National League of American Pen Women Denver Branch
Minutes
February 7, 2015
Eloise May Library
President Ruthy Wexler called the meeting to order at 10:09 am after our round table discussion where two members, Ruthy, and Jody Glittenberg, shared their ideas on projects they are working on and got feedback and suggestions from other members.
Members in attendance were Vice President, Diane Chambers, Florence Elliott, Eleanor Binnings, Donna Clark, Andrea Antico, Beverly Chico, Pat Kennedy, Jody Glittenberg Hinrichs, Ann Klaiman, Virginia Small, Kay Taylor, and Sheila Wright.
Our Inspirational message for today was a quote Kay Taylor shared with us by Victor Frankel: “The person who has the ‘why’ to live can endure any ‘how.’”
The minutes to the January meeting were posted on our website. Diane moved to approve the minutes and Sheila seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.
Diane read the treasurer’s report in Kelly Ann’s absence. Our expenses since the last meeting totaled $59.16 for last month’s speaker honorarium, and lunch. The closing balance as of 1/31/2015 is $2,430.15.
The treasurer’s report was approved.
Committee Reports:
Blog Committee:
Ann Klaiman reported that Virginia has made some changes to the site format for posting on the Blog. Now each person or “blogger” has her own page; so in order to comment on that particular blog post, all you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of that blog’s page. The prompt for this month is a photo. Bloggers may pick which photo they would like to comment on and may respond in what ever way they choose. So far Virginia, Sheila, Ann, and Sophia have posted something. There is a comment section at the bottom where you can check the box to “Please notify me of new comments, and if you check the box you will receive an email notice any time there is a new posting on the blog, thus enabling the back and forth dialogue. There is a 650 word limit on blogs, Ann said, but explained that one may post something far shorter, if inspired, like a simple paragraph. If you have something you would like posted on the blog, send it to
either Ruthy Wexler or Ann Klaiman. Either one will look it over for a quick edit before she sends it to Virginia to post.
Ruthy encourages everyone to get involved and respond to one of the four photos.
Website Committee:
Virgina reported that the spam filter on the website was giving some people problems, but she believes it is fixed now. Let her know if you are having any problems with our website.
Program Committee:
March:Andrea says that our March Guest Critique will be held at the Candlewyck Apartments. Andrea will be outside at the gate to assist members and guests gain access to the parking lot and the building.
There is a slight chance that we can reserve an additional room at the Eloise May Library on March 7th, but we don’t know yet. Andrea will keep us posted. If we are able to get a second room, then we will hold the Guest Critique at the library, but for now we are planning on having it at the Candlewyck Apartments. Members will receive more information by email.
April: We have Gail Hamilton lined up as our speaker for April. She is a blind woman who is a pianist, opera singer, teacher, writer, and motivational speaker.
May: We will have a member share session, perhaps bringing in a favorite book on writing, or ideas about writing by a favorite author. More details will be coming on this.
June: June is our annual potluck and program planning session. Juliana Adams has offered her house as a place to have our potluck. More information will be coming on this.
Andrea needs us to help in calling the Eloise May Library on March 17th at 7:00 am to reserve meeting space for May — August.
Andrea announced the Colorado Teen Literary Conference, which will be held at the Tivoli Center on April 11th. They have space available for vendors for $50 per table where we would be able to sell our books. The members voted to have Andrea register so that our branch can have a vendor table there. With registration, one person, will be allowed to attend the conference free. We will also be able to have brochures about NLAPW distributed to all the attendees at the conference. More information will be coming on this.
Old Business:
Ruthy received a letter from Candace Long, the NLAPW president, and a report from the National League’s treasurer. Ruthy read the letter to us which was about the feedback the National Board received from 22 branches and 16 Members-at-Large, about the Pen Arts building and the declining membership and the financial state of the League.
The consensus of the Board was that an unbiased third-party independent building inspection was needed to ascertain what condition the Pen Arts building is in. The goal is to have the inspection completed by the April 18th Board Meeting.
The second thing the Board agreed on was that the entire league membership needs to get involved and come up with proposals on things they can do to help the League implement the Long Range Plan Initiative the Board has set for 2014-2016. This plan includes: Increase Membership, Increase Revenue, Increase Outreach, Increase Member Services, and Increase Visibility.
The Denver branch discussed this letter at length. Some people said there is still a lot of confusion with the information we have been receiving and we still want to get more accurate information (regarding the condition of the building, among other things). Our branch had several ideas regarding things we could do to help increase membership, including presenting a “challenge” of some sort to other branches to see which one can recruit the most members. Due to time, Ruthy said this discussion is to be continued.
Announcements:
Virginia is co-conducting a poetry workshop with the local chapter of the Crones Counsel of Wise Women in March. More information will be coming.
Kay Taylor announced that Stories on Stage at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, will present “Red,White, and Sometimes Blue,” on Sunday, February 8th.
Meeting Adjourned at 11:00 am.
Beverly Chico’s sister, Mary Berghaus Levering, gave an excellent presentation on her 45 years of working at the Library of Congress, complete with marvelous photos of the great buildings of the Library in Washington DC, and personal anecdotes of the various roles she had in managing the largest, most interesting and complex Library in the World. Her presentation made us feel like we were all in Washington DC on a guided tour!
Respectfully submitted by Diane Lane Chambers
