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WERE YOU WONDERING...
Who Are Your Regional Advisers and What Do They Do? by Leslie Helakoski The RAs for the Michigan chapter of SCBWI are Monica Harris and myself,
Leslie Helakoski. When we agreed to take on this job last January, we thought we knew what we were getting into. Let's
just say that our appreciation of past RAs has grown by leaps and bounds. Monica has been a Michigan member of SCBWI for 13 years. She has published books in the educational, non-fiction and picture book markets as well as many articles and activities. I've been a member almost as long. I am a writer and illustrator and have published 6 picture books. Both of us have been part of the Michigan Advisory Committee (AdCom) for many years. We are in charge of the chapter's finances, overseeing and/or coordinating conferences, workshops, membership, newsletters, list-serve, and helping our members in many ways. But we could never do it all alone. SCBWI is blessed with AdCom and many volunteers to help with running this chapter. What is AdCom and what do they do? The Advisory Committee is made up of Michigan volunteers who work with the RAs to run the chapter. These people make the work look easy but are the cogs that keep the wheels turning. They plan conferences, scout out locations, contact speakers, stuff folders, and much more. Their hard work does come with some benefits but they are asked for a 3-year commitment to the chapter. We meet several times a year and communicate continually with the wonder of email. Our members at this time are: Rachel Anderson, Janice Broyles, Randy Bulla, Julie Chase, Vicky Lorencen, Kris Remenar, and Jennifer Whistler. We have several unseen wizards
making the magic of Michigan SCBWI occur. Cecily Donnelly has been our newsletter designer. As most of you know, we are moving
into electronic newsletters now. Jennifer Whistler is our newsletter editor, and Susi Walter is the assistant editor and Opportunities
queen. Kristin Lenz handles the newsletter subscriptions. Diane Telgen is our Mistress of the Web. And Debbie Diesen and Liza
Martz are our list-serv moderators. Monica and I both feel like we are the flying monkeys among these wizards. We are so thankful
for their expertise.
If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to our chapter, please notify our volunteer coordinator, who also happens to be Monica Harris. (monicaharris24 AT sbcglobal DOT net) |