Greeter

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About the Greeter Service Position, from Gratitude in Action, FA's Newsletter about Service

The Newcomer Greeter stands up at every FA meeting, even if there are no newcomers present. This reminds us of the importance of this service position.

• Greeters have several responsibilities:
• Introduce themselves when the meeting’s leader asks greeters to stand.
• Welcome newcomers before and after the meeting, and during the break.
• Answer questions.
• Offer newcomer packets.
• Introduce newcomers to sponsors, if they wish to begin working the FA program.
• Share their own phone numbers.
• Ask the newcomer for his/her phone number, and follow up with a friendly call.
• Point out literature, speaker CDs, and Connection magazine.

Personal Reflections... Greeter

“A welcoming smile and a friendly “hello”  was my first experience at an FA meeting, 6 years ago. I was scared and overwhelmed at the prospect of attending a twelve­ step program. The greeter talked with me, and shared some of her experiences with food addiction. She guided me to the literature table, gave me a newcomer package and introduced me to a sponsor. As I attend my committed meetings now (six years later, with a weight loss of over 50 pounds), I always  try to remember what my first meeting was like, and how a kind and caring person helped me toward the greatest gift I could give myself: recovery from food addiction.

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"Being a greeter has been one of the best service positions I have held in FA. Each time I speak with a newcomer, I have the opportunity to remember my first meeting and how powerful it was for me. I don't specifically remember  who the greeters were, but I do remember how people were willing to talk to me, despite not knowing me. I had no idea what to do at a recovery meeting. The greeters made me feel a little bit better. They gave me hope."

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"What comes to mind for me is going to my first meeting and being touched (and slightly taken aback) that there were people who came up and talked to me, even though they didn't know me. I thought nobody would want to talk to me, let alone strangers. It's very easy for me to be in my own little world at a meeting and forget that the whole purpose is the newcomer. Being a greeter brings my focus back to what's really important. Being a greeter helps me remember what it was like for me when I first came in. It helps me feel like I'm     giving back in whatever small way I can."

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"Although I have often served as the 'official' newcomer greeter in my meetings, there are usually a whole bunch of FA members surrounding the newcomers at my meetings. This is because it is ingrained in us that we are all there to greet the newcomer. We know from our own experience that the newcomer feels awful and confused. Welcoming them keeps the enthusiasm alive in all of us. What a great way to rekindle my own gratitude for the FA  program. When I talk to that person who is just at her wits end with this disease, I am reminded of all the gifts I have received here—gifts I can only  keep if I give them away to that still suffering newcomer.”