Who We Are 2002
With nominations complete, the first election of the Operating Board began in earnest and ran the entire month of January 2002.
During that same month Kathleen Y’Barbo announced the first annual ACRW Noble Theme Writing Contest for unpublished authors. The name of the contest was taken from Psalm 45:1 NIV - My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. Deadline for entries was June 12, 2002. Winners were slated to be announced at the National Write From the Heart ACRW Conference in Kansas City at the Clarion KCI Airport in October. By February, ACRW had a new Operating Board:
- President - Christine Lynxwiler
- Vice President - Tracey Bateman
- Secretary - Lynette Sowell
- Treasurer - Kathleen Y’Barbo
- Volunteer Coordinator - Patty Hall
On February 12, 2002, a “Changing of the Guard” online board meeting took place between the incoming board and previous board members who moved to the role of Advisory Board. At the time of the historic meeting, ACRW had 160 members.
Other changes in volunteers also took place during this time. Sandra Moore announced Lianne Lopes as her new website administrator assistant. Linda Mae Baldwin was named the new Birthday Greeter, and Gayle DeSalles agreed to be the new loop List Hostess.
As participants in the email loop increased, it became necessary to retool the email loop as a place for less chit-chat and more writing-related discussion. . The Operating Board announced in July that every Saturday was designated as “Free Day.” On that day the loop was open to discussion about anything, not just writing. On July 20, 2002, ACRW’s oldest member Ruth Seamands (Brandilyn Collin’s mother), debuted her weekly Free Day e-mail column, “Tidbits of Truth by Ruth.” Ruth’s anecdotes, words of wisdom, and stories from her many years as a missionary in India were well received by the membership. As the summer drew to a close, published authors were encouraged to publish their personal newsletters to the loop each month.
ACRW’s membership had grown to 283 members.
With the October conference drawing closer, the Book of the Year contest for novels published in the previous calendar year was announced and Patty Hall, Volunteer Coordinator, informed members of the formation of a prayer group to focus on praying for the conference.
On October 17, 2002, prior to the start of the National Conference, both boards met for the first face-to-face joint meeting in Kansas City. The meeting’s goal was to guide ACRW toward the future God intended for the organization.
Later that day, the conference officially began with 100 attendees. Coordinator Dorothy Featherling and the Conference Committee—Meredith Efken, Aisha Ford, Rachel Hauck, Carolyn Scheidies, Carrie Turansky, and Allison Wilson—received kudos for a great job. Karen Kingsbury’s keynote addresses on writing with emotion inspired everyone. Having built camaraderie and friendships by e-mail only to that point, this was the first time most members had ever met each other in person.
In addition to the workshops, fellowship, appointments and worship, excitement centered around announcement of winners for the Book of the Year and Noble Theme contests.
At the conclusion of the conference, President Christine Lynxwiler announced that the 2003 ACRW National Conference would be held in Houston, Texas, in September 2003.
Near the end of 2002, Martha Rogers took over as the Verse of the Week coordinator. Her first verses for meditation were Philippians 4:12-13 NIV— I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Jennifer Johnson agreed to become the Topic of the Week Coordinator.
In December 2002, Vice President Tracey Bateman announced the need to step down from her post on the Operating Board. The Advisory Board asked Rachel Hauck to complete Tracey’s term of office.