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From the President's Desk

Party Time!
September 2008

by Russell Wild, ASJA President

I'm afraid that this month's column -- lacking a single theme, as it does -- might have gotten me a C- in my freshman English class. I'm sorry, Professor Daley, but I just need to run free a bit here...I have but 650 words, and just so very much to say....

First, I want to thank the many ASJA members who bothered to read the revised bylaws and vote in their favor. I know you normally would prefer Nora Roberts or James Patterson as your summer reading, so the effort is really appreciated. The final tally was 290 for, and seven against. (That's a 97.4 percent pass rate.) We now have a thoroughly modernized document that will make the running of the organization go more smoothly, and when the next tweaking of the bylaws becomes necessary, we'll be able to do it all online.

Second item on today's agenda: health insurance. Thanks to our Executive Director Alexandra Owens, who happens to be a former insurance-industry insider, ASJA now has a plan! Mind you, group plans simply aren't what they once were. There is no guarantee that what our new broker, Bollinger Insurance, can offer you will be better or cheaper than what you already may have, but I believe that many ASJA members will wind up better off than they were before. The deal can include dental or optical, and may soon include media perils, as well. See Alex's column, on page 6 of the Confidential section for more information. Or go to the members home page of the ASJA Web site. Thank you, Alex!

Third, I want to point out that the new forum software has been up and running for a while now, and it offers a wonderful way for you to connect with your writing colleagues. If you haven't yet registered, please do so by visiting www.asja.org/members/forum02/register.php You'll find all sorts of interesting bells and whistles, such as the ability to check out photos of other forum participants to get some idea of whom you're chatting with.

Fourth, I'd like to thank Andrea Collier King and Damon Brown for representing ASJA at the UNITY journalism conference in Chicago in late July. We hope that our presence there, and ongoing efforts to reach out to minority journalists, will result in our growing into a more ethnically and socially diverse organization. With newspaper layoffs reaching new heights, the ranks of freelancers will potentially swell, and ASJA stands to recruit a multicultural new crop of members.

Fifth and finally, I want to urge you to calendar in the ASJA holiday party for the evening of Saturday, December 13. This promises to be a truly outstanding evening with a full cocktail bar, fabulous food (featuring Peking Duck), the music of pianist Thomas Shaw (yes, he will be taking requests), a theatrical performance by our own multitalented Bill Dyszel, and the debut of ASJA's 60th anniversary video. It will also, of course, be an opportunity to see old friends and perhaps make new ones. Yes, I will certainly be there. In fact, the entire board of directors has decided to delay its usual in-person November meeting to meet in December this year, so we'll all be in New York City for the holiday party.

The setting is the glass-roofed library of The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, 20 West 44th Street. The time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thank you, so very much, Katie Fishman, for pulling this event together.

Keep your eyes on the next few issues of The ASJA Monthly and our Web site for further details and a chance to buy tickets.