President’s Letter for January
This year began with the continuation of ‘negotiating’ with Truist Bank. Michael Cole is working diligently with one of the fraud analysts at Truist and with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to get our funds restored. Hopefully, we will have more information to share with you at our January meeting.
One of our members, who was a professional financial attorney, suggested the amount might be below the bank’s deductible and that could potentially be the reason why they do not want to pay it. Gee–this sounds like the homeowners insurance companies!
The latest info will be available at our January 21st meeting. We hope to have as many of you in attendance as possible because we really need your support and encouragement for other members. We have been polarized for too long. Now is the time to step forward and say, “I am not going to take this anymore!”
One of our authors is bringing people with her who probably haven’t been able to attend for fear of driving, etc. Carpooling is an efficient and effective way to save gas and to spend time with like-minded people; it is one way we can be of assistance to our fellow writers. This author recently left one writer’s group because of the “cliques” that were ruining the organization. This type of behavior has destroyed two other local groups that used to exist in our area.
GCWA is blessed not to have that issue. The reason is simply because we follow our constitution. When we have differences, we collaborate and iron them out at our monthly Executive Committee meetings. Many elder members had to retire; however, we have been blessed by the new residents who have relocated to our area.
If you want an exciting and thorough understanding of what life was like in Southwest Florida years ago, our January guest speaker, Clarissa Thomasson’s four novels offer delightful reading. In addition, add five children’s books, two award-winning stage plays, and a new novel for 2022. Her complete bio is listed on the first page of the website. Check it out when you get a chance.
The 2023 Writing Contest details can be found on the GCWA website as well. There is still time to submit your entries–the deadline has been extended to February 28, 2023.
Our January meeting is scheduled to be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 10:00 am – noon. Remember, the meeting will be offered, both, in person and via Zoom. We offer quite a few diverse ways to renew your membership. A payment can be made while physically attending the January meeting, you can pay online through PayPal, or you can mail a check to:
Gulf Coast Writer Association
P.O. Box 60771
Fort Myers, FL 33906
Irene Smith, President
