Presidents report.

AGM PRESIDENT’S REPORT

A special thank you to all members; WITS would not exist without you to share your writing along with your hopes and dreams. To those of you who’ve had other commitments that have kept you from joining us on a Wednesday night, feel free to email what you are working on or have completed and we can read it out for you at a meeting or just offer comment if that is what you choose. Or simply keep us up with what you’re doing by sending a post to the blog site.
Once upon a time back in the good old days, writer’s groups were just that- a bunch of people who got together to share their work and ideas. Now the threat of litigation has seen incorporation become an essential part of NFP organizations. It is part of the role of committee to ensure that as a body we have procedures in place to offer protection. Like it or not this is the 21st century and we have to take the bad with the good.
I’m pointing out the obvious here but I think we all need to recognize that committee positions are honorary and that we are all firstly writers. We have volunteered to keep things running smoothly and at the same time make sure that WITS provides its members with every opportunity to be as good and successful a writer as you can be, but your help and support makes the job so much easier. Each person who has served on the committee over the years has contributed to what we are today.
I would like to offer special recognition to the committee members who stepped into the breech last November. With the support of the two remaining committee members we have achieved a lot in a very short time.

THE COMMITTEE FOR 2009-2010

PRESIDENT: LORI HURST
VICE-PRESIDENT NIKESH MURALI
TREASURER STEPHEN RYAN
SECRETARY PETER HURST
NEWS EDITOR KERRY ASHWIN

Welcome to the committee Nikesh and Stephen. Kerry Ashwin has simply swapped hats.
The news editor’s job is an especially important one. Kerry Parke did a brilliant job on the newsletter for three years and was there at the initial creation of our blog site. (I believe she is now attending blogaholics anonymous) . A’Mhara, who is an absolute whiz, took over the site and added her own special blend of expertise and creativity. A’Mhara thanks so much for all the time and effort you put in. Job well done. Maintaining the blog site, which has become the face of WITS, in a professional way, takes skill and dedication and Kerry Ashwin will manage it beautifully. The blog will be the means through which WITS not only keeps members in touch with what we are planning and have achieved, it is also a national pipeline.

WE WANT YOU TO BE PROUD TO SAY I AM A MEMBER OF WITS, A PRESTIGOUS WRITER’S ORGANIZATION.

In the coming year we aim to use the pool of talent available through WITS to go from strength to strength.
Looking back over the past few months:
From Justine Wilkinson’s Strategic Planning Workshop our Action Plan has evolved. Thank you Peter for all your efforts in getting the initial ideas into ordered form. Nikesh has already set up an Events Calendar and we have an exciting year ahead. We will also continue with our knowledge sharing workshops which have proved such a success.
Sylvia Kelso’s Fabulous February Fantasy workshop was just that: Fabulous.
The Chronicles of T’ville, has been published as an e-book. If you have not yet downloaded and read the anthology it is well worth making the effort. The Professionalism and talent displayed by the writers involved has certainly helped to raise WITS profile.
NOWRIMO – WITS novel writing month is progressing nicely.
Congratulations. To all those who have accomplished great things in the past year, I’m not about to list them- Congratulations.
A writer’s life is depicted as isolated and lonely, but for most of us writing is part of who we are. So I say to you on those days when you are convinced that you should take up knitting or go dig a deep hole and sit in it, take heart you are not alone. Your writing buddies are here for you. Just knowing that, makes the road a lot less lonely.

Lori