Daily Archives: January 1, 2009

January President’s Message

By the time you read this, the year will have wound to a close, and the lovely, warm CHAOS of the holidays will be just another sweet memory – however at this moment it’s still two days before Christmas and I still have housecleaning, shopping, and food to prepare because they’re all coming here! Stop the insanity!!!!

Okay… I’m breathing…

So, did you take the online class for organizing your life? I should have… I might have gotten a little more writing in over the past couple of weeks. Then again… What with kids (plural) moving back in, kid rolling my car, (he’s okay) kids (or me) cracking the window on the rental car after forgetting to get the insurance, kids borrowing another car and denting it so we have to replace the chrome bumper before returning it, Dad having emergency surgery (he’s okay), and oh yeah – shopping, cleaning, and working full time, I really needed to be organized (or hire a keeper – which I can’t afford).

Still, I’m wonderfully fortunate that my son walked away without a scratch (only his psyche is bruised), my dad came through the surgery (four days later than he was supposed to… but he’s home now). And I’ll be surrounded by family for the holiday (wait… am I counting that as a blessing or a curse?) And I actually did get in a couple of pages of writing.

If you believe in New Years resolutions, perhaps a very key thing for all of us is to get organized. Your chapter is going to be pursuing this. Carol Prescott and Julie Hurwitz have volunteered to develop a strategic plan for all of us. This will include setting organizational goals based on a survey that you will receive within the next month or so.

This will be your plan for your organization, so I hope you will all find the time to fill out the survey, and tell us what is important to you. What entices you to come to meetings? What programs would you like to see? What on-line courses would you like to have made available to you? How else might you like to be involved? What else should we be doing?

The next resolution that you should make ought to be about you and your writing. What’s your goal for the year? How about this month? 1 page a day? Maybe 2? Maybe 25 pages a week? Peer pressure can help, if you let it. Join a critique group. Or buddy up with a friend.

Or, come to the meeting and take advantage of “Write for the Money.” Set a goal for yourself, drop a $1.00 in the jar and by the February meeting, complete your goal, tear off the slip and drop it into the box for the drawing. You win whatever money that is dropped into the jar that month! See you win two ways! You are compelled to meet your goals and if we draw your name, you win money!

One way or the other, consider increasing your writing output this year! Who knows, you might be the next person getting a rose at the podium!

Randi