Dear fellow Al‑Anon members,

The purpose of this Chairperson of the Board Letter is to share with you some of the highlights from our 2021 World Service Conference (WSC), along with updates from the Board of Trustees’ Quarterly Meeting and the Annual Meetings of the Board. You will also find updates from our Policy Chairperson, a finance update from our Treasurer, and an update from our outgoing and incoming Conference Leadership Team (CLT).

The 61st World Service Conference (WSC) was held virtually April 12‑16, 2021. The theme of the Conference, “Moving Forward with Unity, Courage, and Perseverance,” guided us throughout the week. The Conference Leadership Team (CLT), having ample time this year to plan a virtual Conference, gave us five full days of Conference with an agenda that contained nearly all of the elements of a face‑to‑face Conference. The virtual format of the Conference allowed us to welcome 12 International guests and gave them an opportunity to share their experience, strength, and hope with us.

Two historic decisions were made at this year’s WSC. The first decision was to recognize permanent electronic meetings as Al‑Anon Family Groups. The second decision was to allow creation of non‑geographically based Areas, the first of which will be a non‑panel Area for groups which meet on electronic platforms. These decisions allow groups which meet electronically to elect all the service positions identified in the Service Manual, including a Group Representative (GR). Everything in the Service Manual will apply equally to all groups whether they meet physically or electronically.

Some other important decisions made at this year’s WSC are:

• Conceptual approval was given to develop an Alateen “Just for Tonight” bookmark
• Interpretation will continue to be part of the WSC and will be funded through the Full Amount/Equalized Expense paid by each Area for their Delegate to attend the WSC
• Conceptual approval was given to add a new introduction to One Day at a Time in Al‑Anon (B‑6) that places the book in historical perspective
• Approval of the revised Alateen Preamble language that was presented, which will be updated in all Conference Approved Literature (CAL)
• Conceptual approval was given to add a new introduction to The Dilemma of the Alcoholic Marriage (B‑4) that places the book in historical perspective and to create a booklet of gems from this book
• Approval of a Longitudinal Study starting in 2021 which consists of annual surveys of Al‑Anon members who opt-in to the study (more details below).
• Approval to allow the election of the Regional Committee on Trustee Chairpersons, Alternates, and the drawing of the names for Out‑of‑Region Delegates to occur outside the general Conference session and prior to the WSC. This decision will allow more time on the WSC agenda for other discussions.

(See the CLT Update attached to this letter for more updates on the 2021 WSC.)

I want to send a huge shout‑out to the members of the WSO Conference Tech Team! Your support and knowledge throughout the week were invaluable. Thank you for all you did to make Conference week flow as smoothly as it did.

For a more detailed report of the 2021 World Service Conference, please look for the free online Conference Summary which is scheduled for posting in July. A printed version will be made available for purchase in August.

Five Regions—US North Central, US Northeast, US Northwest, US Southeast, and Canada West—began the process of nominating Regional Trustees by forming their respective Regional Committees on Trustees (RCT). While the process for nominating a Regional Trustee and Trustee at Large is different, the deadline for résumés to be submitted to the WSO is August 15, 2021.

The Conference gave traditional approval and during the Annual Meeting the Board of Trustees, in their legal capacity, elected the following trusted servants:

Regional Trustee:

Debbie P., Canada Central First three‑year term
Tony S., Canada East First three‑year term
Linda R., US Southeast Remaining one year of a first three‑year term

Trustees at Large:

Lynette K. Second three‑year term
Don B. First three‑year term
Kathi M. First three‑year term
Nancy S. Remaining two years of a first three‑year term

Board Officers 2021‑2022:

Lynette K. Chairperson of the Board
Marianne B. Vice Chairperson of the Board
Cindy M. Treasurer

The Board of Trustees, in its legal capacity, elected the following:

Executive Committee:

Deborah (Debbie) G. Third one‑year term
Terry F. Second one‑year term
David B. First one‑year term

Chairperson of the Executive Committee:

Deborah (Debbie) G. Third one‑year term

Executive Committee for Real Property Management Chairperson:

Elizabeth (Liz) D. One‑year term

Mark your calendars for this year’s Road Trip! event which will be held in Cleveland, OH on October 23, 2021. This event gives Al‑Anon members an opportunity to interact with members from the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee. Be on the lookout for more details and registration information regarding the Cleveland Road Trip! Event.

WSO Staff began the process of developing the 2021 Membership Survey in 2020. During this process, Staff reached out to research professionals in the field of alcoholism/addiction asking for their opinions regarding our survey process. The professionals suggested a longitudinal study which would consist of asking the exact same group of members the exact same questions over a period of five to ten years. This would allow the WSO to track an Al‑Anon member to understand the impact that consistent Al‑Anon membership has on mental health, etc. As with the Membership Survey, the data would be anonymous.

The Longitudinal Study participants will be selected at random from members who opt‑in at the time they take the upcoming Membership Survey. Members who opt‑in to the longitudinal study will be contacted via email and asked a set of ten questions, the same questions each year, for a period of five years from 2022 through 2026.

All Al‑Anon members are welcome to participate in the Membership Survey regardless of the amount of time you have in the program. The Membership Survey will be available in English, Spanish, and French at the following link al-anon.org/membersurvey starting June 16, 2021 to July 27, 2021.