First hand observation. St. Louis Assembly Hall. There were official functions that were held on the premises outside of the assemblies. There was the local version of the Annual Meeting was held to make key decisions for the upcoming Service Year. Assembly Hall Committee members, the wives of the committee members, COs, DO's and their wives, some key elders and their wives were all invited to a special dinner after the private meeting. Some long-term volunteers were invited to prepare a nice meal (steak, chicken) and all the fixings....drinks included wine, beer, and other harder alcoholic beverages were made available. Of course, quiet counsel was given about drinking in moderation. I can tell you, having been one of the volunteers prepping and cleaning up, there was often very little moderation, based on the amount of drink containers I cleaned up and unsteady walking out the door I observed. Some were clearly drunk. If they had been stopped while driving, they would have blown more than a .08 (legal limit in most states in the US). There were many other times that I seen large quantities of beer bottles/cans, wine bottles in the recycle bin after a weekend outside of the personnel/CO apartments.
I dont have an issue with them enjoying an evening together, or being rewarded for their unpaid work (the meal was paid for out of private donations of well off brothers not WWW funds). My issue is/was that these same men were so outspoken against drinking alcohol..esp in excess...holier than thou......and were the first to serve on JCs for alcoholics (DF for "loose conduct"....sure to be changed to "brazen conduct." ) Hypocrites.
Snakes (Rich )
PS....anyone in Southern Illinois ever hear of the monster parties held by some teens/young adults in the Carlyle, IL area?