District 25

In February of this year District 25 was visited at its business meeting by Area72 Accessibility Chair, Bud W and was well met indeed by the group and much information gleaned from from his presentation that I turned around and invited Area72 Treatment Committee Chair, Suzie L. to come and share in a similar fashion about the importance of this committee and the work they are, or hope to, accomplish and how District 25 could contribute to this vital service work. By the end of her presentation District 25 was able to vote in a new Treatment Committee Chair for our district, Sarah C. Thank you Sarah for standing for this position and we are all confident that you will serve wonderfully. Presently, District 25 finds itself still growing but notably we have had several visits by representatives from groups outside the United States who very much want to be connected to the A.A. service structure but have no mechanism (as online groups) to so serve and have their voices heard. Many of the members (though not all) of these groups are U.S. citizens and want only to stay connected to the service structure they have been a part of before moving abroad. But there in lies the rub. Apparently, the Area 72 website has in place firewalls to prevent nefarious foreign entities from infiltrating the system; and sadly this means that these members and groups are not able to access the website either. I was pleased to talk with Shu D., Area72 Webmaster when she called to discuss this very subject. So the good news is that though we don’t have an answer as yet, the problem is nonetheless being looked at. District 25 was represented at PRAASA 2025 in Anchorage in early March by AltDCM25 Thom R, along with other District 25 Chairs, Patty S. (Third Legacy Chair) and Arrin R. (Accessiblity Chair). Thom was especially pleased with the fact that if other districts were unsure of the real need for or purpose of an online district up until now many of them are better informed now do to their in person presence at this event. Thank you to everyone who were able to attend and to the 7th Tradition donations made to District 25 by the online AA groups that ensured that our AltDCM was able to attend. It is because of the cost associated with attending PRAASA and more often than not having to fly to the city where it is held and then having to insure at minimum 2 nights accommodation that many small groups are unable to be represented and have their voices heard. This is a genuine shame and a failure on the part of the organization and another vital reason that such events need be hybrid if not completely online. District 25 – (Online Only) DCM Jo G., AltDCM Thom R. ~ Jo G.