At the first NPC Board of Governors’ meeting of 2013, we began a discussion about enhancing the club’s presence in the community.  This topic is sure to span several board meetings. It may even turn into a multi-year project.

For seven years, NPC visibly contributed to the community by hosting the Authors and Books Festival and Writers Conference. Should we do it again? If so, we need to know members will step up when called upon to do the work. And it IS a lot of work.

One task we can easily accomplish is to make sure we publicize in local venues anything and everything NPC does. We plan to investigate several other ideas to develop more community outreach. Shall we adopt a charity and sponsor some kind of fundraiser to support it? We talked about developing themes for our mixers, such as bringing to our August mixer some basic school supplies for underprivileged students. We mentioned the possibility of a county-wide essay contest for high-school students on the importance of a free press in a democracy. We might do none, some, or ALL of these. I’m sure other good ideas will pop up as we go along.

However, we want YOUR input. This is not just the board’s club. It is yours too. We want you to feel invested in whatever the club does.  Perhaps we’ve just scratched the surface of ways to improve our image. As you read the paragraphs above did some other ideas tug at your mind? Let us know. Email or phone any of the board members. Here’s my contact information so you don’t have to go hunting for it: cjgliteraryagent@gmail.com  or 239-594-1484.

I hope to hear from you soon. Our next board meeting is February 20. There. I gave you a deadline.