AMWA, caricatured

AMWA is meeting this year in a beach town, if not on the beach itself. Lending a bit of the flavor of the beach boardwalk, caricature artists went to work with willing AMWA members at Wednesday night's opening reception. The reception was sponsored by RPS Inc.

Escaping the hotel, chapter by chapter

by Deb Whippen

The good news is that 14 Florida AMWA members are trailing me to the nearby Italian restaurant for our annual chapter dinner. The worrisome news to me, as the dinner organizer, is that the reservation is for 8 and at least 2 other chapters are descending upon the same restaurant at the same time as our group. But once inside seats are found for all of us at 2 then 3 tables, with some discussion of fire laws and the impossibility of giving us all separate checks.

The restaurant is, in effect, full of AMWA meeting attendees. We just moved the conference, it seems, to this small room fragrant with garlic and tomato sauce. But it’s a chance to catch up, reacquaint, and find out what each other does plus learn what our Florida stories are. It’s a big state and we are all in regional pockets. Most of us are immigrants from north of the border and most of us like living in the Sunshine State.

Our chapter is not a ”well-resourced” chapter (read: not highly revenue-generating), but we have our chapter identity nonetheless.  Like many AMWA members, some of us need to find work, some of us are too busy, and some of need a new medical writing challenge.

Milwaukee is a nice city, but the prize of the AMWA Conference is next year’s conference: it will be in Jacksonville, Florida, and we have a whole year to prepare.

The Fonz Welcomes AMWA to Milwaukee

by Ed Possing

So you’ve been in Milwaukee for the AMWA conference for almost a day and you still haven’t visited the Fonz? That’s a shame. Yes, Milwaukee has a wonderful public museum, an inspiring art museum, and a thriving theatre scene. These locations are certainly are worth visiting if you have the time. But really, shouldn’t having your picture taken with Arthur Fonzarelli be your top cultural priority while in Milwaukee?  A life-sized bronze statue of Fonzi is waiting for you right now at the Milwaukee River Walk just south of Wells Street (117 E. Wells St.). Take a trip to the River Walk--a trip back in time. 

Aaaayyyyy!

AMWA after dark

People who know me won’t be surprised to read this blog post. But if you’re not heading down to the bar in the evening for a few minutes, you’re missing one of the best parts of the meeting.

If you’re into sports and testosterone (and you guys know who you are!) then by all means head to the sports bar in the lobby. But if you’re into a quieter, more elegant setting with seating just made for networking, head to the main lobby bar. Bring a book if you’re not into sitting in bars alone; I guarantee within a few minutes it will lie forgotten. If you don’t want to sit alone, sit at the bar—on the past two nights it was a line of ladies.

To get the conversation going just turn to the person next to you and ask if they are an AMWAnian (yes, a word I just coined). Last night the lady to my right was actually a literature professor from Wake Forest (in case you didn’t know there’s a Renaissance literature conference going here) and we had a fabulous conversation. Then I turned to the other side and spent half an hour talking with a fellow AMWAnian. Then I went over to the rowdy group in the seating area (Atlanta gals, you know who you are) and had a blast talking with the baby freelancers (seriously, they couldn’t have been more than 12 years old) who were just getting started in their careers.

So, bottom line? While the programs and workshops at AMWA are, of course, fabulous, the bar is where the fun continues.

See you there tonight!

--Debra Gordon