From the President    

June 2003 Update from the President . . .

I am grateful to Daniel J. Reitz, Sr., our WebMaster, for providing this forum. It is my intention to provide the membership with a monthly “update”.

Where We Are And
Where We Are Going

Where We Are

In two short months since your new board took office:

1. Our EPIC website has been completely resurrected, redesigned, and brought back to life BIGGER and BETTER than before.
2. A Committee, headed by Chairman, Bob Sanders, has been chosen and is already working on plans for an EPIC/E-PUBLISHERS COALITION.
3. A BY-LAWS Committee, headed by Chairman, Elise Dee Beraru, is working to revise and update our by-laws. These revisions will be presented to the membership for a vote.
4. Our 2004 EPICON Chairman, Terri Schaefer, is hard at work with the 10,000 details of planning our next conference in Oklahoma City.
5. Your board just approved, and our 2005 EPICON Chairman, Elise Dee Beraru, just signed the contract to have our 2005 conference aboard the Queen Mary facility in Los Angeles.
6. Your 2004 EPPIE’S Committee Chairman, Betty K. and her committee are gearing up for this year’s contest.
7. Our membership just overwhelmingly approved a new budget making funds available for a slate of bold and exciting programs.

Where We Are Going

Even as we speak efforts are underway to:

1. Recruit volunteers and select a STATE PR COORDINATOR for each of the various states, province, and countries where EPIC has a sufficient number of members to work with.
2. Once these State Coordinators are in place, they will organize (where feasible) the EPIC members in their area and come up with local, “grass roots” projects to promote EPIC, their members, and their work.
3. After review by the board, those local projects judged to have a good chance of success, matching funds will be provided.
4. A search is underway for a volunteer to head up our EPIC AWARENESS advertising committee.
5. Plans are being formulated for an EPIC MEMBERSHIP DRIVE. We have set a goal of 450 members by April of 2004.

NONE of the programs and plans we have laid out will happen WITHOUT YOUR HELP. EPIC works only when you and I work. EPIC functions strictly on volunteers. There is no paid staff.

If you are willing and able to invest a portion of your time and energy to make EPIC a better organization, drop me an e-mail at dusty@valuelinx.net.

Hugs and Happy Trails!
Dusty Rhodes
EPIC President