May 15, 2010, at 10 a.m.

San Francisco

Morton Beebe is coordinating a panel of photographers, including  Bob Holmes, Jeff Pflueger and David Sanger, who will talk about photography for writers and photographers.  This will take place in San Francisco.

Check back here on the website and in your email for more information later.

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Chair

(photo courtesy of ClipartPal)

Gaia Hotel and Spa in Napa hosts our April 17 meeting, which will be a panel of experts discussing the power of travel writers to influence travelers and tourists in becoming aware of cultures and making responsible choices for destinations, lodgings, activities and more.

More information to come.

– Sandy Sims
BATW Programs & Events Chair

March 20 at 10 a.m.

Books Inc. at Opera Plaza in San Francisco

Marketing is essential for any writer in this day and age; but even more so for travel writers. Even if you don’t have a book or product to sell, you can still use branding to promote your expertise to editors so they will come to you with assignments. Candy Harrington will talk about how to establish yourself as an expert and then promote yourself in print, on the web and even on radio. Learn the essential steps of finding your niche, building your platform and establishing your brand, and how this can help you beef up your bottom line. Candy says she did it and so can we.

Known as the guru of accessible travel, Candy Harrington has covered this niche exclusively for the past 15 years. She’s the founding editor of Emerging Horizons and the author of several accessible travel titles, including the classic, Barrier Free Travel: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers. Candy’s work can also be found in disability-related magazines, mainstream publications and websites. Tape measure in hand, Candy hits the road often, in search of new accessible travel options. She also blogs regularly about accessible travel news, resources and industry updates on her Barrier Free Travels blog.

Location: Books Inc. Opera Plaza in San Francisco

For more information:
Contact: Sandy Sims
(408) 269-8440
sansims@aol.com

Jan. 16 at 10 a.m.

Members Only

Cavallo Point and the Golden Gate Bridge (photo © Michal Venera & Cavallo Point)

While members enjoy the beautiful Cavallo Point setting, Roy Stearns, Deputy Director of Communications for California Department of Parks & Recreation, will talk about current state of California State Parks.  Jerry Emory of the California State Parks Foundation will also give a brief talk to compliment Roy’s talk.

Our Topic: The State of State Parks

Roy Stearns, Deputy Director for Communications for California State Parks, will talk about California Parks – the largest, most diverse park system in the country, with gems of natural resources and historic places (and a great subject for stories). By the time we meet in January, Roy may be able to enlighten us about the governor’s budget for California parks.

Our Host

It’s fitting that we will be meeting at the beautiful Cavallo Point – formerly Fort Baker, which was owned by the Army and was headquarters for 91st Infantry. Cavallo is now a national park and luxury hotel. Recently named as one of ten new American Landmarks by Travel & Leisure magazine, Cavallo Point is also home to Michelin star Murray Circle restaurant, Farley Bar, the Cooking School and Healing Arts Center & Spa.

Our Speaker

Roy Stearns was appointed to the position of Deputy Director for Communications, California State Parks, in May, 2000, by Governor Gray Davis. He was reappointed to the position by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2004.

Roy knows about finding and telling stories. He grew up in the newspaper business, working in the two weekly newspapers owned by his father. He graduated from South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism.

During his television career, Roy worked for KSBW-TV in Salinas, California, as a reporter, producer, assignment editor, news director and anchorman. At KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, he worked as a senior correspondent, consistently assigned to major stories. He served as chief environmental reporter, chief military reporter, and as a State Capitol correspondent covering the California Legislature, the governor and state government. He’s traveled to more than 10 foreign countries to report stories connected to California, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia, war in Central America, conditions in Russia and humanitarian efforts in Africa. In addition to all this, Roy served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, completing both active and reserve duty assignments, attaining the rank of Colonel.

Members Only — maximum of 50 members.  Please RSVP using our online RSVP system.  Go to www.BATW.org, click on “Member Log-in.” When the next window comes up, click on “login.” Type in your username and password there. Then click on EVENT LIST, then click on the Jan. 16 event. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says Register for this event: “Jan. 2010 RSVP.”

Click here for a Google Map to the Cavallo Point hotel.

