March 2022 Meeting Minutes

3/26/22 1:00 PM

1. Call to order. President Michelle McBeth called the meeting to order at 1:03p.
2. Roll call
   1. Names and types of writing (length and genre)
   2. Triumphs and failures.  VP Jason Maddux had a drabble (100-word story) accepted in a forthcoming anthology.
3. Approval of minutes from last meeting
   1. Minutes were sent out with reminder email. Dorothy Hassan moved, and A.J. George seconded, to approve the February meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried.
4. Officers’ Reports
   1. President
      1. Upcoming meeting topics
         1. April 23rd – Scott Ellis will discuss audiobooks.  The club will attempt its first hybrid meeting.  We will return to the Faith Lutheran Church conference room for those who wish to meet in person and broadcast the meeting via Zoom as well.
         2. May 14 – See Treasurer’s report below.
         3. June 18th – Robin Sullivan, wife and business manager of local author Michael J. Sullivan, will discuss a topic on the business of writing.
      2. Teen Nib -The competition is open for submissions
   2. Vice President/Membership Chair – VP Maddux reported the club has applied to participate in both Art on the Avenue in October and the Gaithersburg Book Festival in May. Decisions are forthcoming.
   3. Treasurer – Treasurer A.J. George reported the club had a positive monthly balance of $189.20 and overall balance of $6995.62. The club is finalizing plans to meet at Sterling Library for its May 14th meeting. In addition to this also being the monthly meeting, the club will host a talk by a panel of member authors, which will be open to the public and publicized by the library. If you would like to donate one of your books for a door prize basket, please let A.J. know.
   4. Secretary – Not in attendance.
   5. Social Media Representative – Traci Carter reported work continues on drafting a code of ethics for social media.
5. Old business
   1. Membership renewals were due March 15th. Get them in!
   2. Upcoming writing resources.
      1. https://washingtonromancewriters.com/retreat/
      2. Romance Writers of America Annual Conference July 27-30 @ National Harbor
      3. Writer’s Digest Annual Conference July 28-31
   3. Scholarship – The club is still looking for a volunteer.
   4. 15th Anniversary Anthology – The club has a volunteer to solicit and compile submissions but is looking for an editor.
6. New business
   1. Survey sent out with newsletter to voice your opinion on meeting format.  There is still time to complete!
7. Speaker -Robert Cantrell on screenplays: Bridging Between Film and Book
8. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 2:31p.