Award winning news!

For a great follow up on the PWAC@MagNet12 - AGM and Magazine Canada Conference – click on the Calgary Chapter link in the header above and read a great follow up report by Calgary Chapter member Jaqueline Louie. It was a great conference and I hope to see many of you there next year!

Bonnie Zink, left, with PWAC VP Doreen Pendgracs

Congratulations to the new President of the Saskatchewan Chapter, Bonnie Zink – winner of you REGIONAL VOLUNTEER AWARD this year at presented at the PWAC Awards Banquet at MagNet12.

 Her nominee has this to share about her: “Bonnie has been dedicated to infusing new life into PWAC-SK for the past two years. She has been relentless in contacting members, new and old, to keep the PWAC fires burning. As member-at-large this year, she has lent her social media expertise to initiate ideas such as the PWACsask Facebook site and Twitter account. Through both, she has been energetic and supportive in sharing information and ideas among PWAC members of all regions. She has also volunteered her home to host a regional meeting, spent hours developing resources for PWAC members, and used new media such as "Doodle" meeting sign-up forms, and newsletters designed with such programs as MailChimp. She's an excellent role model for us all.”

Also from our Region was the Larry Jackson Award, the highest honour we bestow each year on a volunteer that has consistently gone beyond the norm in providing time, energy and intelligent leadership to PWAC over a span of time. The board of directors recognized Edmonton’s Cynthia Dusseault for her contributions as a past chapter president (Edmonton), a Regional Director (Prairies and the North) and most recently leading the task force that accomplished our constitutional renewal in Montreal last year. Here is what her nominees had to say about her: Cynthia was a remarkable RD for our region for two years, and we believe she deserves the recognition of this award. As RD, she emailed us all once a month or more, with information about conferences, job opportunities, and many other regional concerns and ideas. She was instrumental on the board in addressing larger issues as well, including the recent constitutional change. In 2010, she managed to help plan the best PWAC AGM in Toronto - while living in Edmonton, running a successful freelance business, emailing promptly with answers to questions from a fledgling PWAC chapter in the region, and being the an all-round great Prairies Region RD. She even started discussion groups on regional concerns, such as a Prairies website for communication across geographical distances. Prior to this, she won the regional volunteer award in 2005. She was a chapter president in Edmonton, and helped plan and run an AGM in that city in years past as well. And she manages this super-human schedule with grace and good humour. She's a credit to PWAC and a role model for all of us.

For the latest details on the fall REGIONAL EVENT in Saskatoon ... check out the latest posting in the Forums on the all new Writers.ca at – early registration fees offer a great saving! The exciting news is that a successful application to PWAC national has resulted in full Board support and Regional Funding granted to help make this a great day! More details at:

http://writers.ca/index.php/forum/6-general/99-create-celebrate-and-collaborate-in-saskatoon-sk