At the end of December 2012 Panel 50 hands over to Panel 53.  It has been my privilege to serve as District Representative for District One of Area 42 - North Carolina and Bermuda - from 2010 through 2012. We have been blessed by the service of Jewel S. as our Alternate DR during that time, and she was elected by the District One Group Representatives in September to serve as District One's Representative 2013-2015.  Leland D. of Asheville was elected as Alternate DR.

The September meeting was unable to elect a district Secretary or Treasurer for the new panel, and I encourage any members who can serve in these positions and in the other district level service positions to write to Jewel at district1dr@gmail.com early in January to offer your help.

Tom R.

Directions to Grace Episcopal Church, 394 N. Haywood St., Waynesville, NC 28786 for the September 8, 2012 District Election Meeting: From the East: I-40 West Exit 27 - US 74 W - toward US 19/US 23 Merge into US 23 S / US74 W - Exit 107 Exit 102 - US 276 S towards Waynesville Turn right on US 276 S / Russ Avenue. Turn right just past Kentucky Fried Chicken onto Dellwood City Rd. (There is no sign for this road.) Road winds around through Historic Frog Level. Dellwood City Road becomes Depot St. Turn right at the 2nd traffic light onto N. Haywood St. (Walker's Auto Repair will be on your left.) Grace Church at 394 N. Haywood St. will be on your right. The church is an A-frame structure and has glass windows on the front. The church is at the corner of Haywood St. and Miller St. From the West: US 74 E / US 23 N to Waynesville Then take Exit 102A - US 276 S towards Brevard. Turn right on US 276 S / Russ Avenue and follow the directions above. If you should happen to get lost, call Kathy Alley's cell phone: 828 246-2938 Please remind the attendees to bring their lunches. The WaynesvilleAFG will provide beverages, chips, desserts, paper goods, and plastic ware. The meeting will be held in the parish hall on the main level of the church. Use the Haywood Street entrance. There should be ample parking in the church parking lot. On Saturdays, it is permissible to park across the street, since those businesses are closed. Our group will also provide sign-in sheets and name tags.

The WSO is preparing for the 2012 Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Membership Survey. Members will be able to participate from September 10 to October 21. To participate go to the Members' Web site, www.al-anon.alateen.org/members. Sign in with the name of your home group followed by AFG. The findings will be used to improve and increase awareness of Al-Anon Family Groups among professionals, the media, and the general public. The survey questions include, e.g., relationships to drinkers, age, ethnicity, and martial status. Members are also asked information about their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, as a result of attending Al-Anon. Important background information about the survey is as follows: This study is the tenth Al-Anon Family Groups World Service Conference Approved Membership Survey conducted by the WSO. The survey has been conducted every three years since 1984. Any Al-Anon member in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, or Bermuda can participate. A computer with access to Internet is necessary to complete the questionnaire. The on-line questionnaire will be available in English, Spanish, and French. Members’ anonymity, the confidentiality of their e-mail addresses, and identity are protected. The survey results will be available in December 2012/January 2013 and posted on the WSO’s Public Outreach and Members’ Web sites.

At our spring District One meeting in Hendersonville we asked GRs to send to Cynthia nominations for district officers to serve 2011-2013. With three weeks to go before our September 8 election meeting Cynthia has reported one nomination for District Representative - Jewel whom we elected as our Alternate DR. I talked with Jewel on the phone and she is willing to stand for election as DR. I received an e-mail last week from a GR that Leland in Asheville was interested in service. He and I talked on the phone and he offered to stand for election as Alternate DR. He must be out of town September 8. We still need nominations of members willing to serve as Secretary and Treasurer. Tom Rightmyer district1dr@gmail.com

(1) Our election meeting will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Grace Episcopal Church, 394 North Haywood, Waynesville, NC. The Waynesville AFG will be our hosts. Group Representatives will elect a District Representative, Alternate District Representative, District Secretary, and District Treasurer to serve from January, 2013 through December, 2015. The Service Manual provides that a District Representative is “an incoming, outgoing, or active past Group Representative . . . elected by the other GRs.” Duties include attending four Area World Service Committee meetings and Spring and Fall Area Assemblies, convening four district meetings each year, and other duties listed in the Service Manual. The Alternate District Representative attends these meetings when the DR can’t do so, and we have been blessed by Jewel’s service as Alternate DR, and by the service of Anita as Secretary and Sandra as Treasurer. The newly elected DR and the GRs will decide about other district offices and officers. Neil has been serving as our Alateen Coordinator, and Jamie as our Phone Coordinator. Jesse with Public Information / Cooperation with the Professional Community organized and manned the Al-Anon booth when the NC alcoholism treatment professionals met in Asheville this year and Cynthia worked with Pardee Hospital’s detox program. Mike served as our district webmaster. I am grateful to them and to all who have served our fellowship over the past years. I have not yet heard of any Al-Anon members who have offered to serve in District One positions. When and if I do I will send a notice by e-mail. (2) The Gmail account for your District One group and the password is available by sending an e-mail request to district1dr@gmail.com All communications to groups have been sent to the group Gmail account. I send on to groups all messages I receive from WSO, from Patsy our WSO delegate, and from our NC/Bermuda Area 42 officers and program chairs and other district information. If you have not done so, please arrange for someone in your group to check the group Gmail account every week or two for messages. (3) The election area assembly will be held Saturday, November 3, 2012 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 520 Summit Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Church phone is (336) 723-4391. Group Representatives present will elect an area Delegate to World Service, an Area Chair, and other area officers. I will send hotel and registration information by e-mail when I receive them. (4) WSO delegate Patsy tells me that in 2011 24 District One groups gave $3,073.03 to the Al-Anon World Service Office. Thank you. It has been a privilege to serve the groups, the district, and the fellowship of Al-Anon. I look forward to seeing you September 8. August 6, 2012 Tom R. District One Representative district1dr@gmail.com

