Photo recap – 2024 State Conference
The APW 2024 State Conference was held on the beautiful grounds of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley. Officers were elected. Winners in the At-large division of the NFPW Communication Contest were announced. The 1st place winners will be entered in the national contest and winners announced in June. We also awarded our $1000 scholarship to Grace Meinema, who won it last year as well. Our two excellent speakers were Kathleen Osbourne and Howard Gershkowitz. They provided excellent insights into our theme “May the 4th Be With You!” A docent, Ann, from the Renewal Center gave us a history of the Center.
Photo credits: Bobbie Bennett, photographer except for 3 with an * by Jaimie Bruzenak
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- *Franciscan Renewal Center
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- *Franciscan Renewal Center grounds
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- Outgoing President Connie Cockrell and Brenda Whiteside, Secretary
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- Marie Fasano accepting registrations
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- Dr Linda Sandel Pettit helping out the speaker
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- Speaker Kathleen Osborne “Wisdom from the Galaxy”
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- Afternoon speaker
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- First place winners in the At-large contest -Jody Sharpe, Bobbie Bennett, Nancy Marshall, Carol Baxter
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- Jody Sharpe – Scholarship Chair
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- *Grace Meinema- scholarship winner and Jody Sharpe
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- Speaker Howard Gershkowitz -“Time Management in the 3rd Dimension”
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- Franciscan Renewal Center Docent – Ann
State Conference Schedule
2024 State Conference of Arizona Professional Writers
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 9 a.m. — 2:30 p.m.
Held at The Franciscan Renewal Center
9:00am: Registration and Networking
10:00am: Welcome by APW President
10:05am: APW Annual Board Meeting (See separate agenda handout)
10:30am: Kathleen Osborne: Writing Wisdom from the Galaxy
11:30am: Awards and Recognitions
12:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm Howard Gershkowitz: Time Management in the 3rd Dimension
2:00pm: Closing Remarks
2:05pm: History of the Franciscan Renewal Center
2:30pm: End of Conference
May the 4th Be With You!
Print a copy – 2024 APW Conference poster
Please note: The Franciscan Center is at 5802 E Lincoln Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85253.
APW State Conference Speaker – Howard Gershkowitz
May the Fourth Be With You –
“Time Management in the 3rd Dimension”
Keep track of storylines, deadlines, social media – it can get overwhelming. Howard Gershkowitz, our afternoon speaker, will speak on “Time Management in the 3rd Dimension.” An award-winning author, Howard has been busy writing, submitting and publishing short stories, poems and two novels.
Howard will share his helpful methods and tips for keeping track of it all. They are geared for the busy writer who is querying, writing, submitting and marketing. You’ll leave with useful tips for keeping you on track and leaving some time for family and fun!
See the State Conference page for Howard’s bio.
The conference is May 4. Details are on the State Conference tab or click on https://arizonapresswomen.wordpress.com/2024-state-conference.
You can register at Eventbrite or pay by check or Zelle. See the conference page for instructions and more details.
APW State Conference Speaker – Kathleen Osborne
May the Fourth Be With You!
“Writing Wisdom from the Galaxy.”
Kathleen Osborne, our morning speaker, will be sharing “Writing Wisdom from the Galaxy.” As a writer, she writes Science Fiction Romance and Alien Romance and will use Star Wars as a vehicle to illustrate how you can develop and strengthen all aspects of your story. She’ll cover themes like myths and archetypes in your storytelling, crafting characters, building epic worlds, and themes of hope, redemption and resilience. Even if you don’t write in these genres, these themes are applicable to all fiction and creative nonfiction works. Whatever you write, you’ll walk away with helpful takeaways. See the State Conference page for Kathleen’s bio.
The conference is May 4. Details are on the State Conference tab or click on https://arizonapresswomen.wordpress.com/2024-state-conference.
You can register at Eventbrite or pay by check or Zelle. See the conference page for instructions and more details.
APW State Conference is May 4!
Save the date!
Our State Conference will be held May 4 from 8:30 to 2:30 in the Frances room at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. We’ll have two speakers, and a full lunch menu and salad bar in their cafeteria. A short business meeting with elections will be held prior to our speakers and we’ll announce our scholarship winner.
Mark it on your calendars so you don’t schedule something else!
May the 4th Be With You!
APW Board meeting February 4
President’s Page – January 2004
I’m excited for this new year in the Arizona Professional Writers organization.
Our annual conference planning has begun. Mark your calendars. It’s going to be May 4th, which prompted us, obviously, to make the theme: May the 4th be with You. We had to. Really. We’re finalizing the location which allows us to set the price per ticket. We’ll keep you posted on that.
The conference also means it’s election time for the APW. We have some tentative candidates. For President – Carol Baxter, Nancy Marshall is volunteering for VP. We’re still looking for a candidate for Secretary. Our treasurer, Ruthann Hogue is staying on. Marie Fasano likes being our Membership Director but if you love reaching out to people, you can talk to Marie and see if the position might be a fit for you. Bobbie Bennett has graciously volunteered to stay on as our Conference planner.
The NFPW Communications contest is close to closing. Look over your published work for 2023 and enter the contest right away. There are so many categories, I’m sure you’ll find one that’s just right for you. You can check out the contest rules and enter the contest at https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest, You do not need to be a member to enter. However, if you win, they do encourage you to become a member.
