President ~ Virginia Polenze

During the 40's and 50's, I was a freckle-faced tow-head growing up in Wichita, KS. Sensitive to the sun and heat, I spent summer days curled in the shade of our front porch swing or nested in the huge elm in our backyard, reading. I'm still an avid reader -- now, I stay out of the trees, however.

In January of '71, Al, myself, and our three boys slipped and slid all the way from Wichita to Springfield. (It was buried under twenty-eight inches of accumulated snow and ice.) Our Pontiac died in the drive when we arrived. (Say that sentence seven times quickly.)

We added two girls to our family and life intervened in my pursuit of a writing career. About three or four years ago, I enrolled in some non-credit mini-courses in creative writing at OTC. I loved it -- couldn't get enough of it. However, my work schedule changed to a Monday - Friday routine (which I loved), but I couldn't find weekend writing classes (terribly disappointing at the time).

My husband, Al, first spotted the small NewsLeader article about ORA. I was dubious -- after all, I'm a young adult historical fiction author. A romance group seemed -- well -- irrelevant. Touched by his consideration, I decided to attend. My intention was to placate him. As the old saying goes, the rest is history. I was "hooked" in that May 2006 meeting and I'm still hooked today. ORA is the joy and challenge of my life. The members are gracious and generous with their creative and technical help. They're quick to give genuine caring, sympathy, and moral support. I feel so blessed and honored to be a part of this organization.

Vice President ~ Dr. Barbara Huddleston

Secretary ~ Phyllis Rhodes

Newsletter Editor ~ Georganna Myers

For my day job with Show-Me Software, a local company that specializes in computer programs for trucking companies, I spend a good chunk of my time on technical writing: user manuals and online help systems. Not exactly the stories I grew up dreaming of writing.

Recently I acknowledged the old itch to write more than documentation and joined ORA. Though I've yet to have anything published, I have written several short stories and started two novels—one romance and one science fiction/futuristic. While it's difficult to squeeze in time to write the stories I love, I am trying to get into the habit of writing something every day. My goal for this year is to actually get enough of those snippets down to finish at least one book.

When the weather isn't too hot, I also enjoy flower gardening (though I can never seem to convince my husband to till up a big enough area to plant everything I want to). I've also been fascinated with hummingbirds for several years now. Every year, I hang a couple of feeders from the gutters on the house so I can watch them up close. A real thrill is combining the two—planting flowers then watching the hummingbirds fight over them. Hey, I never said my life was exciting!

Georganna