It is time for the changing of the guard in our Area. The Group Representatives (GRs) in Tennessee will soon elect new Area Officers. (Officers are Delegate, Alt. Delegate, Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer.) New Coordinators will be chosen from among interested members (who are not necessarily GRs or DRs). The GRs in our Districts will elect new District Representatives (DRs) and in most groups, a new GR will be elected.
The Area officers serve a three-year term, and each year is called a panel. At the fall Assembly we will be electing officers for Panel 58 which begins in January. At the World Service Conference which is in April, there are always three current panels serving. The newly elected Panel 58 Delegates will be there with the Delegates of Panel 56, and 57. This serves the Conference in that there are always Delegates there who have some experience and there is never a time when all the Delegates would be brand new to the conference. The outgoing Delegates mentor the new incoming Delegates, and that way the new Delegates are never alone, and they learn to ask for help.