AGENDA
Military Society of America
Board of Directors meeting
4:45 p.m. 7 September 2018
Call to: (712) 832-8330 Access code: 618 1029 #
1. Call to order David Zimmerman
2. Minutes of last meeting (Appendix A) Joe Epley
3. Treasure's report (Agenda Appendix B) Bob Doerr
4. Nominating Committee report Rob Ballister
a. Nominees Ballister
b. Discussion on bylaws, motion by Ormond
"Amend Article IV, Section 6 (a) of the bylaws to read
'The President Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary shall be elected by the members shall hold office for a term to two years, or until their successors are elected."
This motion changes the length of tenure from three to two years and makes the terms compatible with that of the Directors.
5. Annual Meeting 2018 Joe Epley
a. Program Doerr
b. Attendance
c. Writer of the Year Ormond
d. VA workshop Ormond
e. Motions by Doerr:
MWSA will reimburse one-night hotel stay for directors who attend the conference, and one-night hotel stays for Don Helin and Valerie Ormond for coming in a day early to handle the VA Writer's course and will pay for two nights at the hotel for the President (Dwight Zimmerman). These expenses will come out of the Operations account as they deal with MWSA management and our outreach efforts.
WMSA will pay from the awards budget for two nights stay at the conference hotel for the Awards director.
6. Annual Meeting 2019 Jim Tritten
a. Motion to authorize Tritten to sign a contract ...
“MWSA appoints board member Jim Tritten to be its agent and conference coordinator at the September 11-19, 2019 joint conference with SouthWest Writers (SWW) to be held at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico.”
b. Motion to allow South West Writers to act as agent for WMSA by Tritten:
“MWSA agrees that SouthWest Writers (SWW) will be the sole agent and producer to sign contracts and pay all bills with the Hotel Albuquerque for the joint writing conference to be held in September 2019.”
c. Motion by Tritten to approve a memorandum of understanding between WMSA and SWW to share in profits and losses.
“The MWSA President or Vice-President and conference coordinator will draft for approval by both the SWW and MWSA boards a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will provide for MWSA to share the risk and how both organizations will share profits.”
d. Motion by Tritten to approve meeting date deviation from bylaws:
"The MWSA board approves changing the annual meeting for 2019 date from the last quarter of the year to September 11-19."
7. Awards committee report John Cathcart
8. Other organizations Valarie Ormond
9 Membership report Joe Epley
As of 28 Aug, total Active members:279 (32 lifetime non-paying dues).
Of the 279, 59 are new members.
10 Other old business Dwight Zimmerman
11. New Business Dwight Zimmerman
On Motion by Epley:
The next board meeting will be in the boardroom at 4 pm Thursday, 7 November 2018 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
12 Adjourn
Appendix A
MINUTES
Military Writers Society of America
Board of Directors Meeting
6 June 2018
1. MEETING
With proper notice given, the Board of Directors of the Military Writers Society of America held their quarterly meeting via teleconference on Wednesday, 6 June 2018 at 5 pm EDT. Participating in the call were Dwight Zimmerman, President; Bob Doerr, Vice President; Joe Epley, Secretary; Farrell Childs, Valerie Ormond, Kathleen Rodgers, and Jim Tritten.
2. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (Appendix A)
On motion duly made and seconded, minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2018 were approved.
3. TREASURER'S REPORT (Appendix B)
In the absence of a treasurer, Doerr presented a financial report that showed $15, 808.22 income and $6,841.86 expense.
The question of who was paying for the World War I anthology being published by Red Engine Press. Zimmerman said he would find out.
4. MEMBERSHIP REPORT (Appendix C)
In the absence of John Faulkner, Doerr reported 233 active members and 66 members with pending renewal. The President urged everyone to actively recruit more members.
5. ANNUAL MEETING
Epley reported that a handful of members have registered for the annual meeting. Not all officers and directors are registered. A push needs to be made for more members to take advantage of early registration discount that ends July 1st. Doerr reported that programming was going as planned.
5. NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT
Bob Ballister, chairman of the Nominating Committee, was not in attendance. Doerr reported that six members have put their names in. The committee will continue to get other nominees for officer and director.