The Frank House at Cavallo Point (photo © Kodiak Greenwood & Cavallo Point)

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Chair

Our Holiday Party

at the

Walt Disney Family Museum

in the Presidio of San Francisco

11 a.m.

Members Only — No Guests (sorry)

(Details are in the emails you’ve already received.)

Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco

The brand new Walt Disney Family Museum is hosting BATW members for a buffet lunch and a tour of the delightful museum. You will be awed by the beautiful history display.

Members, you’ll find more information with directions, parking info, bringing guests, etc., in the very thorough email announcement that Sandy Sims sent out.

front lobby of the Walt Disney Family Museum

Due to the overwhelming response to this special BATW event, the event is now closed.

This year BATW will be giving a check to the San Francisco Food Bank. There will be a donation box at the Greeters’ Table as you sign in at the Disney Museum. Suggested donation is $10 (cash please), but, of course, any amount is welcome. The food banks are in special need this year so your contribution will be very much appreciated.

If you have questions, contact Laurie McAndish King (Laurie@Laurieking.com) or Sandy Sims (sansims@aol.com).

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Coordinator

WAIT!  Here’s the latest from Sandy:

Dear BATW members,

I have good news and not so good news.

The good news: Eighty BATW members will wine and dine together at our Dec. 5 meeting/luncheon at the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio.

The not so good news: No guests

(Please read this whole message for added info about Dec. 5)

After my last email to you explaining we were way over the number the museum could accommodate, many of you graciously responded by uninviting your guests to allow space for members. And now with this amazing turnout of members, we must leave out all guests. Even then, we will likely be a bit over the prescribed number.

Thank you for all the understanding emails you’ve sent. I know this is disappointing. In the future, to prevent such a problem (with popular luncheons and otherwise) guest requests will be put on a waiting list (as has been done in the past). And if there’s room after all BATW members are counted, we will include guests in the order they appear on that list. This is of course as it should be when BATW is hosted for any meeting.

Another couple of items:

1. We will also be collecting money to donate to the San Francisco Food Bank. Suggested donation is $10. Of course, give what you can. Cash or checks should be made out to the San Francisco Food Bank. Renata will be collecting your donations.

2. We will have a table available for those of you who want to bring your books to sell. Authors will be responsible for their books, collecting their sales, and removing books as the event proceeds to lunch and the tour. Author-autographed books make a special Christmas gift as well as a way to support the work of our BATW members.

Members who have signed up and now cannot come, please let me know by Monday evening (Nov. 30). We want to give our generous host an accurate count.

If you have any questions email me.

My best to all
Sandy Sims
Program Chair

See maps at:
http://www.batw.org/news/batw-news/maps-to-walt-disney-family-museum/

In the San Francisco Library’s Koret Auditorium (in the basement), panelists Edward Hasbrouck, Laurie McAndish King, and Erin Van Rheenen will discuss “How and Why I Built My Website and What It’s Done for Me Lately.”

Note: There will be refreshments but we will not be able to take them inside the auditorium. The library will provide maps and other library information for BATW members to take a self-guided tour of this amazing library after the meeting.

Coordinator: Erin Van Rheenen
Food Coordinator: Ed Walsh

Our Panel:

Edward Hasbrouck's website "Practical Nomad"

Edward Hasbrouck self-published his first travel writing on the Internet in the early 1990’s. Today, he writes the Practical Nomad books, writes and publishes a web site of consumer advocacy and travel advice at Hasbrouck.org, and writes about travel-related civil liberties issues for the Identity Project at PapersPlease.org. A longtime BATW member and former board member, he was recently elected Co-Chair of the Book Division of the National Writers Union.

Erin Van Rheenen's website "Living Abroad in Costa Rica"

Erin Van Rheenen – A longtime writer and traveler, Erin first entered the world of “online travel content” in 1997 when she became Latin America editor for a company producing content for Travelocity.com. Later she returned to print publishing at Avalon, where she managed Moon Handbooks and helped develop the Living Abroad series. In 2002 she moved to Costa Rica to write Living Abroad in Costa Rica. Currently she works at the Exploratorium on a digital library project and is creating several Web sites of her own using the Wordpress blogging platform. She’s on Facebook but does not yet (at this writing) Twitter.

