Carole Greene, President
Our October Board of Governors meeting, on Oct. 6, dealt with several issues tabled over the summer, following our May strategic planning retreat. We took a critical look at our membership categories and decided they didn’t need to be expanded but worked just fine. So as we go forward, we will continue with a “regular” category for those who now are, or at some time were, professional journalists. We will retain the “associate” category for those who weren’t in the media but still wish to be members and help the club achieve our missions.
We talked about a special event in the summer to draw in year-rounders, both in the club and in the general public. Because 2016 is our 20th anniversary year (!), we’ll work on a July event to commemorate this awe-inspiring achievement. Rhona tells me her hubby, Terry Miller, who was the driving force behind this club, would be quite proud of this milestone. He would be floored by the fact that we now have 172 dues-paying and honorary club members. WOW!
Another agenda item last month involved the necessity to raise money to beef up our dwindling scholarship funds. For years, we had sufficient profits from our Authors & Books Festival and Writers Conference to support our scholarship recipients. To date, they number 21 students. That’s quite an accomplishment for our club. But we need to pour more money into that account so we can support “21 More”—the name Phil Beuth gave to our fundraising campaign. We urge every club member to participate, to the extent that your generosity and budget will allow.
Send your check to Phil Beuth.
Payable to: Champions for Learning
Memo line: write NPC Scholarship Fund
This contribution is tax deductible according to current tax rules.
Connie Kindsvater delivered a report on our Oct. 29 FGCU panel discussion to help journalism students obtain and retain a job. David Silverberg reported on the Nov. 21 NPC Book Fair. Look for an update on this special event elsewhere in Scoop.
Aware that our annual meeting and election are scheduled for our Dec. 7 holiday party luncheon, I appointed a nominating committee to slate club members for open positions or to take on another term for their current slots. Another article in Scoop will tell you whom you can expect to cast votes for on that date.
Finally, we will have an opportunity to take advantage of the presence of an eminent journalist in town for another organization. The Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida is bringing in Edwin Black, a name familiar to readers of The New York Times. At no cost to us, we can grab him for a special “Insiders’ Breakfast,” on Feb. 23. It will be open to the first 25 to RSVP, so watch for the announcement when we get closer to that date, but put it on your calendar now.
See you at the Hilton, Nov. 16. One of our own members is the speaker. I guarantee it will be fascinating.