OPA has had a tough four months since our new board was named at the conference in October. Three of our board members have quit. Historian Priscilla Hunter has moved to Texas, webmaster/events coordinator Jade Rosina McCutcheon is moving back to Australia, and treasurer Melissa Eaton had to leave for person reasons. In addition, the board member who agreed to be membership chair has had to let go of that job. Yikes. I thought this second year as president would be easy. Instead, I find myself doing four jobs at once trying to keep OPA going.
Here’s where we stand. Bob Sterry, who finished just shy of the winners’ circle in our last election, accepted an appointment to the board. We are loving his knowledge and his delightful English accent. Rana Tahir, our previous treasurer, came back long enough to make sure our bills were paid and to train our incoming treasurer, Aaron Erhardt, who will start this month.
We still need to fill Jade’s position. There is not another gem in the world like our Jade, but we do need another board member, and they need to be someone willing to get to work right away. Please contact me ([email protected]) or any other board member if you are interested.
Our spring contests are underway. Adult contest chair Nancy Christopherson has done a fantastic job of organizing it and recruiting an impressive roster of judges. Lauren Mallett runs the Cascadia contest for students in grades 1-12. Details on our contests are on the website.
Our able social media chair Lorna Rose-Hahn has also posted contest information on our OPA Facebook and Instagram pages.
As members, you are also eligible to enter the many contest categories in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies’ competition, open now. Deadline is March 15. Visit https://www.nfsps.com for details.
All members should have received an email last week with a survey about the 2023 OPA conference. We are planning to do an in-person conference in October with a Zoom option. But where should it be? How many people would come? Your answers will guide our planning. Your vote does count. And if you’re willing to help us plan the conference, please let us know.
Other upcoming events include publication of the new Verseweavers, our anthology of 2022 contest winning poems, and readings by the prizewinning poets on March 14 and 16, and a series of open mics in April for poets who have published books in the last three years. We will also be sponsoring a slam poetry contestant for the national Blackberry Peach slam competition hosted by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies in June. Stay tuned for more on these events.
Our membership continues to grow, and we are full of ideas for new activities. If we can get all the jobs filled, the rest of our OPA year should be smooth as a sonnet.
Sue Fagalde Lick
President, Oregon Poetry Association