The purpose of this document is to record the decision and actions related to dissolution of a Tennessee 501c3 nonprofit organization known as the Tennessee Writers Alliance.

2.0          Background 

2.1          The Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc. was formed to serve the writers and writing community in the state of Tennessee.

2.2          The Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc. (TWA) is a 501c3 nonprofit

2.3          The Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc. (TWA) bylaws were most recently revised July 22^nd, 2006, and define the requirements for operation of the TWA and its board of directors.

2.4          Under the 2006 bylaws, fifteen board members are required to serve on the TWA board.  At this time, there are only nine members serving, with five members making notice of their intent to step down from the board.  Current board members are listed below:

2.4.1      President Deb Simpson

2.4.2      Vice President Myra McLarey

2.4.3      Treasurer Diana Rose

2.4.4      Secretary Open

2.4.5      Director of Marketing William Visher

2.4.6      Collegiate Ambassador Matthew Watts

2.4.7      Teresa Lockhart

2.4.8      Tamara Baxter

2.4.9      Terry Thompson

2.4.10   Kathy Rhodes

2.5          Although the board member listing indicates nine members, not all are active, participating members. In October, when the terms for the following directors close, the board will be left with only six members:

2.5.1      Terry Thompson

2.5.2      Tamara Baxter

2.5.3      Kathy Rhodes

2.6          In addition, the current Vice President Myra McLarey has proclaimed her intent to step down from her role in the near future.  Board member Teresa Lockhart has been unable to participate due to other obligations.

2.7          Additional members have been sought, through various recruitment methods, but none have committed to serve.

2.8          Without the necessary number of committed board members and volunteers, the TWA cannot carry on its purpose, and the associated work of serving its members in providing opportunities for education and networking.

3.0          Intent

This document makes known our intent to dissolve the Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc. per the terms and schedule defined in this document.

4.0          Board of Directors Dissolution Signatures

We the current members of the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc. provide our signatures below to show our intent to dissolve and disband the 501c3 organization known as the Tennessee Writers Alliance, Inc.

President Deb Simpson _____________________________________________

Vice President Myra McLarey ________________________________________

Treasurer Diana Rose ______________________________________________

Secretary Open

Director of Marketing William Visher ___________________________________

Collegiate Ambassador Matthew Watts _________________________________

Teresa Lockhart ___________________________________________________

Tamara Baxter ___________________________________________________

Terry Thompson __________________________________________________

Kathy Rhodes ____________________________________________________

Dissolution Schedule:

You have the opportunity to read your works on the Chapter 13 Stage.

This year TWA will sell your books and other author items at our booth.

You can participate in author signings at our booth.

We are looking forward to representing YOU at this festival.

For more information, contact inquiries@tn-writers.org or twafinanceteam@gmail.com. You can also message us on Facebook. Stop by our booth and find out

Prizes for Creativity!

The Tennessee Writers Alliance (TWA) is looking for slogans related to writing.

We plan to use the slogans on T-shirts, hats, etc to raise funds to help us in our mission of supporting and promoting authors and writing in Tennessee.

Contest Rules

1)      The slogan must be related to writing, books, authors, etc

2)      The slogan must be your original creation

3)      Submit as many slogans as you wish

4)      No obscenities, please

5)      TWA Members, Facebook friends,  and Tennessee Authors are welcome to submit

6)       Contest is open from July 1, 2012 to August 15, 2012

7)      Send submissions to TWAPresident@Gmail.com or inquiries@tn-writers.org

Contest Details

1)      The top 3 slogans will be selected by the TWA Board

2)      Top 3 slogans  will be posted on the TWA Facebook page from August 15, 2012-August 31, 2012 and we will ask TWA Facebook members to vote on the top slogan

3)      The #1 slogan will be used on TWA T-shirts for the 2012 Southern Festival of Books (SFB)

Prizes

Top 3 Slogans win a

·         FREE TWA T-shirt

#1 Slogan wins

·         Free TWA T Shirt  AND

·         EITHER of the following

o    Free 1 year TWA membership (or extension of existing membership

o   OR Free 90 days Advertisement on TWA website

( for book, or writing related services only)

Contest Notes

·         All slogans submitted become the property of TWA

·         TWA Board members may not participate

·         There are no fees to submit your ideas

Examples of slogans

http://shop.cafepress.com/metaphors-be-with-you

http://www.cafepress.com/mf/31040121/killed-you-off_tshirt

Debby Cameron,

D. N. English,

Barbara Hearn,

Jane Hicks,

Joyce McCullough,

Liz McGeachy,

Kay Newton,

Ellen Rust,

Claudia Ware,

D. Lynn Jacobs,

Kehaunani Hubbard,

Carol Grametbauer,

Melanie Harless,

Sally Lee,

Susan Ashley Michael,

Carolyn T. Wilson,

David Fann,

Thank you all for your support!

