Members of the 7th District of Kansas Authors Club met on Saturday, June 8 in the Pioneer Memorial Library in Colby for their Spring Get-to-gather. Those present included: Dist. President, John Sanders, Colby; Dist. Vice President, Frank Powers, Gove; District Treasurer Sheryl Brenn, Levant; District Secretary Marj Brown, Colby; State President Ronda Miller, Lawrence; Millie Horlacher, Colby; Sheree Downs, Lakewood, CO; Linda Bower, Ashland; and Kassie Selby, Brewster.
The noon meal was a catered luncheon. After everyone had their meal and was seated, each gave their name and told what type of writing they do and what they are presently working on.
After the meal, Vice President Powers called the meeting to order due to the fact the President Sanders was going to have to leave early to attend an out-of-town wedding.
Minutes of the Dist. 7 Fall Get-to-gather were read by Secretary Brown. After a correction, Sanders moved that the minutes be approved and Downs seconded the motion. The corrected minutes were unanimously approved.
The treasurer’s report was given by Treasurer Brenn. She gave a balance of $507.38. She added a deposit of $54.00, paid a bill for the caterer of $117.00 and paid prize money to the winners of the spring writing contest and the ending balance came to $334.38. Sanders moved that the report be approved and Downs seconded it and the report was unanimously approved.
Brenn, director of the writing contest, announced the winners. Linda Brower, won first, second and third in the poetry division and Marie Fletcher won first place in the prose division Louise Klick won second and Linda Brower won third.
Brower read her poetry and also her prose winner, “Murder by Banana Cream Pie.”
Judges of the contest were: Carol Barnes, __________________________________
The next District 7 writing contest was discussed. It was decided that since the contests are usually held for the Fall Get-to-gather, and it would be too soon to have it in the fall this year that they would wait and have it in the fall of 2020.
They voted to raise the fee for entering to $3.00 per entry. They also felt that they would accept only hard copy entries since so many email systems did not work well last year and some were unreadable. Other than that they will go by the rules for prose and poetry entries set up by the state hand book of Kansas Author’s Club. People without a hand book can find these rules on the state web page at, www.kansasauthors.org under contests.
Again entries can be any subject you chose in both prose and poetry, or you can enter the theme contest for the state and use that same entry for the dist. 7 contest. Small money prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place and fourth place will receive a certificate.
Miller was the program speaker for the day but she took a few minutes to visit with the group about this year’s state conference that will be held in Wichita Holiday Inn East on Oct. 4-6, 2019. She said when making reservations be sure to mention that you are coming for the Kansas Authors Club State Conference so you will receive a discount for your room.
Miller also said that Hutchinson had opted out of having the 2020 convention there. She suggested that Dist. 6 and Dist. 7 go together and plan the meeting in Western Kansas. After some discussion it was recommended that the meeting be held in Garden City. Miller agreed to look into places to have it there and would report back to Dist. 6 and 7.
Miller continued with her planned program for the day. The title of her program was, “Getting the Lead Out.” She said she implied by this title that she would be giving us strategies, advice, and understanding about why we delay writing our stories and what it means to the author to complete them. She said “Get the lead out of your paper – meaning edit, edit, edit. What you may find of interest, another may not.”
She said it was important to have writing schedule and stick with it.
During her program she gave the audience a writing prompt, saying, two writers are sitting in a car facing an alleyway following a reading by a former poet laureate. While they visit, they see a man with a flashlight tapping his way in the dark toward them. The flashlight is pointed to the ground and is moving back and forth in front of the man as he walks. Miller asked that the audience go from that point and write a short story, a couple of paragraphs or so, about who they thought the man was? What is he doing there? Who are the writers? What is their relationship to one another or to the man in the alley?
The participants came up with some interesting stories and a good time was had by all.
Brown gave a going home prayer for the group and their return to their homes, and they adjourned with plans to meet again, hopefully at the state convention.
Marj Brown, Dist. 7 Secretary
The noon meal was a catered luncheon. After everyone had their meal and was seated, each gave their name and told what type of writing they do and what they are presently working on.
After the meal, Vice President Powers called the meeting to order due to the fact the President Sanders was going to have to leave early to attend an out-of-town wedding.
Minutes of the Dist. 7 Fall Get-to-gather were read by Secretary Brown. After a correction, Sanders moved that the minutes be approved and Downs seconded the motion. The corrected minutes were unanimously approved.
The treasurer’s report was given by Treasurer Brenn. She gave a balance of $507.38. She added a deposit of $54.00, paid a bill for the caterer of $117.00 and paid prize money to the winners of the spring writing contest and the ending balance came to $334.38. Sanders moved that the report be approved and Downs seconded it and the report was unanimously approved.
Brenn, director of the writing contest, announced the winners. Linda Brower, won first, second and third in the poetry division and Marie Fletcher won first place in the prose division Louise Klick won second and Linda Brower won third.
Brower read her poetry and also her prose winner, “Murder by Banana Cream Pie.”
Judges of the contest were: Carol Barnes, __________________________________
The next District 7 writing contest was discussed. It was decided that since the contests are usually held for the Fall Get-to-gather, and it would be too soon to have it in the fall this year that they would wait and have it in the fall of 2020.
They voted to raise the fee for entering to $3.00 per entry. They also felt that they would accept only hard copy entries since so many email systems did not work well last year and some were unreadable. Other than that they will go by the rules for prose and poetry entries set up by the state hand book of Kansas Author’s Club. People without a hand book can find these rules on the state web page at, www.kansasauthors.org under contests.
Again entries can be any subject you chose in both prose and poetry, or you can enter the theme contest for the state and use that same entry for the dist. 7 contest. Small money prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place and fourth place will receive a certificate.
Miller was the program speaker for the day but she took a few minutes to visit with the group about this year’s state conference that will be held in Wichita Holiday Inn East on Oct. 4-6, 2019. She said when making reservations be sure to mention that you are coming for the Kansas Authors Club State Conference so you will receive a discount for your room.
Miller also said that Hutchinson had opted out of having the 2020 convention there. She suggested that Dist. 6 and Dist. 7 go together and plan the meeting in Western Kansas. After some discussion it was recommended that the meeting be held in Garden City. Miller agreed to look into places to have it there and would report back to Dist. 6 and 7.
Miller continued with her planned program for the day. The title of her program was, “Getting the Lead Out.” She said she implied by this title that she would be giving us strategies, advice, and understanding about why we delay writing our stories and what it means to the author to complete them. She said “Get the lead out of your paper – meaning edit, edit, edit. What you may find of interest, another may not.”
She said it was important to have writing schedule and stick with it.
During her program she gave the audience a writing prompt, saying, two writers are sitting in a car facing an alleyway following a reading by a former poet laureate. While they visit, they see a man with a flashlight tapping his way in the dark toward them. The flashlight is pointed to the ground and is moving back and forth in front of the man as he walks. Miller asked that the audience go from that point and write a short story, a couple of paragraphs or so, about who they thought the man was? What is he doing there? Who are the writers? What is their relationship to one another or to the man in the alley?
The participants came up with some interesting stories and a good time was had by all.
Brown gave a going home prayer for the group and their return to their homes, and they adjourned with plans to meet again, hopefully at the state convention.
Marj Brown, Dist. 7 Secretary