From the committee
In the last issue of Gatherings, our Chief Executive Officer Karen Lee thanked outgoing IPEd Chair Kerry Davies. I have been incredibly fortunate as the Queensland branch president to benefit from Kerry’s intricate knowledge of our branch, our profession and our professional organisation. Kerry’s passion for IPEd has at times seemed all-consuming. Even when she has been unwell, on an editing deadline or under pressure, she has always found the time for IPEd business. I am very happy that although she is stepping down as IPEd Chair, Kerry is remaining on our branch committee (and on several IPEd working parties) where we will continue to benefit from her generosity of knowledge and expertise. Thank you, Kerry, for your strong leadership of IPEd.
At the May committee meeting, we reviewed the draft 2020–21 EdQ budget and program for the coming year (compiled by Woman of Many Hats, our budget officer Kerry Davies). In light of the current uncertainty around events and gatherings, we will continue virtual member meetings/speaker events for the next few months and then reassess. We are organising some virtual PD before the end of the year.
Our Annual Branch Meeting in August will also be held via Zoom. I will soon be calling for nominations for the committee. It is worth noting that even before the pandemic, EdQ committee meetings were being held mostly via Zoom, which means distance is no longer a barrier to being on the branch committee … (enormous hint for our regional members!).
Whenever we go back to in-person member gatherings, though, the committee is committed to finding an option that allows EdQ and IPEd members outside Brisbane to continue participating. The same topic generated a lot of discussion at the recent meeting of branch presidents. The branches shared how we are each holding events at the moment and I have taken away a few good ideas we can consider for our Queensland events.
We held another brilliant virtual event with Jeni Lewington, on editing with a disability. Jeni shared her personal history and how she became an editor. Jeni was due to present her talk at a conference in Canada this year before COVID-19 intervened. If you missed her talk, or the previous month’s event with Judy Gregory, you can purchase the recordings on the IPEd website.
Now that we have transitioned to our IPEd-wide newsletter, there is less need for me to provide IPEd updates in this report. I would love instead to include member news (bragging allowed). If you have got something you would like to share, send it to me at edqld.president@iped-editors.org. We are also calling for Queensland members to contribute articles to the newsletter. If you have an idea for an article, book review, or even a crossword, contact Julia at edqld.news@iped-editors.org.
Regards
Christine Atkinson
President, Editors Queensland
New members
A warm welcome to our new associate members: James Ayres, Nathan Nielsen, Sarah Barfoot and Melanie Myers.