Roslyn Group undertook this service and effort,
unassisted financially by any other group or by New York Intergroup.
The vast growth in population on Long Island, brought with it a greater
demand for A.A. information and a constant increase in activity for the
telephone answering service. The burden of handling the service became
excessive, more trying, and more than any one group could sustain, no matter
how highly dedicated they were.
1970 (June 24) - The members of the A.A. groups in Nassau County voted
overwhelmingly at the Church of the Advent, Westbury to assume the burden
of providing a telephone answering service to help the suffering alcoholic
in Nassau County. This service was called the Nassau Answering Service of
Alcoholics Anonymous. There were 53 groups in Nassau at this time. With the
help of our non-alcoholic clergy friends of the Church of the Advent, this
telephone answering service was set up in the basement of Winthrop Hall,
Advent Street, Westbury. It was the intention of this volunteer group to
establish better communication for Twelve Step calls, for assistance between
all the local Nassau groups and the suffering alcoholic.
1971 (January) - Volume 1, Number 1 of the Nassau Newsletter
distributed to the groups. This newsletter has been published every month
since that time.
1977 (February)- The Nassau Answering Service moved to its own office in
Hempstead.
(September) - The name changed to Central Office for Nassau County and a
proposal was presented to the groups to form an intergroup. 24 hour phone
service was provided.
1980 - The Central Office of Nassau moved to a new office in West Hempstead.
The groups at that time having the “courage to change,” followed
their Higher Power’s guidance and became Nassau Intergroup of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Nassau Intergroup was serving 153 groups and answering 1000 calls
a month by volunteer group members.
1983 - Nassau InterGroup incorporated under the laws of NY State as a non
profit organization.
1989 - Nassau Intergroup outgrew the office they occupied in West Hempstead.
With continued use of the Serenity Prayer, Nassau Intergroup moved to a
larger office in the same building.
1994 (October) - The Institutions Committee serving Nassau left New York
Intergroup and became Nassau Intergroup’s largest standing committee.
The Nassau Intergroup Institutions Committee brings A.A. meetings to hospitals,
detox facilities, rehabs, and the jail in Nassau County every day of the week.
1996 (December 5) - The Ad Hoc Special Needs Committee became a permanent
standing committee at Nassau Intergroup.
1998 - As of this writing, (February 1998) Nassau Intergroup serves over
300 groups. We are all volunteer, fully self-supported through our groups’
contributions. We continue to maintain a 24 hour hotline staffed by volunteer
group members since 1977. We distributed 100,000 meeting lists in the last
year at no additional charge to our members. We publish a monthly newsletter.
We have an active Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC) committee,
Public Information (PI) committee and Speakers Bureau.
1998 (June) - After much discussion, the representatives of Nassau InterGroup
agreed to post its’ meeting list on-line for all to access. This fledgling
website also included copies of the monthly newsletter and the calendar of
events.
1998 (August) - Once again, turning things over, Nassau InterGroup moved
the office. A very short trip, downstairs and next door, but a move to
expanded quarters that were finally handicapped accessible.
2004 (August) - A major revision of the ByLaws was under taken that finally
up graded the Ad Hoc Archives, Corrections and WebSite committees to full
standing positions in Nassau InterGroup.