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From the President's Desk Come Together by Bob Bittner I'm writing this immediately after returning from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where we just had the first ASJA Board meeting to be held outside of New York City. For ASJA -- an organization that began in a Manhattan apartment and whose headquarters remains smack-dab in the middle of Times Square -- it was an important step. Such steps have been slow, but deliberate. In 1999, Sam Greengard became the first ASJA president who lived outside of the New York City metro area. Before he took office, some long-time ASJA members would have said such a thing was impossible. And, for many years, they would have been right. But by 1999, the Internet had made it possible for all of our members to communicate with one another instantly and easily across all geographic barriers. As a result, today's Board consists of members who live in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and -- yes -- New York. Our business gets done primarily through daily e-mails and conference calls. But electronic communication can only take us so far. Sometimes people need to meet face-to-face to keep the lines of communication clear and the relationships solid. So we also meet in person twice a year: in New York before the annual conference and in early November. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you just sit down together in a room and talk. That's something we as a Board want to encourage for all ASJA members. During the last year or so, the Board has increasingly encouraged members to get together locally and regionally. A new regional section on the Forum has opened up communication among members all across the country who are planning get-togethers that range from meet-and-greet lunches to panel discussions. With the East-Meets-West conference, sponsored in part by the Northern California ASJA Chapter, we've even seen members develop programs that have gained national recognition and exceeded anything I would have imagined. ASJA chapters are not the only way to go. In fact, the guidelines for creating and maintaining an official chapter -- spelled out in the By-laws -- are detailed and somewhat restrictive. If forming a new chapter works for your group, that's great. But there is also room in ASJA for dozens of less-formal groups that can bring together members and nonmembers, present information of value to nonfiction freelancers and encourage networking and personal relationships. As ASJA continues to grow in numbers and diversity, this kind of regional gathering is going to be crucial for connecting members with one another and for introducing prospective members to everything ASJA has to offer. That's why your Board traveled to Minnesota in November. Not because we love the cold (brrr), the snow (none) or the Mall of America (kind of just a big mall). We chose Minneapolis as our first outside-of-NYC meeting destination simply because there is an existing group of ASJA members there who were interested in planning a small panel discussion in coordination with our visit. Held on the Friday evening before our all-day Board meeting on Saturday, November 10, the panel was, in my opinion, a great success. Immediate Past President Jack El-Hai, a Minneapolis resident, was instrumental in making the basic arrangements for the panel, which was held at the airport hotel where the Board was staying. (Our confirmed room block made it possible to get both the Friday-night seminar room and our Saturday meeting room free.) John Rosengren moderated the panel, presented for free, entitled, "Inside the World of Writers and Their Specialties." It featured five ASJA members as panelists: Tim Brady, Emily Sohn and Board members Caitlin Kelly, Janine Latus and Mary Mihaly. After about an hour's presentation, along with time for questions, many of us adjourned to the hotel bar to continue the conversations. I mention all of this to show that regional programming doesn't have to look like something you might see at the annual conference. In fact, these panelists were so diverse in subject area and media that I can't imagine this panel working at the annual conference. Yet it was perfect here, with everyone contributing something interesting and useful. As for attendance? I counted about 25 people in the audience, many of whom are not yet members. The Minneapolis meeting was the first in what I hope now will be an annual "road trip" for our fall Board meetings. If you're interested in having the Board (in whole or in part) participate in a panel discussion when we hold our meeting next November, just let me or any other Board member know. We're open to any and all destinations, and we'd love to meet more members face-to-face. But don't wait for that once-a-year opportunity. Whether you meet with other members for dinner or drinks, host a single panel discussion, or plan a day-long mini-conference, you can plug in at the local level. The ASJA office and Board will offer as much support as we possibly can. But the ultimate success of such events will hinge on the enthusiasm and oversight of local members willing to take the reins. See you in New York in April -- if not before. Bob Bittner, ASJA's president, lives in Charlotte, MI (which, for reasons unknown to him, is pronounced "shar-LOT"). Reach him at prez(at)asja.org Webmaster note: Bittner resigned as President on December 12, 2007, but remains an ASJA member.
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