National League of American Pen Women
Denver Branch
September 9, 2017
I. Ruthy called the meeting to order at 10:07.
II. Members in Attendance: Andrea Antico, Diane Chambers, Beverly Chico, Kelly Ann Compton, Ruthy Wexler, Kimberly Hamelin, Kay Taylor
III. Guests in Attendance: Vicky Bradford, Virginia Campbell (NLAPW President), Cathy Wield, Karen Gonzalez, Romy Charles
IV. Inspirational Reading: Ruthy read two quotes she found on the GoodReads website with the theme of “Go with the flow”. Both quotes can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/going-with-the-flow
a. “Patience is the antidote to the restless, poison of the ego. Without it, we all become ego-maniacal bulls in china shops . . .” from Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny by Anthon St. Maarten
b. “If you decide to just go with the flow you’ll end up where the flow goes, which is usually downhill . . .” from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide by Sean Covey
V. Introductions of Guests and Members
VI. Virginia C. shared about letters National has been getting from prisoners and is currently working on getting a committee together to make this a focus/ministry of our organization. Several members of the Denver Branch thought this would be a good way for our Branch to do some outreach.
VII. The August minutes were approved.
VIII. Treasurer Reports: Diane asked that the March Treasurer’s Report be made more specific as to what a listed deposit was. The July Treasurer’s Report was corrected and approved. The August TR was approved. Our current balance is $1,757.40.
IX. Committee reports:
a. Website: No report
b. Membership: Cathy Wield is joining Pen Women as an Active Letters International Affiliate member. Many thanks to Kay and others for talking up NLAPW! It was agreed that our Guest Critiques and that added personal touch are working well. We acknowledged the great work our previous Membership Chairwoman, Marie Kriss, did for our Branch. Beverly reported that Kris is doing well and is moving into her newly found home soon.
c. Tapestry: Ruthy reports— Discussion took place regarding the letter we want to send to Colorado schools about winning a piece of the Tapestry for Peace. Diane shared some of the history of the Tapestry for Peace for the benefit of our guests and new members. We will revise the cover letter Shelley wrote to better suit the history and purpose of the tapestry. Beverly said we really need telephone follow-ups. Ruthy knows two people on the DPS school board. We need to check with Virginia S. about having the Tapestry video on our website.
X. Outreach: Tapestry. See above.
XI. Old Business: The New York school that won a section of the Tapestry of Peace will soon be sending pictures with the Tapestry displayed.
XII. New Business:
a. Beverly Chico asked where our current Denver Branch scrapbooks are. As they are completed, they are to go to the history department of the Western section in Denver Public Library. Diane and Ruthy are working on getting the scrapbooks started up again and caught up to date. Discussion ensued about where the scrapbooks are currently. Past historians have been Dorothy Donovan, Pat Kennedy, and Jody Glittenberg. Diane has a bag of the historian scrapbook items. Beverly emphasized that our Denver Branch scrapbooks are important pieces of women’s history and we need to make sure that we take care and preserve them. Everyone agreed that they are important.
b. Stories on Stage: Kay –November 11, Theme: On the couch “Stories for anyone who has gone under therapy or should”
XIII. Branch Announcements:
a. Cathy W. has been made a senior role model with Doctor support Network (in the UK); she wants to get the word out about the stigma of mental illness and injustice
b. Karen Gonzalez asked: do two versions of the same story need two separate copyrights? Kelly Ann will contact Brenda Spears, a copyright lawyer in Pikes Peak Branch, per Virginia Campbell’s suggestion. Perhaps she will be willing to answer this question
c. On September 30, the Christmas Cantata will be performed at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House
d. Beverly let us know that Nancy P. had surgery recently.
XIV. The meeting was adjourned at 11:04 am.
Following the business meeting, NLAPW National president Virginia Franklin Campbell gave a talk on the current status of our league. Her talk was very informative. She shared about the financial situation and events that are taking place to improve our finances; things such as a Go Fund Me, working toward getting the Pen Arts building designated as an Art Museum, and the fact that a generous donor paid to have the piano in Pen Arts refurbished to professional concert standards, which will allow the League the opportunity to partner with colleges for events such as senior recitals. One of the most poignant statements Virginia made was about how often members ask the question, “What does the NLAPW do for me?” She stated that what members should be asking is, “What can our branch do for NLAPW?” The organization is, Virginia said, what we make of it.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kelly Ann Compton
Denver Branch Secretary
