Rim Country Chapter June 10 Zoom meeting
Speaker Jan Cleere
We are inviting all members of APW to join us for our next meeting. Nonmembers are welcome too.
Join APW Rim Country for a virtual Zoom meeting on June 10 at 1:00 pm for a presentation by author, historian and lecturer Jan Cleere. Be sure to mark your calendars to save the date. The Zoom link will be forthcoming prior to the meeting.
Jan writes extensively about the people who first settled in the desert Southwest. She travels around the state presenting the stories of early pioneers who were instrumental in settling and civilizing Arizona Territory. Jan is a Roads Scholar with Arizona Humanities and her monthly column, “Western Women,” appears in Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star newspaper detailing the lives of Arizona’s early amazing women. Her freelance work appears in national and regional publications. Jan latest book, From Reveille to Taps: Military Wives on the Arizona Frontier is scheduled for release by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (TwoDot) in March 2021.
Research comes second nature to Jan Cleere who just completed her sixth historical nonfiction book, the stories of women who came west with their military husbands to live on early army posts. But whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, every book requires research. What have you found helpful? Where do you find subjects or check important details of a location or time period? Jan will be sharing her research methods in locating important documents for her latest book but would also like to hear how others find resources necessary for creating storylines. Join in a round-table discussion of research tools and techniques that will benefit the writer of every genre.
RSVP to Marie Fasano The link for the ZOOM will be sent to your email address prior to the meeting.
President’s Page – May 2020
Arizona is opening after the shelter in place orders for several weeks due to the COVID-19 virus. How are you coping? Are you ready to join the crowds on the streets and in the stores? I’m not. I wear a mask when I’m out in public and keep social distancing within a group. Family and friends from the East Coast and California are being very cautious. Here in Payson, not so much.
My home town of Elmhurst, New York has been particularly devastated, with overcrowding in the hospitals and funeral homes. Family members who are doctors and nurses in New York have talked of the lack of PPE equipment, wearing the same mask several days in a row. Maybe that’s why I’m still cautious and not ready to join the throng.
Are any of our APW members writing stories that have to do with the corona virus? I would love to hear from you. What have you been doing at home? Writing more? I’m reading lots more. I put down one book and pick up another, or turn on my Kindle and think. “I should be writing more not just reading.” Alas, my energy level has been low, but hopefully, coming back soon.
Here in Rim Country we started our monthly meetings via ZOOM and had some good interactions with our members, catching up on what they are writing. I love the way Marsha Ward talks to her characters. This time she is asking them how to end the story. Each author has her tricks to keep the writing flowing.
Our virtual APW Board meeting will be May 30th. Contact me at mfasano.apw@gmail.com if you want to attend and I will send you the ZOOM information. We will have a virtual celebration of our Communicator of the Year and APW meeting this summer. We hope many of you will join us. We will email you with more information later.
Keep Writing,
Marie A. Fasano
President
Arizona Professional Writers
Carol Gail Osman Brown 1941-2020
Carol Gail Osman Brown 78, of Payson, AZ, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6, 2020, in Los Angeles, CA with her sons by her side. Carol was preceded in death by her husband James Carrington Brown III (Bing) on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Phoenix, AZ. Carol and Bing are survived by their two sons, James Carrington Brown IV (Jim) and Bryan Lee Brown, wife Ronda Doyle and grandson, Asa of Los Angeles, CA and extended family. Carol was preceded in death by her parents Sidney A. and Natalie Constance (Charipper) Osman.
Carol was born in Schenectady, New York on September 28, 1941, to Sid and Natalie Osman. Carol and her parents lived in New York City as a child but due to her severe asthma, moved to AZ and settled in Phoenix, Arizona around 1949.
Carol attended Kenilworth Elementary School and West High School in Phoenix and graduated from Arizona State University.
Carol and Bing met while they were summer camp counselors in Prescott, AZ and were later married on November 3, 1961, in Phoenix, AZ. Both Carol and Bing were longtime residents of Phoenix and then Payson AZ where they both were intricately involved in the journalism community.
