HAT

When the Hat Decides: A Lesson in AA Service, Humility, and Unity

Recently, I had the privilege of standing for the position of Alternate Chair at our Oregon Area’s quarterly assembly. Six of us made ourselves available, each presenting a service résumé and a willingness to serve.

What unfolded wasn’t just an election. It was a living, breathing demonstration of the spiritual principles that keep Alcoholics Anonymous alive: humility, trust, patience, and, above all, unity.

The Third Legacy in Action

For those unfamiliar, AA’s Third Legacy: Service stands alongside Recovery and Unity as one of the three spiritual pillars of our Fellowship. When we elect trusted servants, we use a process unlike any political system in the world. It’s called the Third Legacy Procedure, and it was designed with one goal: to keep ego in check and allow God, as expressed through the group conscience, to guide our decisions.

In the early 1950s, as AA expanded, Bill W. recognized that our growing Fellowship needed a method of choosing delegates and trustees that would remain true to AA’s spirit. Politics and ambition had no place here. His solution was a voting process rooted not in competition, but in principle.

The Third Legacy Procedure belongs to AA’s Legacy of Service and was intended to honor three truths:

• Leadership is a trust, not a triumph.

• Authority belongs to the group, not the individual.

• God’s will, not self-will, decides the outcome.

How It Unfolded

Our election began with 213 total votes cast. Here’s how it went:

• First Ballot: 94 votes for me, 59 for Jen S., 22 for Nick M., 19 for Patrick, 15 for Colleen, and 4 for Kevan. A two-thirds majority of 142 was required, so we moved to a second ballot.

• Second Ballot: 119 votes for me, 53 for Jen, 18 for Nick M., 15 for Colleen, 13 for Patrick, 5 for Kevan. Still short of the 142 needed.

• Third Ballot: With anyone receiving less than 20% removed, it narrowed to two names — 125 for me, 86 for Jen. The two-thirds majority was still 142.

• Fourth Ballot: 132 for me, 86 for Jen. Close, but not enough.

• A motion was made and passed to move to a fifth and final ballot.

• Fifth Ballot: 135 votes for me, 78 for Jen. Still short of 142.

Per the Third Legacy Procedure, the top two names were then placed in the hat. A new GSR, Joseph from District 15, was asked to draw the name.

He reached in.
He pulled out Jen’s.

And just like that, she became our new Alternate Chair.

Concept XII and the Spirit of Unanimity

AA’s Concept XII tells us that our Conference “reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity.”

That phrase may sound bureaucratic, but it’s one of the most spiritual safeguards in our structure. It ensures that our unity, not our majority, carries us forward.

A simple majority can divide. Substantial unanimity invites patience, prayer, and listening. It asks us to seek the voice beneath the noise, the one that speaks for the common welfare of all.

When that fails to emerge, and the vote is given to the hat, it becomes a symbolic act of surrender. In that moment, the Fellowship collectively says, God, You choose.

That’s not politics. That’s prayer in motion.

What It Felt Like

I won’t sugarcoat it, it hurt. To hold the majority through five ballots and still lose felt, in the most human way, unfair. I believed I was qualified, ready, and perhaps even meant for the position.

But that’s where the deeper lesson began.

As the room quieted, my name still echoing faintly in the air, I realized that this moment wasn’t about recognition or reward. It was about willingness. It was about living the Third Step, not reading it, not reciting it, but becoming it:

“God, I offer myself to Thee - to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.”

That’s what the hat represents, the surrender of self-will, the relinquishing of control, and the humble acceptance that my Higher Power’s plan may not match my own.

Unity Over Ego

Bill W. wrote, “We proceed by principle rather than prestige, by humility rather than ambition.”

That line echoed in my mind as I watched the hat pass to Joseph’s hands. In that instant, I felt my ego exhale. The tight grip loosened. I was reminded that leadership in AA isn’t earned, it’s entrusted, for a time, and only through grace.

Concept XII’s insistence on substantial unanimity protects us from ourselves. It ensures that no single personality, no matter how capable, can ever steer AA’s course. Unity, not victory, is the true measure of success.

And unity always asks something of us: the willingness to let go.

Service Beyond the Result

When Jen’s name was drawn, I felt a wave of peace wash over the sting of loss. Beneath it all was a quiet understanding, I had been given exactly what I needed: another chance to practice humility, patience, and trust.

I’ll rotate out of my current position as IT Chair in November, carrying gratitude for every opportunity I’ve been given to serve. Losing to the hat doesn’t mean my service ends; it simply means my service will take a new form.

AA has no ladders to climb, only circles to join. In that circle, each act of service, from sweeping floors to standing for Delegate, carries the same spiritual weight.

Service isn’t about being chosen; it’s about staying willing.

A Lesson in the Heart of AA

The Third Legacy Procedure isn’t just a voting process, it’s a meditation in motion. It reminds us that in Alcoholics Anonymous, we don’t chase titles or tally victories. We practice trust. We practice surrender. We practice faith in something larger than ourselves.

This time, my name wasn’t chosen. And yet, something within me was chosen, to grow, to deepen, to remember what service is really about.

AA’s founders gave us this process so we could experience the principles of the Steps and Traditions, not just study them. The Third Legacy brings the Third Step to life: “Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will.”

And sometimes, that relief arrives when we don’t get what we thought we wanted.

Closing Reflection

In the end, the hat is not a random draw, it’s a sacred symbol. It reminds us that our Fellowship rests not on personal power but on spiritual surrender.

This experience left me with a truth I’ll carry for the rest of my sobriety:

• I am here to serve, not to win.

• To offer myself, not to control the result.

• To be part of the unity that holds us all together.

The Steps may guide our recovery, and the Traditions guard our unity, but the Concepts, and the lessons of the hat, keep our hearts humble enough to keep it all working.

Not two.
Never were.