Minutes of the Denver Branch of the National League of American Pen Women
November 6, 2021
Members Present: Atlanta Sheridan, Ray Cober, Karen Gonzales, Kay Taylor, Diane Chambers, Andrea Antico, Ann Klaiman, Linda Volin, Sue Luxa, Kelly Ann Compton, Eleanor Binnings, Marie Kriss, Julie Adams, Adrianna Voss
Diane opened the virtual meeting on Zoom at 9:35 am.
Inspirational Reading: Andrea read several quotes from authors about gratitude. Examples given included:
“Gratitude opens the door, the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.” Deepak Chopra
“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph , paint or even remember it. It is enough.” Toni Morrison
Introduction of Guests: Jo Virden, a retired nurse, introduced herself. She has published a historical novel and a biography. Karen Gladstone told us she has been a journalist, a chef and a restaurant owner. Pria Acharya reported that she is a freelance writer and contracts administrator.
Approval of Minutes: After some discussion Kelly Ann agreed to revise a sentence in the October minutes to reflect that a new budget with $50 subtracted from expenses (Ray will at no cost produce a guest critique flyer if needed) was presented to the members. With this change the minutes were approved.
Committee Reports:
Website: Virginia Small sent her written report, saying that the site is running properly:
*. All necessary updates have been performed
- Broken links have been fixed
- Some links were changed so the clicked link would open in a new page or tab.
- We had 85% new visitors, and 15% returning visitors. 61% of visitors were on their laptops and 39% were on a mobile device.
Treasurer’s Report: Kelly Ann did not submit a Treasurer’s report but she noted that a total of $100 will be expensed. Diane calculated that we will have a balance of about $721 after this expense is paid.
Budget Report: Kay did not make a budget report. Membership voted to adopt the budget she presented at the September meeting.
Membership: Diane reported that Jo and Pria found us on the Colorado Cafe website.
Diane noted that she has flyers which may be copied and distributed by the members to promote outreach. Diane agreed to e-mail the existing flyer to the membership so that members can print flyers and distribute them to places such as libraries and bookstores.
Kriss reminded the group that our branch used to contact the creative writing departments of several community colleges to inform them about Pen Women.
Outreach: Diane reported that four Tapestry panels remain. She said that spring would be an ideal time to seek additional placements for these remaining panels. Diane encouraged members to suggest new places for the panels – churches and preschool settings were suggested.
Programs: On January 8th Patricia Raybon will present on the topic, Master the Memoir.
History: Diane reported that the position of historian is still open.
Old Business: Linda reported that she is working and nearing completion on producing a digital version of the group’s interview project.
New Business: No new business
Announcements: Sue Luxa is doing a book signing at Tattered Cover’s bookstore in Aspen Grove. Andrea Antico is doing a book signing at Tattered Cover’s bookstore at Stanley Marketplace.
Diane adjourned the meeting at 10:26 am.
Respectfully submitted by,
Kay Taylor