Highlights from the 68th Pennsylvania Area Assembly

What a gift to be part of our Assembly – so many members giving their best for Al-Anon and Alateen!  This is my second year as Area Chair and what an honor and blessing it is to serve in this capacity for me.  I love our Al-Anon program and all our members so much.  It felt so good to meet new friends and see many people I have served with over the years. Thank you to all who came and to all who helped plan and put on the Assembly! We have so many people serving PA Al-Anon with open minds and open hearts. It is a beautiful thing as we come together to offer help and hope to families and friends of alcoholics.  In this article, I want to share with you a few highlights from this year’s Assembly.

Our PA Area Assembly was held on August 22-24th at the Harrisburg Hilton.  It is the largest group conscience in Pennsylvania where groups from all over the state send their Group Representatives to express their voice and vote on matters, hear reports, and participate in many opportunities to serve and grow!  Out of the 255 attendees, 202 were Group Representatives (GRs)! I am so grateful for the service participation in PA. 

One of my favorite parts of the Assembly is hearing from our Area Delegate and all the happenings at the annual World Service Conference (WSC) and the World Service Office (WSO).  Our Delegate shared with us about his experience and brought back a multitude of information to share with us.  What a blessing to have that link from the world level to the groups and vice versa!

At this year’s Assembly our guest speaker from the WSO Board of Trustees was Kathi M., Chairperson of the Board.  Kathi shared her personal recovery story with us on Saturday evening and what a treat to have Kathi with us to help give a special presentation with Ralph H., our Delegate. The segment was entitled, “Al-Anon the Fellowship & Al-Anon the Organization.”  It was very engaging and enlightening with an opportunity for GRs to ask questions regarding Al-Anon structure, policy and purpose.

The Workshops are always a big hit and this year was no different!  Our three workshops were: The Importance of CAL, Relief to Recovery and In Lois’ Words. Thank you to the DRs and the Panel 64 Service Members who planned and presented the workshops!

The motions for this Assembly were to accept the 2024 Assembly minutes and approve the Treasurer’s Report and pass the 2026 budget for the PA Area.  I am happy to report that the minutes and all three treasury motions passed. In addition there were motions to accept the proposed amendments to the PA Bylaws and Area Alateen Safety and Behavioral Requirements (ASBR).  These amendments added a PA Area Alateen Conference to replace NOMAAC as the annual recovery Alateen Conference in PA. Both motions passed.

For me one of the biggest highlights was recognition of Group Anniversaries. GRs were asked to stand for an anniversary count down.  As part of the celebration, Groups that were celebrating 60 years plus and ones that were started less than a year were given special recognition by being given an opportunity to announce their group and receive a book that contained messages from various service members.

Another special highlight during this Assembly was the focus on our PA Archives.  Our Archives were on display in our general session room and Christine F, Area Archives Coordinator, gave a presentation about our Archives.  Many members visited the archives during their time at the Assembly.

I would like to give a BIG thank you to the Literature Deport Center in District #6 (LDC#6), that once again provided a wonderful service by selling our Al-Anon and Alateen literature at the Assembly.  Many members look forward to this opportunity to browse our CAL and purchase books and pamphlets for their groups.

For more information about the Assembly highlights or happenings, please contact your Group Representative or District Representative for access to full reports. As the GRs return back to their groups and report all of the proceedings to our members, this is an exciting time for PA Al-Anon!  Thank you for supporting your GR on this service journey.  Participation is the key to harmony!