6. AWARDS REPORT
John Cathcart, chairman of the Awards Committee, was not in the meeting. Doerr reported on his behalf that the Committee had about 67 to 70 books competing this year and was nearing the deadline for 2018. There is a backlog of books that need reviewing.
7. WRITER OF THE YEAR (Appendix D)
Ormond presented a recommendation for the criteria for awarded the Mike Mullens Memorial Writer of the Year. After length discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, the board voted to adopt the recommendations as a policy for WMSA.
Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Mike Mullins Memorial Writer of the Year (WOY) Award
Terms
1. The Award and Medal shall be awarded annually to the Writer of the Year (WOY) for distinguished contributions to the Society in consideration for that year.
2. The Awards Committee and the Board of Directors in their deliberations will consider the following.
Definitions
1. The Committee shall consider all forms of writing—fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
2. The author’s work displays respect for the military and military family understandings, abilities, and appreciations.
3. “Distinguished” contributions are defined as:
• Marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement.
• Marked by excellence in quality.
• Individually distinct.
4. “Writer/Author” may include co-writers and co-authors. The writer(s) may be awarded the medal posthumously.
Criteria
1. Candidate should have a “significant body of work.” This requires a minimum of four books, articles, or works in publications, and must include award/recognition at a minimum from MWSA.
2. Candidate must be a recognized active member of MWSA.
3. Candidate should attend the MWSA Conference to receive the award (if not posthumously awarded).
4. MWSA Officers and Members of the Board of Directors currently serving cannot be considered for Writer of the Year.
Responsibilities of the Award
Candidates must be aware of and agree to active participation in MWSA by giving back, and recognition of MWSA members. The award recipient will fulfill stated/assigned responsibilities to assist and promote the MWSA organization in some manner, including but not limited to:
1. Providing articles for the MWSA newsletter.
2. Presenting or sharing the responsibility of presenting a minimum of one seminar at the following year’s conference.
3. Being amenable to represent MWSA on radio/TV when asked, and to take on other opportunities that may arise.
Process
1. Any member of MWSA in good standing may nominate candidates, in accordance with the established criteria, for the WOY Award by June 30th annually.
a. Members may nominate via the online form in the Awards Page of the MWSA website.
b. The MWSA Awards Committee will also solicit inputs via Dispatches and email blasts.
2. The Awards Committee will receive nominations and recommend them to the Board of Directors by July 15th annually.
3. The Board will qualify a maximum of three candidates. The President will select a Board member to contact each candidate, and the Board member will then contact each potential candidate to make them aware of the requirements to accept to become an official WOY candidate.
4. Following the results of the three candidates, the Board will vote on the candidates who have agreed to the requirements on a specified day by email at least 60 days before the annual conference.
5. The WOY will be notified at least 10 days following the vote to assist in his/her preparations for the annual conference.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board approved the first Writer of the Year award be made this fall to Mike Mullens posthumously.
Zimmerman noted that Mrs. Mullens will attend the annual conference as the MWSA's guest. At the last meeting, $1,000 was approved to cover her expenses.
8. 2019 CONFERENCE
Jim Tritten reported on five hotels in Albuquerque, New Mexico who submitted proposals to host the 2019 annual meeting. After lengthy discussion and on motion duly made and seconded, the board named Jim Tritten to coordinate the 2019 conference in Albuquerque with the Southwest Writers Group. The Board expressed a preference with Hotel Albuquerque and asked Tritten to negotiate an affordable rate.
9. OUTREACH TO MILITARY WRITERS ORGANIZATIONS (Appendix E)
Ormond presented a detail report on other organizations which WMSA should contact for joint ventures and recruit members. President Zimmerman praised Ormond for the effort and ask that the list be expanded and that board members contact the groups to see if they are interested.