An award-winning journalist, Carol was a strong advocate of children’s literacy programs. Her long-term leadership involvement with Arizona Press Women (now Arizona Professional Writers) allowed her to spearhead the very successful annual Payson Book Festival featuring Arizona authors from throughout the state and is held in July in Payson, AZ. Proceeds support a variety of children’s literacy programs.
During her career, Carol drew public attention to other causes including historic preservation, education, health, Native American and women’s issues. She wrote for The Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic newspapers and taught journalism classes at her alma mater Arizona State University and Rio Salado College.
Her articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications including Arizona Highways, Native Peoples, and Sunset magazines as well as publications of the United States Information Agency. She also worked for Associated Press and United Press International wire services.
She received a variety of awards throughout her 50-year career from organizations including the National Federation of Press Women, The Arizona Newspapers Association, the Public Relations Society of America, and Women in Communications.
Carol and her husband, Bing were a powerhouse couple in their community. They formed Carrington Communications LLC and worked as a team on writing projects that took them long distances throughout the United States, China, Mexico, Costa Rica, Africa, Australia, Europe and Canada. They were active on the Beaver Valley Water District board and the Arizona Association of Professional Writers.
Carol was born with severe Asthma and fought her lung disease her entire life. A lifelong commitment to researching her own medical condition, including using holistic medicine as a key component, enabled her to live a full, vibrant, and very productive life.
Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19), a Celebrations of Life will be held in Beaver Valley, AZ (Payson) and in Phoenix, AZ at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Payson Book Festival, Inc. or the charity of your choice.
See the home page of the Payson Book Festival website for details if you would like to donate to their children’s programs and literacy projects.
Welcome, Dianna DiMaggio!
Welcome to Dianna DiMaggio, new member, to the APW Rim Country Chapter!
Dianna DiMaggio
Dianna DiMaggio tells us that as a child her favorite pastime was to create and draw clothing for her paper dolls. At age 20 she had her own custom design dress shop. Later, at age 40 Dianna began painting in her spare time. She sold her early works and drew note cards to sell. She felt she had been accepted in the marketplace.
She enrolled in the Scottsdale School of Art and studied under Judi Betts and others. A patron of one of the paintings she sold asked Dianna to write the story of what she painted. She now has a notebook of her paintings and writings. She has incorporated two of her gifts. Currently, she pulls her autobiography out of her soul. She says, “We must not die with our music still in us.”
Rim Country meeting February 12
Arizona Professional Writers Meeting guest speaker Pete Alshire.
Arizona Professional Writers Meeting
Date: Wednesday, February12, 2020
Time: 1:00-2:00 pm
Location: Majestic Rim on Tyler Parkway Payson.
Members and Guests are welcome.
Our speaker Pete Alshire, is the former Editor and current Consulting Publications Editor of the Payson Roundup. He edited the prestigious Arizona Highways magazine for many years. Pete is an accomplished historian and investigative writer who has published four books on the history of the Apache Wars and the book The Eye of the Viper, The Making of an F-16 Pilot. He spent several years as a science and medical writer with various newspapers before joining the faculty at Arizona State University. Alshire has won numerous awards for his magazine and newspaper pieces.
Rim Country Chapter January 8, 2020 meeting
An Arizona Professional Writers meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 from 1:00-2:00 pm at the Majestic Rim on Tyler Parkway in Payson. Members and guests are welcome. Our guest speaker is Andy McKinney who will be speaking on the history of storytelling and will give some examples of first paragraphs that do or do not grab the reader.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Andy lived for thirty years in Alaska. The long winters gave him plenty of time to watch movies. He now lives in the Great American Southwest in retirement. He writes a regular newspaper column on current movies for the Payson Roundup. This is his second nonfiction work. He loves the flickers and finds zombie films fascinating and loads of fun. His book, A Gross of Zombies is his second non-fiction book after The Armed Forces of Iran.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 2020
TIME: 1:00-2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Majestic Rim at 310 E Tyler Parkway, Payson
SPEAKER: Andy McKinney, author, columnist and movie buff
Note: If you haven’t paid your 2020 dues you can bring your check to the meeting.