• Deb Simpson, with Closing The Gate, a Heavens Gate Cult Biography
•  Susan Ashley Michael, with Crossing The Bridge of Sighs,a Venetian novel
• June Hall McCash with A Titanic Love Story, a memoir
• David Fann with Walking With God, inspirational poetry.

For a limited time only, we are offering you the opportunity to take advantage of our many membership benefits for a reduced price! These offers include full membership benefits and won’t last long! By the time Summer arrives with its bikinis and barbecues, this offer will be gone forever! Please act now!

Membership in the TWA offers numerous benefits:

• Networking with writers, editors, publishers, librarians, and other word lovers across the state.
• Publication opportunities with The Tennessee Writer and Maypop.
• Invitations to participate in the TWA-sponsored annual conference, annual literary competitions, and writing workshops.
• Discounts on TWA competition entry fees and workshop/conference registration fees.
• Free business-size ad in The Tennessee Writer.
• Listing of your website and brief bio on our Member Links page.
• Participation in TWA gatherings at the annual Southern Festival of Books in Nashville each October.

And coming this year…more opportunities for networking, publication, and marketing for authors!

Membership options include

The Golden Rose Lifetime membership-a $300 value for only $275!

· Membership must be purchased by 5/31/12

· Membership never expires and provides full regular member benefits *

The Maypop Morning 2 year value membership –a $60 value-for only $45

· Membership must be purchased by 5/31/12

· Membership expires 5/31/14

The Tulips in Twilight 1 year membership—a $30 value-for only $25

· Membership must be purchased by 5/31/12

· Membership expires 5/31/13

The Sweet Pea symphony–6 month Trial membership -for only $15

· Membership must be purchased by 5/31/12

· Membership expires 11/30/12

The Lucky Lavender -1 year membership for students –for only $10

· Membership must be purchased by 5/31/12

· Membership expires 5/31/13

To take advantage of this incredible offer:

1) complete the attached application form

2) Make check out to Tennessee Writers Alliance

Since this is a time sensitive offer, all transactions must be processed online. We accept PayPal.

Address for all other correspondance:

Tennessee Writers Alliance

P. O. Box 120396

• The Fiction500 contest is open for submissions May 1-14.
• Submit an original work of fiction no longer than 500 words, based on the prompt.
• Fiction500 accepts only 500 entries.
• Faculty from the country’s top MFA Creative Writing Programs judge the contest
• The winning author receives $500. Second-place author receives $200, and third-place author receives $100.
• Fiction500 publishes winners and honorable mentions on its website.

Details: http://www.Fiction500.com

The Tennessee Writers Alliance (TWA) Board has been doing some exciting things lately to improve the support we provide to our members and I wanted to tell you about what we have been doing!

First, there have been several changes to the TWA Board with the addition of new board members and reorganization.  Our roles and responsibilities are now defined by the core activities of the TWA, with board members providing leadership in a specific area:

1)      Membership –Deb Simpson, President

2)      Education –Myra McLarey, Vice President

3)      Media & Marketing –William Visher, Director Media & Marketing

4)      Finance & Fundraising –Diana Rose, Treasurer

5)      Publication  & Projects

6)      Colleges & Universities —Matthew Watts, Collegiate Ambassador

We recruited an Executive Director, David Fann, who began his new role on May 01, 2012, and will be handling many of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the TWA.  We also established direct email contacts for each area listed above, and for the Executive Director and myself, so that members can directly access the area or person they need to reach.

Please watch our website and social media for upcoming announcements and opportunities , including:

• Special membership pricing  options
• Workshops and Webinars
• Networking with other writers, through volunteering, TWA blogs and resource listings
• Promotional tools and resources (self serve website ads) for  TWA authors
• Contests & awards
• Speakers listings, writers group listings, and more
• Coming soon—TWA on You Tube-!

Please watch your email and postal mail for more info!

Please send your questions, concerns, or ideas t us @ TWAIdeas@gmail.com

Happy Writing!

Deb Simpson

President, Tennessee Writers Alliance

As our membership drive kicks into gear, we ask that you would consider joining or renewing your membership to the TWA.

The Alliance exists for the purpose of promoting and supporting the work of all Tennessee writers and writers’ organizations operating within Tennessee, and to encourage the professional and artistic development of contemporary writers working in Tennessee.

We also want to stimulate public awareness of the work of Tennessee writers through our educational, charitable, and benevolent work.

In order for this to take place, we need the support of writers of all kinds and their supporters.

Won’t you please consider partnering with us or supporting us with a gift or donation? The benefits will be enormous for us, our community, and our state. Some of those benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Publication opportunities
• Networking with like-minded people
• TWA sponsored events and workshops
• Participation in TWA readings at annual Southern Festival of Books
• Annual awards for Writer of the Year and Literary Legend
• …and much. much, more!

Join us today and you’ll be glad you did!