President’s report
by Christine Atkinson
Hi all
On 4 August we held the EdsQ Annual Branch Meeting (ABM) and I delivered the Annual Report, a version of which will appear in the IPEd Annual Report.
The incoming EdsQ management Committee are:
- President – Christine Atkinson
- Vice-President – Ruth Davies
- Secretary – Sue McQuay
- Budget Officer – Kerry Davies
- Executive Member – Glenine Hamlyn
- Events and Professional Development Officers – Ian Mathieson and Kayt Duncan
- Communication Officer – Julia Sudull.
Additional branch positions include:
- Mentoring Coordinator — Gail Tagarro
- Affiliates Liaison — Glenine Hamlyn
- Facebook Coordinator — Kayt Duncan
- Queensland Accreditation Board delegate — Charlotte Cottier
- Queensland Director — Ruth Davies.
Our Regional Coordinators are:
- Lisa Hill, Sunshine Coast
- Deborah Cook, Hervey Bay
- Cheryl Malone, Gold Coast
- Paul Vanderloos, Mackay
- Tonia Grundy, Toowoomba.
I thank Glenine Hamlyn for her role as Communications Officer, which included a significant body of work as part of the transition to a single IPEd newsletter and website. Thanks also to our former Events team members Lee Elwood and Claire Heath for helping to create a vibrant and engaging calendar of member activities. Thank you to Tamyka Bell and Patrice Shaw who have been the unseen hands behind the scenes of our social media accounts for several years. And to Desolie Page whose work on the Accreditation Board has seen us through another round of exams and successful AE candidates.
We are still looking for someone to join our Events and Professional Development team and someone to take over the Mentoring Coordinator role before the end of the year, so if you’re keen to get involved in branch activities, please let me know.
The ABM was followed by a hilarious debate between EdsQ and EdWA about the value of the serial comma. Fortunately, we had an experienced debate adjudicator so I wasn’t forced to determine the winner. Congratulations Team Queensland and thank you to Team WA for joining us. If you weren’t able to attend, the recording is available via the IPEd website.
Regards
Christine Atkinson
Debate review
by Kayt Duncan
The 2021 ABM proceeded smoothly and successfully; congratulations to the newly elected Committee and support volunteers. The Great Interstate Debate enjoyed a most impressive turnout. Certainly, as part of the Events team behind the debate arrangements, I was tickled pink at the turnout for the debate. Wow! And thank-you!
Two spirited and articulate teams presented affirmative and negative arguments for the topic ‘that the Oxford, Harvard, or serial comma be adopted, used, and applied in Australia’ with valour and tenacity, presenting a formidable challenge for our adjudicator, Emily Leggett from the Queensland Debating Union. Not wanting to give away any spoilers while the video of the evening is available through MemNet for those of you who missed the orator evening of the year, neither team went home disappointed.
Our team vied for affirmative dominance, and danced with arguments from Josephine Brown around correctness, consistency and the internationally resonant reason of ‘saving money’. She was ferociously backed up by Judy Gregory, who carried the comma further with arguments of dignity, equality and independence. Ian Mathieson wrapped the case up defiantly, submitting that the negative team’s offerings would lead to a conflagration of confusion; he aptly closed with the rhetorical question of whether something should be discarded merely because it is old.
The Western Australian teamed stunned attendees with scintillating and titillatingly risky reasons to relax about the comma’s use. Stephen White dared the audience to take off their editors’ hats (gasp) and to see looseness in the use of commas as not detrimental to the common good (gasp again). After taking us for a walk with his father, a goat and his neighbour, he left Queensland with its comma cake, but no fork to eat with. Michele Drouart took the negative baton further, reminding all in attendance of the simple word ‘redundant’, dragging us back to our colonial roots and political aggrandising, arguing that saving money would be secondary to saving space. Jess Gately gave our western counterparts’ final exchange, arguing that, armed as we are with the most durable language, one able to flex, bend and evolve, flexibility in the use of the comma is inevitable, and is not going to be noticed by those who use the language daily.
A feast of entertainment and education all packed into an evening of success. Congratulations to our inaugural participants. Don’t be shy, if you loved the evening and would love to see the recording or would let us know you would be interested in participating in an event like this in the future, contact the events team (edqld.events@iped-editors.org) and say, ‘yes please, pick me’.
Social events around the state
Toowoomba catch-up review
Three members gathered for Toowoomba’s Christmas in July at Fitzy’s on 28 July. Jane, Sarah and Tonia talked for so long over dinner that the staff started hinting about the location of the cash register. It was great catching up with other members in the region and learning about their diverse editing experiences.
For more information on Toowoomba’s cuppa catch-ups or to join in on email, contact Tonia Grundy at foxtail@thegrundys.com or tonia.grundy@daf.qld.gov.au.
Brisbane Friday after-work drinks
Brisbane kicked off a series of After-work drinks social events on Friday 30 July, just in time for the Saturday 4pm lockdown that rolled across local government areas through the state’s southeast. Phew! And what a lovely night it was at the Ehden Bar and Grill. The chilly night air was beautifully warmed by the outdoor heaters, and the delightful ambiance of the little venue perfectly facilitated a sprightly conversation with the small group of editors that happily came out for a beverage.
Upcoming events calendar
- On Wednesday 6 October, you can turn CSI off because at our speaker presentation, Meg Vann will talk about crime fiction. Gather your forensic questions together, put on your gloves, grab your microscope and join us for a fascinating talk on editing crime fiction.
- To end the year on Wednesday 3 November, we will welcome Roslyn Petelin’s talk about change in language and how it affects editors.
- End-of-year dinners across all Queensland regions are currently marked in the diary for Friday 17 December. Details about multiple venues will be available soon.
- Since you can never have too many reasons to celebrate, don’t forget that in January, Brisbane members get together at the Summer picnic on Sunday 23 January, Sherwood Arboretum, off Jolimont St, Sherwood, from noon. Watch this space to see if regional social picnic lunches take shape.
To keep up to date with all the events and activities happening around the state, ‘like’ the EdsQ Facebook group.