I'm going to lock the thread here as I think we've summed everything up well.

GoA: A thank you from STS to community members who have gone above and beyond to contribute to the community and game. No active "duties"

AoA: A group with the sole purpose of helping new players ease into the community and game, and expected to be positive, friendly members of the community.

There is actually no "required" duties for AoA either, it is just as much of a reward for being helpful to new players as GoA is to its members.