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Welcome to

Saturday Writers

(Founded in 2002)

Our motto is: "Writers encouraging writers"

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

 

 

MEMBERS: Please send your 2010 accomplishments and/or your bios to Donna Volkenannt, website editor dvolkenannt (at sign) charter (dot) net

Please type Member News or Bios in the subject line.

If you send photos, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure they are jpg files and no larger than thumbnail. Thanks!

Scroll down to read member news and bios.

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We welcome our new members who joined us in 2010 

Sue Becherer,  King Christian, Jason DePriest, Charlene Engleking, Jennifer Hasheider, Leslie Heiser, Melissa Howart, Mike Hudspeth, Kara Hunt, Luella Isbell, Mary Jane Jarka, James P. Lambert, Bill Mueller, Alice Muschany, Dan Neill, Susan Nelson, Gail Nichols, Nancy Olson,  Becky Povich,  Annette Rey, Linda Russell, Brandi Schmidt 

(If you are joined Saturday Writers in 2010 and your name isn't shown above, please contact dvolkenannt (at sign) charter.net
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Member News:

July:

New bio and photo for Deborah (Debbie) Marshall, Vice President of MWG.

Nic Nixon and his old band will be giving a FREE concert on Tuesday July 20th from 7-9 p.m at the park in Wright City, MO. "The park is in Wright City, on the south service road. Get off the first exit, turn-left cross hwy, turn right four blocks to the park. wear shorts and t-shirt or? Brang a lawn chair or a blanket.   see ya dare. nic"   

Judy Moresi will be signing copies of Widow's Walk on Saturday, July 24th, 12-2 pm at Rose's Book House, 8935 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, O'Fallon.

Jennifer Hasheider has a new bio posted below.

June 2010

Lonnie Whitaker, Jason DePriest and Brandi Schmidt have new bios and photos posted below.

Joy Wooderson will be doing a book signing at Main Street Books in St. Charles from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. Vicki, from Main Street Books, says she has other individuals/groups coming in before and after her slot in conjunction with the Christian Booksellers Association conference in town that weekend, so there will be a lot of activity.
 

Claudia Shelton was a finalist in the RWA San Diego, Spring into Romance Contest for Courage and Azaleas (based on the first 25 pages).

Sheree Nielsen's story "Return to Folly Beach" was printed in the May 14 edition of the Folly Current Newspaper, along with a personal photo of a wooden fence on Folly Beach.  It is on page 12 of the newspaper.  Click on  http://follycurrent.com/online-issues/2010-issues/05_14_10/ and then click on online issues. "The Forecast Called for Rain" has been published in the April/May/June edition of Storyteller Magazine.

A Special Announcement from Debbie Marshall:

"As you know, I'm VP and chair for the 2011 MWG conference.  Here's the important part of the announcement:
 
"The 2011 Missouri Writers' Guild Conference will be held April 8th-10th at the Westport Plaza Sheraton Hotel in St. Louis.  Speakers in all genres, agent/editor pitch sessions, and panel discussions featuring agents and editors and another featuring literary journals.  Keynote speaker for the Saturday luncheon will be St. Louis author Mary Troy, director of UMSL's MFA program and editor of "Natural Bridge."  Keynote speaker for Saturday night's banquet is former St. Louisan and best-selling author Elaine Viets.
 
"We'll be having booksales and signings to give MWG members and speakers an opportunity to promote their work.  You don't have to be a member of MWG to attend the conference, but please consider this.  Saturday Writers is a chapter of the Guild.  The Guild has given our chapter grants for some of the events we have held; it is important that these two organizations support one another.  Yes, I am campaigning for members!  While publication is a requirement for membership, MWG also has a STUDENT level that any college student interested in writing should consider.
 
"Now for the final plea.  I spent a great deal of my time at this year's conference bragging about what a wonderful chapter Saturday Writers is.  This is something I strongly believe in.  I've visited other writers groups and Saturday Writers is the one I joined because it is here I found writers from the novice level to the professional level, who are knowledgeable and willing to share their experiences, supportive, friendly, and kind.  There are many subcommittees involved in planning a conference.  Shepherds, decorations and gathering freebies are just a few.  If you have the desire to volunteer or make a speaker suggestion, topic, or anything else you want to share, please contact me at marshall_deborah@sbcglobal.net."
 

May 2010

Sarah Whitney and Donna Volkenannt spoke to more than 400 students about "The Writer's Life" at Harris Elementary School in St. Charles.

Judy Moresi signed copies of her mystery novel, Widow's Walk, at World News on May 21 and a radio interview on KTRS. She also had a signing at Big Sleep Books on May 22.
 

Margo Dill will be teaching a class an online class through WOW! Women On Writing this summer called: "Blogging 101: Start a Blog, Make it Unique, and Keep it Going" It starts on Monday, July 12 and lasts for five weeks. The cost is $125. Here's a description: Blogging is one of the best and cheapest ways to achieve an Internet presence. This class will help students start a blog. If you already have a blog, it will help you target the readers you want to reach. Students will also learn how to create a unique blog, build followers and/or drive traffic to their blogs, blog on a schedule, connect posts to social networking sites, and monetize their blogs. This course is for beginning and intermediate bloggers or for people who are looking to spice up their blogs! **Please note: you do not have to be technologically savvy to start a blog and keep up with it! To sign up for the class, please visit: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html#MargoDill_Blogging101

 **

Sarah Whitney has a new blog, Sarah's Notebook www.sarahsnotebook.com
 

Sheree Nielsen has a new blog, Warm Fuzzies, www.shereenielsen@wordpress.com

Dianna Graveman will be a guest on "What's Write for me" on Red River Blog Talk Radio out of Florida on May 26. Dianna also won first place for short fiction in the 2010 Missouri Writers' Guild awards.

April 2010

Donna Volkenannt received a note from William Peter Blatty (author and academy-award winning screenwriter of THE EXORCIST) after reviewing his latest novel, DIMITER, for Bookreporter.com. Mr. Blatty wrote, ". . . thank you not only for your utterly marvelous review of DIMITER but also for catching the error . . . which escaped me, two editors and one copy editor . . ." Donna also spoke about writing and editing short stories to Dianna Graveman's MFA class at Lindenwood University.

