Category: Connie Rae White

2022 Convention: Connie Rae White Service Award

11/23/2022

Connie Rae White
Merit Award for Service to the Club
October 22, 2022

Nominated by Tracy Million Simmons, D2 (Emporia)

Connie Rae White joined Kansas Authors Club in 2014 and has been leading, in my eyes, ever since. Connie has served the last two years as president of District 5. Prior to that she filled the office of secretary. In 2019, Connie helped organize our convention in Wichita. She also sat on the committee that produced our first virtual convention in 2021.

When 2020 stopped our in-person meetings, Connie made no excuses. She got right to work finding a way to continue D5 meetings virtually. Connie never used fear of technology as an excuse. She signed up D5 for its first Zoom account and took the attitude of "I've got to learn these things," and learn she did.

Connie also served as a member of the restructuring committee, always with an eye to the future of our organization.

Connie has published children's books and a fascinating book called It's All Show Business, a story she collected while caring for a man named Lee in her profession as a nurse. Connie also works as a editor for hire.

I nominate Connie Rae White for a merit award for service to the Kansas Authors Club.

-Tracy Million Simmons, D2 Member (Emporia)

2022 Convention: Member Recognition

11/17/2022

The following Members were recognized for
Length of Membership at the 2022 Convention

40 Years
Doris Schroeder

20 Years
Barbara A. Brady
Tom Mach

15 Years
Judy Keller Hatteberg
Joan Breit
Hazel I. Hart
Sally Jadlow

10 Years
Raj Bajaj
Jerilynn Jones Henrikson
H. John Sanders

Octogenarians
Marilyn Hope Lake, Ph. D.
Connie Rae White

Convention 2021: Service to the Club

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

Letter of Nomination:

It was a painful decision for each member of the 2021 Convention Planning Committee to pull the plug on their plans to host a live convention in Topeka. For more than a year, I sat in on many of their planning sessions. I was impressed by the energy and attention to detail as they planned their marketing strategy and put together what I think you will agree is an impressive lineup of speakers and workshop presenters. Multiple times, some members of the committee met with the director of events at Ramada Inn, or simply wandered through on their own, to examine the facilities and make sure they understood what would happen where.

Because this is a virtual convention, you can never have a full appreciation of how much work went into planning those aspects of the convention that had to be scrapped. For a year, they planned for a live convention under the cloud of uncertainty created by COVID, knowing that much of their planning might be of no avail. Then, in early spring, as numbers of cases and deaths dramatically dropped and the pandemic appeared to be running its course, they voted to forge ahead full speed with their plans for a live convention.

The emotional roller coaster they then endured as the Delta variant heated things up again made it all the more difficult for them to cancel the live portion of the convention. But it was clear as they discussed their decision, that what they dreaded most was the thought of feeling personally responsible for some of you becoming sick or even dying as a result of infection at the convention.

Because this is a virtual event, you can never have a full appreciation of how much work went into planning those aspects that had to be scrapped. I could sense their disappointment as each one raised his or her hand to vote to torpedo much of their own plans. Through their determination to bring you and me a high-quality convention, these individuals serve as role models for us all. We can learn from them how to pivot and persevere when confronted with circumstances we cannot control.
I hope you will give them a thumbs up as we call out their names.

Members of the committee are:

District 1:
Fred Appelhanz
Audrey Bosley
Max Dunavan
Reaona Hemmingway
Ruth Maus
Anne Spry
Janet Jenkins Stotts
Barbara Waterman Peters
Carol Yoho

District 5:
Connie Rae White

Nominated by: Duane Johnson

Convention 2021: Service to the Club

10/25/2021

Each year, members are asked to nominate those who deserve special recognition for service to the club, for work on a special accomplishment, or for achievement in writing.

In 2021, Connie Rae White submitted Sandee Taylor for acknowledgment. In her nomination, Connie said, “Sandee has been a member of District 5 for several years, but this year she took the new position of D5 Webmaster. Sandee has been invaluable for her internet skills as we navigated COVID and incorporated distanced meetings with Zoom. Sandee has contributed many hours to revising our D5 web page and posting announcements and has helped keep my head above water in the deepening technological challenges.”

