Highlights from the 67th Pennsylvania Area Assembly

What a thrill it was for me to be part of this year’s Area Assembly!  This is my first 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 16-18th 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 shine!  Out of the 230 attendees, 174 were Group Representatives (GRs)! I am so grateful for the service participation in PA. This map shows the location of the various groups represented at this year’s Assembly.  The GRs could pin their group on ourPA Sector Map.  It was so neat to see where the hand of Al-Anon and Alateen is present across the state.

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).  Ralph H, 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 World Service Office was Sue P., Associate Director – Group Services.  Sue shared her personal recovery story with us on Saturday evening and what a treat to have Sue with us to help give a special presentation with Ralph H., our Delegate. The segment was entitled, “Back to Basics – Carrying our Message at our Meetings.”  It was very engaging and enlightening with an opportunity for GRs to share their experience, strength and hope on the topic reflecting on one of these five questions:

What message do you want the Newcomer to receive?
How does your group welcome the newcomer?
How has your group overcome an obstacle to carrying our message?
What do you feel is the biggest challenge to carrying our message?
What kept you coming back?

The Workshops are always a big hit and this year was no different!  Our three workshops were on Sponsorship, the Service Manual, and the Twelve Concepts of Service. 

The main motions for this interim Assembly was to approve the Treasurer’s Report and pass the 2025 budget for the PA Area.  I am happy to report that all three treasury motions passed. 

It is a tradition at our PA Assemblies to have a PA Area World Service Committee (AWSC) Panel member be our spiritual speaker on Sunday morning.  God graced us with a truly beautiful message from Beth A, our Public Outreach Coordinator, this year.  What a gift she is to our fellowship and PA Al-Anon.

For me one of the biggest highlights was the election of three new District Representatives!  At the Assembly the GRs of three unrepresented Districts held caucasus and each elected a DR.  Join me in welcoming to Area service, Jen C. (District 20), Erin S. (District 31), and Heidi H. (District 27).  Congratulations to those three Districts and to their new District Representatives!

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!