"Grandma's Porch" written by Debbie Hedges won the April members-only poetry contest.

The Missouri Writers' Guild, Margo Dill Balinski, Amy Harke-Moore, Lou Turner, Cindy Allen, and Donna Volkenannt sponsored the 2010 Annual Workshop and Children's Awards Meeting on April 24. Becky Povich created and provided certificates for award recipients. Doyle Suit served as hospitality chair. Margo Dill Balinski served as workshop chair and children's program chair.

Tricia Sanders was final judge for the Saturday Writers Teen Writing Contest.

Doyle Suite was final judge for the Saturday Writers Children's Writing Contest.

Amy Harke-Moore and David Lee "Kirk" Kirkland served as judges in Saturday Writers 2010 One-Page Poetry Contest.

David Lee "Kirk" Kirkland's book The Last Dark Elf is a finalist for 2009 book of the year in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Category.

Judy Moresi participated in a panel and book signing at the Missouri Writers Guild Conference, April 16-18, Drury Plaza Hotel, Chesterfield, MO.

Dianna Graveman and her husband Don signed copies of Missouri Wine Country: St. Charles to Herman on Saturday, April 24, from 1-3 p.m. at Main Street Books in St. Charles. They will also give a presentation and sign copies of the same book on Monday April 26, at 7 p.m. at the Kathryn Linneman Library, 2323 Elm Street in St. Charles.

Donna Volkenann't story "Snow Job" received First Place in the 2010 Flash Fiction contest sponsored by the Pikes Peak Branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

Virginia (Caroline) Stone has a new bio below.

March 2010

Doyle Suit judged the Members-only March Madness contest.

Bill Mueller's book Peaches and Cream was reviewed by Harry Levin in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Here's an excerpt: "The book takes its title from two characters in the first story--two strippers who call themselves Peaches and Cream. The two show up one day in the late 1940s in an office at Grand Avenue near West Florissant Avenue, where no-nonsense private eye Zach Bannister hangs his hat. But most have a wham-bam, violent edge, like 'some damned Jack Warner move,' as Bannister muses. . . Jack Warner movies-on-paper will entertain you. Let's hope to hear more from PI Bannister."

Sarah Whitney's article about Judy Moresi's book signing appeared in the March 9 Suburban Journal.

Alice Muschany is an Opinion Shaper in the Journal. Here's a link to one of her hilarious columns. http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2010/03/10/warren/opinion/0310war-opsh0.txt 
 

David Lee "Kirk" Kirkland made the short list for Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume Two. Every year our editorial team sets out to read all tanka published in English with a view to selecting approximately 300 for publication in the anthology.

 February 2010:

Tricia Sanders judged the Members-only Love Story Contest.
 

Dianna Graveman is a judge for the 2010 Letters About Literature contest, sponsored by Missouri Center for the Book. She will teach the prose-writing cluster in the MFA program at Lindenwood University this spring. Please visit booktour.com for upcoming events surrounding the release of Don and Dianna's second book, Missouri Wine Country: St. Charles to Hermann.

***

Margo Dill, Judy Moresi, Becky Povich, Donna Volkenannt, Stan Wilson, and Dianna Graveman have new bios posted below.

**

 

Donna Volkenannt's essay "Coming Home," a true story about a trip she and her sisters Bridget and Kathleen made to Ireland, was recently published in Blue Mountain Arts' Irish Inspirations: Stories that Celebrate the Magic of the Emerald Isle.

 

 

Donna Volkenannt recently interviewed Sylvia Forbes, publisher of Snow Flake Press, and editor of Bylines Writers' Desk Calendar on Donna's Book Pub http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com

 

 

***

Judy Moresi will be signing copies of her book, Widow's Walk, at the following locations over the next few months: 

The Wine Bottle, 810 O'Fallon Rd, Weldon Springs, March 6, Saturday, from 2-5 pm: wine tasting and book signing. (636-329-1116) 

Main Street Books, 307 S. Main St, St Charles, MO 63301, March 20, Saturday, from 1-3 pm: signing.(636-949-0105) 

Popular Culture Assoc/American Culture Assoc Conference(PCA/ACA), March 31-April 3, Renaissance Grand Hotel, St. Louis: speaking with other authors on a panel and signing books.

Missouri Writers Guild Conference, April 16-18, Drury Plaza Hotel, Chesterfield, MO: speaking on panel and signing books.

World News, 308 Westport Plaza, St Louis, (date to be set).

***
Dianna Graveman is writing an eight-part series on the St. Charles Citizen Police Academy for Suburban Journals. She is enrolled in the program and is writing the series from the perspective of a recruit. You can read about her peek into the Citizen's Police Academy on this link to the Journal.

Dianna and her husband Don have recently completed their third book for Arcadia Publishing's Image of America series, titled Washington.

*

Donna Volkenannt's flash fiction piece "Rule Number Three" won an honorable mention in the Reading Writers Flash Fiction snow-themed contest.

Donna Volkenannt interviewed Newbery honor author Kathryn Lasky for Kidsreads.com and reviewed her latest book Lone Wolf.

**

Treasurer David Kirkland sent this link to a senior love story contest sponsored by Ehlers' Group. 

January

Pat Wahler served as judge for the Saturday Writers "Write to Win in 2010 1/1/1 Kick-off Contest." Her story "Myrtle" won Second Place in the Saturday Writers 8th Annual Short Story Contest. Pat is a finalist in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks, Dad. She should know by March if her essay will be included in the anthology.

*

Donna Volkenannt's story "Rule Number Three"  made it through the first and second rounds in the Reading Writers Winter Flash Fiction contest. Her essay "Santa Wore Cowboy Boots" received Honorable Mention and a commendation in the Friends of the Decatur Public Library Annual Writing Contest.

*

Bios posted this month for: Pat Wahler, Alice Muschany, Nick Nixon and Sarah Whitney.

