There is a line in the Tom Petty song “Walls” I return to often:

Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks

Petty lifted the line from a conversation with Johnny Cash, who, incidentally, was in recovery. The line was Cash’s answer to Tom’s question, “How you doing, John?” It’s a simple statement—maybe even a little trite—but it’s true, isn’t it? How any of us might be doing changes, from one day to the next. (Or, to borrow a parlance often heard around the Club, one day at a time.)

Never has Petty’s line felt more true to me than it did over the last year. In the 365 days between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the Alano Club — and the recovery community — felt the peaks and valleys of life in ways that were, at least to me, unexpected and unprecedented. I know we’ve all grown tired of the phrase “now more than ever.” We’ve heard it so many times over the last several years, especially in regard to the need for community support, be it emotional, financial, or otherwise. Tired as it may be, it’s true. Oregon remains in the throes of the worst addiction and overdose crisis in the country; our state is second in the nation in substance use rates among adults and adolescents and dead last in the nation in availability of treatment and services. Concurrent to that ongoing crisis is a renewed crisis in funding. Between July 2024 and June 2025 the Alano Club lost 15% of its operational income due to reductions in funding at the municipal, state and federal levels. In the coming year, we will lose an additional 15% of our remaining funding.

These losses were, and remain, significant and impactful, but they were overshadowed by an even greater loss. In March of 2025 our Executive Director, Brent Canode, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving an immense hole not just in our organization, but in the local and national recovery communities as well. However, Brent also left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was a tireless and fearless advocate for everyone in or seeking recovery; his vision for a better world was built on community and compassion, and that vision has shaped the work of the Alano Club for the last two decades. It is in Brent’s memory that we’ll continue working to build safer, stronger, more supportive communities for anyone who wants to find their own pathway to recovery… READ FULL ANNUAL REPORT 

A community is only as strong as its most vulnerable members, and we’ve been reminded time and time again that our community at the Alano Club is vibrant, compassionate, and incredibly strong. To trot out that same phrase, but perhaps with renewed meaning: Now, more than ever before, we need each other. We need your support. We’re in this together, each and all of us, one day at a time.

In hope and gratitude,

Kasey Anderson
Executive Director