Also speaking of NFPW, their annual conference for 2024 will be in St. Louis. I attended the 2023 event and had a great time and learned so much! Just ask Jody Sharpe. She attended the last day and took the opportunity to attend the awards dinner. What a great time. You can look at the details for 2024 at https://www.nfpw.org/2024-conference-st-louis. We’d love to have more of our Arizona people attend as well.
My calendar has February 4th, 10am, as our next APW State Officer’s meeting. The meeting is open to all members, and it’s being held via Zoom. Contact me if you’d like to attend.
Speaking of meetings, the Rim Country chapter has started holding in-person meetings again. We are back at Majestic Rim Living, 1pm on the 3rd Wednesdays of the month, in their chapel meeting space. The next meeting is February 21st and I’ll be talking about how to write a bio. This piece of writing is used in so many different applications that you really need to have a good one. We’ll talk about what that means and do some practice writing one.
I will also be the featured author at the February 24th, 10am APW Book Group. I’ll be talking about my Young Adult, Post Apocalyptic, SciFi book First Encounter. If you’d like to join the conversation, contact Karen Lateiner, kslateiner@gmail.com, to get on the Zoom link list. One more benefit of being an APW member.
Take a look at our facebook page for APW. This is a great place to announce your newest book, magazine article, or speaking engagement. This is just one of the many perks you, as an APW member have, so take advantage! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArizonaPressWomen
Almost the best for last, we have a new chapter forming in the Show Low area. The organizer is Kathleen Osborne. She’s a small publisher and author and has several people in the White Mountains area who want to join the group. Kathleen has been a Payson Book Festival author for quite some time. Welcome to her and all of her new group.
And, it’s membership renewal time. If you have already renewed, thank you! If you’ve renewed via the National Federation of Press Women, let us know to look for your renewal there. If you still need to renew, click on the “About” tab and then “Join.” Thank you everyone for your continued support of this historic organization.
That’s it for now. Everyone stay warm and hope to see you at the next meeting!
Save the date! May 4, 2024
Save the date – May 4!
May the Fourth Be With You!
President’s letter – end of 2023
Connie Cockrell
Has 2023 been as much of a whirlwind for you as it has been for me? Whew! Makes my head spin.
November is what I call “gratitude” month. Every day I think about one thing I’m thankful for. It could be a rainy day, a meal out with friends, my husband, but whatever it is, I know individually and collectively, those little things are what make my life rich. So, I’m wishing you all a wonderful holiday season full of gratitude for all of the things that make your life full and complete.
For December, all the chapters are planning holiday luncheons instead of regular meetings. I know the time to just chat is as important as our meetings full of useful and delightful information. Enjoy!
We continue to call for volunteers. Elections are coming up in May at our annual conference. Would you like to take a more active role in the state organization? In addition, the Payson Book Festival committee needs a new Silent Auction manager and a person to head up Sponsorships. New people bring fresh, new ideas and we want to keep our organizations both active and relevant. Contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to volunteer.
The NFPW Communications contest has just begun. Look over your published work for 2023 and enter the contest. There are so many categories, I’m sure you’ll find one that’s just right for you. You can check out the contest rules and enter the contest at https://www.nfpw.org/professional-contest, You do not need to be a member to enter. However, if you win, they do encourage you to become a member.
Also, speaking of NFPW, their annual conference for 2024 will be in St. Louis. I attended the 2023 event and had a great time and learned so much! Just ask Jody Sharpe. She attended the last day and took the opportunity to attend the awards dinner. What a great time. You can look at the details for 2024 at https://www.nfpw.org/2024-conference-st-louis. I’ll be going again and would love to have some of our Arizona people attend as well.
My calendar has January 6th, 10 am, as our next APW State Officer’s board meeting. The meeting is open to all members, and it’s being held via Zoom. Contact me if you’d like to attend.
Speaking of meetings, the Rim Country chapter will begin holding in-person meetings again. I wasn’t able to find a location for October, but we do have a temporary meeting place for November. Mark your calendars for November 15th, at 1pm at the library. I’ve arranged for Gail Kittleson to come and talk about how she does a new book launch. She’ll be bringing her newest book, in the middle of her book launch, for us to look at and buy. After that, we’ll go back to Majestic Rim Living starting January 17th, 1 pm, in their chapel meeting space.
Take a look at our Facebook page for APW. This is a great place to announce your newest book, magazine article, or speaking engagement. This is just one of the many perks you, as an APW member have, so take advantage! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArizonaPressWomen
We are also happy to announce our Holiday Bazaar at our website: https://arizonaprofessionalwriters.org/holiday-bazaar-2023/. This is a terrific perk of being a member. It’s not too late to get your book listed. Send Jaimie Bruzenak a link to the book you want to list along with a jpeg of the front cover and your website link, and she’ll post it for you. Books make great presents!
And it’s membership renewal time. If you have already renewed, thank you! If you’ve renewed via the National Federation of Press Women, let us know to look for your renewal there. If you still need to renew, go to https://arizonaprofessionalwriters.org/about/join-2/ for the form. State-only membership is $30. Thank you everyone for your continued support of this historic organization.
That’s it for 2023. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the upcoming holidays, and hope to see you at the next meeting!
Connie Cockrell
APW President
Arizona Professional Writers 