*

DIANNA GRAVEMAN and her husband, DON'S second book for Arcadia Publishing, Missouri Wine Country: St. Charles to Hermann, is scheduled for release April 19, 2010. The book will be launched at a signing at Main Street Books in St. Charles on Saturday, April 24th from 1:00 to 3:00.


DIANNA
has also been invited to work as a freelance consultant for a new east coast communications group, Word Leaders. They will be setting up profile pages for the freelancers they've selected to work with them shortly.

*

Margo Dill interviewed Joy Wooderson on the WOW blog about her experiences self-publishing her memoir. To read the interview, visit
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html

*****

Note for members:

* Bios should be true

 
* Written in third person
 
* Around 250 words 
 
* No obscene or crude language
 
Be sentimental, be silly, be playful, or be profound--but don't be shy. If you are sponsoring a contest, have an editing service, a publishing business, a web site, or a blog, be sure to mention it. 
 
Also, besides being a writer, if you're a psychiatrist, a psychic, a private eye, or a pirate--we want to know.
 

Thanks! Donna Volkenannt, Web site Editor (donna at saturdaywriters dot org)

*****

MEMBER BIOS (* Board Member)

Contact information for board members is on the Home page.

Cindy Allen * (Defiance)  Enthusiastic Writer.  Nature Lover.  Professional Pilot.  Favorite Quote:  "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."---Gandhi.  cindyallen.inc@mac.com

 

 

Sue Becherer (Lake Saint Louis)

Kim Berkley (St. Peters)

Beverly Brannon (House Springs)

Matt Braun (St. Peters)

Robert Coates (Ballwin)

Lilah Contine (St. Charles)

Nancy Cook (St. Charles)

Carolyn Davis (Ferguson)

Jason DePriest (St. Peters) was born in 1975 to hard working, self-employed parents living in Memphis, TN.  His childhood was unremarkable save for the development of a love of learning.  He is a self-taught computer geek who has been working in data and information security for more than a decade.  Always a voracious reader (if there aren't any books or magazines around, he may read the dictionary,encyclopedia, or ingredients from a box of cereal), creative writing has developed from "obsession" to (with the proper medication and the companionship of a loving, encouraging wife) a much more manageable "hobby."  He enjoys writing horror and sci-fi, normally with a philosophical or religious undertone and sometimes with a tinge of romance.  He has a small catalog of short stories and a smaller list of poems.  Never published, unless you count self-publishing a book so his mom could be proud, he would very much like to learn the tricks of the trade and the ins and outs of a business that stands impenetrable before him.  At the moment, he's too paranoid (he does work in data security, after all) to have much of an online presence so there are no blogs or Facebook or MySpace.
 

Trista DiGiuseppi (St. Peters)

Margo L. Dill * (Mahomet, IL)Margo Dill is a freelance writer, business writer, editor (link: http://margodill.com/editor-911-services), and elementary school teacher, living in Mahomet, Illinois. She is a columnist, contributing editor, and instructor for WOW! Women On Writing (link: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com). Her work has appeared in publications such as Grit, Pockets, Missouri Life, ByLine Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, True Love, and The News-Gazette. Her first book, Finding My Place, a middle-grade historical novel, will be published by White Mane Kids. She also runs a blog for teachers, parents, and home schoolers called “Read These Books and Use Them.” (link: http://margodill.com/blog/) When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her husband, stepson, and two dogs—Chester, a boxer, and Hush Puppy, a basset hound. You can read more about Margo at http://www.margodill.com.

Irene Dodson (St. Peters)

Larry Doyle (St. Charles)

Cathy Durand (O'Fallon)

Jacqueline K. Endraske (O'Fallon)

Heather E.L. Farrar (Warrenton)

Cassy Gilliam (Marthasville)

Mary Gilliam (Marthasville)

Dianna Graveman (St. Charles), is an award-winning short fiction and nonfiction writer with over a decade of teaching experience and a background in corporate training development. She is co-author of four regional histories for Arcadia Publishing, three of which will be released in 2010. Currently employed as an editor and as faculty in the MFA in Writing program at Lindenwood University, Dianna is a member of Missouri Writers Guild and a St. Louis Writers Guild "Member of Distinction." Visit her at Write in the Midwest or at gravemanbooks.com.

 

Amy Harke-Moore * (Old Monroe) leads a semi-hermit existence on her farm in rural Missouri, though stories always seem to find her. Her work has appeared in The WriterChicago Quarterly Review, The MacGuffin, Grit, and Permafrost, among others.  She divides her time between writing, family, and the inevitable chores that make up farm living.
 

Jennifer Hasheider (St. Peters) lives with her husband, their two young sons, two ancient cats, a rambunctious puppy, two fish and a frog.  She was a Paralegal for many years and ran a successful photography studio until her second son was born. She now devotes most of her time to her boys, writes when they allow her the luxury and enjoys creating mixed media type art when they aren't looking. Currently Jennifer is working on a paranormal-romance book and from time to time writes a mom-blog www.jenniferahasheider.com

Debbie Hedges (St. Peters)

Lenora Hobbs (Foley)

Barbara Hodges (Hazelwood) graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Trenton State College in New Jersey. Her alma mater has changed names twice since then. She has three diplomas due to this event. Lindenwood University is where she earned a Master's in Education. Married for almost 39 years to a wonderful guy named Jim, who recognizes her love for writing, they stay busy enjoying eight grandchildren ranging in ages three months to 12-years old. She was an opinion shaper for the Suburban Journals, published a monthly newsletter for one of the greeter groups at her church, and has written many poems for her friends and family. Making gift baskets and passing them out to her friends is something she loves doing. Along with each basket, she attaches a poem that is about the basket's contents. How about that for having a captive audience! Barbara has also enjoyed making a difference in the lives of all her third graders who have been under her care over the years. 

