The Northeast Fellowship of the Spirit (NEFOTS) was inspired by an annual conference held in Colorado, called Fellowship of the Spirit (FOTS). The inspiration for our conference was originally brought up at a lunch attended by three AA members who were attending a Big Book weekend facilitated by a member of the FOTS committee. These members discussed the possibility of having a Big Book conference in Maine, with the primary purpose of carrying the message of recovery as it is outlined in our Big Book. The conversation was very general, but the seed was planted, and a few months later the three of them decided to seriously start planning the first conference. They contacted other Big Book groups, and on March 6, 1999, being convinced of the need for this conference, ten members of Alcoholics Anonymous and two members of Al Anon met at a house in Brunswick.
The original members were from Brunswick, Camden, Farmington, Lewiston, Portland, and Saco. The new committee elected its officers, and the planning began. They contacted a member of FOTS to get their experience and decided to name the conference the Northeast Fellowship of the Spirit. Regardless of their personal experiences and philosophies, each member shared the common belief that the solution to alcoholism was through the 12 steps as they are outlined in our Big Book. They were united for the primary purpose of carrying this message to the alcoholic and the family suffering from the disease of alcoholism.
The first NEFOTS conference was held in March of 2000. Approximately 350 people attended, and the conference was a huge success. The original committee stayed together for the first four years, but, after the 2003 conference, it was time for the original members to rotate off to allow new blood to carry the torch. The original committee had put so much energy into a unified conference that they wanted to continue in the same spirit. Again, they sought the experience of the FOTS members and decided to form the Trustee’s Committee. In 2016, the conference was adopted by NEFOTS, Inc. The trustees are now the Board of Directors. With God’s grace, and the passionate work of many committee members, this conference has continued into 2024.