Anyone here ever battle alcoholism/been to rehab?

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I have an old friend from high school who recently reached out to me

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You're in denial dude, accept YOU have a problem and fix it.

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Anyone have an idea or experience on how I can become a sphere of positive influence to this person?

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I used to do work with our company's EAP as a liaison from my employee group, he's "working" one of the twelve steps in trying to make amends to people he may have hurt in the past, I personally think AA is a bunch of horse shite and one size doesn't fit all, he may have never hurt anyone but has to find someone to make amends to but has to find someone so he can complete the step

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He has been going to AA meetings and one of the things he was instructed to do was to reach out to people they may have previously hurt with their addiction.

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It's one of the 12 Steps and something that they are instructed to do. It sounds like your friend is trying his best to do the right thing and following the instructions given to him.

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Anyone have an idea or experience on how I can become a sphere of positive influence to this person?

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Just encourage him and respect what he's trying to do. Don't avoid him and try to find things ya'll can do together that don't involve alcohol. Eventually, it'll probably be cool to drink around him but try to respect those boundaries until he's in a stable place in his sobriety.

People going through that are looking for a good example to develop positive habits. Be that for him.

I did a stint in a treatment facility as an out-patient. It was back in my partying days and I didn't feel like getting NJP'ed. Met some loose woman in that place.

yes and yes.

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Anyone have an idea or experience on how I can become a sphere of positive influence to this person?

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Just be supportive. If he's already in the making amends phase of AA, he's already made a lot of progress. Offer to do non-alcohol related things with him. Aside from the initial boredom that comes with sobriety (biggest hurdle in my opinion) losing a good chunk of your social circle is probably the biggest deal. Most of your old drinking buddies will be a hindrance to to your progress--especially if most of your activities with them involved alcohol. If you can be a non-drinking friend, that would be a huge help to him. He probably already has a few from his meeting, but a familiar face can't hurt.

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To be honest I never felt like this person ever hurt me in any way.

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you may not, he may though. Just roll with it, it's about all you can do to help.

You want a serious reply, well here you go.

Yes, I am an alcoholic, and I went into rehab last April. I spent 45 days at a rehab facility in Chaneyville, LA. I have been sober ever since, and am approaching one year of sobriety. If you want to talk to me, email me at codyadavis@yahoo.com and I can give you some more advice on this.