Minutes
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 @ 12:00 PM EST
1. The meeting was called to order at 12:04 PM EST via ZOOM by Secretary Ruth W. Crocker. Present were: President Jim Greenwald;Valerie Ormond, Vice President; Past President, Bob Doerr; Treasurer, Hugh Simpson; Founder, Rev. Bill McDonald; Directors-at-Large, John Cathcart, Kathleen Rodgers, Jim Tritten; WYS and Communications Director, Dane Zeller.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
3. Treasurers report was discussed and approved.
4. Budget discussion led by Hugh Simpson was tabled until a later date.
5. Reimbursement Discussion
a. Policy regarding reimbursement for lodging at annual meeting for board members and those involved with the WYS conference was discussed. A proposal was set forth to suspend the Reimbursement Policy for Board of Directors for one year to help MWSA with currently projected deficit.
6. Removal of restriction on Writer of the Year Award was discussed. Concerns about the appearance of impropriety if Board Members receive this award were discussed. These concerns will continue to be reviewed, including historical data, but, for now, it was decided to exclude board members from this award.
7. Update to Bylaws. Bylaws are still in the process of review and all of the information unearthed so far will be consolidated and prepared for a vote at a later date by Valerie.
8. Dane Zeller and Valerie Ormond reported on the status of Dispatches. Gary Zelinski resigned from his role as Editor of Dispatches and this job has been taken on by Dane Zeller. Dane reported that all the articles for the upcoming issue are in and being prepared for Andrea to layout. There was a discussion of the mechanics of organizing the submissions to Dispatches and the ownership of the dropbox account used as the respository for articles. Dane said that he will be ready for larger discussions of his role as Communications Chair after the current issue of Dispatches has been released.
9. Write Your Story Discussion. Presently, there is no venue for WYS workshop at the next annual conference. Members of the Board offered to assist Dane in finding the right location.
10. Jim Tritten reported that the Writers Education Series on screenwriting has been successful and the facilitator of that program will be submitting an invoice for $400 after the final session in August. Jim will be following up on tracking attendance via UTube and will include links to the session in our Eblasts.
11. Communications Chair has been filled by Dane Zeller.
12. Scolarship update. Valerie reported that the winner happened to be a person that she sponsored. The check and certificate will be sent to the winner and his mother will take a photo of him receiving the scholarship. A further discussion of the scholarship status will be on the agenda for the board meeting in June.
12. Book Awards update. Reviews are presently a bit behind where they should be at this point. John Cathcart reminded board members that this year we did “normal” and “provisional” submissions. With a “normal” submission a review is guaranteed, that is, if it is not completed for 2024, the fee is reimbursed. John said that more reviewers are always needed. The Post Office has also been delayed in getting copies of books to the reviewers and it is preferable to send the Ebook version.
13. John Cathcart also gave a brief report on a new process that checks on the status of members by converting dues paying members to associate status if they appear to be non-reponsive. After that, if no dues have been paid and there is no signs of response, the individual will be completely removed from the rolls. It is hoped that this urges the member to check in and inform us that they are still among the living.
14. Election of officers is coming up at the next annual meeting. Bob Doerr urges everyone to get the word out to those who might like to serve. Candidates need to be identified by August 13, 2024.
15. Conference update. The agenda is set except for a couple of slots. Regarding the Midway tour, it will be limited to 20 participants. The hotel room block is for 30 rooms for our conference dates and that block has an expiration date. The hotel will honor the rate for three days prior to tand after the conference dates if they have a room on those dates only.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:20 PM EST. Next meeting, June 5, 2024 at 12:00 Noon EST.
Board of Directors Meeting
Military Writers Society of America
March 6, 2024 @ 12:00 PM EST
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09&omn=88278738513
Agenda
1. Roll Call Ruth Crocker
2. Minutes from the last Meeting Ruth Crocker
3. Treasurers Report Hugh Simpson
4. Business before the Board for this meeting:
5. 2024 Budget Discussion and Vote Hugh Simpson
6. Reimbursement Discussion
a) A proposal to suspend the Reimbursement Policy for Board
of Directors’ reimbursement for Board Meeting attendance
for one year to help MWSA with a currently projected
deficit. jim greenwald
7. Removal of a restriction on an award jim greenwald
“MWSA Officers and Members of the Board of Directors
currently serving cannot be considered for Writer of the Year.”
I believe it is time to stop penalizing the folks that step forward
to do all the heavy lifting required to run this organization.
8. Update to our Bylaws [changes require up or down vote] jim greenwald
9. Dispatches [where we stand] Valerie Ormond
Dane Zeller
* A special thanks to Dane for stepping up to handle these
extra duties.
10. Dispatches Discussion Dane Zeller
11. Write Your Story Discussion Dane Zeller
12. Writers Education Series After Action Report and 2024 Plan Jim Tritten
13. Communications Chair has been filled by Dane Zeller Dane Zeller
14. Scholarship Update Valerie Ormond
15. Awards Update John Cathcart
16. Upcoming Elections Bob Doerr
17. Conference Status [see note below] jim g/Bob
Notes:
Item #6 – Changes to the bylaws which you all have received are basically wording
changes, but still require a vote.
Item #15 – The agenda except for a couple of slots to fill on a couple of panels is set.
The hotel room block is for 30 rooms for our conference dates, that block
has an expiration date. The hotel will honor the rate for three days prior to
and after the conference dates if they have a room on those dates only.
A few members have signed up for the conference. Only two for
a tour of the Midway. We need twenty total. So that remains an
unknown until the end of June.
Readahead Reports
Budget
MWSA Treasury Report Feb-24
Acct: 24-Jan 24-Feb 1 Yr Member 2 Yr Member 3 Yr Member
Program 5,757.21 5,757.21 196 55 101
Awards 8,602.79 9,332.21
Operations 39,885.84 41,540.52
Total $54,245.84 $56,629.94
Notes:
148.90 Interest Paid on Money Market Acct.
Attached 2024 Budget
Dispatches Report
All articles are edited.
General layout planned.
D-team formed.
E-team formed. Editing process established.
Final call for MWSA news and ads – due March 15.
Need information for MWSA drop-box – ID and Password
Discuss communications committee.
Awards
Normal vs. Provisional Submissions
Backlog will start clearing soon
Slower pickup than last year
