The NASW business meeting at ScienceWriters 2009 in Austin began at 8 am on Saturday. Happily, it included both hot coffee and some fresh organizational news.
The NASW business meeting at ScienceWriters 2009 in Austin began at 8 am on Saturday. Happily, it included both hot coffee and some fresh organizational news.
The meeting began with what president Mariette DiChristina called "boring but important" news about proposed changes to the NASW constitution, which received a formal once-over by an attorney, to comply with new rules for nonprofits. Treasurer Peggy Girshman covered the highlights of the budget (details on the bylaw changes and the budget will be available on the website and in ScienceWriters magazine).
Board member and Internet committee co-chair Terry Devitt announced that a redesigned NASW website, including "significant architectural changes" and "lots of new bells and whistles," is expected to debut in mid-2010.
Several NASW initiatives, including the website redesign, ScienceWriters 2009 travel fellowships, and the new Career Development Grants, are supported by funds from the Authors Coalition of America. Board member and coalition liaison Beryl Benderly reminded all members to complete the annual coalition survey, as member answers determine the amount of coalition funds NASW receives.
Board member and awards committee co-chair Bob Finn reported that NASW received 130 entries to the 2009 Science in Society Journalism Awards competition. "The hardest part of my job is finding judges," said Finn, and he invited any members interested in judging to contact him.
Board member Dan Ferber, standing in for freelance committee chair Richard Robinson, reported that thanks to the leadership of Catherine Dold, the "All About Freelancing" section of the NASW website now features regularly updated content with practical advice for freelancers. He encouraged freelancers to continue their contributions to the Words' Worth database. Ferber also announced that the grievance committee, which he chairs, handled five cases and advised four others in the past year, with most concerning delayed payments. In the coming year, the committee hopes to not only resolve grievances but also counsel members on ways of preventing them.
The membership committee, chaired by board member Vikki Valentine, helped recruit 200 new NASW members this year, and member Charles Choi staffed an NASW recruitment booth at the Asian American Journalists Association national convention in Boston. Robert Irion, co-chair of the education committee, reported that the mentoring program and internship fair both took place at the AAAS meeting in Chicago this year, with 45 students and 15 national recruiters participating in the internship fair. The education committee is also beginning to update the science-writing curricula available on the NASW website.
Glennda Chui, co-chair of the information access committee, said her committee wants more input from PIOs on access issues; Terry Devitt announced that he would like to start a PIO committee, and invited any interested members to contact him.
DiChristina reminded the members that NASW has only three salaried staffers, and that "everything else is up to you." While volunteering always brings intangible rewards, she said, "once in a while we make our thanks and gratitude more tangible," and with that awarded the annual Diane McGurgan Service Award to longtime NASW member Jeff Grabmeier who, among his many services to the organization, co-chairs the education committee. Grabmeier accepted the award with a wide grin.
Joint NASW/CASW meetings are planned through 2014.
Michelle Nijhuis was a 2009 NASW Freelance Fellow. She lives in western Colorado, is a contributing editor of High Country News and writes regularly for Smithsonian. Her work appears in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009.
