RWA Statement

This is getting the rounds.  Thank God -- brilliant women, all of them.

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Permission to forward granted:

The following members of the RWA Board of Directors wish to apologize for the
disappointing direction of the Awards Ceremony during the 2005 conference. What
should have been a celebration, not only of our finalists and award winners, but
also of the growth and success of RWA, was not. Members of the board were
repeatedly assured by the Awards Ceremony Board Liaison that the planning of the
program was progressing appropriately. It was not until it was too late that we
discovered that the focus of the ceremony had strayed from the theme we'd been
given.

We thank those members who stepped in at the last moment to try to fix the
script. We also apologize sincerely to our award winners, our finalists, and
our members that the program was not appropriate to celebrate RWA's success, as
well as theirs. We apologize especially to Nora Roberts, who was not only put
in an untenable position, but whose statement as to her reasons for not
appearing was not read.

We pledge to move forward from this and to make the Awards Ceremony in Atlanta
exactly what it should always be--a night on which we embrace the joys of
romance writing and recognize the finalists and winners of our most cherished
awards.

Gayle Wilson President-Elect
Kathy Carmichael Secretary
Connie Newman Treasurer
Nicole Burnham Region 1 Director
Lisa Kamps Region 1 Director
Dorien Kelly Region 2 Director
Peggy Emard Region 2 Director
Linda Howard Region 3 Director
Linda Winstead Jones Region 3 Director
Karen Fox Region 4 Director
Sherry Lewis Region 4 Director
Geralyn Dawson Region 5 Director
Jill Limber Region 6 Director
Jennifer Crump PRO Liaison
Teresa Carpenter Chapter Liaison