2013 Great Lakes Chapter's Meeting/ Speakers - Save the Dates!

The ACFW Great Lakes Chapter Board is excited to share the lineup of meetings/speakers for this year - focusing primarily on getting you folks ready for the ACFW Conference in Indianapolis! Since our fair state is so close to the conference location this year, we're hoping to have see many GLCers there - and we want you prepared! Hope you can take advantage of these opportunities, in different areas of the state.

Have a Prayer Need? Here's What To Do

The Great Lakes Chapter's Prayer Group Coordinator, Joy Avery Melville, is starting a new process, so to speak, for getting prayer requests to YOU, the members. And all you need to do is be subscribed to the GLC Yahoo Group and be sure your email is turned on (if you have trouble with this, just contact me.).

How will it work? I'll let Joy tell you herself (from an email she sent to the loop):

I'd like to express how much we NEED to pray for one another in these days when this business of writing has faced the economic woes other businesses are experiencing. AND Christians are being forced to couch their freedom of speech - even in some CBA areas. Let's encourage one another by praying for the entire membership as well as the individual requests that come through this loop.

IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS - please send them to me at joyjournaling@gmail.com and I'll get them on as soon as I receive them. During the week I have my email inbox sitting to the right of my work space on my monitor and will catch things right away - NORMALLY - weekends are a bit more hit and miss but especially Saturday I'm on often.

I'm also going to give out my phone number so you can call in a request - especially if it's something immediate and I trust you will remember I'm a writer/critter too. So if I don't answer immediately - don't fret - I have a machine just in case. There are those things like doctor appointments and grocery getting - the mundane that might pull me away from my desk on occasion. ';)

I will post PRAYER NEED in the subject line and will attach the request for those of you, like me, who might want to print the request off and have it near to help remind to pray more than once. I will also put it in the body of the email for those who can't download a file from their devices.

WHEN (note - that's not an IF) you have an answer to your request - whether a praise or a no or even a wait - PLEASE - let me know to post it - we want to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep! MORE REJOICING I HOPE.' ;D

Don't be shy about sharing those requests - not only are we a Christian writing group - we're a PRAYING group!

   Springtime (at least on the calendar, certainly not in my snowy backyard!) means that we're working hard on organizing and developing workshops and activities to benefit Michigan writers in 2013. Our focus this year is on preparing for the national ACFW conference, which will be held in nearby Indianapolis in September 2013.  We have many members traveling to Indy for the conference. How about you? Are you planning on going?
   In the months of May, June, July, August & October we'll have workshops throughout the state. The following are tentative dates, locations and topics:
Conference Preparation (online or perhaps near Evart & online, too in May),
Critiquing the Beginning pages of your WIP (Roscommon area in June),
Putting a One-Sheet together (GR, Schoolcraft area in July)
Practicing a Pitch with Linda Glaz (in the Macomb area in August)
Putting together a Proposal Packet (in the Jackson area in October) 
   We'll have more details soon!
~ Holly & the GLC Board

Meet the Member: Dawn Crandall

It's time to get to know another member of the ACFW Great Lakes Chapter. I'm hoping to do these posts once a month - but I need members to meet! Email me if you're interested in being featured here and I'll add you to the queue.

And without further ado, here's Dawn Crandall!

JOANNE SHER: Thanks for being willing to be featured here, Dawn. Tell us a bit about yourself.

A New Board - A New Year!

It's January - can you believe it?

The 2013 GLC Board is starting to work on planning for this year - we're looking into neighborhood workshops again, a conference, and several other ideas. And we'd love YOUR suggestions as well. Just drop one of us a line, or write a note to the GLC email loop.

And, for your own reference and knowledge, here is a list of the 2013 ACFW Great Lakes Chapter Board of Directors:

President: Holly Wolfe
Vice President - Karlene Jacobsen
Treasurer/Membership - Pegg Thomas
Secretary - Amanda Barratt
Prayer Group Coordinator - Joy Melville
Publicity/Website - Joanne Sher
Education/Conference Coordinator - Peggy Bennitt
Critique Coordinator: Kathleen Rouser
Historian - Peggy Wirgau
  
We ALL look forward to serving you, and hearing your suggestions!

You Can Be On The 2013 GLC Board!

Are you coming to our Tools and Techniques conference October 26 and 27 in Jackson? It's not too late to register. Click here for more info.

The GLC bylaws state that we have one-year terms for each of our GLC board positions. We'll take nominations until November 1st and then we'll vote online during the month of November. So send your nominations to GLC president Holly Wolfe!

Early Bird Deadline - AND a Mini-Worshop!

I can hardly believe that the "Tools and Techniques" conference in Jackson is only two weeks away. Can you?? From Timmy Boyle's comedy Friday night to critiques and editor/agent appointments, to worshops by authors and others on Saturday, it will no doubt be LOTS of fun and a great time of learning and fellowship.

And if you haven't registered yet, remember that the early bird deadline is THIS COMING MONDAY, October 15. So fill out your registration form (click here to get it) and send your money soon! October 26 and 27 will be here before you know it.


AND, as if that isn't enough (or for those of you who can't make it), the GLC chapter has ONE MORE mini-workshop for 2012 - and it's coming up next month!

This workshop, hosted by GLC vice president Johnna Postic, will be Saturday, November 10 in the Dearborn Heights.