District One report to Spring Assembly 2012

District One last met Saturday March 24, 2012. The meeting was hosted by One Day at a Time AFG in Hendersonville at the First Baptist Church Annex. The gathering started with lunch and fellowship. For the 12:30 program, District Representative (DR) and Alternate DR responsibilities were reviewed in preparation for fall elections for the 2013–2015 term. Fifteen groups were represented. Future meetings will be June 23 hosted by Saluda AFG at the Saluda Center, 64 Greenville St., Saluda; September 8 election meeting hosted by the Waynesville AFG at Grace Episcopal Church, 394 Haywood Rd., Waynesville. Several District 1 members who attended the 2012 Area convention said it was a phenomenal experience and a great location. Cynthia volunteered to serve as convention chair for District 1 to act as a district cheerleader for the Feb. 22–24, 2013, convention in Winston-Salem. All known Al-Anon groups in the District One area of service are now registered with WSO. Several district officers have generic e-mail addresses. District representation at AWSC was discussed. Discussion will continue June 23 after GRs have discussed the matter with groups. Jesse MacW., Cynthia, and other members staffed a literature table at the North Carolina Association of Addiction and Prevention Professionals Spring Conference, April 18–20 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville. District One funds provided literature Major changes have been made in the District One phone service for 800-286-1326, and Jamie has volunteered to serve as volunteer coordinator. Email district1phonevolunteer@gmail.com. We heard a report on the Asheville Peace of Mind Alateen group, and on the annual recertifications for AMIAS (Al-Anon Members Involved in Alateen Service). Email Neil at district1alateen@gmail.com. We agreed to do a District Inventory at the June 23 meeting. Jewel, Sarah, and Marie volunteered to work on this. Jesse, Ellen, and others who have been involved in starting new groups discussed that process. Groups represented reported on their activities. Thomas Rightmyer district1dr@gmail.com

From the Service Manual

From the Service Manual for your information:


District Representative (DR)

The DR is elected from among the incoming, outgoing, or active past GRs in his home district prior to the Assembly or by caucus at the Assembly. Each DR represents one district within the Area. He helps the groups in his district understand their relationship and responsibility to the worldwide fellowship.

The duties of the DR are

• to call and chair district meetings at regular intervals

• to help the Delegate in every way possible in disseminating Conference information and reports

• to keep in touch with the GRs of his district to learn the views of the groups and their problems, which, in turn, he may report to the Area World Service Committee or the Delegate

• to visit all the groups in his district, particularly new groups, to make sure they are getting necessary information and help

• to help the groups understand and apply the Traditions, which guide us in our fellowship activities

• to prepare and update a mailing list of the GRs in his district for the Area World Service Committee

• to urge every group to complete and promptly return the group data sheets sent out annually by the World Service Office

• to check the group’s Current Mailing Address (CMA) with each GR in the district to determine if it is correct

• to make sure mail from the WSO is reaching the groups and being shared with the members

• to attend Area World Service Committee meetings and report to the Area World Service Committee on activities within his district

• to notify the Area World Service Committee and WSO of groups that have disbanded.



District Meetings

Various types of meetings may be held within a district to unite and inform local groups: meetings to hear progress reports of the Area World Service Committee, sharing sessions for discussion of district matters, round-robins or social evenings. At regular intervals, meetings scheduled and chaired by the DR are held to talk over such matters as

• the need for local service committees such as Alateen, Public Outreach (Public Information, Cooperating with the Professional Community, and Institutions), a telephone answering service, or an Information Service (attention should be called to the respective guidelines available from WSO)

• ways to familiarize groups, Information Services, and local service committees in the vicinity with Conference Approved Literature (CAL), with emphasis on specialized items available for teenagers, parents, men, and public outreach

• sharing with the fellowship worldwide by submitting to The Forum articles or items of general interest

• encouraging members to subscribe to The Forum, either singly or through bulk group orders (when a group pays for multiple subscriptions, a small profit is realized on the sale of single copies at meetings)

• the value of Inside Al‑Anon Xtra as a sharing vehicle from the WSO to the groups

• raising money to support a telephone answering service or expand an existing one

• means of stimulating contributions from the groups in the district to Al‑Anon’s World Service Office (our WSO informs the Delegate of all contributions from the groups in his Area; this information can be relayed by each DR so that GRs will know whether their groups have contributed)

• problems that arise when Al‑Anon Traditions are disregarded or other concerns that groups and committees have presented for consideration

• workshops on Alateen, Public Outreach, (Public Information, Cooperating with the Professional Community, and Institutions), Literature, or any other Al‑Anon service.

Collections at district meetings are a practical way to raise money.