Chattanooga Area Central Office Services
What is a Central Office?
A central office (or Intergroup) is an A.A. service office that involves partnership among groups in a community - just as A.A. groups themselves are partnerships of individuals. A central office is established to carry out certain functions common to all the groups - functions which are best handled by a centralized office - and it is usually maintained, supervised, and supported by these groups in their general interest. It exists to aid the groups in their common purpose of carrying the A.A. message t the alcoholic who still suffers.
- taken from "A.A. Guidelines - Central or Intergroup Offices"
Services of Chattanooga's Central Office
Handling AA inquiries
By providing an Alcoholics Anonymous listing in the local telephone directory and retaining an answering service, the Central Office receives inquiries from those seeking help. We may refer the caller to a nearby A.A. group, or have a twelfth stepper contact them. Our Central Office is also the ideal contact with those in the community seeking information about A.A. We work in close cooperation with the Public Information (PI) and Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC) committees. The Central Office is a primary contact for local correctional and treatment facilities. We make arrangements to provide literature and volunteers for their meetings, and can help arrange contacts for those about to be released, if requested.
MEETING INFORMATION
At regular intervals, the Central Office publishes and distributes an up-to-date list of meetings and other information about A.A. services in the local area.
Information Exchange
Central Office, particularly in context with Intergroup meetings, provides a clearinghouse for the circulation and exchange of event and program information among all the groups in the community. We copy groups' flyers for distribution, put information in our local newsletter, The Gratitude Times, and share information on the new Central Office Website.
Local Events
Several times throughout the year, the Central Office holds a variety of fund-raising entertainment events for the community. Also, we help get out the word on other special events being offered by individual groups in our area.