10. NEXT MEETING
The president declared the next meeting to be a teleconference call on Wednesday, 5 September 2018 at 5 pm EDT.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:15 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe S. Epley
Secretary, MWSA
APPENDIX B
MWSA FY 2018 Budget – May 31
Income 2018 Estimate Actual
Membership Dues 15,000 11,622.22
Book Review/Awards 3,200 2,320.00
Conference 5,000 1,625.00
Donations/Stickers/Other 0 241.00
Total Income 23,200 15,808.22
Expenses
REP Contract 11,000 4,715.00
Book/Review Awards 3,200 1,096.95
Conference 5,000
Board Meetings 1,000
Outreach (VA Class, etc) 1,000 250.00*
CPA 500
Dues, Renewals, Misc. 1,500 780.86
Total Expenses 23,200 6,841.86
· 2017 conference expense
Note: Estimates for income are based on prior year’s experience. Estimated expense is based on the corresponding income item. As the year goes on, specific income and expense numbers will be documented. Dues go into Operations account and cover all expenses of running MWSA. Conference(s) and book awards program need to pay for themselves and fees in each not geared for making anything but a very small profit. That very small excess is necessary to cover any unexpected expense, and if not needed, should be used to decrease cost of future program activities.
APPENDIX C
Red Engine Press
1906 South 70th Street
Fort Smith, AR 72903
412.496.3026
02 June 2018
Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)
Dwight Zimmerman – President
Bob Doerr – Vice President
Joe Epley - Secretary
INVOICE
For the fulfillment of the monthly activities outlined in the MWSA – Red Engine Press (REP)
contract:
1. Maintenance of roster database within Wild Apricot (WA) interactive software for
members and contacts. Current number of member records (active and lapsed) in the
WA database is 499. As new members join, lapsed members get archived to keep the
roster below the 500-record count avoiding the higher WA license fee. There are 234
active members, 188 lapsed members, and 66 members with pending renewal (invoiced).
2. Collection of dues and events payments.
3. Mass electronic mailing to members providing monthly MWSA news.
4. Track dues and events payments within WA. Current number of payments posted is
171 (with one refund). Thirty-eight checks have been processed.
5. Aid with WA functionality for members.
Contract price: $35.00 per hour, not exceeding $350.00 per month.
Monthly Membership Management software license fee: $95.00
Total REP invoice amount for May 2018: $350.00 + $95.00 = $445.00
Thank you for your business,
John Faulkner
APPENDIX D
Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)
Mike Mullins Memorial Writer of the Year (WOY) Award
Terms
1. The Award and Medal shall be awarded annually to the Writer of the Year (WOY) for distinguished contributions to the Society in consideration for that year.
2. The Awards Committee and the Board of Directors in their deliberations will consider the following.
Definitions
1. The Committee shall consider all forms of writing—fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
2. The author’s work displays respect for the military and military family understandings, abilities, and appreciations.
3. “Distinguished” contributions are defined as:
• Marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement.
• Marked by excellence in quality.
• Individually distinct.
4. “Writer/Author” may include co-writers and co-authors. The writer(s) may be awarded the medal posthumously.
Criteria
1. Candidate should have a “significant body of work.” This requires a minimum of four books, articles, or works in publications, and must include award/recognition at a minimum from MWSA.
2. Candidate must be a recognized active member of MWSA.
3. Candidate should attend the MWSA Conference to receive the award (if not posthumously awarded).
4. MWSA Officers and Members of the Board of Directors currently serving cannot be considered for Writer of the Year.
Responsibilities of the Award
Candidates must be aware of and agree to active participation in MWSA by giving back, and recognition of MWSA members. The award recipient will fulfill stated/assigned responsibilities to assist and promote the MWSA organization in some manner, including but not limited to:
1. Providing articles for the MWSA newsletter.
2. Presenting or sharing the responsibility of presenting a minimum of one seminar at the following year’s conference.
3. Being amenable to represent MWSA on radio/TV when asked, and to take on other opportunities that may arise.
Process
1. Any member of MWSA in good standing may nominate candidates, in accordance with the established criteria, for the WOY Award by June 30th annually.
a. Members may nominate via the online form in the Awards Page of the MWSA website.
b. The MWSA Awards Committee will also solicit inputs via Dispatches and email blasts.
