Author: Anonymous Drunk
A drunk in recovery.
MEET ME! in St. Louis — 2030 International
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to be a greeter as we prepare to welcome the world to St. Louis in 2030.
At the International Convention in Atlanta, the first member of the welcome committe I saw was at the airport. Wanting some information about public transportation, I asked. He said, “I don’t know, I’m from New Zealand.” It was irritating at the time. Someone from another country is greeting me in the United States didn’t make sense.
I experienced something similar in Vancouver.
I walked into an area where several greeters were standing together on my left—in a circle, talking to each other. On my right was a younger guy leaning against the wall, vaping, staring at his phone and looking agitated.
Nobody was doing anything terrible.
But nobody was greeting.
Other times at the event, I had basic questions about where a meeting room was. Out of a dozen volunteers at the table, No one seemed to know. None of them were locals and they weren’t prepared. I heard lots of stories from others about that, and still other stories from Midwesterners about how they greeted, but didn’t have any information.
The point is, that a greeter isn’t someone wearing a volunteer badge who happens to be standing near an entrance or someone taking a shift to get a shirt.
Greeting is a verb.
Look up.
Make eye contact.
Smile. 😃
Say hello.
Prepare to answer questions.
Ask if they need help.
Notice the person who looks lost.
And perhaps most importantly:
Don’t stand around talking to the other greeters.
We have less than four years before the AA world arrives in St. Louis. We have time to raise the bar.
When someone travels 500 miles—or 5,000 miles—to come to our hometown, they shouldn’t have to come looking for our welcome.
We should be looking for them.
Submission Deadline by Tomorrow!
Got any ideas? Submit them in comments for inclusion in the contest. Contestants will be voted upon and the WINNER receives a St. Louis 2030 Coffee Mug!
Past Convention Themes
2025 Vancouver – “Language of the Heart”
2020 Detroit – “Love and Tolerance is Our Code”
2015 Atlanta – “80 Years –Happy, Joyous and Free”
2010 San Antonio – “A Vision for You”
2005 Toronto – “I Am Responsible”
2000 Minneapolis – “Pass It On — Into the 21st Century”
1995 San Diego – “AA Everywhere – Anywhere”
1990 Seattle – “Fifty-Five Years — One Day At a Time”
1985 Montreal – “Fifty Years with Gratitude”
1980 New Orleans – “Let It Begin with Me”
1975 Denver – “Unity”
1965 Toronto – “I Am Reponsible”
NOTE: Submissions will be submitted to GSO by their deadline of 10/9/2026. This contest is not related to AAWS or the General Service office.
Hurry!! 2030 International Theme Contest!
GSO is asking for themes for the 2030 International Convention in St. Louis and we’re happy to help!
Submit your suggestion in the comments by September 30th for a place in the contest 😃 The winning suggestion get’s a genuine St. Louis 2030 mug!
PAST CONVENTION THEMES
2025 Vancouver – “Language of the Heart”
2020 Detroit – “Love and Tolerance is Our Code”
2015 Atlanta – “80 Years –Happy, Joyous and Free”
2010 San Antonio – “A Vision for You”
2005 Toronto – “I Am Responsible”
2000 Minneapolis – “Pass It On — Into the 21st Century”
1995 San Diego – “AA Everywhere – Anywhere”
1990 Seattle – “Fifty-Five Years — One Day At a Time”
1985 Montreal – “Fifty Years with Gratitude”
1980 New Orleans – “Let It Begin with Me”
1975 Denver – “Unity”
1965 Toronto – “I Am Reponsible”
Now, there’s already work in progress to create a declaration about service, similar to the Declaration of Unity and the Responsibility Statement, so the theme they choose may be something that reflects giving back, service, or even AA Comes of Age after what happened in 1955 in St. Louis. USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT 😃
Experiences in Vancouver 2025
Working on the bid for the 2025 International Convention to be in St. Louis was a tremendous experience, so traveling 2,300 miles 12 years later to attend the event in a different city, state and country felt strange but powerful! Vancouver is a beautiful city and the folks that put on the event were incredible!
I’ve reminded myself of a parrot for the last 10 years. People talk and ask questions about our steps moving forward and how they can help. I’ve said the same thing: “the local fellowship has nothing to do until 2028, when build the volunteer welcome committee.”
Vancouver changed a lot of peoples minds.
In meetings we call them ‘God winks’. Walking around the convention center, the stadium, my hotel; I found myself speaking with people from Explore St. Louis, AAWS, and a leader in the local welcome committee. People from around the world shared their excitement about coming into St. Louis.
As usual, Thursday night had the kick off street party & dances with various live bands. Great Energy! Better yet, the ICYPAA dance was held Friday Night It was amazing! I’ve never had more fun at an AA dance as I do at the International ICYPAA dance. Being that it was my AA birthday that day, made it even better. Sadly I missed the Saturday night dance.
International Convention Attendance by Year
Big Meetings are always held in the stadiums for the international and Vancouvers BC Place Stadium held meetings Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday Morning.
Moving Forward
One thing that became clear was that we have too much excitement and interested in making the 2030 convention on the back burner until 2028 when GSO appoints the Volunteer Welcome Committee. Chairperson.
Since 2018, people have been in contact asking how they can get involved. In Vancouver that number increased exponentially. Since last month, it’s gotten bigger.
