Archives Committee
See Main Committee Page for meeting dates/times
The Archives Committee maintains a variety of papers, recordings, business meeting minutes, and photographs that document the rich history of Alcoholics Anonymous in the Tampa Bay area. In addition, we maintain a collection of first edition AA literature.
Here’s a brief statement on the founding of AA in Tampa:
On April 13, 1942, Helen D. contacted the New York office of AA on behalf of her husband, Bill S. D., who wished to start an AA group in Tampa. Bill had joined the organization in Illinois before his job transferred him to Florida. Although the AA group list was immediately amended to include “The Green Star Group” in Tampa, the group’s first meeting did not take place until the end of 1943, when 6 alcoholics met in a member’s home. Interest in the organization soon increased, and Bill W. and his wife Lois visited Tampa in May of 1944. The group eventually secured permanent quarters on Franklin Street, taking the name the Franklin Street Group (or “the Downtown Group”) after a new group, the Desoto Group, began meeting at the Desoto Hotel in November of 1944.
To learn more about the history of AA in Tampa or to join the Archives Committee, please contact the Archives Committee. Click here to email the Archives Committee