Jeanette Hollman (Hazelwood) Over the years, this Red Hatter has used her writing as a catalyst through which her emotions flowed and her sanity was maintained. It was the thread that she clung to when everything around her had disintegrated into nothingness. Writing became her first love in high school English class, but dreams of becoming a published author were forgotten after graduation. Preparing for an empty nest, Jeanette's quest for fulfillment led to publishing several feature stories in her local community newspaper, while working as feature editor of her college newspaper. Three of her short stories were runners-up and published in Joyous Publishing anthologies, 2006, and 2007. Her credits include: The Storyteller; Good Old Days Special; and ByLine magazines. One of her pieces, "Dad," won honorable mention in a ByLine contest and also appeared on Sweetgum Notes on the web. Her passion for writing is detailed in "Rediscovering a First Love," in the Cuivre River Anthology, Volume III. She belongs to several writing groups, where she finds encouragement and plenty of kudos on her endeavors. Jeanette and her "second love" of 43 years are enjoying retirement and time spent with their two granddaughters.

Amanda Holtom (formerly Amanda Joann Smith) graduated Summa Cum Laude from Jefferson College, where she studied English and creative writing.  Her work has won first prize in poetry and essay competitions, and in 2006, she founded The Write Group of St. Louis, holding various positions over three years.  Currently, Mrs. Holtom is a member of Saturday Writers as well as the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org).  Some of her recent work has been published in Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak: by Writers Famous and Obscure (Harper Perennial, Jan. 2009).  Amanda is a devoted mother of two, a passionate storyteller, and she's trying to prove the theory that diet soda negates dessert.  (So far, it's not panning out.)  Forever a Jill of all trades, Amanda Holtom writes fiction, non-fiction, and everything in between. 

Mary Horner (St. Peters) has read many books and understands some of them. Her poetry can be seen in green and blue spiral-bound notebooks in boxes in her basement, although a few from high school may be in boxes in a friend’s basement, but probably not. She went to Yale University once on the way to her brother-in-law’s wedding in Connecticut. The couple has since divorced.  

She introduced herself to Stevie Wonder in a hotel lobby in Chicago during a fertilizer convention (she was managing editor for a fertilizer association magazine), and saw Imelda Marcos going into a bank in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles for a medical writer’s conference, she stayed in a hotel featured prominently in the opening credits of the hit television drama “L.A. Law.” For the next year or so she would point at the T.V. and shout “I stayed there” whenever they ran the opening credits for “L.A. Law.”  Even so, her color-blind husband still lives with her. He just doesn’t know that when she is mad at him she buys him pink shirts and tells him they are white. Pink clashes with his beard. If she could be any animal, she would be a French-speaking guinea pig named Madge with her own talk show. Until that "favorite animal" thing pans out, she will continue to teach communications at St. Louis Community College and work on her novel "True North."

Luella (Luelie) Isbell (Creve Couer)

Janet Jansen (O'Fallon)

 Kathleen Kaiser  (St. Charles) is the author of "Strategic Planning for Downsizing and the Human Resource Factor" and published short story "The Flour Sack Dress."  She is constantly changing it up with her writing and life. Recently she changed the locks on the door at home so none of her adult children, ex-spouses, or ex-boyfriends could move back in. She is working on a new book," If Motherhood is a Life Sentence Put Me Out on Parole," inspired by the new phase in her life. As a young girl, she wanted to travel, be a writer and teacher. She has an MBA from Lindenwood University, which she received while working full-time and raising four children as a single parent. Kathleen currently works as Service Specialist for Brown Shoe Company, owns a small consulting firm, and was an Instructor of International Business at Saint Charles Community College. She has traveled all over the world. Egypt and France were intriguing, but she does not forget she was a farmer from Greenville, Illinois. She now resides in Saint Charles, Missouri near her four children but not with them.

Jenny Kerr (O'Fallon)

Jack Davis Kline (Louisburg, KS)

David Lee Kirkland * (St. Charles) with ancestry out of the Ozarks and Appalachians, holds dear the art of storytelling, and aspires someday to use in his own writing all of the following: quiet as a dead man’s ghost, sullen as a caught possum, having no more heart than a hollow log, hated worse than a tick hates liniment, cried like a pinched baby, clouds clabbered up to rain, and, peaceable as a full kitten.  He resides in a house overlooking the Missouri River valley and has been known to dawdle in the shank of the evening under the shade of his cherry trees.  His first book, The Yesteryear Tales, is scheduled for publication in July, 2008.  Further information is at his writer website, www.davidleekirkland.com 

Marilyn Kister (St. Charles)

Mary Ann Kohenskey (Maryland Heights) is a member of Saturday Writers and The Write Group of St. Louis. She has written three novels, numerous short stories, placed in the top six 2007 Frontiers in Writing Contest for her novel, MyBrother's Closet, and placed in the top ten 2007 Fort Bend Summer Contest for her novel, Desperate Chance. As a child, MaryAnn experienced a near death incident and became "enlightened." She is a professional psychic in the Greater St Louis area and highly involved in the metaphysical community. Most of her stories are sprinkled with the paranormal. When not writing, she enjoys challenging card games with ghosts, also known as Tarot readings. To read an excerpt  from Desperate Chance, visit her at www.writegroupstl.com. If you like it, let her know what you think at kohenskey@sbcglobal.net. If you don't like it, send her a telepathic message. Her motto: It's impossible to remain in a cocoon when holding hands with a butterfly.

Shelly Kovoth (O'Fallon)

James Lambert (Carbondale, IL)

James P. Lambert (Lafayette, LA)

James Lattimore (Defiance)

Lee Lumpkins (Foristell) lives outside the St. Louis metro area and belongs to Saturday Writers. She was coordinator for Wentzville Writers Forum, which has folded. She has been published in "Echo Magazine" in Wentzville, MO,"Newstime" ,a weekly newspaper  for Lake St. Louis; "Sweetgum Notes" an on-line magazine, in the fall 2006 edition;  Lee has also been quoted in the Post-Dispatch.  She writes short stories for her family and writes a regular newsletter for her  large extended family. She is in the process of writing her life story.

