Conference

Today was the Western States Gamblers Anonymous Conference in San Diego. My wife and I attended and we had a great time. The volunteers (and by the way they were all volunteers!) did a fantastic job. Registration, workshops, lunch, dinner and brunch all went off without a hitch. It was a first class conference and all of the attendees and committee organizers should be commended. I am so thankful my sponsor allowed me to be a part of the workshop on trust. We had about 100 people in the workshop and the participation from the audience was outstanding. I don't think anyone fell asleep and this is always a good thing!!

I was a little nervous because there was a lot of recovery time in the audience. I was almost embarrassed to tell everyone I had only 7 plus months of recovery but I do realize everyone has to start somewhere. I was able to warm up the room with the introduction and a brief story about how I got to Gamblers Anonymous and since the workshop was on Trust the emphasis of my story was on broken trust. Not only did I break the trust with my employer, I broke the trust of my wife, family and friends.

The workshop was great because not only were there Gamblers Anonymous Members there were Gam-Anon (those who are NOT compulsive gamblers yet were affected by the gambling of a loved one) members in the audience. Some of the subject matter pertained to the Gam-Anon members more so than the GA members. There was a great deal of audience participation and some wonderful insight on trust, justice and revenge. We were allotted an hour and 15 minutes but since we were the last workshop of the day we ran about 15 minutes long and no one seemed to mind. I was so proud to be a part of this workshop and conference; I continue to learn more and more each day and the more involved I get into GA the more I learn.

Many people came up to my sponsor and I after the workshop and complimented us and how good the workshop was. In fact one of the organizers from the next GA conference in Boston asked us if we would do the workshop for their conference. Obviously I cannot commit to something next Spring but my sponsor told me to plan on going to Boston. I certainly would love to go to Boston next Spring but I do know there are many factors which would prevent me from going but I do know I am doing the right things in my recovery and some day I will be able to plan for things six months in advance.

My wife was able to attend the Gam-Anon workshops and she seemed to absorb a great deal of useful information. I am so blessed to have her support and the fact that she is participating in Gam-Anon is a true testament to the wonderful character of my wife. She is an extraordinary person to put up with me and see we get through this very difficult time. We were able to stay the night at the hotel because it is our anniversary weekend (Our 13th anniversary is Monday and more on that Monday!) and were able to go out to a very nice dinner in the evening. It was so nice to get away and spend some good quality time with my wife, she is my shining star!