area 32 map icon

Alcoholics Anonymous

CMIA32

Central Michigan Intra-Area 32

service coin

Save the Date: August 22, 23, & 24, 2014

62nd Michigan State Convention

Hosted by Central Michigan Intra-Area 32

Return to State Convention page

Speaker Biographies

Friday Night: Linda Lee P, from Lake Balboa CA

Over 13 years ago, I was afraid to go to the market alone. I was full of fear about everything and everybody. I was a victim of circumstances and was lost in domestic violence and various addictions. I could not see any way out and I believed that life would never change. However, with the help of God and various mentors, I was able to break loose from my “prisons” and began to live life anew. I’ve learned to take full responsibility for my choices and actions.


Saturday Night: Albin Z. from Long Beach, New York

Albin Z., of Long Beach, New York, was selected to serve as general service trustee on the Grapevine Board at the 63rd General Service Conference. He has been active in local and county service since getting sober in January, 1989. “My first home group in Mt. Vernon, NY, became my classroom for life. I was taught by my sponsor and the men and women who came before me how to live without drinking, one day at a time.”

A publishing professional who served on the Grapevine’s Editorial Advisory Board from 2006-08 and as a nontrustee director on the Grapevine Board from 2009-13, Albin has over 30 years’ experience in the newspaper publishing industry, starting out as an advertising sale account executive, moving on to become director of communications for a weekly newspaper in the Bronx, and ultimately taking a position as publisher of a New York communications company.

“This position of service on the board will provide a unique opportunity for me to combine my professional experience with my love of our fellowship. I hope to draw on the wonderful experiences I have had as a non-trustee director on the Grapevine board and my participation in the trustees committees on which I have had the privilege to serve. The Literature, P.I., C.P.C./Treatment/Special Needs-Accessibilities and Corrections committee work has been nothing short of inspiring and has truly enhanced my sobriety.”

Recognizing the changing nature of publishing and how it relates to his A.A. experience is one of the challenges Albin will face in his time on the board. “Our responsibility of carrying the message of AA in this ever changing digital world without forsaking our Traditions, diluting our message to the still-suffering alcoholic, or losing sight of A.A.’s primary purpose, will be one of our greatest challenges.”


Sunday Morning: "Barefoot" Bill L. from Dunellen, NJ

Barefoot Bill's sobriety date is June 3, 1991. For 3½ years in (or rather around) AA he suffered in "so-dry-ety", being "stark raving sober" because of only going to meetings and doing little else by way of a recovery program. Thanks to a series of coincidences ("God-incidences"), he was directed to a Big Book Workshop.

He there discovered for the first time that AA's solution to alcoholism has THREE parts - not just (1) going to meetings, but also (2) working and reworking all 12 Steps, and (3) being of service to others expecting nothing in return. He then set out to work the entire AA Program instead of "his" program and to study the 12 Steps in the Big Book as they were practiced in the early days of AA.

He is an enthusiastic AA member with a passion for AA history and for helping others transform their lives through our miraculous 12 Step Program - not just relief but FREEDOM from self-sabotage, misery, and lack. Our Program is not just about change, it’s about TRANSFORMATION. He knows this because he has experienced it himself and has helped thousands of others experience it too. He lives in north New Jersey with his sweetheart Lena and their three cats Shaolin, Leela, & Rumi.

This page last updated on August 13, 2014