Joanna C. Massmann (Wentzville)

Deborah Marshall (Florissant) is a recovering newspaper reporter turned fiction writer.  She began writing at age six on Big Chief tablets with Ticonderoga pencils after learning that Mark Twain had lived in Hannibal, just across the river from her childhood home in Illinois.  Unwilling to steal her neighbor’s thunder as a fiction writer, Debbie instead became a staff writer for the Hannibal Courier-Post, where she also gained the distinction of becoming Missouri’s first female sportswriter.  She also interviewed Nick Nixon when he played in East Hannibal Illinois at a location that was washed away in the Flood of ’93.  After Hannibal, Debbie landed in Nashville where she was news editor for “The Belle” suburban newspaper before winding up at “The Tennessean,” working alongside Al Gore and Tipper.  All good things must come to an end.  Debbie returned to the Midwest and Al and Tipper…well, you know. 

 Her work has been published in magazines, trade publications and literary journals.  Debbie has won awards for both fiction and creative non-fiction and recently completed her first historical fiction novel, The Brewmaster’s Ladies, the story of Lillian “The Lavender Lady” Handlan Lemp and other women in the life of brewer William Lemp, Jr.   She received her BA in English and an undergraduate writing certificate from the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 2007.  While there, she also served as an editor for LitMag, the UMSL undergraduate literary publication and was a new student mentor.

Debbie is the 2011 vice president of the Missouri Writers’ Guild and chair for the annual April conference.  She also belongs to the Association of Writing Programs and Presbyterian Writers Association.

 

Judy Moresi (St. Charles). Award-winning author Judy Moresi, A.K.A. J. Hassler Moresi, has had fifteen articles and twenty-five photos published in St. Louis Marketplace--A Forum, St. Louis, The Missouri State Trooper, and Rural Missouri magazines. Her short fiction has appeared in University of Missouri-St. Louis' literary magazine Lit Mag and the Ozark Writers League's anthology, Echoes of the Ozarks, Volume III. Her suspense novel, Widow's Walk, the first book in a Missouri-based mystery series, was released from L&L Dreamspell February 2010. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Ozark Writers League, St. Louis Writers Guild, Missouri Writers Guild, Saturday Writers, and Sisters in Crime, Judy is a Board Member for the Greater St. Louis Chapter of SINC.  Currently, she is hard at work on Cat's Cradle, the second book in her mystery series.  Visit her website at www.JudyMoresi.com for event dates or contact her at tjmore232@charter.net

 

Rebecca Muchow (Waterford, WI)

William (Bill) Mueller (Chesterfield, MO)

Joyce Munder (St. Peters)

Helen Musenbrock (Lake Saint Louis)

Alice Muschany (Flint Hill)  Her hobbies include: hiking, biking, writing and photography.  She also enjoys spending time with her eight grandchildren.  Her publications include Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors, Chicken Soup for the Soul True Love and Sasee Magazine.  Her essay "One Damaged Headlight" took first place in the St. Louis Post Dispatch Unbeatable Caregivers Breast Cancer Contest. Alice is also an Opinion Shaper for the St. Charles Suburban Journal.
 

Stan Nelms (Grover)

Gail Nichols (St. Peters)

Sheree Nielsen* (Wentzville) enjoys writing memoirs about beach and scubadiving adventures, her family and animals.  Working on an essay/photography book in hopes of publication someday, Sheree is busy editing.  The personal experiences will reflect on faraway and familiar places, family and furry friends. Her travel memoir, "The Perfect Day" has been published in Cuivre River Anthology IV, and her photo, "Sandy Creek Covered Bridge" was used for the cover of the anthology.  She has been a finalist in the Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine's Photo Contests 2005-2007.   Sheree was especially excited when her photo "Yellow Anemone" graced the cover of the St. Charles Mosaic Festival booklet along with five other artists in 2007. Other publications include Caribbean Travel and Life "Postcards", St.Charles Convention Center Newsletter, Storyteller Magazine, Folly Beach Current Newspaper, St. Charles Suburban Journals and Saturday Writers Newsletter. In her spare time she volunteers as a Youth Sponsor at O'Fallon Christian Church and offers her writing/photography skills for C.H.A.M.P.S. Assistance Dogs. Sheree and her husband own Ocean Spirit Photography and live in Wentzville along with their five animals. Visit her photography website at www.oceanspiritphoto.com. Visit Sheree's Warm Fuzzies, a blog, at www.shereenielsen@wordpress.com


Nick Nixon (Wright City) joined Saturday Writers in the middle of 2009 and has the most fun at the critique group meetings. He has been a country music singer/performer and is founder and president of the "Gateway Country Music Association," a not-for-profit group formed to compile a history of Country Music performers, writers, agents, and live music buyers that are, or was a part of the local live country music scene. The association promotes live country music, [the kind that employs live, breathing musicians, no Karaoke, or dee-jay record spinners] sends out quarterly news letters, and sponsors fund raiser jams, to aid pickers that have had difficulty coping with today's financial realities. Nick says he knows first hand, and it's well known in music circles, “what do you call a country 'sanger' that has no wife or girl friend?, "Homeless." He has had marginal success at song writing, and is currently working on a love ballad entitled ..."You Caught My Eye When Your Husband Knocked It Out." He's written for the GCMA newsletter and has one short story is in progress. But mostly Nick writes essays. Now retired. However, with the writing thing, lately he boasts "I've been busier than a set of jumper cables at a Nixon family funeral. He regards Saturday Writers as the best thing to happen to him since his first guitar. Has four children by a previous marriage, Paul, Suzanne, Sandra and [used to be the baby] Lori, they all sing and play instruments. It's a musical family. Nick often brags that "even my mothers sewing machine was a Singer." Kimberly, his wife of twenty two years, eight-year old daughter Autumn Rose, and Nick, presently live in a small, one-hundred year old Lincoln County farm home between Troy and Wright City, Mo.

Kelly Oliva (O'Fallon) was born and raised in Kelowna, British Columbia, so don't ask her which St. Louis high school she attended! At seventeen, Kelly moved to Missouri after accepting a scholarship to play field hockey for Lindenwood University. After three years as a high school English teacher in the Wentzville School District, she decided she wanted a life that didn't revolve around grading papers. Kelly is in the process of earning her masters degree from MU, and was recently hired as a school librarian. Kelly was published three times during the last year: once in Wentzville's ECHO Magazine, once in Lake St. Louis' Newstime, and on the website www.ehow.com. She is currently working on an untitled young adult novel, and would love to enter some writing contests in the coming year.  