The nomination was seconded by Tracy Million Simmons. "Sandee has taken the D5 portion of our website in hand and keeps it beautiful and tidy. As well, she helps by posting applicable D5 news to state website."

Sandee received a certificate of thanks for her work on both the D5 and the state website. Thank you, Sandee!

Writers in the Community News

10/4/2021

8/24/21 D5: D5 President, Connie White, spoke to the River City Ladies Club on 8/24. giving them a short history of Kansas Authors Club. She talked about her writing experience and offered to help them record their memoirs for their families or for publishing.

The ladies were very receptive and we had a great Q&A session. Several lingered for more conversation, and I sold eight books! I'm going to Facebook to broadcast my willingness to present to other civic clubs or school classrooms to encourage hesitant wannabe writers.

Learn more about KAC Writers in the Community by clicking here.

Connie White Wins Contest

5/29/2021

Connie Rae White, current president of D5, won a writing contest conducted by The Active Age. Entries were to be a 200 word maximum memoir relating to WWII. Connie's father, Raymond Dale Kuhns served as a clerk on the USS Metevior in the South Pacific. Connie explained that it was his navy duties that made him a "hunt and peck typist all his life." Unfortunately, The Active Age printed Connie's name as Connie Rae Wright instead of White, She has requested a correction.

Writers in the Community report from District 5

3/4/2021

WRITERS IN COMMUNITY:

District 5 recently held a writing contest for Tracey Anderson’s gifted Sixth-grade English classes in Derby. Judges were Connie White, Gretchen Eick, Sandee Taylor, Amy Ackerman, Taylor Stuckey, and Ray aka "Griz" Racobs. We used two judges for each of three genres: flash fiction, short story, and poetry. We wanted the kids to see how different judges vary in their evaluations. We awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and some honorable mentions for each genre. Griz and Connie presented the kids with their awards (gift cards or cash and certificates, and spent an hour with each group talking about our experiences as writers. The kids were eager to talk, and asked us to come back next year. We would encourage the districts to reach out to the schools in this manner. We will be asking more D5 members to join in the judging next year. We received Derby school water bottles filled with candy, and thank-you cards handmade by the students.

2020 Service Award, Diane Wahto

10/3/2020

As most of you are aware, Diane Wahto (D5) passed away on September 16, 2020. She suffered a stroke in the fall of 2019 and had a long rehabilitation from that event. Then, in the spring this year, she had another stroke and eventually succumbed to the effects of that.

Diane was a teacher of English and Journalism most of her career years. She graduated cum laude with a BA in English from Western Michigan University. She went on to earn an MA in English at Pittsburg State University and an MFA in creative writing from Wichita State University. She taught high school English and Journalism in Winfield, Kansas for nine years, and taught English composition at Butler Community College until her retirement in 2009.

Diane’s passion was poetry, though she confessed that she never wrote a poem before she reached middle age. She has written hundreds of poems; many have been published in various journals, and her awards include the American Academy of Poets Award. In 2018, The Sad Joy of Leaving, her first book of poetry, was published by Blue Cedar Press, followed in 2019 by a second book, First, the Reflexion. She has been co-editor of “365”, an anthology of poetry from people who dedicate to write a poem a day for 365 days.

Diane first became a member of Kanas Authors Club in 2014, as did I. She became President of District 5 in 2017 and continued through 2019, including chairing the Convention Committee for the 2019 Convention in Wichita hosted by District 5. I served as District 5 secretary under Diane, and succeeded her as President of D5 when she retired at the end of 2019, and also helped to co-chair the Convention Committee when Diane’s health declined. She also had been the State Awards Chairperson from 2015-2020.

Diane gave of her time and talents freely to Kansas Authors Club, and still continued to strive for her own writing best. She was an encouraging and enthusiastic mentor and she will be greatly missed by all of us. I am so glad that she was able to be aware when her son, Geoffry presented this Award of Service to her.

Presented by Connie Rae White, D5 President

THANK YOU TO OUR MEMBERS FOR SUPPORTING OUR FIRST VIRTUAL CONVENTION

10/3/2020

An extra special shout-out to the following members for providing a bit of extra support to the convention team via program advertising. Please take a moment to visit these member websites and check out their books!