By LEAH NESTOR
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The 65th annual Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) convention is this weekend with speakers from around the region sharing their life stories.
The Area 73, or West Virginia, convention is comprised of Districts 5, 7 and 16, which is a majority of North Central West Virginia. The convention begins today and lasts until Sunday morning at the Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa in Morgantown with AA-related registration fees waived for the event.
Chairman for the event Sue (full names are not used to ensure anonymity) said this year’s convention is special because they are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the first registered AA group in the state.
Sue said her hope is that people enjoy the fellowship with other alcoholics and are inspired by the stories they hear.
She said she expects 150 to 200 people to attend.
Speakers from Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio will share their experiences with alcoholism. A speaker from Al-Anon, a support group for family members and loved ones of someone suffering with alcoholism, will speak at the event.
“Alcoholism affects everybody that surrounds the alcoholic,” Sue stated.
“The person stands up there and tells their story about what their life was like, what happened to change their life and bring them into Alcoholics Anonymous and what their life has been like since they have been involved in the program,” Sue explained.
Program chairperson for the event Cathy said, “When we hear somebody talking about what it was like, we understand; we can identify because many of us have had really kind of sordid pasts … and it helps to know that we’re not alone.”
Contact Sue at 304-906-6273 with questions about the event or waived registration fee.
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