Kudos

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Do you know a Pen Woman who deserves a pat on the back, a standing ovation or three cheers? Tell the world about Pen Woman accomplishments. Post it here. Send your information to nlapw1@verizon.net, attention WEB KUDOS.

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Congratulations to former National Corresponding Secretary, Mary Louise Cox. She was selected by ArtsWestchester, Arts Award 2010, for the "Sophia Abeles Award for Community Arts."

Nancy Boomer Deussen wins the Music Memorial Competition.

Judge Tony Fiorentno praised Duessen's piece, "Music From The Heartland" as having wholeness, harmony and radiance.

"The composer's vision of interplay speaks clearly, both in individual prupose an as an ensemble which creates a human appreication of an American landscape," Fiorentino said, "Earh, wind, fire and water are all represented here - recognizable and distinct from one another yet happy to be part of the meanignful and unpretnetious dance."

Tony Fiorentino has been professional musician since the early 1960s, dedicating his life to playing, recording, engineering and producing nearly every musical genre.

NLAPW Receives Freedoms Foundation Medal

Dear Fellow NLAPW Members,

On November 18, 2009, I had the privilege of attending the Freedoms Foundation's National Awards Ceremony held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. On behalf of the NLAPW I accepted a beautiful cast bronze medal awarded to the League for its excellent anthology, Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln. A large group of our own Pen Women from the Ft. Lauderdale Branch were present as well as many representatives and guests from other government, civic and non-profit organizations. It was a highly moving ceremony with some 13 national awards being given out.

As I stood at the podium to receive the NLAPW's beautiful medal and to present the acceptance speech, I felt such deep humility, but also great pride for what the NLAPW has accomplished through our involvement with the Lincoln Bicentennial celebrations. I felt the presence of every Pen Woman who contributed to our anthology and participated on a branch, state and national level in our Lincoln Bicentennial programming. I wish each contributor to our anthology could have one of these beautiful medals. I am attaching several photos that were taken during this event including one of the medal itself.

The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, PA, was established in 1949 as a non-profit educational organization. President Dwight D. Eisenhower served as its first chairman and gave out its first national award medals. The organization now includes over thirty chapters throughout the U. S. and more than 3,000 members. During the past 60 years the foundation has given out nearly 56,000 awards. Broward County is the home one of the foundation's largest and most active chapters.

Many thanks to Gail Smith of the NLAPW's Ft. Lauderdale Branch for nominating our Lincoln anthology for this prestigious national award. Kudos to you, Gail, for all of your dedication, talent, and excellent work on behalf of both the Freedoms Foundation and the NLAPW!

Respectfully yours,

Jean Holmes,

1st VP & Co-chair of NLAPW's Lincoln Bicentennial Planning Committee

TWO BOCA RATON PEN WOMEN

HONORED IN ROYAL PALM LITERARY COMPETITION

November 2009: Jacksonville, Florida. The Florida Writers Association (FWA) announced that Bette Lee Crosby won a First Place Award in the prestigious Royal Palm Literary Competition for her novel, Cracks in the Sidewalk, in the category of Published Women’s Fiction. A First Place Award for the Thriller category went to Deborah and Joel Shlian, co-authors of Rabbit in the Moon. Crosby and Shlian are both members of the Boca Raton branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

Both awards were announced at the FWA conference in Orlando, Florida. According to Chrissy Jackson, FWA’s vice president, “This competition was the largest the association has hosted to date. We had 236 entries and 64 active judges, many of whom are authors or professionals in fields of journalism and education.”

Cracks in the Sidewalk is Crosby’s second novel and follows on the heels of Girl Child which won the First Place Award for Published Fiction at the 2007 National League of American Pen Women Florida Biennial.

Crosby’s award-winning novels are based on easy-to-like women who have big hearts and strong backbones, women who have the reader rooting for them from word one. Claire McDermott, the storyteller in “Cracks in the Sidewalk,” is just such a woman. In this touching story about a grandmother’s search for her missing grandchildren, Crosby delves into the dark secrets and painful experiences that exist in many family relationships. “Sometimes,” she says, “A loss destroys a family, sometimes it destroys a person, and sometimes it leads a person to discover the truth of what being a family really means.”

To read an excerpt from either of these award-winning novels, visit Crosby’s website at www.betteleecrosby.com

Shlian’s novel, which was co-authored with husband Joel, transports the reader back to the China of 1989. The government which controlled everything has discovered that Lili Quan’s grandfather developed a formula to prolong life indefinitely. Lili, now an American doctor, is lured back to China and held hostage in an effort to force her grandfather to divulge his secret formula. To learn more about Deborah Shlian and her medical mystery novels, visit her website at www.shlian.com

Nancy Bloomer Deussen Wins Competition

Nancy Bloomer Deussen, Music, who is the Vice-President of the Santa Clara Valley Branch CA, recently won the Holyoke Civic Symphony Orchestra’s MA competition for orchestral works. Her composition Trinity Alps was selected as the winning work among numerous works from the USA and abroad. She is the recipient of a cash award and the East Coast premiere performance of her work on October 18^th at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, MA. The orchestra is conducted byDavid Kidwell.

Marie Ross Wins Poetry Award

Marie Ross from the Stockton-Lodi, CA Branch won 3^rd place for her poem “Pink Toe Shoes” in the Artist Embassy International Dancing PoetryContest. There were 476 entrants and entries from 7 countries. Marie read her winning poem at the “California Palace of the Legion of Honor”in San Francisco, CA, on September 26^th.

Pink Toe Shoes

A pair of pink toe shoes satin ribbon tied to leggings.

You wore them mom; a child with strong legs, and an arch,

that fit into the shoes of your dreams.

Classical music motivated you: bar exercises, first, second, third,

fourth and fifth positions.

Slow methodical movements, like pointing the toe, lifting the leg,

the turn, the arm gracefully brushing air like a magic wand.

Your tutu untied, transformed you into a young woman, a ballerina

in an ornate gown and a crown of silk flowers.

You acquired a partner in white tights, who lifted you in balletic

motions, like a blossom drifting in a pond, so, that the story might

be told.

You owned the stage mom...the lights, the red velvet curtains and

the magnificent applause.

I hung the framed picture you gave me, the one with two pink toe

shoes, and a beautiful long stemmed rose placed between them,

and I see you mom dancing on the stage of eternity.

By Marie J. Ross

Mary Ann Hoberman, Children's Poet Laureate

Mary Ann Hoberman, Greenwich (CT), gave her first official reading as Children’s Poet Laureate in Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. Admission to The Chicago Reading was free and open to all ages. A reception and book signing with Hoberman followed the reading. Children in attendance received a free poetry book bag and cap. Congratulations, MaryAnn.

Joanelle Wood Mulrain Art Exhibit

Joanelle Wood Mulrain, Jacksonville (FL), presented seven paintings and two Legacy panels showcasing the life and times of Florence Nightingale. The exhibit will travel to 3 Karpeles Museums (Tacoma, WA; Shreveport, LA; Newburgh, NY) during the centenary celebrations around Florence Nightingale's work. If you're a nurse, Joanelle asks you to share in 1,000 words or less your story of what inspired you to become a nurse at www.thenursinginspirationproject.com Congratulations, Joanelle.

Pen Women Shine!

The National League of American Pen Women is proud to showcase the winners of her 2010 Biennial Art, Letters, and Music Awards on Youtube.

To see and hear the award winning works, as well as artwork from the juried Biennial Art Show at the Arkansas Heritage Museum, please go to this URL, or google NLAPW Youtube and choose NLAPW Biennial Awards 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp7Lrg-brM0

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