Announcing new candidates for MWSA officers!

As you know, my term as President of MWSA will be up on September 29, 2012 and I will be stepping down. Although we've grown a lot during my tenure, it's time for new ideas and new leadership. As such, I'm pleased to share with you the names of four members who have agreed to take on the leadership of our organization for the next three years. I want to thank each of them and pledge my support as they build on what we've started and create new ways to achieve our goals.

First, I'm thrilled that Dwight Zimmerman has stepped forward to take on the role of President of Military Writers Society of America. Dwight has been a board member for the last two years and as you know, he is a multi-award-winning author. He is well-versed in the Military niche and is a strong advocate for Writing to Heal, Education -- both for our members and for the public at large, and for Rescuing History through museums, libraries, and archives -- MWSA's three main missions. I will work with Dwight to ease the transition as will all of the existing officers. 

Dwight says, "I am both humbled and honored to have been nominated to be the next president of the Military Writers Society of America. With the organization in the final stages of becoming a 501 3 (c) non-profit, MWSA is about to embark on a new and exciting chapter of its existence. Credit must go to MWSA President Joyce Faulkner, founder Bill McDonald, Consultant Maria Edwards, Vice President Mike Mullins, Secretary Pat Avery, Treasurer Buddy Cox, Lead Reviewer Jim Greenwald, Membership secretary Terry Gould, and Webmaster Chris Wyatt for their dedication and hard work these past years. Their efforts have set the bar high and together with the other officers and board members I hope to continue their fine legacy."

Along with Dwight, Leila Levinson has agreed to become Vice President of MWSA. In this role, she will focus mainly on Writing to Heal. She will present her first MWSA sponsored workshop for Dayton area Veterans, Police, Firefights, EMTs, and their families at our conference. She will also conduct a training session which will give you the tools to take the program back to your own communities if you are interested. 

Father Ron Camarda will join Dwight's team and serve as secretary for the organization. If you haven't met Fr. Camarda yet, you are in for a treat..His joyful approach to life will energize MWSA and make our conferences exciting and fun.

Louis Intres, who has been working on our 501c application, will take over the job of treasurer. Louis has served as our historian in the last couple of years and he is a historian of growing fame. He was also a banker for many years and is more than qualified to guide us through this transition.

Although these are the only candidates for these offices, our bylaws say that we must vote for the leadership. To that end, I'll set up a poll where I hope that you will give your support to these new officers. If not enough votes have been cast by September 29, we will vote by acclamation at the banquet.

Also, our bylaws state that the outgoing president will be on the board for one term to support the transition.  

Dwight will be making announcements about the changes he invisions in the coming weeks.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or Dwight.

J