Pikes Peak Writers President's Report -- The Prez Says

By: Bowen Gillings

When I became your president in March, one of my key interests was keeping PPW membersPrez Says blog is intended to do just that. Once per quarter, following our Board meeting, you will receive a summary of what occurred, what decisions were made, and how we are moving forward.

informed about the workings of their organization. The

Please understand that, as a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, this organization is governed by bylaws. Those bylaws are intended to protect individual members as well as our organization. Therefore, some of what occurs at Board meetings cannot be shared. Still, it is my hope that keeping our members informed will help draw in new volunteers and new ideas to help the organization grow.

This last meeting covered a broad range of topics from financial reports to getting new signs for our various monthly events.

The success of April’s Pikes Peak Writers Conference has given us a path for our next one in 2018. However, several key positions on the Conference Steering Committee need to be filled. Please, if you love attending Conference and are planning on going in 2018, why not help out as a volunteer? Check out https://www.pikespeakwriters.com/about/key-volunteers/ for opportunities. Some positions come with big discounts on the cost of Conference!

Angie Hodapp

June’s half-day event with Angie Hodapp also proved a great success and the Board is looking into the possibility of conducting events like these more often, perhaps quarterly. To do this, we once again need volunteers to help out. If you’d like to see more big events more often and have the wherewithal to help see them done, contact me via email at president@pikespeakwriters.com. If you have an idea for an event you’d like to see, be sure to visit our workshop request page and fill out the brief form at https://www.pikespeakwriters.com/ppwc/request-a-workshop/.

A big issue discussed this past meeting concerned our vacancies in key positions within PPW. Aside from Conference, PPW needs volunteers to keep itself functioning. One shortfall we have right now is the need for a qualified webmaster. Our current one is stepping down after having given us great service for the past few years. My goal as president is to create a web team around any webmaster serving PPW. Right now, we have two talented individuals who are helping out with the website, but neither can take on the full duties of webmaster. If you are a talented web guru, work well as part of a team, and can take vague direction from a non-tech savvy president, then we need you!

Other vacancies include a volunteer coordinator to help keep PPW up to date with its members and a new facilitator for our monthly Open Critique sessions. Pay attention to our website and social media as a fun, informational social event is coming up in late August. There will be door prizes! For more information on all of our needs, check out https://www.pikespeakwriters.com/about/support-ppw/volunteer-opportunities/.

 Next month we hold our annual Board Elections. Several positions will be up for election this time. Those include President, Vice President, and a few Member-at-Large vacancies. Normally, President and VP elections are offset by a year. However, due to the circumstances of my becoming President, it’s only fair to allow other qualified candidates to submit their names for the position this year, knowing that the position of president will be up for election once again in 2018. If you are interested in running for a position on the PPW Board, send a formal, one-page letter stating your interest and a short resume of your qualifications for the position to president@pikespeakwriters.com. A selection committee then forwards candidates to the Board for the vote in September.

Two other items of note at this meeting was the approval of Laura Hayden as a Board Liaison. This is a non-voting position and one that allows us access to Laura's experience and insight as one of PPW’s founding members. We also discussed the power of our social media presence, particularly PPW Connect (https://www.facebook.com/groups/PPWConnect/). PPW Connect is a great place to seek out other writers should you be looking for a critique partner, have questions about the craft, the business, or just want to get opinions on some of your literary ideas. Check it out if you have not already.

That is it for this installment of Prez Says. If you have questions about PPW and how it works, please reach out to me. The address, again is president@pikespeakwriters.com.

Thank you.

About the Author: Bowen Gillings lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, daughter, and dog.  He became a member of Pikes Peak Writers in 2015 and is President of Pikes Peak Writers. You can catch him climbing the Manitou Incline or at Garden of the Gods Park, where he heads the school programs for area elementary and high school students.  Or come listen to his overbearing voice as the emcee of Write Brain the third Tuesday of each month at Library 21C. He is screaming along the rollercoaster ride of his first novel about a disgraced soldier and pregnant sorceress fighting their demons in a fantastical version of the French and Indian War.