How to Reach Out: The Basics of Our Member-Only Listserv
Confused about how the Guild’s member-only listserv works? This post is here to answer your questions!
The State of the Guild . . . Depends on You!
In this State of the Guild address, presented at our October 12 potluck, Elaine acknowledged the many volunteers who made things happen in 2019 and suggested ways volunteers can move the Guild’s mission forward in 2020. A few of those opportunities are highlighted in boldface below, and we’re always open to members’ fresh, creative ideas for future community building.
Q&A with Nevin Mays, Mentoring Program Coordinator
Like all Northwest Editors Guild activities, our peer mentoring program is an all-volunteer affair, from the mentors and mentees to the volunteer who holds the program together—the mentoring program coordinator.
The mentoring program was launched by Guild member Julie Van Pelt, out of Port Townsend, Washington, in late 2014. Julie handed the reins to Kyra Freestar, in Seattle, at the end of 2016. In April of this year, Nevin Mays, in Portland, took on the coordinator role, and she is bringing new ideas and enthusiasm to the job. We thought it would be fun to hear some of Nevin’s thoughts about professional mentoring.
A Q&A for the Board Curious
The Guild is an all-volunteer organization blessed with incredible richness in the skills of its members, all of whom collectively have helped make it what it is today. We are on a sound financial footing, have a well-developed committee structure to accomplish our work, and have a solid five-year strategic plan to guide our efforts. New projects are in the works: expanded outreach, a revitalized speaker’s bureau, and a new marketing plan, to name a few. We meet as a board just six times per year, but the real work of running the Guild occurs in the handful of committees that offer a wide range of opportunities for contribution. The details are described in our current FAQs for Prospective Board Members.
Pleased to Meet You
The enthusiastic volunteers who guide the Northwest Editors Guild kicked off the year with a daylong board of directors’ retreat on January 13. To ensure a smooth transition, departing, returning, and incoming board members, along with Guild administrator Jen Grogan, joined together at this annual event.
Four volunteers—Christina Johnson, Roberta Klarreich, Pm Weizenbaum, and Polly Zetterberg—wrapped up two years of service, making way for new board members: Alison Cantrell, Erin Cusick, MariLou Harveland, and Alicia Ramos.
The team is looking forward to meeting up with members at our bimonthly member meetings, regional gatherings, and, of course, the September 21 Red Pencil conference. Until then, here are brief introductions.
2018 State of the Guild
By joining the board, I got to step behind the curtain and learn about all the backstage activity that goes on in support of our members. One of the very first things I learned about the board was that each one of these people takes our mission to heart, weighing decisions against these words:
“The Northwest Editors Guild connects writers with professional editors of the written word in the Pacific Northwest. We also foster community among our members and provide resources for their career development.”
Say Hello to Your 2018 Northwest Editors Guild Board
Here’s a friendly introduction to the twelve-person all-volunteer board of directors who serve two-year terms and work on committees that support the Guild’s mission: connecting clients with professional editors, fostering community among our members, and providing resources for their career development.
Programming Committee Roundtable
The powerhouse behind member meetings, workshops, coffee hours, and other special events, the board’s programming committee, consisting this year of Kelley Frodel, Kristin Carlsen, and Pm Weizenbaum, is vital to the smooth operation of the EdsGuild. Earlier this year, we got these busy ladies to sit down for a little while and talk to us about their responsibilities and what it’s like working for the board.
Meet Your New 2017 Edsguild Board
On January 7 the EdsGuild board had our annual retreat in West Seattle at a coworking space generously provided by Kerrie Schurr. Membership on the board changes every year, with some members stepping down after their two years of service and new volunteers stepping in, and many continuing members changing positions, and we’ve found over the last several years that a day-long retreat is a great way to get to know each other a little if we weren’t acquainted before, get onto the same page with logistics and regulations, and plan for the year ahead.
This year is an especially exciting one, coming up on the Guild’s 20th anniversary as well as our 6th conference in the fall, and we’ll be taking some time over the next month or so on this blog to introduce you all to our board members, the committees and positions they serve in, what those committees have planned in the coming year, and how you can get involved. For now, we’d like to give you a chance to get to know a little bit about your new board members.
2016 State of the Guild
I don’t know where the urge to shoot myself in the foot comes from, but I’m going to tell on myself now: the Guild met in this same fabulous Sky Lounge for a potluck two years ago, and I brought my standard potluck dish, which is a Greek potato salad. Everyone was asked to create a label, naming their food item, and place the label next to their dish. I’ll never forget the horror of standing in this room, looking at my Magic-markered word “Potatoe” and thinking maybe I should take the e off the end. But not being so sure about that. All the while, fifty hungry editors were lining up to make the rounds on the buffet table. I left the e on there. Please forgive me–this happened at the end of a long, hard week and you all made me nervous.
I discovered that I come unglued in the presence of genius.