MINUTES OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Minutes of February membership meetings of DC Chapter, National Writers Union

Separate meetings were held on February 23 and 26, 2008, the former in Northern Virginia and the latter at the NWU office in DC.

In attendance at one or both were Ann Hoffman and Jo Freeman (acting co-chairs), Sam Smith (webmaster and newsletter publisher), Simin Redjali, Pamela Brown, Steve Ackerman, Alec Dubro, Cynthia Haggard and guest Ghazal Chilan, newly arrived in the U.S. from Iran.
Discussions were held on the current state of the National Union and the Chapter, plans for the National Organizing Committee, the need for help in running the Chapter and two upcoming events:

A presentation by attorney Joy R. Butler on copyright law in April, jointly sponsored with the DC chapter of the Women's National Book Association; and

A seminar on negotiating book contracts to be presented by Philip Mattera, National Book Grievance Officer and a member of the Chapter. This always popular event will be held on Saturday, June 28 from 10 am to 2 pm at the NWU office. The cost is $25 for members, $35 for non-members.

Ann Hoffman, Chapter Treasurer, reported that the Chapter continues to have a balance of approximately $17,000, the same amount we sent to the National Union a couple of years ago.

Members Pamela Brown and Steve Ackerman volunteered to join the Chapter Steering Committee. Their offers were accepted. Alec Dubro volunteered to keep an eye on legislative developments of importance to the Union at the Congressional and local levels. He also agreed to prepare a recruiting flyer for distribution, especially to bloggers, at the upcoming Take Back America conference.

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