Tuesday, January 23, 2018

meeting announcement and guests for February 1st!

Hello, Sisters and Brothers in Crime.

This month we are in for a dual speaker treat. With diverse backgrounds in law enforcement and funeral service, husband and wife, Donald and Jane Tucker will be speaking to us at our February 1st meeting.

A native of Spartanburg County, SC, Jane is a graduate of Limestone College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Management.  After working a two-year apprenticeship with Lanford-Pollard Funeral Home in Spartanburg and passing the SC State Funeral Board Exams in 1987, Jane was one of the first women in Spartanburg County licensed as a funeral director.  While working in other areas of business, she continued to be involved with serving families when called upon to do so. After “one” of her retirements, she began working part-time with Stribling Funeral Home in Duncan, SC and continued to do so until moving to North Carolina.
Jane has recently “retired again”* -- this time from Psychiatric Associates of Spartanburg.

Donald Tucker was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived on Long Island until moving South in the 1980’s. He is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science and Criminal Justice.  He retired from the New York City Department of Corrections with twenty years of service working on Riker’s Island and in the Courts.  He retired from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon in Greenville County.  Don retired from the US Navy Reserves after 24 years of service.

The monthly Upstate SC SinC meeting will take place Thursday, February 1st, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C.  Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet the Donald and Jane and enjoy chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. The Tuckers’ talk will begin after new and old business at about 7 p.m. Both dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed by noon the day of the meeting. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. If possible, please join us for dinner as our dinner orders help to ensure we can book our meeting room for free. To see the special menu for our group, click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  Please e-mail your order to Ellis Vidler at ellisvidler1@gmail.com.

If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Look forward to seeing you February 1st.

Sincerely,

Sally Handley
President, Upstate SC SinC


Monday, January 8, 2018

Minutes for January 2018 Meeting

January 8, 2018

Thirteen must be a lucky number, because that's how many of us gathered on the first Thursday of 2018 (January 4th) for our always-rousing Upstate SinC meeting!

After dinner and introductions, we got down to the business of electing officers for the coming year, and member Charles Duke wasted no time in moving to keep the entire slate of officers from 2017. Things happened so fast (we sisters and brothers are efficient!) that I can't even tell you who seconded, but all officers from 2017 were unanimously re-elected for another year. WHAT a shocker!

Therefore, the one and only Sally Handley is our President. Hail to the chief, baby! Howard, aka Haird, Lewis is our Vice President, Helen Turnage is our Treasurer, Linda Lovely is our Membership Chair, Ellis Vidler is our Community Liason, and yours truly, Cindy Blackburn is our secretary.

Then the real fun began as VP Howard Lewis emceed our THIRD Annual Guided Discussion of popular and vexing questions, problems and issues. This discussion is fast becoming our January tradition here at Upstate SinC. Howard asked as such thought-provoking questions as:

What is a good book?
How do you create likable/believable characters?
How do you add emotion to a story, and how much emotion is good?
What makes for a good plot?
What does good pacing mean?
What do we want to see more of in books?
What so we want to see less of in books?

It's always fun, educational, and informative to share our thoughts, opinions, and ideas. And Howard did a great job. We've come to expect nothing less!

To top off the evening Madam President Sally Handley led a discussion of what our SinC chapter can do for YOU! So here are a few things to look forward to as 2018 gets underway:

Efforts to facilitate critique groups or critique partnerships
Workshops (perhaps quarterly) on the craft of writing
Pitching local bookstores for a Mystery event
Efforts at fundraising to raise money for workshop or seminar instructors.

Altogether an enjoyable and informative evening with people who love to read and write. Can't beat that!

Happy New Year!

Respectfully Submitted,

Cindy Blackburn,
Chapter Secretary