Group History

In the spring of 2016, a group of friends started meeting weekly to study and discuss the traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The group enjoyed getting together and discussing AA so much that we decided to turn the informal gathering into a formal AA meeting. Most of the group lived in Concord, CA and wanted to develop a group that would serve the Concord community. Planning meetings were held at the homes of founding members. The group came up with several objectives that would serve as the foundation of the meeting. The objectives were:

1. A sound Intro to Alcoholics Anonymous.
2. Fun.
3. Milestones under a year to be celebrated weekly.
4. Fun.
5. Literature based (Group felt there already plenty of speaker/discussion meetings in Contra Costa County, CA).
6. Fun.
7. A meeting that functions as a group and would be attractive as a homegroup option.
8. And FUN! Did we say fun? We really like fun.

Our name, Get Sober, Win Prizes! was selected partly as a tongue in cheek nod to the many joyful gifts of a sober, spiritual life and partly to reflect the fun to be had in recovery. The first few meetings were held at a member’s home until our first official meeting. On January 14th, 2017, the group held its first official meeting at the Salvation Army on Clayton Road in Concord, CA. The first pamphlet read by the group was This is AA - An Introduction to the AA Recovery Program. We still read the pamphlets today and sometimes mix it up with Living Sober, Grapevine books, articles, or other AA approved literature, followed by discussion. The last Monday of the month is our speaker meeting and birthday night. On Birthday night, we celebrate annual sobriety anniversaries. Typically, an AA friend or sponsor will present a chip and the person celebrating tells us a bit about how they’ve stayed sober. And yes! We do send out prizes!

In 2019, we moved from the Salvation Army to the Odd Fellows Hall on Cowell Road. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, we didn’t waste any time getting up and running online. The group quickly realized the value of having an online presence during those early days and purchased our own Zoom account, in alignment with the 7th tradition. We adapted, by modifying our commitments, swapping coffee maker for tech host, and so on. In 2021, after seeing how effectively we could carry the AA message in an online format, the group voted to stay permanently online. Our attendance has grown from roughly 20-25 per week to 40-45 per week since we got listed on the Online Intergroup website. At least 10 of those in attendance weekly are homegroup members. In April of 2021 we hosted a family focused Socially Distanced picnic complete with a Covid molecule shaped piñata and a magician! Everyone was so happy for the chance to share some time together in real life. We now have a fellowship coordinator that plans quarterly in-person events for our local members. We hope to continue exploring ways to maintain fellowship and community while we figure out what it really means to be a virtual meeting.

All of our service commitments are fulfilled, and we have always had enthusiasm for service. Our group service commitments include Grapevine, General Service, General Service Alternate, Intergroup, and H&I reps. We hosted the 50th grapevine Birthday party at our local Unity Day in November 2019. We also take our groups Health seriously. We hold monthly business meetings and hold bi-annual group inventories.

We consider ourselves forward thinking. We have always accepted electronic 7th tradition. We disburse funds to Intergroup, District, Area, and the New York General Service office frequently. We use Facebook secret groups to share Information and have discussions and celebrate life together. We have a website and an email. Check us out at GetSoberWinPrizes.com. Or email us at GetSoberWinPrizes[at]gmail.com.

Perhaps our favorite goal realized, is that our meeting has attracted and retained several newcomers. We’ve even got some pandemic babies.

When it comes to sobriety we don’t mess around! But I think it is an accurate assessment to say that we really have found the joy of living.

Please join us online Monday nights at 6:30pm. Come for your birthday! Bring a newcomer... we’ve got prizes for you!