This is the second Friday the 13th
in a row that fell on my blog day.
Is somebody trying to tell me something?
I am writing this shortly after my term as president of the Border Crimes Chapter of Sisters in Crime.
I found that chapter members were very supportive. So many people offered help with tasks that we ran out of
tasks before we ran out of volunteers. Members offered suggestions for
programs, updated our bylaws, shared information, took photos and encouraged
one another.
Acia and Cheryl, owners of
Mysteryscape, the mystery bookshop where the chapter met, were gracious hostesses
and great at advertising our meetings and our speakers. I tried to find
speakers who are members of the chapter like Linda Rodriguez, Sally Goldenbaum
and Lisa Harkrader each of whom had a new book coming out the same month. I
also looked for people who I think of as “honorable” members of the chapter,
like Joel Goldman and Jenny Milchman.
The third group of speakers talked about a topic we had not heard about
before like a Deputy United States Marshal who talked about the oldest law
enforcement agency in the United States.
The Border Crimes chapter is rather
unusual in that about half the members are published authors. Many of the speakers told me after
their talks that the audience was attentive, responsive and curious about what the speakers presented. Since some of the speakers are close friends, I was glad they enjoyed the experience. What they may not know is that writers love to hear about other people's jobs, because someday the information may come in handy when developing a character or a situation.
I have to admit I will be glad to
no longer have the responsibility of planning events and the concern of
juggling and adapting to other people’s schedules as well as my own. However, it was an honor to be asked
and overall I enjoyed the experience.
Have you been an officer in the
national or local chapter of Sisters in Crime? What was your experience like?
ps: When this is posted I will be attending Left Coast Crime 2015. Maybe I'll see you there.
ps: When this is posted I will be attending Left Coast Crime 2015. Maybe I'll see you there.
Hey Warren -- it was great to finally get to personally meet you at Left Coast Crime.
ReplyDeleteI was the Webmaster for the Guppy chapter of Sisters in Crime for several years and currently serve as the Membership Vice President of the Lowcountry Sisters in Crime.
~ Jim
I was a member of 2 SinC physical chapters, in Dallas and in Austin, but didn't hold office. My tenure as Guppy president was exhilarating and exhausting. One of the most fun things I've ever done. You'll have lots of time to write now, Warren!
ReplyDeleteI'm just beginning my term as President of the new Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Our members are enthusiastic and supportive. Our first program was by C. Hope Clark who spoke about her FundsforWriters.com, which provides lots of good information about paying sources for writers. I've delighted in working with Kaye and Jim on the Guppy Steering Committee. Being among writers is a great motivator. Thanks for your service, Warren.
ReplyDeleteThank you to all you generous people who donate time to make the SinC system run! It's a wonderfully supportive organization, from the national to the local chapters to the Guppies (and probably more I'm not aware of!)
ReplyDeleteThey couldn't operate without people like you!
The short answer is no. But like KM, I really appreciate you people who do serve. It sounds like you belong to an excellent chapter of SinC probably because of people like you.
ReplyDeleteI'm a newbie to Sisters in Crime. Sounds like you had a good run as Prez!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a wonderful and productive term as president, Warren. Congratulations!
ReplyDelete