2. The Awards Committee will receive nominations and recommend them to the Board of Directors by July 15th annually.
3. The Board will qualify a maximum of three candidates. The President will select a Board member to contact each candidate, and the Board member will then contact each potential candidate to make them aware of the requirements to accept to become an official WOY candidate.
4. Following the results of the three candidates, the Board will vote on the candidates who have agreed to the requirements on a specified day by email at least 60 days prior to the annual conference.
5. The WOY will be notified at least 10 days following the vote to assist in his/her preparations for the annual conference.
APPENDIX E
Information on Veteran Writing Groups for
Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)
-With contributions from Jim Tritten, Kathy Rodgers, and Valerie Ormond
· Veterans Administration (VA) Hospitals
The VA offers writing groups as a part of recreational therapy. Generally, these are at every VA hospital. The link would have to be to each hospital. The writing groups are generally not highly visible, and a limiting factor is that the writer must have a VA patient ID card. Most hospitals publish the writings of members of the group in a locally produced product distributed locally on campus. For example, Jim Tritten has been routinely published in New Mexico in The Heartbeat.
Link for Albuquerque VA Hospital:
https://www.albuquerque.va.gov/services/Recreation_Therapy.asp
Veterans Voices
The local hospitals have a volunteer that selects the best of local stories produced by members of their groups and sends them to a national volunteer organization that publishes the periodic journal called Veterans Voices. Writers do not need to go through the local hospital to be published in Veterans Voices and can submit to them directly. Jim Tritten has been published in Veterans Voices frequently.
Links to Veterans Voices:
http://www.veteransvoices.com/write/writing-submission/
VA Writing Contests
The VA runs an annual writing contest that is administered by each hospital. To participate, writers must be either an inpatient or outpatient at that hospital. Local winners are eligible to participate in the national contest. National winners are invited and paid to attend the annual National Veterans Creative Arts Festival co-sponsored with the American Legion Auxiliary. Jim Tritten was a national winner in 2016 and participated and said it was simply great.
Links to the Creative Arts Festival:
https://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/caf/index.asp
https://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/caf/docs/NVCAF_Fact_Sheet.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/NVCAF/
· Non-Government Veteran Organizations
There are non-government veteran organizations that encourage writing by veterans. Some of these are structured and have publications associated with the organization. Jim Tritten has been published by a some of these.
Military Experience & the Arts
Links to Military Experience & the Arts:
http://militaryexperience.org/
http://militaryexperience.org/how-to-write-a-story-that-mea-will-publish/
http://militaryexperience.org/submissions/
https://www.facebook.com/militaryexperienceandthearts/
Veterans Writing Project
Valerie Ormond attended a Veterans Writing Project (VWP) 2-day workshop. Fred Foote, who attended the 2015 MWSA Conference in Phoenix is an active member of VWP.
Links to Veterans Writing Project and its publication:
O-Dark-Thirty
United States Veterans’ Artists Alliance (USVAA)
Information from the internet:
“The United States Veterans’ Artists Alliance (USVAA) is a 501 © 3, non-profit, multi-disciplinary arts organization. Founded in 2004 by military veterans and artists, USVAA provides opportunities for veterans in the arts by networking with veterans, artists, supportive individuals and organizations within the arts and veterans’ communities to find funding and support for individual artistic projects in theater, film, television, the visual/fine arts and a wide variety of crafts….”
USVAA appears to be a rather large program in the Los Angeles, CA area with corporate support. They have several writing programs including the USVAA Veterans Writing Workshop, and they work with the Writers Guild Foundation. USVAA programs include screenwriting and television writing, literature, and poetry.
Links to USVAA:
http://usvaa.org/program-the-usvaa-veterans-writing-program/
Veteran Artist Program
Links to Veteran Artist Program:
http://veteranartistprogram.org/
https://www.facebook.com/veteranartistprogram/
War Writers
Link to War Writers:
Warrior Writers
Links to Warrior Writers:
http://www.warriorwriters.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Warrior-Writers-100408730072553/
Mil Speak
Today, MilSpeak Foundation is led by former Marine Corps officer, Tracy Crow, whose diverse background is rooted in the military, corporate, and academic worlds. Her professional experience includes thirty-eight years of Kathy Rodgers is personal friends with the director of Mil Speak. (It looks like three organizations but MilSpeak and On Point have merged under Mil Speak). Based in North Carolina, under new leadership, Tracy Crow (MWSA member) recently took over as President.
