On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA April - May 2017 | Page 21

Meet the Authors
The conference is reviving a revised
Meet the Authors. GWA will provide
authors with a table to meet the Buffa-
lo-area garden loving public to sell and
sign books, 2 to 4 p.m., Friday, August
5. Registration for the 20 tables is first
come, first serve. You must be registered
for the conference to participate in Meet
Louise Harwig (right) oversees Carol Michel’s book
the Authors.
signing at an Ohio event.
Talking Leaves, Buffalo’s oldest indepen-
dent book store, will be onsite selling books.
You can either bring your own books, or use Talking Leaves Bookstore Services (for an extra
fee, which will handle shipping and sales).
Education Committee Develops Programs for #GWA2017
BY BECKY HEATH
Top: Doug Oster will give tips on making videos fun.
Above: The closing keynote speaker will be Robin
Wall Kimmerer, who will share indigenous wisdom
and scientific knowledge about plants.
plants have been found to help fight depression,
while nutrient-dense veggies can help combat
disease. There are so many more reasons to
value plants for the good of all living creatures
that we can help the public understand.
NURTU R IN G T H E T R IB E
Debra Prinzing will team up with Nan
Sterman to talk about “Tribe-Building—The
Power of Community.” This is a business/social
media session filled with the successes in their
business lives, all related to building a tribe
through social media. Jan Bills and Chris Link
will share their experiences on how to develop a
following using the “Best SEO’s and Many Facets
of Social Media,” formulating a plan with reports
to show that numbers don’t lie.
Kathy Jentz will be joined by Mary-Kate
Mackey to talk about “7 Sure-Fire Ways to Write a
Great Headline,” which can sometimes be more
difficult to write than the article itself.
CLOSI NG K EYN OT E
Our final keynote speaker will be Robin Wall
Kimmerer, a botanist and a member of the
Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She has been
trained to ask questions of nature as a scientist,
while learning to use her senses to hear the lan-
guage of other beings in nature. She will share
her indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge
and teachings of plants.
It’s going to be a great, information-filled and
fun conference. See you there!
Becky Heath is vice president of GWA.
Many years ago, there were normally three “tracks” or areas of specialty for the educational
sessions at GWA conferences: Writing, photography and speaking. With the changing times and
advances in technology, the information requested by the membership also has changed and
expanded. We began to receive requests for more information about sustainability, technology,
social media and business practices.
As time went on, trying to fill the 15 spots for educational sessions while trying to include as
many tracks as possible became increasingly more difficult. The Board felt it would be far better to
have this task be accomplished by committee, and the GWA Education Committee was formed.
CO M MIT TEE MA KEUP
The 2017 Education Committee members who agreed to help were Aimee Coker, C. L.
Fornari, Kelly Norris, Bill Thomas and Barbara Wise. Each committee member reviewed each
the 96 proposals individually. We met via a telephone conference with the help of Maria Ungaro
and Ashley Sullivan and discussed the submitted proposals. We also talked about the comments
from last year’s sessions and the requests for more information about particular topics. We tried
to focus on offering enough variation of topics to ensure that each attendee would feel informed
and inspired.
There were several proposals submitted by different members whose topics appeared to be
very similar. Since panel discussions or presentations offering more than one point of view often
receive higher ratings from conference attendees, we worked hard to try to arrange for duets and
trios when appropriate. Of course, our members are team players; those who were asked agreed
to work together on their presentation.
M U LT I PLE TO PICS
The session topics include speaking, photography, business, horticulture/gardening, sustain-
ability, technology/social media, writing and new product information. We think we have arranged
an exciting and varied list of presentations and hope that those of you who attend the conference
will agree.
Several members who sent in proposals indicated that they would like to be part of the Round
Table Topic session if their topic wasn’t chosen for one of the main sessions. There were other
proposals that seemed to be a good fit for that venue as well, and those members were offered
the opportunity to share their information there. Almost all of them agreed with enthusiasm. So,
our Round Table Topics session will also be an exciting and fun way to hear the key points of many
topics for which many of our attendees have experience and knowledge and are willing to share.
The GWA Board and Committee Chairs are always eager to hear new thoughts and ideas for
positive improvements for the conference. They also welcome help on committees for those who
are willing to take the time to join and help with one. We look forward to seeing you all in Buffalo!
GWA Vice President Becky Heath is chairwoman of the Education Committee.
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