CHAPTER MINUTES:
As is our custom, chapter members and guests met at the Runway Café in Greenville on the first Thursday evening of the month. As is also customary, we enjoyed the splendid dinners prepared by the restaurant staff and coordinated by the one and only Ellis Vidler. Ellis had her work cut out for her this month—we had 31 people in attendance! Yes, you read that right—31, which may well be a record for us. Good job Ellis!
Also doing a superb job was our
new president, Sally Handley. No pun intended, but the superbly talented and exceedingly lovely Ms. Handley handled her debut meeting
like a pro. No “old business” needed mention, but a few pieces of “new business”
were discussed:
Sally mentioned the upcoming
workshop on Saturday June 10, with our special guest speaker Marcia Talley. In
addition to what promises to be a fascinating and informative workshop, we will
also share a birthday cake in celebration of 30 years of Sisters in Crime. Cake!!
Mark your calendars!
Other new business—Linda Lovely
mentioned the upcoming Writers Police Academy and suggested we register soon,
if interested. Members of the national SinC organization get a major discount
to this fantastic conference! Also, a new benefit for our local members—Sally invited
those of us who belong to both national SinC and our local chapter to submit (to
Linda Lovely our membership chair) a short bio (50 words or less) and 2 links
of your choice to be included in the “members” page of our local website. Way
cool! And one other piece of business—I was honored to sit next to our chapter
treasurer, Helen Turnage, who did a booming business all evening collecting
membership dues for 2017 and handing out receipts. The annual fee is $15.00,
and you may pay Helen in cash or write your check to Howard Lewis (our
vice-president) and he will get the cashola to Helen. So if you haven’t paid
for 2017, we encourage you to do so at our March meeting.
Onto our speaker for the evening—Brian
Emerson, Discovery Services and Reference Librarian for the Greenville County
Library System. Brian, with the occasional help of two of his associates, gave
us a valuable lesson on all the ways the library is a reader’s and WRITER’S
best friend. He mentioned the 88 databases that the library offers, but my
personal favorite was “Mango” where one can go to learn any of 72 languages. I’ve
put learning “pirate” at the top of my to-do list.
Brian also mentioned the various
programs the library offers, including the “Scribblers” meetings, where writers
share their works in progress with other writers to get feedback. All writers
are welcome! Check the Greenville County Library website or newsletter for the
place and time of these meetings, which take place at several branches. And for
readers, the Greenville libraries have several book clubs, and the Novelist
database, to help us find our next great read.
Brian also explained the library’s
book-selection process, including how we can get our own books onto the “local
authors” shelf. In a nutshell, donate your masterpiece, and minus a few
caveats, you can have your book on the shelves! And last but not least, Brian
announced a “Self Publishing Fair” the library is sponsoring on March 28.
Again, check their website or newsletter for further details.
That’s it folks. Until March,
happy reading and happy writing.
Respectfully Submitted,
Cindy Blackburn
Chapter secretary
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