MilSpeak Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)3 public charitable organization that supports, promotes, and celebrates the creative arts endeavors of our military servicemembers, veterans, families, and caregivers through MilSpeak instructional on-site and online seminars and workshops, online publishing platforms, and resource advocacy for the purposes of documenting and preserving military history, increasing public awareness about the cross-generational impact of military experience, recognizing and promoting the wellness connection between arts-related activity and stress management, and fostering a warm community of artists.
But at the core of MilSpeak Foundation is the desire to help unleash YOUR inner artist.executive leadership expertise, crisis management training and leadership, sales training and management, advertising and marketing, public and media relations, corporate and entrepreneurial business development, publication design and editing, and academic teaching.
Tracy is a former assistant professor of journalism and creative writing and the author of five military-themed books. After leaving academia in 2013, she founded On Point Seminars & Workshops, named after her breakthrough writing text, On Point: A Guide to Writing the Military Story, and leads writing workshops, mostly for veterans and their families, around the country and online. On Point Seminars & Workshops is now a division of MilSpeak Foundation, and replaces MCWS.
While MilSpeak Foundation, Inc., reorganizes under new leadership, what remains the same is its longstanding commitment toward building bridges between the creative arts and our military communities.
http://milspeakfoundation.org/about-milspeak/
http://milspeakfoundation.org/on-point-creative-writing-seminars/
Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group
Valerie Ormond has a connection with this group via Goodreads. One of its leaders, Eileen Schell, reached out to her a few years ago, and Valerie donated books to the organization. From their website:
“There's a reason soldiers make good writers. Under all the stress, they've got to remain composed, have discipline, pay attention to detail, make situational observations as if your life depended on it - and then communicate effectively with your fellow troops." —Andrew Carroll, founder of the Legacy Project
The Syracuse Veterans' Writing group is open to all veterans and their supporters. The focus of our group is on writing nonfiction accounts or "true stories" of life in and out of the military.
Veterans of all ages, branches of the military, and conflicts are welcome. You need not have any prior experience with writing, just a desire to write your stories and share them with others.
Our group meets once a month on Saturdays 10 a.m.-12 noon on the Syracuse University campus in the Writing Center, 1st floor, H.B. Crouse. Refreshments are provided, and the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. The bulk of our meeting time is focused on sharing and commenting on group members' writing. There is no cost or fee associated with the writing group. Just bring a notebook and pen or and be prepared to do some writing.
Writing group sessions focus on:
Learning key techniques for nonfiction writing
Drafting your stories
Sharing your stories and offering feedback to other group members
Encouraging each other as writers.
Polishing and preparing your work for publication.
The group is co-led by Eileen E. Schell, a writing teacher and writing group leader for over 20 years and Ivy Kleinbart, a poet and writing teacher at Syracuse University.
Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project
WGF is screenplay focused in Los Angeles. From the WGF website:
“The mission of the Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans Writing Project is to identify emerging writers from United States military backgrounds and provide them with the tools and insights to nurture their passion for writing and successfully navigate the entertainment industry.
We do this in two phases over a yearlong program: A weekend-long retreat, and monthly follow-up workshops and special events. Each military veteran is paired with WGA members. Our writer-mentors represent some of the most beloved movies and television series of the past and present, and are committed to guiding the voices of the future.”
Link to WGF:
https://www.wgfoundation.org/programs/military-veterans-writing-workshop/
Other Non-Veteran Writing Organizations
There are probably hundreds of non-veteran writing organizations with missions similar or identical to that of MWSA. Here is just one, the Southwest Writers in New Mexico, as a sample.
Links to Southwest Writers:
http://www.southwestwriters.com/
https://www.facebook.com/southwestwriters/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/southwestwritersonline/
Also, the Corrales Writing Group link:
https://www.facebook.com/WritersInCorrales/
Finally, there are academic organizations that offer free writing classes not limited to veterans but certainly of interest to veterans. Jim Tritten has participated in this one.
