***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT*** July 7, 2022
To: All Members in Good Standing of The Council for Wisconsin Writers
From: Ron Czerwien, Co-President, The Council for Wisconsin Writers
Regarding: Resolution to Dissolve the Council for Wisconsin Writers
On July 7, 2022 the board of directors for the Council for Wisconsin Writers (CWW), by unanimous vote, passed a resolution to dissolve the CWW and to transfer responsibility for the annual Wisconsin Writers Contest to Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) in Madison, Wisconsin, effective August 1, 2022.
The board voted to take this action for several reasons. In recent years, despite numerous attempts, the board has been unsuccessful in recruiting additional members to serve on the board and has been operating with roughly half the number of board members needed to efficiently and effectively conduct the business of the organization, which is to hold the annual Wisconsin Writers Contest. In particular the board has been unable to attract younger and more diverse individuals which it felt was necessary to help perpetuate the organization. Furthermore, the cost of conducting the contest has resulted in a financial loss each year for numerous years. Attempts to fund raise, to guarantee the continuation of the contest indefinitely, have been tried without success.
After meeting with members of the ALL board, the CWW board felt that Arts + Literature Laboratory would be best suited to carry on the contest. Their organization is well established, actively supports the literary arts in Wisconsin, and has the potential to attract a younger, more diverse membership. The assets of the CWW will be transferred to ALL, and by agreement, will be used exclusively to fund future contests. In addition, ALL has experience in fund raising and grant writing which CWW lacked and which will help perpetuate the contest.
Any and all outstanding debts owed by the CWW will be resolved prior to the dissolution. According to Article XII of the CWW by-laws, the organization is required to give members adequate notice:
“adequate notice of a proposed change is posted on the CWW website at least two weeks before the meeting takes place and the meeting is held in a location convenient for members to attend.”
Said meeting will take place two weeks after this Resolution to Dissolve appears on the CWW website. At that time a vote will be taken to approve the dissolution. The meeting will be held via Zoom and a link to attend the meeting will be provided to any member wishing to attend. Any member interested in attending the meeting should contact Co-President Ron Czerwien at ronczerwien@gmail.com.