Message from President, Rick Millikan
BCATW NOTICE OF 2013 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING And Speaking Presentation and Q & A from our Industry Partners All BCATW Members are encouraged to attend the BCATW AGM Saturday November 23rd in Vancouver at THE CONCORD media room, adjoining the lobby. Randi Winter will host our meeting. Located at 1328 Marinaside Crescent, it’s got good Skytrain access being only two blocks from the Canada Line Yaletown station. There’s ample parking in the neighbourhood. Early birds may park underground entering #1061 at the parking buzzer. If in doubt, come to front door and our concierge will assist you.
Shape of the Day
1:00 p.m. Welcome. Doors open. Connect with old and new colleagues and friends. 1:30 p.m. AGM promptly begins 3:00 p.m. Break to Mix, Mingle and Munch 3:15 p.m. Industry Travel Event Should you not be able to attend, please complete the attached proxy form and return it to Karoline Cullen at cullenphotos@nulldccnet.com by Nov 15.
AGENDA
1. Circulation & Adoption of Minutes of November 17, 2012 AGM 2. Annual Report of 2013 Activities -Rick Millikan, President -2012 Symposium success & Search for Chair Person for 2014 Symposium -Ongoing initiatives to attract new members and renew Board membership -Check for press trips and other activities posted online… -Importance of members putting up their profiles on our BCATW site 3. Financial Statement (January 2013- November 2013)– Karoline Cullen, Treasurer. -Motion installing new signees for our Bank Account 4. Review of BCATW Activities: Marketing and Industry Relations-Randi Winter Communications-Karoline Cullen/Darlene Foster 5. Election of Directors: Pursuant to Bylaw 26.1 of the BCATW Constitution, in addition to submitted intentions to run, on-the-spot nominations will be accepted. Where more than one incumbent has been nominated for the same Board office, there will be elections by present members filling out ballot slips. When directors retire from office, like other members, they are eligible for reelection. President ________________________________ Vice President ____________________________ Treasurer ________________________________ Secretary ________________________________ Communication Director _____________________ Member at Large ___________________________ Member at Large ___________________________ 6. New Business: -Nominations for Symposium 2014 Chair Person __________________________ -Volunteers for the Symposium Committee -Discussion on Symposium theme, date: (Late April/Early May) and Venue -Other, ie. value and purpose of meet ups, educational programs during the year outside of the Symposium 7. Open Forum – e.g. Should the BCATW’s user-friendly constitution be posted online? 8. Motion to Adjourn 3:15 PM: INDUSTRY SPEAKER EVENT Mahmood Poonja, BCATW industry member and Bestway Tours’ chief explorer, will be entertaining us with tales on the joys and tribulations of off the beaten track travel. His company’s tours go from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between. Most importantly, Mahmood will share what suppliers, tour operators and tourism companies seek from us, the media, when press trips are offered. We are fortunate to have Mahmood Poonja and Sandra Sallovitz, another BCATW industry member and owner of Destinos Enterprises specializing in South American travel, to take questions and offer insights into the writer/industry partnership. Q&A
MEMBERS NEWS
Irene Butler breezed through Scotland, Wales and the whole of Ireland in a month….this would not have been possible without “Peacock” their startling blue mini-Peugeot rental car. Follow her escapades at www.globaltrekkes.ca . In early November she is gone again – this time to the equator. She hopes the AMG goes well, and is sorry to miss it, being the 1st one missed in six years. Ruth Kozak had two more stories published in EuropeUpClose: “Heinrich Schliemann’s House in Athens” and “Kensington Palace: Romance, Tragedy and Scandal in the Royal Residence”. She’s been busy teaching three Write From the Heart memoirs writing classes in the mornings, and a Creative Writing class and Survival Tips for Writers for VSB, The blog site for her soon-to-be-published novel Shadow of the Lion is http://shadowofthelion.com Watch for occasional new posts. Jett and Kathryn Britnell spent much of August visiting London, Paris, Venice & Rome so are catching up on the image processing.. The June 2013 issue of PhotoComment Magazine featured some of Jett’s underwater photography work in the Pro Portfolio section of the magazine. PhotoComment is a South African based photographic magazine with readers varying from mobile snapper to serious enthusiasts, students and professional. 
Jett’s tattoo is published in the current issue of Canada’s Diver Magazine. It is part of larger feature story about divers who have tattoos. This photo request was by far one of the strangest requests he has ever received from a dive magazine editor. Getting a tattoo was the furthest thing from his mind when he stepped off the plane in the Cook Islands back in April 2003. The original tribal body art design that adorns his right bicep depicts stylized whale tails breaking the ocean’s surface. While the tattoo was being applied, the tattoo artist asked Jett where he was from. Upon learning that he lived in British Columbia the artist asked, “You have Orcas there, right?” He then added an Orca’s fin to the final design. 
The Britnell’s have several new stories on the horizon about underwater photography, the Philippines, British Columbia and diving with Bahamian Tiger Sharks! Darlene Foster presented a description workshop to over seventy participants, ages nine to sixteen, at the Junior Author’s Writers conference in October. The aspiring young authors were given a photograph of a travel destination and asked to write a one page description using more than one sense. The eager participants produced some excellent work in a short time. Some potential BCATW members in the works. Darlene’s novel Amanda in England-The Missing Novel was reviewed at Travel Novels and given a four beach umbrella rating. http://travelnovel.com/travel-novel-review-amanda-in-england. She was also interviewed on Travel Novels http://travelnovel.com/author-interview-darlene-foster. Her article Turning Travel Memories Into Books For Kids was featured on The Global Bookshelf http://theglobalbookshelf.com/turning-travel-memories-books-for-kids/ And some helpful information courtesy of one of our new associate writers, Karen Pacheco http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-better-than-you-normally-do “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – St. Augustine
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