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- Andy McKinney
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- A Gross of Zombies by Andy McKinney
Join APW or renew now for 2020!
Hi APW members! APW, Arizona Professional Writers, is affiliated with the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW).
This is a friendly reminder that your NFPW/APW dues will come due on January 1, 2020. If you are an NFPW member, you will receive a reminder directly from them. If you are a state-only member, you can pay anytime by sending a check to our APW treasurer, Cheryl Kohout:
Cheryl Kohout
751 S. Brown St.
Tucson, AZ 85710
Please mark on your check, or include a note, that it is for your 2020 dues. Also, if your contact information has changed, please make a note of that. You can also send any contact changes to Jaimie Bruzenak who keeps the directory up-to-date.
If you did not pay your dues last year, please reconsider joining! Being an NFPW member has many benefits. There are 4 types of membership—professional, retired, student and premium professional. See https://nfpw.org/join/
Our hope for 2020 is to continue the efforts APW President, Marie Fasano, has started, revitalizing APW and our chapter. The Fall Conference was a success. We will hold the Spring Conference on May 9, with a recognition ceremony, speaker and luncheon plus a fun activity. Both Rim Country and Central Chapters have been holding monthly meetings with excellent speakers. Jane Eppinga, who was chair of our chapter, recently passed away so for the time being, Southern Chapter will organize carpools to Central’s meetings.
Please join us and reap the benefits of our APW/NFPW membership!
Welcome, Elsa Bobier!
Elsa Bobier
We welcome new member Elsa Bobier to the APW Rim Country Chapter. Elsa has lived in the Rim Country area for the last 20 years. She enjoys the beautiful weather, nature and panoramic scenery. She has published poetry and writes many reports in her work as a senior Social Services Case Manager.
President’s Message – November, 2019
President’s message for November, 2019
Marie Fasano
In November we start planning for the holidays. Some may have family members over to their home; others share the days with friends and neighbors. Lots of writing takes place even if it’s just in cards and email notes.
This year, my first Thanksgiving as president, I am writing to you, the members of APW, to say “Thank you” for your commitment to your chapter by attending meetings to share your writing stories and learn more from excellent speakers.
We have recruited several new members in Central and Rim Country Chapters. There are new ideas to get the word out about you as a writer and to promote APW. Jaimie Bruzenak, our webmaster, has sent out a call to see who might be interested in participating in developing a short video for YouTube or an audio Podcast. Let us know what you think about this idea.
We are excited to announce our plans for 2020 including:
APW representation at the ASU Desert Nights Rising Stars Writers Conference on February 22 by six members: Jan Cleere, Jody Sharpe, Susan Anderson, Jane Ruby, Mary Rechkemmer Meyer and Barbara Lacy. To help with the registration fee, each author will pay a small amount to participate with APW taking up the remainder of the cost. This is just one advantage of being an APW member.
Plans are in place for a spring conference on May 7 in Payson. More info later. Save the date.
Don’t forget Rim Country’s Payson Book Festival July 18, 2020. Sign up early in January to hold your place.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Keep Writing,
Marie A Fasano
President, Arizona Professional Writers
Rim Country Meeting October 9, 2019
Marsha Ward
Arizona Professional Writers Rim Country Chapter will host Marsha Ward, renowned Historical Fiction Writer at 1:00 p.m. October 9, 2019 at the Majestic Rim Retirement Home, Tyler Parkway Payson.
Marsha, an award-winning poet, freelance writer, journalist, editor, and novelist has over 900 pieces of published work, including her acclaimed novel series, The Owen Family Saga, and other works of fiction.
She will share how she researches her Old West themes.