 

Nancy Olson (St. Charles)


Mary Pat O'Malley (St. Louis)

Steve Ortwerth (St. Charles) born in St. Louis in 1954, he graduated Mercy High in 1972 and attended UMSL before enrolling in hotel and restaurant courses at the community college.  Ortwerth served a chef's apprenticeship at the St. Louis Country Club then enjoyed 15 years in the food business.  In 1988 Steve married, moved with his wife Gloria to St. Charles and began working for CitiMortgage, Inc. with a new schedule allowing time for both work and family.  Chefs unavoidably work nights, weekends and holidays.

With CMI, Steve has written a wide range of professional correspondence.  Their son James is 14 and will attend St. Charles High School next year.  Their daughter Julie lives in San Antonio with her husband Ron and two sons.  Steve is an outdoorsman, loving to camp and canoe float.  He spent many summers back packing in the Rockies.  He'd often considered literary writing, and in 2001 began his first novel, a futuristic fiction thriller, completed last year.  He is now seeking agent representation.

His new fictional project involves the paranormal.  Recreationally he reads books like The Hunt For Red October; The Lord of the Rings, and The Firm.  Short-term goals: learn to format his work so that an agent will offer their representation; learn to move his story through active dialogue and avoid the roadblocks of background narrative.  Through Saturday Writers he has connected with people who have already helped him tremendously.  He recently entered his first writing contest and is working on several short articles.

Mike Parsons (St. Charles)

Patt Hollinger Pickett (Lake Saint Louis)

Joseph Pini (St. Peters)

Ray Poninski (St. Peters)
 

Becky Povich (St. Peters) began writing in May 2001. In December of that year, she became one of the St. Charles County Journals Opinion Shapers. When that stint ended in January of 2005 she began pursuing other writing venues, including Chicken Soup for the Soul. In 2007 and 2008, she had four stories accepted and published in four different books. Since then, she's been hired as a weekly columnist for the Adair County Free Press (Greenfield, Iowa), and as a monthly columnist for Tiny Lights; A Journal of Personal Narrative, an online and print publication based in Petaluma, California.

In February of 2010, she received the news every writer wants to hear. A small publishing company, High Hill Press, has accepted her book! No publication date as of yet. Please check out Becky's blog at www.beckypovich.blogspot.com for fantastic contests, great quotes, other interesting information, and updates on her book from time to time.

Julie Renaud (O'Fallon)

Linda Russell (Marthasville, MO)

Annette Pratt (Elsberry) writes fiction, short stories, novels, and poetry.

Patricia Sanders*  (Foristell) is a former instructional designer and corporate trainer who has been writing since she received her first chubby pencil and Big Chief tablet.  Her first short story "Christmas in July" was published when she was in fourth grade.  Her essays and short stories have won numerous awards and have appeared in ByLine, Sasee, The Cuivre River Anthology II and III, Magnolia Quarterly, Great American Outhouse Stories; The Whole Truth and Nothing Butt and the 2007 Seven Hills Review.  She is currently working on a novel-length murder mystery.  She blogs about the road to publication in her new blog triciasanders.blogspot.com.  Her website www.triciasanders.com is under construction.

 

Brandi Schmidt is an aspiring author and avid blogger. She writes and loves paranormal Christian. Brandi has written her first novel and currently working on a second. She is a wife to a wonderful husband and mother to two beautiful children. She is also the new Member-At-Large for the Missouri Writer’s Guild. www.brandischmidt.com

 

 

Paul Schmit (O'Fallon)

Robert Sebacher (Foristell)

Claudia Shelton (O'Fallon) has been published in Sweetgum Notes and Cuivre River Anthology, Volume III.  plus her short fiction has received numerous awards.  She is a member of Romance Writers of America, MORWA (Missouri Romance Writers of America), Saturday Writers and the weekly Coffee & Critique Group.  She has completed her first manuscript, Freedom and Magnolias; a 100,000 word single-title contemporary with romance and suspense.  New characters and scenes running rampant in her mind have convinced her to begin the second novel in The Path to Peaceful Lake series titled Courage and Azaleas. She is also actively searching for an agent or editor. 

Claudia enjoys attending writer’s conferences, workshops and individual meetings to not only learn the craft, but for the networking with other writers, agents and editors.  She feels critique groups are a great place to hone your writing skills—just be sure to take what you like and leave the rest.  No matter what, remain true to your own writer's voice.  www.claudiawriting.com

Bernice Siros (St. Charles) has an associate of Arts degree from St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley with majors in Journalism and Public Relations. She has served as reporter for Missouri Extension and Mid-America Moto-Cross and as  Program/Public Relations chairman for the Missouri Association for Children with Leaning Disabilities. Bernice retired from Drake and Company, a public relations/association management firm. She has published articles in the St. Charles Journal, Banner News and her college newspaper. Bernice is presently writing a science-fiction fantasy novel and memoirs of her twelfth summer. Besides writing, her interests are in metaphysics, theater, music, movies, reading and auctions.

Sandra Smith (St. Charles)

Virginia (Carolyn) Stone (Foristell)  Carolyn loves to write short stories, and two have been published on online  at www.divinecaroline.com. "Not Ours to Keep" a poem in 6/2/09 and a short story "The Hand' on 10/17/07 under the name "Carol Stone".   She is just now finding time to send off some of her written works, as she is now retired from Boeing for over 33 + years.  She is a wife of an retired airline employee,  a mother of three children, and grandparent of five wonderful grandchildren.  Her great loves are; God, family, writing, and traveling.  Carolyn knows that God has blessed her with being able to write, to travel  free, and to pick up such good books to read, from the authors, when she attended her Saturday Writers club each month.

Camille Subramaniam (St. Charles) lives with her husband in St. Charles, Missouri.  She writes and teaches writing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  She enjoys spending time with her family, who lives very close, and her husband's family, who lives in faraway Malaysia.  Luckily, she loves to travel.  
 

