After the 2017 NJCL convention, I began the process of
founding the JCL Coalition of Small States (JCLCSS). The
purpose of the Coalition is to help support and promote the
JCLs of those states which are the most vulnerable. In order to
create the JCLCSS, I wrote a two-page long proposal email that
I soon sent out to state chairs. It outlined many of my plans
for the coalition, such as joint spirit at nationals, shared state
fellowships, discussion groups, a bazaar booth, et cetera. Of all
of these ideas, the primary and most exciting endeavor of the
Coalition was the creation of the Torch: United, a joint
publication that would be created by and distributed in all the
small states.
Once these plans started to fall into place, I had the
immense honor and pleasure of getting in contact with JCLers
from over 15 states, and the ball soon started rolling. The
JCLCSS eventually held meetings and discussed how the
Coalition could best support all the small states. In late 2017,
we elected Zoa Katok (NV) from a field of four amazingly
talented candidates as our first-ever Torch: United Editor in
Chief. Her duty is to create and edit the Winter (late
February) and Spring (late April) editions of the Torch: United.
With growing support, the JCLCSS has truly begun to take
shape, and I simply can’t wait to see where it takes us.
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