[stylist] President's Update

Wed Mar 30 15:27:26 UTC 2011

Hope this message finds you all in good health and spirits. 

It is early morning, I am in a reflective mood and need to assure myself
that I'm keeping you all in the loop to Writers' division happenings. I will
provide you with an update of upcoming events, and a question needing your
input.

***

2011 National convention --- How many of you are planning to go to Orlando?
I am and here is what the Writers' Division has going:

-July 3rd, Sunday: The Division does not have a planned event. This is the
day when many workshops are going on. and as your President, keeping you in
the know of my involvement, I am on the Employment Committee and there will
be scheduled activities throughout the day. 

-July 4th, Monday: The Division has 2 events scheduled. The first is a
writing workshop that we will put on for teens, as a joint effort between us
and "Youth Track." It will start at 4:00 PM and end at 5:00 PM. Three of our
members will be the instructors- Bridgit Pollpeter, Allison Hilliker and
Chelsea Cook. (We will provide the participants with handouts on writing and
conduct discussion and some writing instruction.)

-Second for this day, is our "Story Telling Idol." This will be the second
year for this fund raising event. It costs $5.00 to get into the door and
$1.00 to tell a story; winners share in the pot. (At this writing, it is
still early in the planning and right now I know we will need help. We
should have 3 judges, a barker outside the door, a person to take money. Any
volunteers?)

-July 5th, Tuesday: This will be the day for our annual business meeting. It
starts at 1:30 PM and runs until 4:30 PM. Besides a small amount of normal
business to conduct, including elections, we will have at least one guest,
an author and radio journalist, Beth Finke. If you wish to read about her,
here are 2 links web site: www.bethfinke.com

Blog: http://www.bethfinke.wordpress.com

-Later this day, I personally will be engaged in 2 more meetings: (More
about my involvement outside the Writers' division) I am the new Chairman
for the Newsletter Publication Committee. This committee will meet at 6:00
PM until 8:00 PM. (One sneaky little thing on my part is --- here I will
have opportunity to promote the Writers' division and attract some new
members.)

-Later yet- I am on a panel for the Access Technology Trainers. (Using the
ribbons in the newer versions of Microsoft Office.)

***

For those of us on STYLIST (a worthy list to be part of), I would say that
the flow of interaction has been slow of late. I most enjoy it when members
bring samples of their work for helpful suggestions, or if it is to provide
writing related information and/or links to new resources. An update on
writing projects and/or other blindness related projects can also be
interesting and enlightening. 

What are all you folks working on? Personally, I thought I would be able to
pick up one of my partially completed books, but not yet! Though, I am
working through the creation of 2 new creative non-fiction pieces (2000-3000
words).

***

Another NFB related job that needs mentioning, is that I am now for the
first time the President of the Omaha Chapter of the NFB. This too is taking
up some time to get onto. For our April meeting, our special guest is Doctor
Tessa Wright, the head of Nebraska's only college program to produce Vision
Teachers within our state. (I am making an effort to get to know all the
major players within our community who have anything to contribute to the
well-being of the blind.)

***

My first writing project for this morning was to put some finishing touches
to my "From the Keyboard of the President." This is my expected contribution
to each issue of our division's quarterly magazine, "Slate & Style." And
yes, and working on it certainly reinforced my need to write this. Below
I'll paste in a paragraph that I am working through. My motivation is not to
seek out assistance in its "writing," but more --- I am looking for your
feel for what we've got going here within the Division. And note that I say
"we." This is our Division it is not my brain child, it is bigger and better
than that, it is our creation. Take a read and give me your straight shot of
thought- what is working, what do we need to do different, are you willing
to help more with any part of this? 

".Where I see my stewardship of the Writers' Division: Cutting to the chase,
I am feeling good about what I/we have accomplished thus far, however I am
not fully satisfied. My leadership began three and one half years ago, in
July of 2007. This was my first experience in being the President of any
group. In taking on this responsibility I knew that there would be much for
me to learn. Also, I knew that the Division's membership would need to learn
of my intent, and become aware of where their personal vision might fit the
collective awareness within the Division. And the point or vision I am
word-building here, is a group sense of being connected, being "of" a group.
>From the beginning, my approach to re-building the Division was to greatly
increase communication among the membership, provide a forum for improving
our knowledge and skills as writers, discover what members need, attract new
members, assure that we have the funding to do the projects we may wish to
take on and foster pride in what each member feels about themselves and in
their membership within this Division." 

***

Speaking of "Slate & Style:" Watch for the next issue of our quarterly mag.
It will have a new look and feel. We have a new editor, Bridgit Kuenning
Pollpeter (BKP) and she is taking our all-ready good mag and is applying
some BKP magic to it. And as always when it comes to our Division's own
publication, we need worthy material for its pages. Do take the time to
write "how-to-do" writing articles and/or poetry or fiction and/or creative
non-fiction for it. 

***

Our 2011 writing contest for youth and adults closes in 2 days, April 1st.
Submissions have been slow in coming in; more toward the end. I'd say that
for now, the adult categories will be populated with --- Poetry- in the
mid-to upper twenties; Fiction- in the mid-teens; in the new creative
non-fiction- in the mid-single digits. Youth --- Elementary Poetry- in the
mid-single digits; Elementary Fiction- in the lower-teens; High School
Poetry- in the mid-single digits. (I know I have 4 more emails of contest
submissions already waiting for my attention and there are 2 more days to go
before the deadline. (For next year, relating to the youth contests, we will
be working more closely with the Jernigan Institute.) 

***

Please do take the request letter that I recently sent out and get it out to
your favorite authors. (Asking for a signed copy of one or more of their
books. We then will auction them off on EBay.) The monies we take in from
this effort will be set aside and we will work toward being able to give out
a scholarship to a college student enrolled in a writing program.

***

For now, this is my report. 

Robert Leslie Newman

President, Omaha Chapter NFB

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org

Chair, Newsletter Publication committee

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info