Some Good News!
Aug
7
2005

Since I bitched about this, I feel it is only responsible of me to post the latest response from SOME of the RWA Board to the RITA debacle:

Permission to forward granted:

The following members of the RWA Board of Directors wish to apologize for the disappointing direction of the Awards Ceremony during the 2005 conference. What should have been a celebration, not only of our finalists and award winners, but also of the growth and success of RWA, was not. Members of the board were repeatedly assured by the Awards Ceremony Board Liaison that the planning of the program was progressing appropriately. It was not until it was too late that we discovered that the focus of the ceremony had strayed from the theme we’d been given.

We thank those members who stepped in at the last moment to try to fix the script. We also apologize sincerely to our award winners, our finalists, and our members that the program was not appropriate to celebrate RWA’s success, as well as theirs. We apologize especially to Nora Roberts, who was not only put in an untenable position, but whose statement as to her reasons for not appearing was not read.

We pledge to move forward from this and to make the Awards Ceremony in Atlanta exactly what it should always be–a night on which we embrace the joys of romance writing and recognize the finalists and winners of our most cherished awards.

Gayle Wilson President-Elect
Kathy Carmichael Secretary
Connie Newman Treasurer
Nicole Burnham Region 1 Director
Lisa Kamps Region 1 Director
Dorien Kelly Region 2 Director
Peggy Emard Region 2 Director
Linda Howard Region 3 Director
Linda Winstead Jones Region 3 Director
Karen Fox Region 4 Director
Sherry Lewis Region 4 Director
Geralyn Dawson Region 5 Director
Jill Limber Region 6 Director
Jennifer Crump PRO Liaison
Teresa Carpenter Chapter Liaison

There are four members not on this list, Tara Taylor Quinn – the outgoing president and the Award’s ceremony board liason, Patricia Potter, Diane Pershing and Lynn Kerstan. I do not know why they were not there. However, TTQ issued a statement that I will also put up in part later.

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