Look at the Numbers
International Attendance Round Numbers
| Year | Convention | Approx. Attendance |
| 1950 | 1st (Cleveland, OH) | ~3,000 |
| 1955 | 2nd (St. Louis, MO) | ~3,500 (20th Anniversary) |
| 1960 | 25th Anniversary (Long Beach, CA) | ~8,900 |
| 1965 | 30th Anniversary (Toronto, Canada) | ~10,400 |
| 1970 | 35th (Miami, FL) | ~10,700 |
| 1975 | 40th (Denver, CO) | ~19,500 |
| 1980 | 45th (New Orleans, LA) | ~22,500 |
| 1985 | 50th (Montreal, Canada) | ~45,600 |
| 1990 | 55th (Seattle, WA) | ~48,000 |
| 1995 | 60th (San Diego, CA) | ~56,000 (record-setting) |
| 2000 | 65th (Minneapolis, MN) | ~47,500 |
| 2005 | 12th International (Toronto, Canada) | ~43,700 |
| 2010 | 75th (San Antonio, TX) | ~53,000 |
| 2015 | 80th (Atlanta, GA) | ~57,000 |
| 2025 | 90th (Vancouver, Canada) | ~ 34,000 |
Onward&
On Monday, October 29, 2018, Eastern Missouri delegate Ian S. received the call from representatives of the General Service Board letting him know that the bid from St. Louis was accepted for the 2030 International Convention. This altered a process that had started in 1993 by the late Virginia “Ginny” J. and the late Ed M., who wanted our fellowship to revisit the principles established at our 1955 International Convention in St. Louis on its 50th Anniversary. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: a Brief History of AA gives a detailed account of the event and what transpired, along with the many in attendance who helped shape our fellowship, and what they did for us.
St. Louis bid for the 2005 and 2025 events before succussfully bidding on the 2030 event. While interest in hosting the event never waned within the fellowship, drastic improvements to Downtown St. Louis after 2005, plus a new level of assertiveness from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Bureau and Downtown STL, inc. have made St. Louis a viable candidate.
Those invovlved in St. Louis AA are ecstatic about hosting the 2030 International Convention. Many can’t wait, but unfortunately they’ll have to. Unlike all the local conventions that require work and adminsistration throughout the year, the International Convention is almost entirely conducted between the event management company (Talley Management Group) and Explore STL, (the St. Louis Convention Bureau) with direction from the General Service Office. Local participation won’t begin until a host committee chairperson is appointed by Eastern Area of Missouri, probably a few years before the event (2028).
Special Thanks goes out to everyone that helped: Explore St. Louis staff, Downtown STL, Inc. , all the Downtown St. Louis hotel Staff that showed support at the arch grounds on July 12th,
the Soul Cracker Band, and all those AA members (who shall remain anonymous) that attended informational meetings, visited groups, passed out flyers, and helped plan the BIG EVENT on July 11th. This was a BIG WIN for the region and was a major GROUP EFFORT, just like AA itself.
There are rumblings within the fellowship about a celebration, or possibly holding another event like our 2018 Street Party Extravaganza each year as a reminder, and really, as time and place for St. Louis and Southern Illinois AA to come together and have fun! Keep an eye out for news…….
YAY STL!!!!
Downtown Trip Planning
With the STREET PARTY EXTRAVAGANZA just 
days away, people are talking to me a lot about their plans to fill up cars, hop on the train and more. People are asking a lot about parking.
Parking
Saint Louis downtown has more parking garages than just about any other major city, so parking shouldn’t be a problem at all. The 9th Street Garage entry is at 923 Olive St. which can be accessed from 11th street or Tucker (would be 12th street) . The Convention Bureau also pointed out that there is a great parking garage at the MX – south of Washington on 7th Street.
Sharing
So now is the time to talk to your homies about doing this party TOGETHER and sharing transportation. In the modern world, we tend to isolate more when we drive, compared to years ago when more people shared rides. Enjoying the ride downtown with friends would be a much better way to enjoy the event and stick together. DO IT NOW!
Metrolink
For those taking the Metrolink, the closest stop is 8th and Pine — 2 short blocks away. Its a beautiful walk too, seeing the fully restored Arcade Buliding, then the fully restored Old Post Office on the left. We’ll have greeters pointing the way to make sure people don’t get lost in those two short blocks.
Free Ride!
For those of you coming from Illinois, there’s a free bus ride leaving St. Clair Sq. for 56 lucky partiers! Contact us at 314-884-8599 for a connection.
Come Hungry!!!!
The Convention Bureau has 5-6 Foodtrucks there to make sure we can enjoy the event and have dinner downtown — just like Food Truck Friday’s! There is a minimum that these trucks have to make, otherwise the cost will be more, so please support the vendors if you can.
Arrival Time
Getting downtown is different from going to the local Applebees. We’d like EVERYONE there by 7pm, and volunteers to arrive by 6pm. Add an extra 10-15 minutes to account for parking / walking etc.
There’s no other major event downtown that night, so things shouldn’t be too busy. Call us at 314-884-8599 if you have any questions!
FIRST 1000 Members!
The first 1,000 people at the event get a stylish bright yellow or neon orange t-shirt!
Do you think that 1,000 people wearing these will get the site selection committee’s attention?
Meeting Makers……WE NEED YOU!!!
Meeting makers have always been popular in AA, and we definately like em. How else would our flyer for the STREET PARTY EXTRAVAGANZA get out. Sort of like bee’s pollinating flowers, meeting makers can help us with the vital leg work to help us bring folks downtown and help bring the 2030 International Convention home for the 75th Anniversary DIAMOND JUBILEE of the 1955 Convention in St. Louis.