Board of Directors
Chapter Chairs
For further information please contact Shirley Blackwell, President, at president@nmsps.org or membership@nmsps.org.
Update from the President - 18 September 2011
Dear Members,
The NMSPS Board met on 10 September and voted on some important issues. It will be awhile before our next newsletter is published, and I wanted you to know what's in the works before then. I believe, and our new Constitution mandates, that members have the right to know what actions the Board has taken. In the future, the Secretary or another Board member may provide these summaries, but our Secretary, Sylvia Ramos, is away at the present and this information is just too good to keep. Here goes.
1. The Board voted to bid for the 2013 National Convention of the NFSPS, to be held in Albuquerque 13-19 June 2013. I have sent our request to the National Federation Board, and it requires their vote, but there is no doubt it will be accepted. NFSPS President Russell Strauss said he is thrilled that NMSPS has offered to do it. Indeed, he was waiting for our go-ahead so that he could include the good news in his President's Message for the October Strophes.
We already have some volunteers for the Steering Committee and other convention jobs. I'll be asking for help later on in filling the remaining Steering Committee posts.
2. Until now, the NMSPS has relied on a contractor to host and maintain our website. However, the incredible recent growth of our Society and a host of new ideas about how to expand our Web presence means that we need faster, easier, and more economical access to the website. Consequently, the Board voted to assume ownership (domain names, etc.) and maintenance of the website.
Several members who have various skills in related technologies will comprise a team under Debbi Gutierrez, who was appointed Project Leader for Web Presence. I am very excited about the possibilities this move provides to benefit not only communication within our membership, but also ways to promote individual members' publications and other endeavors.
3. The Board voted to raise dues to $20 per year, effective 1 November 2011. Youth dues will be $5. Our fiscal year starts on 1 November because we have to submit full membership lists to the NFSPS by December to prepare for the spring national contests (members get substantial discounts on contest fees, but the Federation Contest Chair has to verify you are a member). So, to encourage everyone to sign up in October...wait, wait.....
4. The Board approved a Membership Sweepstakes that will take place during 1-31 October. Anyone who joins for the first time or renews membership during October will be eligible for a $50 Amazon gift certificate, to be drawn in early November.
5. NMSPS has a prorated dues program for people who join part way through the fiscal year, and this sliding scale had created an awkward situation. For example, if a potential member wished to join the NMSPS at the Poets' Picnic on 24 September, s/he would have been asked to pay this quarter's dues and then a week later, remit $20 for the 2012 annual dues. To remedy this situation, the Board established a protocol:
If a person joins the Society during the first half of any quarter, the member shall pay for that quarter. If the person joins in the second half of any quarter, the dues are waived until the beginning of the next quarter. It isn't as difficult as it sounds, and the Treasurer will set up a chart that lays it out by month.
6. The Board approved the appointments of some returning and some new Project Leaders. Former newsletter editor Annmarie Pearson has taken on the daunting task of PL for Contests and Anthology. This new initiative is designed to generate money for a contingency fund (if not needed for the 2013 convention, it can be applied to other Society projects in the future) and at the same time provide opportunities for Society members to workshop and publish selected poems, even if those poems have not placed in competition.
I've seen Annmarie in action when it comes to contests, and I can't imagine anyone better qualified to keep track of the myriad details connected with this job. I wish we could clone her energy, dedication, and dependability. My heartfelt thanks to her for the fabulous work on our recent Annual Contest and willingness to shepherd future ones.
7. The Board approved several other appointments:
Jules Nyquist to be our new PL for the Language of Enchantment newsletter. Jules is new to our area and Society, but she is not new to this kind of project, and we welcome both her and her expertise.
Princess Ifeoma Achusim as PL for New Members, a returning position. We are glad to welcome her to a second term as the person who enrolls new members and helps stand up new chapters. She was the key person in the creation of our new Santa Fe chapter, which held its charter meeting yesterday (September 17). Way to go, Princess!
George Forrest as PL for Membership Development, that is, the care and nurturing of established chapters. It was George's idea years ago to have a membership chairperson, and there is probably no one better at explaining the fellowship aspect of our Society. I was so happy to have him by my side when we visited our nascent Taos chapter.
The reappointment of Larry Castillo-Wilson was tabled until I could talk to him about the scope of his project. We chatted today, and I am happy to say that he will be returning as PL for the NM Children's Poetry Project, which he has headed during the past two years. His confirmation will come at the next Board meeting.
8. We adopted as our NMSPS motto this quote from Cuban poet Jose Marti: "A grain of poetry suffices to season a century." Thanks to Kitty Todorovich for bringing it to our attention.
There are a few more items that are cause for rejoicing but were not Board actions.
Susan Paquet is the chairperson for the new Bosque chapter (Corrales) that was chartered on 13 September. Terrific!
James Raby was elected chairperson of our new Santa Fe chapter last night. The name of that chapter will be decided at a later date, when more members can weigh in on the choice of name. James has been hosting a monthly gathering of some 30 poets in Santa Fe, and at their October meeting, he hopes to enroll more NMSPS members.
So far, at least 12 people in the SF area have joined, and our forming Taos chapter has about that many. It seems to be a moving target, but we have topped the 100 members mark and aren't done yet. Anybody have connections in Las Cruces? Carlsbad? Farmington? Raton? Exciting things are ahead.
