President’s Page – July 2021
April was a month packed full of activity. First of all, Welcome! I’m Connie Cockrell, newly elected President for the Arizona Professional Writers. The biggest event was the April 17th Virtual State Conference. In our short business meeting, we elected new officers. I was elected President, Marie Fasano steps into the Past President role, Bobbie Bennett remains Vice President, and Brenda Whiteside remains Secretary.
Most importantly, we are in need of a Membership Director and a Treasurer. These are vital positions in any organization. Both areas are in good shape, we just need a couple of people to see the value in keeping our organization vibrant by stepping up to volunteer. You can contact me at connie.cockrell@gmail.com to talk about it.
June was the National Federation of Press Women virtual conference. In the national contest, Dianne Beeaff from Tucson, won second place in the category Collection of Short Stories, with her book titled On Traigh Lar Beach. See her website for info on the book. Wynne Brown, also of Tucson, won second place for the category Newsletter, Web, and Social Media. Her entry, Personal, The Sara Lemmon Project can be found at her website or contact her at wynne@wynnebrown.com. Congratulations to both as there were thousands of entries nationwide making competition very high.
Our Communicator of Achievement, Marie Fasano, attended the NFPW virtual award ceremony. We’re sorry to say that she didn’t win. Sherri Burris was selected. You can find her details at NFPW. Congratulations to Ms. Burris.
July features the Payson Book Festival. It is July 17th at the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino from 9am to 3:30pm. We have over 70 authors this year. We’ll have a shortened children’s program in the morning and entertainment by Marshall Trimble, Buckshot Dot, and a panel of Grand Canyon experts scheduled for the afternoon. I do hope you can make it to the festival even if you aren’t a “seller”. It will be a great time to catch up!
Speaking of the book festival, we’re doing a lot of posting on our Facebook pages for both APW and the book festival. Take a look at those pages and share the posts. Lots of people sharing creates a big boost in the number of people who get to see the post. It’s an easy way for you to get to know the authors appearing and to help us drive attendance to the festival. Payson Book Festival Facebook page and Arizona Professional Writers Facebook page.
That’s it for July. Everyone stay safe, enjoy the summer, and hope to see you at the book festival!
Connie Cockrell
APW President
2021 At-Large Communications Contest winners
- Second place -Columns, general, Roaming the Rim Column – “WHO designates 2020 as Year of the Nurse and Midwife”
- Honorable mention -Feature story, Print based newspaper, “Homeless Give Back “
- Third Place- Autobiograpy or Memoir, Surrender
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Second Place-Collection of short stories written by entrant (published together in book form, including electronic books) Body Language
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Honorable Mention Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers – General Nonficton, The Big Book of Small Presses and Independent Publishers
Marie Fasano -winner of COA!
Congratulations to Marie Fasano! She was named Communicator of Achievement for Arizona for 2021 at our APW Virtual State Conference on April 17, 2021. Her entry is being considered by NFPW at the national level. Her writing and community involvement credentials are impressive. Here’s a very brief summary of Marie’s career. And the photos are of our new president, Connie Cockrell, presenting Marie with a certificate and the traditional Navajo Storyteller figurine for her achievement.
Marie A. Fasano from Arizona had a career in nursing and as a photojournalist. As a pilot, she volunteered flying to clinics in Mexico and writing travel articles. Marie has published books in the health field and a memoir, Tessie’s Tales. She edited two nationwide magazines and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. Currently, she writes a column for the Payson Roundup, “Roaming the Rim.”
We should note that a Communicator of Achievement is not named every year. So it is quite an honor for Marie to be selected and well deserved!
APW Book Club – 4/24 – Tessie’s Tales
APW Members and guests,
Karen Lateiner is inviting you to our next APW Book Club Meeting on Zoom. You do not need to be an APW member to attend, but attendees are expected to have read the book prior to the meeting. See below for information about where to obtain a copy.
TOPIC: APW Book Club: Marie Fasano –Tessie’s Tales
DATE: Saturday, April 24, 2021
TIME: 10:00 AM Arizona
Contact Karen: kslateiner@gmail.com
ABOUT THE BOOK: Award-winning Tessie’s Tales consists of the stories as told by Tessie Trotta Fasano to her family. It’s about growing up in New York City in an Italian family with Marie capturing her voice in the telling.
Available in print at $9.99 or on Kindle at $3.99
President’s Page – February & March 2021
March is Women’s History Month. This month I published an article in the Payson Roundup on three interesting women who each have non-traditional jobs: a tree trimmer, an airplane and power-plant inspector and a Septic Pumping company owner. It was fun interviewing each of them. There are so many stories out there. You can find stories about other unique people as well. (See article.)
Speaking of the unusual, this month APW Central had speaker Patty Mahoney tell us about her life growing up in a mortuary where she had to keep secrets that she heard as a child. Only now as a mature adult is she able to tell those stories as a writer. Fascinating!
Marylee MacDonald spoke with the APW Rim chapter in February and March. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of marketing and getting reviews for your publications. If you missed it you really missed an opportunity. We are thinking of having a workshop later in the year with this same topic to learn more from her expertise. Don’t you think that’s a good idea?
If you haven’t been attending the virtual meetings you are missing out on exceptional opportunities for learning how to improve your writing. This is just one benefit of your membership.
We will have an annual APW virtual conference again this year on April 17. We have two excellent speakers – Jan Cleere and Linda Pressman. It will be a half -day program from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon with a membership meeting 9-10, Jan Cleere speaking from 10-11 and Linda Pressman from 11-12. Short but informative. Come join us. The Zoom invite will be out soon.
The APW Book Club is rolling along. We have become a cohesive group hearing how each member developed their story, sharing their ideas about their book. All members are welcome to join us the fourth Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM.