Laurie McAndish King's website "Travel Writers' News"

Laurie McAndish King is a “non-techie” who has been building websites since 1993 and blogging since 2003. She is an outspoken advocate of creating one’s own web presence, and is developing a workbook to help social media novices begin blogging. Laurie’s current websites include TravelWritersNews.com, LaurieKing.com, and EroticAlphabet.com.

Following criteria below, panelists will talk briefly about one of their sites:

* when they built the site;

* what tools they used (and which they considered but rejected);

* whether they hired people to do it and how that went;

* what they hoped to accomplish with the site (and whether they are

indeed accomplishing that);

* whether or not the site brings in income (either direct or indirect);

* how they publicize the site;

* what kind of traffic they get;

* where they hope to go next with the site;

* who was the intended audience for the site;

* how they maintain the site; and

* what they would do differently if they it to do again.

There will be a Q&A session following the three presentations.

This is NOT a how-to presentation. Panelists will not provide step-by-step instructions on how to build a web site but will provide examples of how people with various levels of experience might have a web presence.

Agenda:
10 a.m. Meet & Greet: We will have coffee and munchies (but please note, we cannot take them inside the auditorium.)
10:30 General Meeting
11:00 Panel discussion, followed by Q & A
12:00 (approx.) End of meeting

Location:
San Francisco Library at 100 Larkin Street at Civic Center. Take the stairs or elevator down to the basement to the Koret Auditorium.

Parking: (two city garages)
•Civic Center Garage, 355 McAllister Street, between Polk and Larkin Streets
•Performing Arts Garage, 360 Grove Street, between Franklin and Gough Streets

Directions: (taken from library’s homepage)

BART has a Civic Center station across the street from the library

From Marin County:

US-101 S over the Golden Gate Bridge

Continue toward DOWNTOWN/LOMBARD ST

Right on DIVISADERO ST

Left on GEARY BLVD

Continue on OFARRELL ST

Right on VAN NESS AVE (US-101)

Left on GOLDEN GATE AVE

Right on POLK ST

Left on MCALLISTER ST

Right on LARKIN ST

Arrive at 100 LARKIN ST

Public Transportation from Marin County:

Take the Golden Gate Ferry from Larkspur or Sausalito, pick up a transfer, and take any Muni line to Civic Center.

From South Bay:

Take US-101 N toward SAN FRANCISCO

Take NINTH ST/CIVIC CENTER Exit

Bear Left on 9TH ST

Bear Right on LARKIN ST

Arrive at 100 LARKIN ST (main library)

From East Bay:

Take Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge (I-80 West)

Take NINTH ST/CIVIC CENTER exit onto HARRISON ST toward 9TH ST/CIVIC CTR/FELL ST/GOLDEN GATE BR

Right on 9TH ST

Bear Right on LARKIN ST

Arrive at 100 LARKIN ST (main library)

Please RSVP by Sept. 14, using our online RSVP system:
Go to www.batw.org and click on “Member Log-in.” When the next window comes up, click on “login”. Type in your username and password there. Then click on EVENT LIST, then click on the Sept. 19 event. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says Register for this event: “Sept. 2009 RSVP.”

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Chair

Case Studies:  How (and Why) I Built my Website And What It’s Done for Me Lately

Prospective members and members’ guests welcome.

A panel of several BATW members, from web novices to old hands, talking briefly about their websites. Panelists are Edward Hasbrouck, Laurie McAndish King, Erin Van Rheenen and others.

September 19
San Francisco Library
San Francisco, CA

Members, when it gets closer to the event, RSVP using our online RSVP system. Go to www.BATW.org, click on “Member Log-in.” When the next window comes up, click on “login.” Use your username and password there. Then click on “EVENT LIST,” then click on the date for this event. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says register for this event: “[DATE] RSVP.”

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Coordinator

San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts by moonlight (all photos by Morton Beebe)

Photo Journalism for Travel Writers
at
Pier 39
in San Francisco
August 8 (second Saturday) at 10 a.m.
Coordinators are Dee Rogers and Beth Zare

Please note: We are scheduling this month’s BATW meeting on the second Saturday to avoid conflict with this year’s Travel Writers and Photographers Conference at Book Passage.