Link to Writing University [University of Iowa]:
http://www.writinguniversity.org/
The Writer’s Garrett, Dallas, TX
Kathy Rodgers is connected and suggested if MWSA hosts a conference in Dallas/Fort Worth, MWSA may be able to partner with them. In her words:
“The director has worked hard to incorporate veterans into their curriculum. Jack London and Don Helin taught a class in Waco, TX summer of 2016 and I believe that was sponsored by the Garrett or a combo with the VA.
“In fall of 2016, former MWSA member Leila Levinson and I sat on a panel and talked about writing about the military. Leila also conducted a two-hour training session for workshop instructors interested in working with veterans.”
From their website:
The Writer’s Garret has developed Writing Over War to support military veterans, their families, and others affected by conflict. Your story can change lives. Learn to tell it with skill and power. Share your experiences through writing in a way that will help others to better understand your service.
Writing Over War faculty and presenters are practicing writers: poets, novelists, memoirists, and playwrights; they are spoken-word artists and writers of creative non-fiction, flash fiction, and short stories. Many are themselves veterans, the spouses and sons and daughters of veterans, or refugees from war-torn countries. All are trained workshop facilitators with a heart for serving their communities through sharing their love of the written word.
Our workshops focus on the craft of writing, as well as strategies to help participants process and write about intense experiences in a way that promotes good health. Research exploring the connection between the arts and well-being has found that writing from deep feeling boosts immune function, brings about drops in blood pressure, reduces feelings of depression, and elevates daily moods. Writing makes a difference.
Writing Over War introductory workshops are always free to veterans and their family members. To learn more about bringing a workshop to your organization or community, contact us at WoverW@writersgarret.org
Link to Writing Over War:
http://www.writersgarret.org/project/writingoverwar/
Western Writers of America
From their website:
WWA was incorporated in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West. Like the Western landscape itself, WWA and the books, songs, and stories produced by its members have evolved immensely.
WWA boasts historians, nonfiction authors, young adult, romance writers, songwriters, poets, and screenwriters for film and television. We all have one thing in common—our work in every medium is set in the ever-changing American West.
Today we have more than 650 members who have garnered awards and made The New York Times best-sellers list. Members include C.J. Box, Anne Hillerman, Craig Johnson, Tom Clavin, Nancy Plain, Mark Hall-Patton, Thomas Cobb, Chris Enss, Kat Martin, Kirk Ellis, Lucia St. Clair Robson, Johnny D. Boggs, Paul Andrew Hutton and David Morrell.
Link to Western Writers of America:
Additional Resources
Link to The Iowa Review’s collection of Writing Resources for Veterans (some of the above are included.) MWSA is listed:
https://iowareview.org/content/writing-resources-veterans
Link to Article on Writing Groups:
https://conniejjasperson.com/2017/06/28/amwriting-choosing-a-writing-group/
Link to site where authors can list books for free and connect with other military writers:
http://www.military-writers.com/index.html
Agenda Appendix B
MWSA FY 2018 Budget – Aug 31
Income 2018 Estimate Actual
Membership Dues 15,000 15,530.00
Book Review/Awards 3,200 2,840.00
Conference 5,000 2,110.00
Donations/Stickers/Other 0 247.70
Total Income 23,200 $20,968.70
Expenses
REP Contract 11,000 7,160.00
Book/Review Awards 3,200 1,187.70
Conference 5,000
Board Meetings 1,000
Outreach (VA Class, etc) 1,000 250.00*
CPA 500
Dues, Renewals, Misc. 1,500 1074.53
Total Expenses 23,200 $9,672.23
2017 VA Class expense
Note: Estimates for income are based on prior year’s experience. Estimated expense is based on the corresponding income item. As the year goes on, specific income and expense numbers will be documented. Dues go into Operations account and cover all expenses of running MWSA. Conference(s) and book awards program need to pay for themselves and fees in each not geared for making anything but a very small profit. That very small excess is necessary to cover any unexpected expense, and if not needed, should be used to decrease cost of future program activities.