CHANGES AFOOT FOR WYOMING WRITERS, INC.: In his column for the latest Wyo-Writer, the newsletter of Wyoming Writers, Inc., outgoing president John Beach talked about some possible changes brewing for the statewide organization. He sees a need to change the WWI board structure to respond to “difficulties retaining a president or vice president.” Substantial changes, to be voted on at the general membership meeting at 8 a.m. on June 4 in Cheyenne, could allow the board to get more involved in running the organization. It could add 8-10 members with overlapping terms. Each board member “might be” (Beach stresses that this is all preliminary) in charge of a specific area, such as membership, annual conference, etc. One thing for sure, the membership meeting will be a lively one. The current crisis is one faced by many volunteer-run organizations. The WWI has grown and this may just be a natural evolutionary stage. With almost 200 members, it needs more of them to step up to the plate. And maybe it’s time for this mature organization to find a way to hire at least one part-time staffer. Experience has taught me that it helps immensely to have someone (a paid someone) to coordinate a group’s efforts. The new Wyoming Cultural Trust may offer some aid. WYO arts orgs expect the WCT to come up with some way to grant basic operating support to organizations, especially those small to mid-sized ones which are challenged daily with lack of paid staff, high overhead costs, lack of space, etc. WWI has been through growing stages before. This may be the most challenging one yet.
- posted by Michael Shay @ 9:29 AM