President Barbara Rollins called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Guests and visitors were introduced.

Minutes of the April meeting will be posted on the website; the March minutes have not yet been received for posting.

Financial Report: Treasurer Gail McMillan reports a general fund balance of $1,625.48.

Announcements:

Maxine Loper, a long-time AWG member is recovering from a broken hip.

Dick Garrett spent three weeks in the hospital, and is happy to be getting back to health.

Dues are renewable as of June 1st for the new fiscal year.

Center for Contemporary Arts needs a critique writer of the displays.

Abilene Writers Guild celebrates its 36th year this evening, with cake and ice cream following the business meeting and program. No charter members were in attendance, but Gail McMillan was noted as a nearly charter member of the group at 35-1/2 years with the Guild and having served in a number of capacities over the year.

Becky Haigler announced a new poetry critique and study group that meets at the Bean Counter, 3301 So. 14th St., at 7:00 p.m. the Second Monday (next meeting June 13th). The group formed with three members and invites those interested in poetry to join them.

Brags & Sags:

Jim Johnson announces a release date for The Soldier and The Lady, through Publish America, available on Amazon.com two weeks prior to the release date of July 31. A Book-Signing will be scheduled soon. He also submitted an entry to a writing contest.

Jo Cox is starting yet another venture - "Wildflowers of the Texas Big Country." Beautiful close-ups of local wildflowers sold as greeting cards and frameable prints. Visit her wild weed gallery at www.catnapin.com for information about local plants and how to share a splash of West Texas color with your friends.

Lynn Davidson's book A Final Place is doing well and has gotten some good reviews. A second book is in the process of publication.

Sharon Ellison reported sags: Good Old Days magazine sent a rejection. Also, she missed the meeting last month, but the reason is well worth a brag (her first grandson's arrival).

New member Richard Pickett has a production in the works - "Robots of Broadway"

Barbara Darnall reports a brag for Laura Thaxton who has an article in the May issue of Range Rider. Her husband, Warren, is still in ill health, and someone in the room said that Warren is remembered as Abilene's greatest band leader.

Nancy Masters Robinson took part in a grant program through the Texas Education Agency, involving 42 Region 3 school districts. The four month project helped 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders prepare stories for publication in a bound book. Two of Nancy's stories are also in the book.

Barbara Rollins says she received a note from the editor of West Texas Writers who liked her previous column in Big Country Writers.

Marv Johnson reported a brag, but I missed it.

Questionaires - the forms continue to trickle in. One of the results is institution of a daytime meeting. The first one will be in June, the third Saturday, 10:00 am, at Center for Contemporary Arts. Ruth Sellers will present the program. More daytime Saturdays will be planned if we get a good turnout. This meeting is in addition to the regular fourth Thursday regular meeting in June.

By-Laws - Any proposed changes to the By-Laws announced at the February meeting are voted upon by the attending membership at the May meeting. This year it was proposed to split the Vice President position into Executive Vice President and Vice President of Programs. The two tasks have been the duty of one person in the past, sometimes with an assistant. Splitting the responsibilities provides an opportunity for additional membership participation on the Board, and additional help with the business and programs of the Guild. Barbara Darnall so moved, and the motion carried.

Elections - The slate of Officers and Directors selected by the Nominating Committee are voted into office at the May meeting, and take office in June. Dependent upon the results of the By-Laws change, the Committee selected Nancy Masters as Vice President of Programs, Jan Carrington as Executive Vice President, Karen Witemeyer as Secretary, Gail McMillan as Treasurer. Directors chosen are Barbara Darnall, Stewart Caffey, Joan Rogers, with Jim Johnson as Alternate. Nominating committee was Jan Carrington, with assistants Jo Cox and Augustine Tennant. Jim Johnson made the motion. Motion carried.

Refreshments list was handed around for sign-ups. Sue and Brandon Davis have accepted chair of the Refreshments Committee, replacing Karen Witemeyer. Many thanks to all three.

Arts Awards - Stewart Caffey was introduced as AWG's Volunteer of the Year to be honored this year by the Cultural Affairs Council. A reception at Center for Contemporary Arts precedes the awarding of certificates at the Paramount Theater, kicking off the summer theater program. Stewart served two terms as President, currently serves on the Board as Past President, and each year prepares the Grant application which funds our annual national, even international, Contest.

Members-Only Monthly Contest - Category: Poetry. Reminder: Members must pay their dues in June to be eligible for the June contest. Nancy Masters quotes U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Cusey who said poetry is visible, but also audible. So she chose a blind person, Gary Sorels, to judge the entries. There were thirteen entries this month.

• 3rd place was Marsha Murray (Gary's comment was that it had good beat)
• 2nd place Augustine Tennant (poem had good strong words that felt like rocks)
• 1st place Carol Meeks (from Artesia NM) with a poem on Navajos and how they shake hands (Gary said he could "hear" it)

Annual Contest - write now, start submitting July 1st, deadline is August 2. Nancy Masters is the contest chair.

Annual Workshop and Luncheon - the date is October 22 - Michelle Medlock Adams is the speaker. Publicity chair Jo Cox requests help this year. It's a big job.

Program: Nancy Masters as "Miss Wanna Bee Write" talked about the importance of spelling and punctuation, tested us on redundancies (redundancies result in rejection), and tested on AWG savvy, with prizes for all.

Respectfully submitted,



Ginny Greene
Newsletter Editor