04/13/2025 Leadership Team Meeting Minutes*
- approved 09/14/25
Attendance: Suzanne Guess (MSR), Jane Nevins (Funding Group), Samantha Fenner (Executive Director), Julie Hay (Board), Jon Fenner (Comms), Monte Mann (Finance), Fabián (Secretary)
Approval of Minutes
- Samantha noted minor corrections to the previous meeting minutes.
- The minutes were approved unanimously with the suggested edits.
NEI Statement
- The Leadership Team voted unanimously to approve the drafting of a DEI statement for both BWW, MSR and CLA.
Poetry Path Update
- The Poetry Path is now live.
- Submissions are being received.
- Poetry facilitators have been contacted via email to remind workshop participants that they are welcome to submit work and help put up the panels.
AI Statement
- The draft of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) statement was reviewed, edited, and finalized.
- The LT confirmed that it is not in the view of the organization to allow AI-generated content for submission.
- The team voted unanimously to adopt the statement as policy.
- Should questions or concerns arise, they will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, e.g. with relation to proofreading, glossaries, etc.
Meghan Workshop & Email Platform Cleanup
- Meghan reported that the platform in use dates back to 2018 and had not been properly maintained.
- Approximately 700 users were registered but inactive, and a total of 2,000 inactive email subscribers have now been unsubscribed to keep only the active ones.
- This action is expected to significantly improve newsletter performance metrics and overall engagement.
CLA Update – Janet
- The book launch event is set for June 22nd, from 4:00–6:00 PM, at Hotel Vermont.
- The event will be hybrid (in-person and virtual).
- Members are encouraged to attend and help promote the publication and its contributors.
New Workshop Offering
- A new workshop on Fiction and Short News has been announced and is now open for enrollment.
Finance Update – Monte
- Monte provided the quarterly financial update:
- BWW ended 2023 with a balance of $50,440.
- As of December 2024, the balance stands at $50,574.
- Current cash available: $8,643.
- Five major payments were made this quarter (Zoom, insurance, and others), three of which are recurring early in the year.
- Finances are stable, with a slight projected increase by year-end.
Contributing Member Drive
- The contributing member update is scheduled for May.
- Communication was sent out two weeks ago as part of the transition to the new system.
- The new system is functioning well.
- Next steps include collaborating with Rob Robson on website updates.
- The March-to-April period saw a threefold increase in sign-ups.
- Feedback on the current website is welcomed and should be sent to Samantha.
MSR Update – Suzanne
- The March 25th issue of the MSR (Magazine of Social Reflection) was published successfully.
- All backlogged feedback requests have been completed.
- On May 1st, MSR will reopen for manuscript and feedback submissions.
- 35 reviewers have been trained.
- Guest editors for the September issue will be Rebecca Star and Daniel [Last Name].
- There is an ongoing assessment to redesign The Take to include all genres, and to better highlight nonfiction.
- Further promotion of nonfiction submissions is encouraged.
Next LT Meeting
- Scheduled for May 18th at 7:00 PM.
Secretary Remarks