Best wishes to all, and keep the good ideas coming.
Shirley Blackwell, NMSPS President
Dear Members,
The NMSPS Board met on 10 September and voted on some important issues. It will be awhile before our next newsletter is published, and I wanted you to know what's in the works before then. I believe, and our new Constitution mandates, that members have the right to know what actions the Board has taken. In the future, the Secretary or another Board member may provide these summaries, but our Secretary, Sylvia Ramos, is away at the present and this information is just too good to keep. Here goes.
1. The Board voted to bid for the 2013 National Convention of the NFSPS, to be held in Albuquerque 13-19 June 2013. I have sent our request to the National Federation Board, and it requires their vote, but there is no doubt it will be accepted. NFSPS President Russell Strauss said he is thrilled that NMSPS has offered to do it. Indeed, he was waiting for our go-ahead so that he could include the good news in his President's Message for the October Strophes.
We already have some volunteers for the Steering Committee and other convention jobs. I'll be asking for help later on in filling the remaining Steering Committee posts.
2. Until now, the NMSPS has relied on a contractor to host and maintain our website. However, the incredible recent growth of our Society and a host of new ideas about how to expand our Web presence means that we need faster, easier, and more economical access to the website. Consequently, the Board voted to assume ownership (domain names, etc.) and maintenance of the website.
Several members who have various skills in related technologies will comprise a team under Debbi Gutierrez, who was appointed Project Leader for Web Presence. I am very excited about the possibilities this move provides to benefit not only communication within our membership, but also ways to promote individual members' publications and other endeavors.
3. The Board voted to raise dues to $20 per year, effective 1 November 2011. Youth dues will be $5. Our fiscal year starts on 1 November because we have to submit full membership lists to the NFSPS by December to prepare for the spring national contests (members get substantial discounts on contest fees, but the Federation Contest Chair has to verify you are a member). So, to encourage everyone to sign up in October...wait, wait.....
4. The Board approved a Membership Sweepstakes that will take place during 1-31 October. Anyone who joins for the first time or renews membership during October will be eligible for a $50 Amazon gift certificate, to be drawn in early November.
5. NMSPS has a prorated dues program for people who join part way through the fiscal year, and this sliding scale had created an awkward situation. For example, if a potential member wished to join the NMSPS at the Poets' Picnic on 24 September, s/he would have been asked to pay this quarter's dues and then a week later, remit $20 for the 2012 annual dues. To remedy this situation, the Board established a protocol:
If a person joins the Society during the first half of any quarter, the member shall pay for that quarter. If the person joins in the second half of any quarter, the dues are waived until the beginning of the next quarter. It isn't as difficult as it sounds, and the Treasurer will set up a chart that lays it out by month.
6. The Board approved the appointments of some returning and some new Project Leaders. Former newsletter editor Annmarie Pearson has taken on the daunting task of PL for Contests and Anthology. This new initiative is designed to generate money for a contingency fund (if not needed for the 2013 convention, it can be applied to other Society projects in the future) and at the same time provide opportunities for Society members to workshop and publish selected poems, even if those poems have not placed in competition.
I've seen Annmarie in action when it comes to contests, and I can't imagine anyone better qualified to keep track of the myriad details connected with this job. I wish we could clone her energy, dedication, and dependability. My heartfelt thanks to her for the fabulous work on our recent Annual Contest and willingness to shepherd future ones.
7. The Board approved several other appointments:
Jules Nyquist to be our new PL for the Language of Enchantment newsletter. Jules is new to our area and Society, but she is not new to this kind of project, and we welcome both her and her expertise.
Princess Ifeoma Achusim as PL for New Members, a returning position. We are glad to welcome her to a second term as the person who enrolls new members and helps stand up new chapters. She was the key person in the creation of our new Santa Fe chapter, which held its charter meeting yesterday (September 17). Way to go, Princess!
George Forrest as PL for Membership Development, that is, the care and nurturing of established chapters. It was George's idea years ago to have a membership chairperson, and there is probably no one better at explaining the fellowship aspect of our Society. I was so happy to have him by my side when we visited our nascent Taos chapter.
The reappointment of Larry Castillo-Wilson was tabled until I could talk to him about the scope of his project. We chatted today, and I am happy to say that he will be returning as PL for the NM Children's Poetry Project, which he has headed during the past two years. His confirmation will come at the next Board meeting.
8. We adopted as our NMSPS motto this quote from Cuban poet Jose Marti: "A grain of poetry suffices to season a century." Thanks to Kitty Todorovich for bringing it to our attention.
There are a few more items that are cause for rejoicing but were not Board actions.
Susan Paquet is the chairperson for the new Bosque chapter (Corrales) that was chartered on 13 September. Terrific!
James Raby was elected chairperson of our new Santa Fe chapter last night. The name of that chapter will be decided at a later date, when more members can weigh in on the choice of name. James has been hosting a monthly gathering of some 30 poets in Santa Fe, and at their October meeting, he hopes to enroll more NMSPS members.
So far, at least 12 people in the SF area have joined, and our forming Taos chapter has about that many. It seems to be a moving target, but we have topped the 100 members mark and aren't done yet. Anybody have connections in Las Cruces? Carlsbad? Farmington? Raton? Exciting things are ahead.
Best wishes to all, and keep the good ideas coming.
Shirley Blackwell, NMSPS President