Over the course of the next several months, we already have an exciting slate of upcoming events. Here’s what we have planned so far:

Feb. 15: Lakshman Ratnapala will be giving an evening presentation on Sri Lanka at the Presidio Branch of the S.F. Public Library, from 5-7:30 p.m. Details can be found online at the BATW site.

March 17: Elisa Southard and Sandy Sims will be spearheading the BATW Anthology Book Launch party at Book Passage in Corte Madera.

April 21: Lee Foster is coordinating an event in Berkeley; details to come.

May 19: Karen Ballard of the Idaho Dept. of Commerce/Division of Tourism will be coming to San Francisco to give us some details on what’s happening in her state.

June 16: Laurie King and Suzie Rodriguez will be providing a professional development presentation on collaboration: the pluses, and the minuses. (Venue TBD.)

If anyone would like to volunteer to help coordinate a meeting, or propose a topic for presentation, please contact Erin Caslavka (erin.caslavka@gmail.com) and present your ideas. Some really great meetings have come about from member suggestions, so don’t hesitate to formulate – and share – yours!

And 2012 promises to be just as exciting, not only with compelling programs, but also with more changes and additions designed to attract new members and raise the caliber of professionalism in our organization.

Many thanks to those who have helped in 2011, and those who will help in 2012. Though I am retiring from the Board, the team that continues is one of the brightest and most committed I’ve had the pleasure to work with. BATW is in good hands.

Here’s to the best year yet.

Sincerely, Kris Carber

February 15, 2012 – 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Presidio Branch of the San Francisco Public Library

Thanks go to Lakshman Ratnapala for presenting this stellar evening (first evening meeting of the year!) and securing all the prizes; also to Erin Caslavka for arranging the venue, a Carnegie treasure originally built in 1898, now renovated. Refreshments will be served.

Presidio Library: 3150 Sacramento St. (between Baker and Lyon streets), San Francisco; 415-355-2880. Here’s the info for the February meeting location: http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=0100002801. For directions: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&daddr=3150+Sacramento+Street%2C++San+Francisco%2C+CA

Members, click here to register.

Meeting details and invitation:

BATW cordially invites you to join a voyage of discovery to Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, described by Mark Twain as “a dream of fairyland and paradise” and extolled by Friar Marignolli, Papal envoy to the Emperor of China, as so near to paradise, “the sound of the waters falling from the fountain of Paradise is heard there.”

The presenter will be Board Member Lakshman Ratnapala, Emeritus President & CEO of PATA and previously Sri Lanka’s Director of Tourism for the Americas based in New York. Lakshman is now Chairman of Enelar International, a global tourism management and marketing consultancy.

We hope to have a host of door prizes including:

• A round trip air ticket London – Colombo – London, courtesy of SriLankan Airlines
• 5-nights stay for 2 at Jetwing Blue beach hotel, Negombo, courtesy of Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka
• 3-nights stay at Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy, courtesy of Mahaweli Reach Hotels, Sri Lanka
• Gift packs of the world’s finest pure Ceylon Tea, courtesy of Sri Lanka Tourism and Ceylon Express International 
• National Geographic’s Visions of Paradise and Great Journeys of the World, courtesy of Lakshman Ratnapala         
• Great American Travel Writings: A Journey Around America, courtesy of Lakshman Ratnapala 
• Sunset Magazine’s A Century of Western Living: Historical Portraits, courtesy of Lakshman Ratnapala
•  …… and more …… and more …….

Don’t miss out! RSVP today!

[Ed. Note: Be sure to read Georgia Hesse’s article on Sri Lanka, published in the Foreign Travel Club of San Francisco’s December newsletter—a teaser of what’s to come for BATW in February!] 

November’s BATW meeting was a colorful kickoff to the holiday season, complete with snow in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. (See Georgia Hesse’s article for the full story.) But while the day’s events seemed so seamless and magical, the hard work that went into this meeting was very real. Thanks, again, to everyone who had a hand in planning our November trade show, panel and luncheon. It’s been a tremendous year of programs and mixers, and our “brand” is building every day.

Now, let’s go back about 28 years, to our humble beginnings. BATW began circa 1984 with a handful of aspiring travel writers, including Chris Baker and Elaine O’Gara. This small group—about six or seven people—took turns hosting meetings.

Patricia Lee remembers being introduced to the group through a travel writing class she was taking in San Francisco. “One of the students asked the teacher if she could send a paper around for people to sign up to meet at one another’s houses, to read scripts and talk about our writing.”

In those early days, much like today, the group was skewed heavily toward women. “There were just a few of us and one guy,” Lee says. Somehow, she says, she got “nudged” into running the meetings. “I did not want to be president. I was the chair person with the idea that, when we got a president, I wouldn’t be running things.”

Not surprisingly, Lee ended up running BATW in those early years—and loving every minute of it. By the mid-1980s, several other familiar names had joined, including Monica Conrady, Maxine Cass and Fred Gebhart, who helped BATW come up with its first set of bylaws.

Diane LeBow says that by the time she joined in the mid-to-late ’80s, there were about 30 writers in the group.

“We met at the Fort Mason Youth Hostel in S.F., mainly as a round-table discussion about what we were working on or where we were traveling,” she says. LeBow also remembers an occasional speaker, like the woman who talked to them about Italian bicycle tours.

Almost three decades later, we meet monthly in some of the most eclectic, interesting and elegant venues in the Bay Area. We are 175 members strong and growing. And we have the reputation of being a well-regarded, regional organization for talented writers, photographers and PR partners.

Kris and I are very proud to have been your co-presidents this year. We have had an exceptional board of directors, all of whom have agreed to return for another year. And we are blessed with a lot of other helpers who have made BATW prosper and grow.

Thank you to everyone who is a part of this wonderful organization. Have a joyous holiday season and safe travels.

—Ginny Prior

January 21, 2012  – 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Spinnaker Restaurant, Sausalito

Thanks go to Lee Daley, who has planned the January 21 meeting at one of Sausalito’s most notable restaurants. We plan to meet and greet at 11 a.m., followed by the general meeting and a presentation by Sausalito’s Sister City, Vina del Mar, Chile. Also included: an empanada tasting and possibly a Chilean wine tasting. Seating for this event is limited to the first 35 BATW members who sign up, so don’t delay in responding!

Spinnaker Restaurant, 100 Spinnaker Drive, Sausalito. Tel: 415-332-1500

Parking is on-site by valet or self-parking in a nearby parking lot off Bridgeway, near the restaurant. Public transportation is available by bus from San Francisco and by ferry from the Embarcadero, S F.

Members, click here to register.

For more information, contact Lee Daley. (415) 331-5156