Chairperson's Corner

Thank you for this opportunity to share with you this article on “Encouraging Service Participation – Fall in Love with Service.” This article is a representation of some of the thoughts from our work and our experience creating a presentation on Service Participation during the prior Panel. My hope is that you find this article helpful as you work toward encouraging members to serve in Al-Anon and Alateen. Also, I hope this may even help you as you consider what is next for you on your service journey.

Did you know our PA Al-Anon website, serves PA newcomers, professionals and members by offering a meeting finder search for all our Al-Anon and Alateen meetings? Our meeting finder uses the group records information that our Area Group Records Coordinator, Christal R., keeps updated on the World Service Office (WSO) database.

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!

I remember my first Assembly as Group Representative (GR). I felt so small and afraid and so different from everyone else. I was grateful to be traveling with a group of gals from my District and rooming with my sponsor and a few other close friends who were also GRs. It was easy for me to compare myself to the Officers at the front table in the general session room, to the DRs, and even to the other GRs who seemed to have it all together and were ‘pros’ at this. I know today that I was comparing my insides to someone else’s outside and that wasn’t fair to myself and others.

You are cordially invited to attend the 67th Pennsylvania Area Assembly from August 16-18, 2024 at the Harrisburg Hilton. The PA Area Assembly is the business meeting where the groups send their group representatives to express a voice and vote on behalf of the group. This is an opportunity for every group to have their voice heard and vote counted.

District Representatives are a vital link! In this article, it is my honor to discuss the District Representative’s vital role and to introduce our hard-working District Representatives (DR) who serve Pennsylvania.

I would like to announce the Panel 64 members that make up our Area special services. Part of the Area World Service Committee (AWSC) are Coordinators, Liaisons, and Convention Chairs.

In this article I wanted to introduce myself and highlight a couple important aspects of our PA Area Service journey that we are beginning.

Given the significant impact to our membership regarding the recent Alateen announcement, especially our teens, we wanted to give a more detailed explanation to our membership.

Denise P., our Area Chairperson, shares how her Higher Power guided her to the decision to take on the role for Panel 61.