Several members of APW have won awards in the NFPW Communications Contest. What a group we have! Winners are being posted on the APW website and our FB page and will be recognized at our annual meeting.
At the annual meeting on April 17, 2021, we will be voting for officers for 2021-22.
The Slate includes:
President -Connie Cockrell
Past President- Marie Fasano
Vice President- Bobbie Bennett
Secretary Brenda -Whiteside
Treasurer – open. We need a volunteer-Interested? Email me at mfasano.apw@gmail.com
Keep Writing,
Marie A.Fasano
APW President
Congratulations to Marie Fasano!
Marie Fasano has won two awards in the 2021 NFPW at-large communications contest. Marie currently writes for the Payson Roundup. One of her columns in “Roaming the Rim,” her bi-monthly column, won second place. Commented the judge: Wonderful opening paragraph. Informative and very nice selection of interviewees. Good selection of quotes. Marie won honorable mention in the Feature story, print newspaper category. The judge noted: Nice news feature.
Marie is APW president and our state winner and nominee for the national Communicator of Achievement Award.
March 7, 2021 APW Board Meeting
Save the date!
The next APW Board meeting will be held on Sunday, March 7 at 10 AM. The Zoom invite and agenda will follow. In addition to Officers’ reports, we will discuss the Annual meeting and new officers. If you have any items please let me know.
All members are invited to attend. Please let Marie Fasano know so she can send you the link.
President’s page – January 2021
Marie Fasano
As we start the year, 2021 we can be hopeful that the rhetoric will be more civil and that we will stay focused on the truth. COVID vaccines are getting into the arms of healthcare workers, teachers and us elders and by summer we will see a good number in the population with some immunity. We are also hopeful that the economic strain on individuals and businesses will ease. Safety remains an issue with masks and social distancing still a necessary component of our lives.
As for APW, we already have several excellent speakers scheduled for Central and Rim Country chapters for the next few months and the APW annual meeting planned for April. The APW Book Club, under the leadership of Karen Lateiner, is thriving with wonderful discussions and sharing of each individual’s process in developing their book. For February, Brenda Warneka, one of the editors of our publication, Skirting Traditions, will meet with us and share the fascinating histories of the Arizona Press Women.
APW Rim Country plans to have the Payson Book Festival open July 17 this year with many authors, a wonderful children’s show and workshops with inspiring speakers and songwriters.
More members have entered the NFPW communications contest this year than last and we look forward to excellent award winners from our group. Our application for a $1000 scholarship has been sent out to Arizona colleges and universities. If you know an undergraduate student, studying in the fields of writing or journalism, encourage them to apply through the arizonaprofessionalwriters.org website. We would not want that gift to languish.
We are looking for members to step up to take some leadership positions, particularly for President and Treasurer, for the upcoming elections. If you have an idea you want to serve, and have questions, please drop me an email. We need you!
Right now I am snowbound, but cozy at home, here in Payson with much needed moisture for our dry Arizona. Stay safe.
Keep writing,
Marie A Fasano
Arizona Professional Writers, President
January 9 Central Chapter with Marie Fasano
Join APW Central Chapter’s virtual meeting on Saturday, January 9 at 10 a.m. Featured speaker is our own APW President, Marie Fasano who will talk about interviewing for article writing.
Guest speaker: Marie Fasano, APW President
Topic: Interviewing for Articles
Date: January 9, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Both members and guests are invited to attend the Zoom meeting. If you did not receive the Zoom link, contact Barbara at lacyarts@gmail.com
Marie A. Fasano has been writing articles for over 40 years. She says the best part of her work has been interviewing people who have completed extraordinary tasks in their lives. Her articles have been as diverse as stories about places pilots fly for getaways and doing the PR for Air Shows to focusing on individuals who have helped others overcome challenges. Marie has enjoyed highlighting authors for the Payson Book Festival as PR Coordinator for five years. Currently, she writes a column for the Payson Roundup Newspaper titled “Roaming the Rim.” Her column is about anything that strikes her fancy. Some of her previous columns have been about nurses, the homeless, drones, sex education in the schools, telemedicine, and RBG.
Come join Marie to discuss the task of interviewing.
President’s Page – November/December 2020
Happy Holidays to all members!
We are thankful for the treasures and friendships we have received this past year and we all look forward to 2021 with hope and promise. This has been a difficult year for many folks. Most of us have stayed close to home to be safe. Hopefully, this gave you an opportunity to write more novels, articles, newsletters and blogs.
I had some health issues in the last month and am now getting back to the real world. It hasn’t stopped me from taking part in several meetings of Central and Rim Country, hearing great guest speakers each time. It’s so easy to turn on the computer and be with wonderful, intelligent, articulate folks at these gatherings. Our members are terrific!
Our new APW Book Club, hosted by Karen Lateiner, is thriving with highlighting members books and having very lively and interesting discussions. Feel free to join us the last Saturday of every month. Contact me at mfasano.apw@gmail.com for the Zoom url.
Jaimie Bruzenak has kept us informed on our website and FB page. She can add you and your books to our new section called Holiday Bazaar to showcase our members’ books and websites. If you want to be included send your information to Jaimie at calamityjaimie@gmail.com.
We will be looking for some new officers for 2021. If you have any interest in taking a more active part in this thriving organization let me know. Our Bylaws are on the website under the members section. Here you can get an idea of what each position entails.
Here is another reminder to enter the NFPW Professional Contest under the At-large section. Several members have already entered their books, newsletters and articles. Go to NFPW.org for more information.
The APW Conference plans for April 2021 are going forward. We will look at the health of our community as we get closer. More information will be sent as our plans come together.
To close 2020, I wish each APW member the best of health and happiness.
Keep writing,
Marie A. Fasano
APW President
Arizona Professional Writers 