August 23, 2026, Board Meeting
1:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
On Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87689767719?pwd=20pzAdk9sSEgUlYiZwPsuFfsFCDlzr.1
Meeting ID: 876 8976 7719
Passcode: 041011
A quorum is a minimum of five voting members present.
Attendees: David Harris, Nirmy Kang, Alisha Willis, Miera Rao (online), Vibha Akkaraju, Margaret Nalbach, Tim Flood (online), Colleen Olle, Sue Barizon, Tice Swackhamer, Connie Chang, Andrea Christensen
1) David made a motion to approve the July meeting minutes. Approved.
2) David enumerated our club’s successes of the past year. These include:
Our club’s upcoming move to Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church (kudos to Tim)
Deciding on and implementing fee increases (new fees for monthly meetings, the summer picnic, and Fault Zone submissions) with no pushback from members
Finding a capable Fault Zone editor-in-chief in Carol Ann Lapeyrouse, who has built a great team, found a great theme, and, with Connie as technical editor, found a new submissions platform, Subfolio
Bringing two very capable board members onboard—Connie and Andrea
In-person and Zoom presentations by Sybilline Press, Andrea Stewart, Geri Spieler, Kate Adams, the panel for “The Many Faces of Crime Fiction,” Audrey Kalman, and Stuart Horwitz among others.
The January 31 workshop “Speaking the Unspoken: A Writer’s Journey with Éanlaí Cronin” (Nirmy and/or Jenny)
Our July picnic: thanks especially to Sue, Steve, and the hospitality team
Our May 17 book fair organized by Carole Bumpus
Ongoing success of our critique groups (Miera)
Ongoing success of Writers Helping Writers (Geri Spieler and David Strom)
April NorCal conference organized by Geri with help from Andrea and others
Consistently strong, clear, and accessible communications through our Newsblast, Newsstand, social media, MeetUp, etc. (Tice, David Crilley, and others)
Geri congratulated Andrea for taking over the NorCal rep position. Various board members agreed with and expounded upon David’s list of successes. Sue Barizon acknowledged David for everything he’s accomplished this past year.
3) David talked about the club’s upcoming move to Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church. Because the pastor and office staff were previously away, he hopes to sign the rental contract next week. In the beginning, transactions with books need to take place outside the hall. We’ll need to have a disclaimer that any views being shared at our meetings are our views and not the views of Hope Lutheran Church. The board discussed the logistics of having speakers and authors selling their books outside the church. Sue and Steve will post signs directing members and other attendees to our new location for the September meeting.
4) The team discussed finding a new webmaster/mistress to replace Megan McDonald, who needs to step down.
5) Margaret and Tim announced that after serving on the membership team for seven years, they would like to ease out and let someone else take over. Margaret and Tim will first train on the new state MRMS website registration system. They will help the new volunteer(s) and be available as backup until the new membership volunteer(s) feels comfortable. The board discussed possible candidates.
6) Vibha and David presented the treasurer’s report and gave financial projections. Our club is doing better than we were six months ago. The new meeting fees will eliminate our running $2,500 deficit. We still owe the state CWC their annual percentage; last year, we paid them $3,400. Vibha proposed having an annual fundraiser to provide our club with a financial cushion. The board discussed a few fundraising ideas, particularly the benefits and logistics of running a fundraiser on Giving Tuesday on December 1. Vibha made a motion that our club sponsor a Giving Tuesday fundraiser for 2026. The board unanimously approved the motion.
7) Sue provided an update on the finances and logistics of the annual picnic held on July 18, 2026. She discussed a small issue with the Evites, the need to have a menu that includes various dietary needs, the amount of food served, and how to secure the picnic site at Beresford Park. For the holiday party, the club may use Squarespace via our Newsblast rather than Evites.
8) David, Andrea, Tim, Margaret, and Vibha discussed club membership renewals and signups and the move to the new state membership renewal system. This new membership system has morphed into a newly designed CWC website. It will have a member-driven bookshelf with purchasing links, author bios, and a search engine. This platform gives members control of their information, the ability to link and sell publications, and exposure. The rollout is expected to be in September. There are still software kinks being worked out, so branch membership chairs have not yet been brought into the process. A step-by-step instruction manual and training sessions are projected to be rolled out in September. Tim, Margaret, David, Vibha, Alisha, Nirmy, and Tice plan to train on the new system. The board talked about making sure our club members understand that we are one branch of the larger state organization of the California Writers Club.
9) Andrea provided an update and answered questions about the July state board meeting, which focused on the upcoming new membership system.
10) David talked about the San Mateo County Libraries Indie Authors’ Fest that will take place on October 17 at the Millbrae Library from 10:00 am–4:00 pm. The organizers asked our branch to co-facilitate a one-hour “speed-friending” activity for writers to find writing buddies or critique groups. The board members asked questions about the specific request and discussed ways we might participate. Given that the event falls on the same day as our general meeting and that the information we received wasn’t clear, the board decided to hold off. Miera Rao volunteered to reach out for more details.
11) Miera announced that a new critique group has opened. She and Tim talked about updating the information on our website to ensure members understand the process of joining a critique group.
12) On behalf of Carol Ann Lapeyrouse, Connie gave an update on Fault Zone: Shake, Rattle, and Roll. To date, we've received 5 submissions (1 poem, 1 creative nonfiction, 3 fiction). Since the creative nonfiction lead editor had to step down, Carol Ann is waiting for another person to respond to an invitation. The editorial team is meeting every two weeks. The board discussed potential publishers for this new anthology.
13) Nirmy and Connie talked about confirmed speakers for our upcoming general meetings. The goal is to balance offerings on both craft and business. Eva will figure out new Zoom workshops once her work schedule is in place.
14) Tice and Tim discussed changes to the Writers Helping Writers webpage.
The meeting adjourned at 4:09 pm.
Colleen Olle (Secretary) August 23, 2026