Hello and welcome to Sobercast, where we provide A.A. Speaker Meetings and workshops in podcast format.

We're an ad-free podcast, and if you enjoy listening, please help us be self-supporting by visiting Sobercast.com, look for the donate link and drop a dollar or two into our virtual

basket we hope you enjoyed the podcast have a great day you know i'm one of those that's blessed

i get to speak a lot of places and go a lot of places but i don't know that i've ever been more

moved than to be asked to speak here and jo Joe, I want to thank you for that.

I want to thank Bob.

I want to thank the committee.

Those of us who have been involved in big conventions, you have no idea of the work and

dedication and frustration that goes on to put this on just so things could be convenient

for you.

But I also know by seeing this committee and what I've experienced it here,

that it was out of love, that they did it.

Not only that, the members of Alcoholics Anonymous here, the city of Akron.

I mean, I had a bus driver that said,

oh heck, we can take you there and went off route and brought me where I needed to go.

I've decided I'm moving here next week. But everybody's just been delightful, and I am honored to be here,

and I do love Alcoholics Anonymous, I do love God, and I love being sober, and I don't

apologize for it. For a long time in AA, I felt like maybe I had to say something other than God

and maybe I shouldn't be too happy soberer. They'll come to expect it, you know? And the longer

I'm sober, the more I realize that that's the gift that God has given me.

And that's the gift that I want to cherish.

I want to thank the signers.

...