National League of American Pen Women
Denver Branch
November 4, 2017
I. Meeting called to order at 11:03 am.
II. Members in Attendance: Andrea Antico, Diane Chambers, Donna Clark, Kelly Ann Compton, Ruthy Wexler, Sue Luxa, Atlanta Sheridan, Virginia Small, Kay Taylor, Cathy Wield
III. Guests in Attendance: Karen Gonzales, Margaret Rundiks, Phil Wield, Carol Ehrlich
IV. Inspirational statement: Ruthy shared about a talk she heard on a book called “Einstein and the Rabbi”; About a woman rabbi who saw a quote from Einstein about how our separateness is an illusion and universally we are all connected.
V. Introduction of Guests: Margaret Rundiks and Phil Wield
VI. Minutes: Minutes were unavailable for approval.
VII. Treasurer’s Report: The October Treasurer’s Report was approved. Our current balance is $1,681.40.
VIII. Committee Reports:
a. Web Site: The Web Site is running well. We have had guests come to our meetings after viewing the website.
b. Membership: Guests have been coming to our meetings after seeing the website and because of invitations from members; We have had four women apply for membership since our April Guest Critique and after viewing our website.
c. Tapestry for Peace: Another IB school in Colorado is organizing a peace project and will pick up a tapestry from either Atlanta or Kelly Ann.; Ruthy sent an e-mail to the DPS school board describing the peace project and the tapestry;
IX. Old Business:
a. Diane—Spoke about reaching out to women philanthropists for the cause of our NLAPW. Diane wonders if we could reach out to these women offering them honorary membership and explaining some of our organization’s financial needs; Kelly Ann will speak about this with Virginia Campbell about this.
b. Karen suggested we ask Denver Public Library if they would become a sponsor of our Denver Branch. This could lead to our ability to meet in DPLs free of charge; Andrea said she will look into this.
c. Andrea will check with Koelbel Library to see if they have meeting space available for our January 6th meeting.
X. New Business:
a. December Meeting: Our annual special December meeting will take place on Saturday, December 2. This gathering will include our business meeting, pot luck lunch and white elephant book exchange; Andrea will call Gwen Scott to see if she is interested in hosting if not, Cathy Wield will host at Windsor Gardens; Kelly requests that when the e-mails come regarding the December meeting that everyone makes sure she reads the entire e-mail. They will include a lot of need-to-know information.
XI. Announcements:
a. Karen—submitted a story to New Vision Writing Contest for Authors of Color by Lee & Low Books; Phil Goldstein is speaking about Modern East Denver history at the Broadway Book Mall (South Broadway & Cedar Avenue)on November 5 and again on Monday Nov 27 at the Colfax Tattered Cover.
b. Ruthy—Had story published about the cheerleader scandal in the Cherry Creek Chronicle; had a call about the possibility of her writing a book proposal regarding the cheerleader story.
XII. Adjourned: 11:50 am
After the meeting, we learned about building websites from book, e-book and Web designer Veronica Yager. In sharing what makes a good website, Veronica encouraged us to think about our website as a business and author resumé. This will show visitors to your website that you are a professional. Kelly Ann will contact Veronica to get us access to the PowerPoint she used in her presentation. Veronica’s e-mail address is: Veronica@YellowStudiosOnline.com .
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Ann Compton, Secretary