September 2023
No matter how much I write in a day. No matter how many hours I have dedicated to writing. Sometimes, I sit in front of a blank page with fear—of not saying what I want, saying what I want, that I have nothing to say. I’ve asked the, “Who cares?” question many times, and assume I will ask it as long as I write. And yet, the answer is always the same: I care. So when a new member said that she joined the Burlington Writers Club, “To write without fear,” I wanted to commiserate as a writer, to work harder as president. My goal as a writer is to write. My goal as a writer-in-community is to uplift and encourage other writers.
Last year, BWC burst open. Membership grew more than 60%. New programs and community partnerships formed. Energy from our community radiated. We would do Natalie Goldberg proud: “Let it out,” she says. “Kill the idea of the lone, suffering artist. We suffer anyway as human beings. Don’t make it any harder on yourself.”
Like any other organization, a lot goes on behind the scenes. My tenure as president coincides with available funding for capacity building and sustainability from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). My goal is to provide the next president with a new set of tools to look forward and think big as we approach 70 years of supporting writers. So, I end my last president’s message with the mission and vision statements created from member brainstorming. Because no matter what I do, this is your organization.
Our mission is to support local writers and build community. Through education and outreach, we work to advance the craft of writers in all stages of development and inspire people to value the power of the written word to build communication skills, to express the human story, and to heal.
We envision writing as a transformative, valued, and integral part of our community.
Cheryl Wilder
2022-24 President
