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I'm proud of what we've accomplished as a chapter in my time as RA. While the pandemic years were challenging and stressful, they gave us the gift of growth as we went from a chapter constrained by time and distance to one that can welcome any SCBWI member, regardless if they're on the opposite side of town or the opposite side of the globe. Likewise, we continued to thrive even when the weight of injustice made us feel like laying down. Instead of giving up, we rose up to better learn how to craft our stories and illustrations with the care and attention our readers deserve. We chose to recommit ourselves to our craft knowing that the children for whom we write look to us to make sense of the chaos, to give voice and affirmation to their most private interior lives, and to give them words and images of beauty, hope, and joy to carry with them into the future.
It is clear to me that as a chapter we have and will continue to succeed in this task. I've witnessed your diligence and drive, your capacity for improvement, and dogged determination to keep taking risks even as you reveal your most vulnerable selves. I am serious when I say that the Good News portion of every meeting is my favorite. I love watching you all succeed no matter how "big" or how "small". I use quotes because it doesn't matter if it's the New York Times Bestsellers List or a debut book or a new agent or a just-sent-my-first-query or an I-worked-up-the-courage-to-have-my-manuscript-read-aloud, it is all brave and wonderful and worth celebrating!
Now, we look to the future. I am supremely confident that Kaye, Annie, Lynne, Lisa, and all our chapter's volunteers, present and future, will continue the tradition of excellence that began well before my time. Together and alongside our sister chapters, I know they will work hard to plan a variety of events that meet the needs of our members. So, be prepared in 2024 to market to a whole lotta' librarians at TLA (April 16-19 in San Antonio); network and learn craft at the debut of the Texas-wide All Y'all Conference (May 4-5 in Austin); and to refill your creative well at camp during Houston's annual retreat (December 6-8 in Navasota). Of course, the chapter will continue our fantastic monthly offerings including chapter meetings (which--let's be honest--are basically 11 conference-level breakout sessions over the course of a year), plus our critique group and illustrator meetups. I enthusiastically look forward to all of these...from my seat in the audience!
As a last note, I'd like to thank each of you for the years of support. My time as RA has been all things: a wild ride, a journey of personal development, and an unbelievable amount of fun. But above all, it has been a great honor to serve a chapter so vibrant, dedicated, and creative as Houston SCBWI.
See you in the audience,
Meghan Senkel
Co-Regional Advisor
Houston SCBWI
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