Doyle Suit * (St. Charles, MO) writes short fiction and nonfiction prose. His completed novel, "The Ouachita Rambler," is currently looking for a publisher. He has received more than a dozen contest awards, and his work has appeared in The St. Louis Suburban Journals, Storyteller Magazine, Good Old Days Magazine, Spring Hill Review, Sweetgum Notes, The Cuivre River Anthology, and other publications. When not writing, he plays and sings bluegrass music, and he tries to keep up with his lovely wife of a half-century and his grandkids. dsuit@sbcglobal.net

 

Jerrel (Jerry) Swingle (O'Fallon)  Retired art teacher - 1 ea. - High mileage,  slightly worn.  Happily married forty-five plus years.  Began writing  to take up the creative slack.  Enjoys writing short stories, flash fiction, fantasy, humor, parody, satire, poetry when feeling great - essays and opinion pieces when grumpy.  Work has appeared in Good Old Days, Woman's Corner, The Storyteller, America's Funniest Humor, 
eClips, Sweetgum Notes, Echoes of the Ozarks, Well-Versed, Missouri  Teachers Write, Applecart, Cuivre River Anthology. 
Enjoys entering  contests, placing in several.  Little remuneration, but great  satisfaction.  Continues to work at learning the craft while enjoying  life in general.  (Or is that phrase oxymoronic?)
 

Magdalin Szabo (Chesterfield)

Rochelle Thurman (Florissant)

Sharon Tricamo (Imperial)

Louella Turner * (St. Charles) grew up in a small rural town on the banks of the Illinois River and trapped her first alligator before she turned ten. Wait a minute, that was one of her characters. Let's try again. Once, while playing cards with Wild Bill Hickok, Louella witnessed the shooting of a card cheat. No, again, that was in one of her books. Was she abducted by aliens? She says she can't remember anymore.  Like many writers, Louella writes because she has to give the characters who live in her head a life of their own. And in that endeavor, she often finds herself not only in the company of her characters, but in the company of genius in the guise of other writers, some of them well-known, some just beginning their amazing journey. Louella Turner writes and lives in St. Charles, Missouri, and has recently begun another adventure with her husband, Bryan. They have started High Hill Press, their own publishing business, and are traveling to conferences in search of writers with stories to tell.


Donna Duly Volkenannt * (St. Peters)
lives in St. Peters, Missouri, with her husband Walter and their grandchildren, Cari and Michael. As a teenager, Donna Duly got her first bylines in the St. Alphonsus (Rock) High School newspaper, The Rocket, and as a reporter for Prom, a St. Louis-based magazine for teens. While a reporter for Prom Magazine she met Johnny Rivers and the Righteous Brothers, as well as other celebrities whose names might be familiar to anyone old enough to collect Social Security. Also in high school, some classmates voted Donna "most likely to become a go-go dancer." After graduation, instead of buying go-go boots, Donna got at job as a stenographer working for the Army, attended night school at the University of Missouri (St. Louis) and married Airman First Class Walter Volkenannt. UMSL was one of many colleges she attended while moving around the country and overseas with Walter and their children, Julie and Walt. Other colleges were Cochise Community College in Arizona and the University of Maryland in Germany, where she received a BS in Business and Management. When not spending time with her family, trying to meet deadlines and wondering if she would’ve made it as a go-go dancer, Donna blogs about writing, publishing and life in general on Donna's Book Pub http://donnasbookpub.com

Pat Wahler* (St. Peters) has a master's degree in nonprofit management. A resident of St. Peters, Missouri, she balances family, full time job, and freelance writing with varying degrees of success. Her work has won recognition from ByLine Magazine and Saturday Writers, and appears in numerous anthologies which include Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers and Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned From the Dog. Pat is a member of Saturday Writers, Ozark Writer's League, and Coffee and Critique. She blogs all things animal at: www.critteralley.blogspot.com

Lonnie Whitaker (High Ridge) grew up in Missouri Ozarks and attended a two-room country school; managed to survive the sixties and Missouri University Law School; and is now the district counsel for a federal agency. His writing credits include several articles in Missouri Life, The Ozark Mountaineer, and Out of the Ozarks Literary Guild Journal.  He placed 3rd in a nationally advertised fiction contest; was awarded a 30-day residency at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow; served as associate editor for an Hourglass Books anthology, Peculiar Pilgrims: Stories from the Left Hand of God, and received honorable mention in the 2009 Saturday Writers annual short story contest.  His first novel, Geese to a Poor Market, is a geographical slice of Americana set in the 1950’s Ozarks, which has one leg that wants to boogie, and the other planted on a pew.  It will be published the summer of 2010 by High Hill Press.

Sarah Whitney (St. Peters) earned her first byline as a fifth grader when she won a children's writing contest sponsored by the Hayner Public Library District in Alton, Ill. She still remembers the crisp smell of the $50 award check.

She spent college in the newsroom of The Daily Eastern News, Eastern Illinois University's student newspaper, as an editor. Her reporting earned her a first-place, feature-writing award in the 2008 Society for Collegiate Journalists national competition for the article “We are EIU because of Lou,” a profile about Eastern's president. She also won a 2005 intern scholarship from The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis for her internship at The Alton Telegraph. A 2006 copy-editing internship at The Naperville Sun-Times instilled in her a profound respect for all copy editors because she's not one, despite the positive opinions of her friends and family who e-mail her their college papers to edit.

Sarah seriously started writing fiction after she wrote a profile about Eastern's 2005 faculty laureate, Dr. Fern Kory, a children's and young adult literature professor. The interview sparked an on-going dialog about YA fiction, which spanned the next two years. During this time, Sarah's YA fiction won two consecutive Louise Murray Awards for Children's Literature. The contest judge compared her first winning story “A Man and His Cat” to work by authors Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman. She graduated cum laude in 2007 with a bachelor's in journalism after a 14-day class in England. Sarah now works as an award-winning reporter for The Suburban Journals of St. Charles and Warren counties where she earns a bi-weekly paycheck, which despite being slightly larger, just doesn't smell as nice. Contact her at sj.whitney26 <at> gmail <dot> com.

Stan Wilson (St. Charles) grew up in Southern Indiana. He has lived in the St. Charles area the past 40 years.  Married and has two grown sons.  Holds a B.S.E.E. degree and attend several local universities taking selected graduate courses in business management.

