Clark Surprised Us with a Visit

Tonight was supposed to be a night of critiques instead; we received a surprised visit from Sherrie Clark Article Manager of http://www.jaxchristian.com/. She shared with us that her manager was looking for new writers. This has never happened before! Someone came looking for writers. After all we are a writing group.

She shared that they we needing articles of all kinds. Any subject basically. It is wonderful when we receive visits like this. This goes to show what word of mouth can do for you as a writer! Her manager heard about us from his manager. Therefore, his manager went to Sherrie and asked her to visit us. Wow! This is the power of marketing.

Sherrie shared with us how that they had received 600 face book fans just in the first day they opened. It was a miracle for this new company that they have started off so powerful. That of course, is the power of God.

She told us not to worry about how many articles to send that she would find a way to use them. Sherrie said that a good word count would be anywhere from 300-1000 words for an article. They do not pay at the moment but they are hoping to in the near future. They have already received an overwhelming hit on their site as to who is reading what. That is the power of the media and internet.

She is interested in receiving new articles daily. They do devotions as well but not accepting many at this time. You may reach Sherrie for questions at (904)-887-9981. Also by email at SV.Clark@comcast.net and articles@jaxchristian.com. Share your story with Jax Christian today! Thanks Sherri for visiting with us and we look forward to the opportunity of working with you and with Jax Christian.

Christine M Ramey, FCCW Secretary

FCCW Secretary & VP PR Positions Filled

Tonight was a discussion about the future of First Coast Christian Writers and were we would like it to go from here.

Tracy Redman, FCCW Treasurer, addresses FCCW participants. 

Many talked about the possibilities of making us in connections with Toastmasters! The majority was in the vote and on the go with Toastmaster. Nevertheless, there were those whom did not like the idea of Toastmasters as it would change the group from what Dr. Lorraine intended for it to be.

Many commented on a job well done that Dr. Lorraine has brought to our group, and the many hours of labor and love she has brought forth to First Coast Christian Writers. This has been Dr. Lorraine’s baby. She had begun this group from the ground up. "The work I've done over the past two years has been very fulfilling, but now it's time to pass the torch to other leaders," says Lorraine.

Many things were talked about as the group discussed together the work that needed to be done. The first thing Dr. Lorraine brought up was the fact of needing to fill all the officer positions. There were several positions that needed to be filled and voted upon. Those positions were as follows: Vice President of Education, Vice President of Public Relations, Secretary, and Treasurer. It's too much of a load for one person to take on all these responsibilities. "The group needs strong leadership in order to be sustainable," says Lorraine. 

We talked about Toastmasters and we discussed the different possibilities, but the decision was to not go in that direction at this time. We decided as a group, and acknowledged it would be too much of a culture change to the group. First Coast Christian Writers was built based on a foundation of Toastmasters principles and procedures, but we're not going to move forward to become an official Toastmasters chapter at this time. 

Someone brought up was the possibility of having two meeting’s a month instead of meeting weekly. Someone brought up the idea of having a critique group one week and a speaker the next. Many other ideas were suggested. No times or dates as to when and if changes will be finalized will take place until after the new leadership team has a chance to discuss changes for 2010. The members who paid through December 2009 can rest assured that the weekly meetings will remain the same through the end of the year.

Ann Brinegar volunteered to work with the VP of Membership to match members as mentors/mentees for members who are interested in extra accountability to their writing goals outside the meetings. This supports our mission for holding each other accountable for reaching goals.

The point was brought back to the floor about needing to fill positions. As time was close to the end, votes were made.
 

Lynn Rix was nominated and unanimously voted in as Vice President of Public Relations. Lynn wants to learn the public relations side of the writing business. 

 

Christine M. Ramey was nominated and unanimously voted in as Secretary. She is happy and honored to take it.  

Tracy Redman, FCCW Treasurer, was nominated and  unanimously voted in as new President for 2010. Tracy will shadow Lorraine Haataia through the end of the year, and will become the new president effective January 1, 2010.  

Karen Godfrey is fairly new to her position as VP of Membership. She accepted this position a few weeks ago and is eager to serve FCCW visitors and members.

Buddy Putnam agreed to remain Sergeant at Arms. He has served faithfully in this position since the group began meeting in January 2008.

 

Bob Haataia has faithfully served as the club webmaster since fall of 2007. Before the group began meeting, Bob worked with Lorraine to build the club website, blog, and other marketing tools. Bob has agreed to remain the webmaster.

Although two positions still remain open, Vice President of  Education and Treasurer, Dr. Lorraine Haataia was relieved and thankful that two officer positions were filled and she can now begin training new leaders and concentrating more on her own writing. Effective January 1, 2010, Lorraine will serve as the Immediate Past President, providing guidance for Tracy, and the new leadership team.

Everyone was pleased with the decisions that were made and the meeting was closed and bathed in prayer for the future of First Coast Christian Writers.

By Christy Ramey, FCCW Secretary

First Four First Coast Christian Writers Officers

Mary (VPE), Debra (VPM), Lorraine (President), Inez (Treasurer)

In our first meeting last week, I asked everyone to fill out a brief form with their contact information. I also included a list of all the officers positions and asked everyone to number, in order of priority, their interest in serving in one of the following leadership roles:

• President
• Vice President of Education
• Vice President of Membership
• Vice President of Public Relations
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Sergeant at Arms
• Web Master

Our VP of Education didn't even attend our first meeting, but Debra was so excited about the group that she told her colleague and writing partner, Mary, about the group. So Mary McCormack attended our second meeting and volunteered to serve as an officer--and what a blessing it is to have an NSA member serve in this role!

Inez Holger was my writing partner. We used to meet at Borders coffee shop to read and critique each other's writing. She's a fabulous writer. Her writing keeps you laughing and crying all the way through. She's amazing at writing details about setting and characters. I was so excited when I saw Inez at our first meeting last week and even more excited when she stepped up to serve as our Treasurer.

The blessings go on, no really! Get this--Debra Wilson is a PR specialist and she volunteered to serve as our VP of Membership.  Debra already has many of the skills we're going to need to promote the group in the community and reach our goal of 52 members by December 31, 2008.

Over the past few years, my prayers have become less specific. I pray for the big vision and God always answers. He doesn't always give me the answer I want, but in this case he finally is. I have been praying for a local weekly writing support group with people serious about their writing and this initial leadership team gives me hope that this is finally becoming a reality. I also wanted a group where we could open and close in prayer and provide a ministry for and through writers. For the past few years, I couldn't figure out why God wasn't sending me an invitation. I finally realized that he wanted me to send the invitations!

Jim Ovenshire is the first speaker for First Coast Christian Writers. He presented 15 lessons  he learned from publishing his own book. One of the tips he mentioned was to remember to put your title on the spine of the book! Hey Jim, would  you mind posting all 15 of your tips as a comment to this posting?

 

Total attendees at today's meeting: 9