Personal Mission Statement: “I’m committed to being totally available and responsible to Mid-Southern California Area 09 members, to help provide a healthy infrastructure to communicate among individuals, Groups, Districts, Area, and the General Service Office, while using as few acronyms as possible!”
All,
Following is an inclusivity statement from PRAASA 2022 Chair, Madeline P, to be sure that the volunteer slate submitted by Area 09 for next year’s PRAASA in Portland, OR on March 4, 5, and 6 reflects the diversity of our Area:
In Love and Service,
Ed
Dear Delegates of the Pacific Region,
As you are aware, there was much discussion after the last PRAASA regarding diversity and inclusion in our participation at PRAASA. This is not a new issue for PRAASA, or for Alcoholics Anonymous in the U.S. and Canada, however, it has been a growing concern in our regional service assemblies.
As the submissions for participants at PRAASA come from the area delegates of the Pacific Region, it falls upon you to be the integral link in the chain of communication and for the proactive response. I am writing to you now because if we wait until the last minute to address this issue, we may not be providing the best outreach and response to this issue.
You may be encountering members in your areas that would be wonderfully suited to have their names submitted for consideration as panelists, moderators, readers, timers, and round table chairs. It is an excellent opportunity while you are providing your post-conference reports and visiting groups and districts throughout your areas, to be actively creating a list of these individuals now and reaching out to them as the time draws closer to PRAASA 2022, encouraging their attendance, as well as their willingness to be suggested to the Program Committee for inclusion.
Some of you will be rotating at the end of the year and I hope you will be mentoring your new delegates on this issue before passing the baton to them. That being said, some of you will be continuing on in your second year of your panel and can also be proactive in this effort. Just as the conference is a yearlong process, so is PRAASA. Let us not rotate early and remain diligent in making Alcoholics Anonymous a place for everyone who desires help from alcoholism.
Thank you for all you do for Alcoholics Anonymous!
Respectfully,
Madeleine P – Program Chair
Trista K – Program Co-Chair