Dear fellow members,
It is with great pleasure that I greet you again at the start of the 2020/2021 season.
Yes, “pleasure” even though we are still in the midst of a pandemic as well as a time of social upheaval, “good trouble” and a contentious election. This pandemic forced the Board to be flexible as we contemplated the coming year at our July planning meeting. Flexibility creates the opportunity to discover new ways to continue providing community, support and enrichment to our members.
So, without further ado, let me apprise you of some of what we have in store for you!
The biggest news: We have decided to create a new voting position on the Board to head an Equity and Social Justice Committee. This will involve an addition to the bylaws, which we had planned to revise this year anyway. This is an opportunity for you to volunteer for this important work. We need folks to work on the revision, folks to serve on the Committee and
someone to volunteer to take charge. The Board position is an appointment this year, then voted in for a two year term at the May meeting.
One of the tasks of the Equity and Social Justice Committee will be to guide the Board in finding ways to explore these issues through our meetings and be more inclusive in our outreach. The Board has already started to focus some of our meetings around current events.
Our October meeting will be a moderated discussion of Confederate Monuments with multiple colleagues who have direct experience with these complicated objects.
Our November meeting will be our chance to hear from Tammy Hong, whose scheduled talk last April had to be put off.
I am excited to announce that our December meeting will feature Aaron Bryant, Curator of Photography and Visual Culture at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, speaking about cultural heritage conservation and the collection of Black Lives Matter ephemera.
We hope to move forward with our Community Partnership Project at the African American Civil War Memorial this winter although we aren’t sure what that will look like due to COVID concerns. Keep an eye out for further updates.
One of the hardest aspects of this pandemic is that we can’t see our friends and colleagues in person. For many of us, WCG meetings are a chance to see folks we don’t normally see during the working week. Virtual meetings just don’t feel the same. However, I do hope you will join us for our kick off September 3 rd meeting for Trivia Night! And stay connected with us through our social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
How many of you have noticed our Meet Our WCG feature that started this summer? So far, we have focused on Board members but hope to pull in our regular members as well.
Keep in touch and stay connected! Email us if you are interested in working on any of our initiatives or if you have ideas for speakers or events. All suggestions are welcome!
Yours in health,
Jayne Holt
President, WCG
