April 1, 2023

National League of American Pen Women—Denver Branch

April 1, 2023

Minutes

  1. Linda Volin called the meeting to order at 9:36 AM.
  2. Members in attendance: Diane Chambers, Atlanta Sheridan, Linda Volin, Andrea Antico, Carol Ehrlich, Karen Gonzales, Eleanor Binning; Ann Klaiman, Kelly Ann Compton; For Presentation only: Ray Cober, Cindy Massey
  3. Guests in Attendance: Rachel Seekamp , Monterey Buchanan, Alfreda Beartrack
  4. Inspirational Reading: Andrea read quotes on playwriting. The quotes were by Sam Shepherd, James Frey, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and others.
  5. Minutes: The minutes were corrected and then approved.
  6. Treasurer’s Report was approved. Our current balance is $784. Annual dues are due this month. Kelly Ann will send the information as soon as she gets it.
  7. Committee Reports:
    1. Monterey Buchanan and Rachel Seekamp are becoming members of NLAPW and our branch; Our group is growing!
    2. Zoom is paid through September
    3. Website is working well.
    4. Critique Group: Currently there are five active members with two members taking a short-term break. The group discusses two submissions per meeting and meets via Zoom.
    5. Tapestry: No update
    6. Historian: If you’ve seen anything regarding our Denver Branch in the press or elsewhere please send it to Aurora Umana-Arko.
    7. Programs:
      1. APRIL—Jeff Neuman on playwriting; MAY—Ricardo Bogaert-Alvarez on Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Haiku; JUNE—Potluck in person (Andrea offered to hold it at Candlewyck); JULY—No meeting; AUGUST—TBD
      2. Suggested programs included social networking (Mastadon, Twitter, Facebook); Frederick’s Printing on small batch printing
  8. Old Business:
    1. The Barnes & Noble event went well. Linda sent a thank you note to Melinda who was our contact at Barnes & Noble. Pre-event information had been sent to newspapers and sites online. Diane sent pictures to our webmistress and our historian.
    2. April Reading Event: The event will be held in Eleanor’s apartment complex and will take place from 2:00-5:00 PM. Let Eleanor know if you can contribute food. Eleanor will send a press release to Linda. There will be parking available at Botanic Gardens. The bus stops at Race and 10th. It needs to be decided if a percentage of each woman’s sales goes to our Denver Branch. We need to look at the possibility of offering credit payment for this and future events. A meeting should be held to cover all the needs for the readings, including scheduling and who may sell books and how the money will be handled.
    3. Writing and Art Contest: Andrea will investigate interest in the contest; the contest may only be for students at George Washington High School.
    4. Tapestry for Peace: Schools where shootings have occurred may be interested in one of the tapestry panels. Diane will call East High School.
  9. No New Business
  10. Announcements:
    1. Diane won two Gold Medal awards for her book Fragile Minds: An Advocate’s Story;
    2. National News—Pen Arts Writer’s Retreat in Washington DC May 10-13, 2023; Application deadline is April 15th.
    3. CIPA-EVVY Awards—Annual contest for independent authors; There are 50 different categories; Submission deadline is May 23, 2023. (CIPA=Colorado Independent Publishers Association)
    4. Get well wishes for Carol Ehrlich and Karen Gladstone
  11. The meeting was adjourned at 10:28 AM.

Following the business meeting, Jeff Neuman gave a great presentation on playwriting.

Respectfully submitted,

Kelly Ann Compton

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