Conference Interest Meeting - July 23

There is something exciting happening in Alabama – and we are hoping you will be a part of it.

My friend, Mary Kay Beard, and I invite you to a meeting on Saturday, July 23, 9 to 11 a.m., to discuss an idea we have brewing. The meeting will be at Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church, 4660 Caldwell Mill Road, Birmingham, AL 35243.

What Mary Kay and I have been discussing is an Alabama conference for families of the incarcerated. We would love to have your input on this vision.

For the last two years I have attended and presented at the National Prisoners Family Conference. The other presenters have come from all over the country. They have covered a wide range of topics aimed at families of the incarcerated, and I have connected with people, organizations, and resources from one end of the United States to the other.

This conference has been extremely helpful to me as I direct Extended Family, a support system for families of prisoners. I have wanted to give that same conference experience to family members in Alabama, and Mary Kay feels the same way. (For those of you who don’t know Mary Kay, she is an ex-offender and founder of Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree. You can learn more about her story at www.marykaybeard.com.)

At the July 23 meeting we will discuss the idea of a state conference, get your input, and brainstorm on the purpose for such a conference. We had a similar meeting on June 11, and those in attendance were overwhelming for putting together an Alabama state conference for families of prisoners and others associated with the prison experience. We have even started to form a Conference Planning Committee.

Attendance at the July 23 meeting does not mean you have to be on the Planning Committee! It is simply a meeting to determine interest and get the ball rolling.

We hope to see you at:

Conference Interest Meeting
Saturday, July 23, 2011
9 – 11 a.m.
Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church
4660 Caldwell Mill Road
Birmingham, AL 35243

If you have any questions between now and then, please contact Sharon Denham, Conference Planning Committee Chairperson, at 205-902-8437, Laure Clemons at 256-927-7997, or Mary Kay Beard at 205-815-9991. And please pass this information on to anyone you know who might be interested in attending.


Laure Clemons
executive director
Extended Family