From the President’s Desk – January 24

Happy New Year! At the last CWG Board Meeting, Board members decided to make a plea for more volunteers. Now that the Guild has over 500 members, the Board has come to realize that only about 20 members are doing 95 percent of the work of the Guild. All of us are volunteers, many of us have families, some of us have outside jobs.

Currently, membership fees are only $30 a year. Benefits are numerous. Most other professional organizations charge $100 or more for fees. We would like to keep these fees low. Hence, we ask members to volunteer, if they can. Perhaps you might like to read and evaluate for our Seal of Approval Committee? Maybe you would like to create the Catholic Book News or help out with the online or live conferences?

Below is a list of volunteers we currently need.

Seal of Approval Evaluators: This committee needs readers/evaluators for the Seal of Approval process. Volunteers must attend a training session before evaluating the first book; volunteers must then commit to reading at least one book per quarter. For more information, email me: president(at)catholicwritersguild.com

Catholic Book News Editor(s): One to two volunteers would be ideal and both would need to attend a two-hour training session to learn how to create this monthly e-zine to bookstores that showcases one SoA novel and one SoA non-fiction book. Editors must also email new SoA winners in order to obtain a Sell Sheet. Hours per month: two to three. For more information, email me: president(at)catholicwritersguild.com

These are just two of the committees that need more volunteers in order to keep them running smoothly. We also need volunteers for both conferences. Please prayerfully consider being a volunteer!!

The CWCO (online conference) will be taking place this March. It’s free, informative and fun! For more information: www.catholicwritersconference.com

As always, if you have any concerns, comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to email me: president(at)catholicwritersguild.com.

In Christ,

Ellen Gable Hrkach
President, CWG