The past 25 years Stan operated his own small business and engineering consulting firm.  A successful writer of numerous award winning high technology engineering grants and proposals; he’s currently interested in free-lance writing of technical grants and business plans for small firms and organizations.

Fiction writing is strictly a hobby, however, he does write every day.  Stan considers his self a novice writer of short stories and flash fiction.  He is attempting to hone his skills by taking courses in writing and English at the local community college.    

 

Troy Windom (Ripley, TN) grew up in Central Alabama and attended school at Graysville Jr. High. After school he moved to Richmond, Va. Troy earned his GED, while in Virginia. He attended J. Sergeant Reynolds Community Collage in Richmond, where he took several courses in writing, maintaining a 3.0 GPA. Some of his poems have been published in the Herald Progress, a small newspaper, in Ashland, Virginia. Others have been published in the monthly newsletter where he worked as well as in the newsletter of the Fraternal Order of Foresters. His poems have also been read on late night TV.  In a radio interview at WRFK (an NPR radio station in Richmond), Troy read two of his poems. The interview was aired several times. Troy has had a love for writing since his youth and wrote his first poems while still in grade school. He also writes songs and sings them in the church he attends. He is in the process of having some of his songs set to music. He is currently working on a short story that keeps growing and may become a novel before it's finished. Troy is retired and spends his time at home in West Tennessee with his lovely wife Barbara. He likes Country and Southern Gospel music and old time radio and has a vast collection of all three.

Joy Wooderson (O'Fallon) Late-bloomer nonfiction essay writer (“Writing that inspires, informs, and amuses . . .”) loves good food but totally inept in the kitchen, sports car fanatic (owned five Pontiac Firebirds in varying colors), daydreamer and adventurous world traveler (twenty-five countries to date), avid reader of mysteries and spy novels. No husband, no children, no pets. Part-time dog lover—aunt to a Welsh corgi. Housekeeping ability questionable. Maybe this explains the "no husband" bit? Born in South Africa, lived in Toronto, Canada, Atlanta, GA, and now O’Fallon, MO.  Naturalized U.S. citizen since 1977. Works part-time as a proofreader to keep the frozen dinners coming. Check out her website www.joywooderson.com to see if she reveals deep dark secrets!
 

Ed Wright (Brentwood)

Marilyn W. Yust (St. Charles)

 

Honorary Members

Walter Bargen  (Ashland)

Pat Carr (Elkins, AR)

Max Gersh

Angie Fox (Valley Park)

Debra Peppers (St. Louis)

Patricia Rice (Chesterfield)

Dusty Richards (Springdale, AR)

Shelly Schneider (St. Peters)

Bobbi Smith (St. Charles)

Regina Williams (Maynard, AR)

Amy Willoughby-Burle (Candler, NC)

 

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Membership Information

 

 Mission:  To network with local writers by offering support and by sharing ideas and markets for publication.  We strive to assist writers in achieving their publication goals so they may qualify for membership in the Missouri Writer’s Guild, our parent organization.

 Background:  Saturday Writers was established in January 2002 as a chapter of the Missouri Writer’s Guild, which is a 501(c) (3) non-profit educational association.  While the Missouri Writer’s Guild has publication requirements for membership, Saturday Writers does not.

 Membership Requirements: Members must be over age 18 and pay annual dues.  Saturday Writers members do not have to be published.

 Dues:  New member annual dues are $20, payable in the month joined and renewable in January of each year.  New members joining after September shall be paid through the next year.  Dues cover attendance at monthly events, a copy of the quarterly newsletter, and the right to include a member bio on the Saturday Writers web site: www.saturdaywriters.org .

Meetings are held the last Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the St. Peters Community & Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters Howell Road, St. Peters, MO 63376.   

Please fill out the attached form and send it, along with your check for $20 payable to Saturday Writers, to Joy Wooderson (Membership Chair), 2140 Farnsworth Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63368-7152.  Keep this page for your records.

The web site, www.saturdaywriters.org , includes a calendar of upcoming events and speakers.  For additional information, e-mail Tricia Sanders (President) at president at saturdaywriters.org

* PLEASE NOTE: EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2008 there is a change in membership dues:

        New Members - $20.00 (New members who join after September will have the following year included)*

        *Members who joined after Sep 07 are paid up until Dec 08

        Current Members - Annual Renewal $15.00 (due January 1) 

        Current Members - Late Renewal $20.00 (after March 1)

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 Saturday Writers

Writers encouraging writers

New Membership Application

 NAME: ___________________________________________________________

 ADDRESS/CITY/STATE/ZIP (SO WE CAN MAIL THE NEWSLETTER):

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 PHONE NUMBER (OPTIONAL): ______________________________________

 E-MAIL: __________________________________________________________

 AREA(S) OF WRITING INTEREST: __________________________________

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DATE JOINED: ____________________________________________________

 WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT SATURDAY WRITERS? _____________

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Cut and print a copy of this application form, then mail form and check for $20.00, payable to Saturday Writers, to:

Sheree Nielsen (Membership Chair)

780 Waylon Way, Wentzville, MO 63385

*$15 for current members who renew before Mar 1

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Saturday Writers

Writers Encouraging Writers

Membership Renewal

 NAME: ___________________________________________________________________

 ADDRESS/CITY/STATE/ZIP (for NEWSLETTER mailings):

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 PHONE NUMBER (OPTIONAL): ___________________________________________

 E-MAIL: __________________________________________________________________

 AREA(S) OF WRITING INTEREST:  ________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 PUBLISHING CREDITS UPDATE: _________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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 SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS: _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

 I AM INTERESTED IN:  

______  SPONSORING A MEETING ($50 includes membership for the next year)  

______ BRINGING  REFRESHMENTS       (Sign-up sheet available at meetings.)

 Cut and print a copy of application form, then mail form and check for $15. 00 (before Mar 1) or $20.00 (after Mar 1), payable to Saturday Writers, to:

Sheree Nielsen (Membership Chair)

780 Waylon Way, Wentzville, MO 63385

*$15 for current members who renew before Mar 1

 

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