South Bay Writers Board Minutes June 27, 2026
by Yvette Van Doren
Attendees: All board members were present except Tonya. Member Richard Bondi was a guest.
- Announcements:
- We welcomed Yvette Van Doren, our new board secretary.
- Brainstorming our focus for 2026/27
- Ryan introduced a Mind Mapping exercise to determine focus for SBW branch activities in 2026-27. Brainstorming Rules include staying on topic, no negative judgement, build on other’s suggestions.
- Focal areas identified: Member support, Skill building, genre specific activities, and networking (public and local)
- Website migration and Redesign
- Hal shared the format for the new SBW website with a captivating photo of the Silicon Valley Skyline. Purchase of the photo was board approved for a one-time fee of $25.00.
- Thank you to Hal Schoolcraft, Kalpana Ramakrishnan, and Ryan Davis-Marsh for taking this on. Targeting mid-September for launch.
- Volunteers welcomed.
- Committee Time: The board divided into 3 committees Partnerships, Communications/Technology, and Activities for planning along focal area.
- Partnership report:
- Improve communication with other writing groups e.g. sharing newsletters thru email, book fairs, library partnerships
- Plan contests to engage members in writing: Edie will announce a fall 2026 contest in Aug/Sept.
- Communications: Integrate our different technologies.
- Integrate Facebook and Instagram: Annie creating Instagram with content from BBQ and launch end of July.
- New website will link to Facebook, Instagram, and newsletter/blasts.
- Activities:
- Monthly speaker meetings with a focus on craft, panels, short stories.
- Workshops: small and large: Amanda will explore a workshop/retreat for early 2027 and share her proposal in September.
- Field trips with focus on literary spots and/or opportunities to write. Joe Ming to share ideas.
- Enhance existing offerings: critique groups, open mic, retreats
- Richard Bondi to explore creating a slack-like channel for branch communications. Will report back in October.
- Partnership report:
- New Business:
- Change start time of meeting to 10:00 am, 10-10:30 is check-in and socializing time. Business meeting starts at 10:30 am.
- Separate sign-in of members from non-members to speed up line. Have a list of current members for check-off rather than requiring sign-in for members.
- Organize writing activities by genre. Could be done during the meeting, at end of meeting, or setup in other locations and date/time.