Welcome to the Dispatches Online!

Submitted by Joyce Faulkner on January 18, 2012 - 00:12

Welcome to our first issue of Dispatches Online. This is as a result of a suggestion last year by one of our members that we create a version of our magazine that could be used by those who had submitted articles or who are featured in each volume for social networking purposes. It has taken over a year to create, but we did it and we are very proud of all of our members who have participated in this product. I hope you will be too when you read their submissions.

We will continue to publish the PDF version as long as our members find them of value. Watch for it sometime this week.

As some of you know, I will be stepping down as President of MWSA at our late September conference in Dayton. We have grown much in the few years I've been working with you all, but it's time for fresh ideas on the way to achieve our vision. To that end, we will be holding elections starting the middle of August and concluding at the conference. Voting will be on this site. If you are interested in running for office, please contact me and toss your hat in the ring. Up for grabs are four officer positions and four board members. By charter, I will serve on the board for the term after my term as president to ease transitions and help maintain consistency. We will need folks to step up to the plate for other activities as well -- these include someone to be the Senior Editor for Dispatches, someone to plan the conferences, etc. We will be out there drafting people as well. Even if you only have a little time to offer, we surely have something that you can do that would further the organization's goals. Contact me at MWSAPresident@gmail.com

Website Have you logged onto our new site and are looking around? We hope this will be our center for community, education, sharing, and networking. I'm thrilled with our 2011 Author of the Year, Jack Woodville London's introduction. Many thanks to Tim Bishop for helping us bring this welcoming little video to life. Also, this new site is the result of many hours of work by Dr. Chris Wyatt -- professor of writing at Robert Morris University, screenwriter, script doctor, and technology expert. Note that I have brought over many of the postings from the old site, but I've got many of the oldest reviews yet to do. Please be patient, it's an enormous job.

There are many ways you can enjoy Dispatches. You can use this document as a table of contents -- or you can use the menu under Articles and Reviews. For next month, if you haven't introduced yourself to the organization, please submit a short piece about yourself, your background, and your work. We love getting to know you. To do that, log on and go to "Add Content" and "Article." Select "Dispatches" and then write your piece. We love photos of you as well. Only you will be able to see it and edit it until the publication date.

So here's what we have for you this month:

MWSA New Site Features

Columns

Fighter Pilot Rules for Life - Marcia Sargent

In the Ranks - Charles Bailey