SUR Incorporated

SUR, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation organized for the purpose of holding title to buildings to be used solely by local Alcoholics Anonymous groups. SUR acts as the landlord and is responsible for repairs and upkeep of the two buildings we operate. SUR is an acronym for Service, Unity, and Recovery. The traditions of AA discourage ownership in keeping with spiritual principles, so, like other nonprofits of our kind around the world, we provide stable places for AA and Al-Anon to meet

Our two buildings are located at 1917 W. Avenue N and at 3711 N. Chadbourne. The AA groups who rent them are, respectively, the Sherwood Group and the La Louisiann Group. Over the years, SUR works to keep these buildings attractive and comfortable--places to enhance the feeling of belonging for those who come to AA and Al-Anon.

The assured meeting locations SUR provides allow AA groups to concentrate on their primary purpose--helping alcoholics stay sober. They don't have to worry about a meeting site changing ownership and then having to look for another place and get the word out. The presence of AA in consistent locations heightens awareness of an available recovery path in our community and allows that path to do its work to stabilize family structure and citizen productivity.

Currently, about thirty Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held per week in the two buildings. Meeting sizes range from three to fifty people and up. "Open" meetings are open to interested people, and ASU sometimes sends students from various disciplines, such as psychology and nursing, to observe. Meetings include literature study, speaker meetings, open share meetings, and birthday/anniversary of sobriety meetings. Bar-b-ques to promote fellowship are often held.

AA's sister organization, Al-Anon Family Groups, sublets a room from the AA group on Avenue N and offers five meetings per week with attendance of ten to thirty people at each gathering. Like AA, Al-Anon is a worldwide organization and offers help and friendship to the families and friends of those suffering from alcoholism and addiction. Al-Anon is based on the same Twelve Steps and Traditions as AA. The impact of these programs and the availability of places for these groups to meet and have fellowship with one another is of vital importance to the community.

SUR is a little-known entity. We keep a low profile because any publicity we might receive would cast a spotlight on AA or Al-Anon, our tenants. These programs rely on attraction rather than promotion, and individual members attending meetings at our buildings need the assurance that their anonymity will not be violated by social media and other forms of media. So, we don't advertise or seek attention.

For income, we rely on the groups to pay rent. However, due to the rising costs of property and liability insurance, repairs (both labor and materials), and everything needed to maintain a nice environment inside and outside the buildings, the expenses are becoming too great to ask the AA groups to shoulder via increased rent. We therefore turn to San Angelo Gives as a possible place to increase donations. We have received grants from the San Angelo Health Foundation to make improvements, such as a Dura Last roof, double-pane windows, and ADA compliant restrooms (this one is in progress). But we need more funding for operating expenses.

A bit more about the Traditions mentioned and how they discourage property ownership by Alcoholics Anonymous groups. These Traditions are behind the importance of SUR as a separate entity from AA. The original "long version" of the Twelve Traditions which inspire the conduct of AA as a group is published in the appendices of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Traditions are still emphasized today, in simpler form but with the same heft. The Fifth Tradition (long version) states that "each AA group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose--that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." The long version of the Sixth Tradition states, in part: "Problems of money, property, and authority may easily divert us from our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable property of genuine use to AA should be separately incorporated and managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual." And so, the need for SUR and other organizations like it wherever there is a large Twelve Step recovery community.

Testimonials

AA request for support 2023--I want to ask for your support and prayers for all of us in San Angelo who have been touched by the crisis caused by the Fentanyl epidemic. The Alcoholics Anonymous buildings provide a physical connection for those people suffering from the disease of addiction. The 12-step programs offer our Community members support, fellowship, strength, and hope for lives without addiction to alcohol or drugs...