Local representative attends national Baha’i convention

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 19, 2001

WILLMETTE, Ill. – Diane Ancker Broussard of La-Place recently attended the 92nd annual U.S. National Convention of the Bah’ faith held recently at the Bah’ House of Worship in Wilmette, Ill. This was the second time for Broussard to attend the National Con-vention as the delegate for South Louisiana. She was one of 171 delegates elected last October at the regional level to represent 135,000 members of the Bah’ faith in the 48 contiguous states. Presently, Broussard ser-ves as one of the Louis-iana/Mississippi area co-coordinators for the Mag-dalene Carney Bah’ Training Institute and as the secretary for the local Spiritual Assembly of the Bah’s of St. John the Baptist Parish. She is also involved in the LaFlambeau Chapter of American Business Women’s Associa-tion, the Professional Women of the River Region and the Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association. “The Bah’ faith has no clergy,” Broussard stated. “We govern ourselves by elected administrative councils. The main purpose of the annual convention is to elect our national council, known as the National Spiritual Assembly.” Brous-sard noted, “The elections are unique because there are no prepared ballots, and no nomination system. After prayer, each delegate writes down the names of the nine people he or she thinks best exemplify the qualities of loyalty, selfless devotion, a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience.” She added, “The convention is also a time for the delegates to offer their suggestions and guidance to the incoming assembly. We also learn about what is going on with our fellow believers around the country and share ideas on community building, fostering prejudice-free environments and improving the spiritual education of our children and youth.” There are more than 5 million Bah’s worldwide. More information on the Bah’ faith can be obtained by calling (800) 22-UNITE or visiting website WWW.US.BAHAI.ORG.