Did you know District boundaries in Tennessee Area have been redrawn?

Why:

• To improve group participation and encourage the election of DRs
• To keep Districts at a manageable size (approximately 10–13 groups per District)
• To improve communication and strengthen the Links of Service, which are how information flows from WSO → Area → District → Group → Member, and back to WSO.

When:

The redistricting plan took effect January 1, 2026, but it will take a few meetings to organize.  This will be a 3-year trial.

Who:

Each District will elect a District Representative (DR).

• The new 3-year panel begins in 2027. The DR for that panel does not have to be voted in at this meeting. We are hopeful to have DRs for all districts for the rest of this panel, 2026.

A District has group autonomy, they may:

• Elect a DR to serve one year only in 2026
• Elect a DR who may serve one year in 2026, and because that is not a full term of service they may also serve in the next 3-year panel for a total of 4 years.

Update

These numbers are based on totals from last November, but overall give pretty good idea of results at this early stage; after all we are only 7 weeks into the New Year.

The Old District System had 27 districts with just 8 district representatives for less than a one third representation. At the time that left 106 groups without a district representative out of 184 groups for approximately 58%.

Today there are 14 districts and one future overlay district (this being the Hispanic meetings and there are members attempting to communicate with those groups). Currently 5 districts are still without a district rep: D2, D6, D7, D11, D12. The group number total for those equals 51, add to that the 6 Hispanic groups and you get 57. Using the same group count of 184 means just 31% are now not represented.

For those wondering where the vacancies exist these are some of the city areas: Knoxville, Columbia, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Hermitage, Hendersonville, Dyersburg, Germantown and the towns around these. Let’s see if by Spring Assembly we can report higher percentage. Thanks to all those who have participated so far and keep on passing the word around about the goal of 100% of groups being represented by Panel 67 (2027).

Cindy, Redistricting Work Group Chair

Minutes from East/West Tennessee January Kickoff meeting

Minutes from Middle Tennessee January Kickoff Meeting

We will continue to have Restructuring Planning Meetings for those Districts who need help with organizing.  We will meet the first Saturday of each month.