Our Host

Pier 39 is graciously hosting our meeting because they want to acquaint us with some of the old and the new activities there. They are being quite generous in providing us with:

– Lunch vouchers good for the following restaurants: Aunt Fanny’s Hot Pretzels, Boudin Bakery & Café, Chowders, Crepe Café, Hard Rock Café, North Beach Pizza, Pier Market Crabstand, and Players Arcade/Sportsbar/Deli.

– Premier Passes which include tickets for: Turbo Ride, San Francisco Carousel, Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise Adventure, and tokens for Players Arcade

– Tickets for RocketBoat

– Press Kits/Materials

We are also invited as a group to see the 2 p.m. performance of Deano-holics’ Rat Pack Salute. The Dean-O-Holics are a throwback Rat Pack/Golden Era Tribute to the days of martinis, songs and practical jokes with Dean, Frank, Sammy, Liberace, Nat, Louie, and more of the old favorites.  (However, you needed to RSVP to Sandy Sims by July 24 in order to attend the show.)

Please RSVP as usual for the meeting on our website by Aug. 3.

Our BATW Program

Our panel discussion on Photo Journalism for Travel Writers includes celebrated photographers Morton Beebe, David Sanger, John Montgomery, and Carol Stevenson. Come and glean tips, techniques and well-earned wisdom from these longtime shutterbugs.

Our esteemed panel members include:

Carol Stevenson

British-born Carol Stevenson has photographed remote areas of the world, including the Himalayas, the Cambodian jungle and the Thar Desert, where she was the first western woman the villagers there had ever met. Recently, she has been photographing from the air in the Whitsunday Islands in Northern Australia and has completed a documentary shoot of elephants for the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. That project will be featured in Nikon’s Learn and Explore series. Carol received the “Best of 2008″ award from the American Society of Media Photographers.

John Montgomery

BATW’s John Montgomery has been a professional photographer over 30 years. He’s been a television & film producer/director, making television commercials, documentaries, brochures & promotional pieces for clients & agencies, both in studio and on location. His award-winning travel photography has been published in a variety of newspapers and magazines worldwide. John leads seminars in Camera Techniques and Travel Photography and gives lectures, slide presentations and judges photography contests. (www.montgomeryphotographic.com)

David Sanger

BATW member David Sanger has been recognized as Photographer of the Year by the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to editorial clients he photographs for commercial, travel and non-profit clients and design firms in the US, Asia and Europe. His publications include National Geographic, British Airways, Harpers Bazaar, Conde Naste and many, many others. In 2006 David served as president of the Stock Artists Alliance, a professional association representing stock photographers worldwide. He is also a member of American Society of Media Professionals and Travel Journalists Guild.

Morton Beebe

BATW member Morton Beebe’s images are in numerous private collections, have been exhibited and published around the world, and are enjoyed by the tens of thousands of owners of his photo books on the famous City by the Bay. As a photographer/author, Morton’s work has been exhibited in numerous collections and published in a variety of magazines including National Geographic, Geo, Life, Smithsonian, Travel and Leisure and many others.

Prospective members and guests of members are welcome

Agenda

10:00a.m. Meet and greet in the lobby of the Theatre 39 on the second floor of Pier 39. We will not be providing coffee, tea, etc, but you may buy these at the Boudin Bakery Café or other such places at the pier.

10:30a.m. General Meeting in Theatre 39

11:00a.m. Panel presentation and discussion about the craft of travel photography

12:30p.m. After the meeting you can use lunch vouchers provided by Pier 39 to dine at one of the restaurants listed above.

2:00p.m. Those who have RSVP’d to me by July 24 about the show, will return to Theatre 39 to see Deano’holics Rat Pack Salute.

Parking

The PIER 39 Garage is located directly across the street from the Entrance Plaza. BATW members will get a voucher two hours of free parking, but be forwarned parking is $6 an hour after that.  Restaurant patrons who dine at one of PIER 39’s full-service restaurants receive one hour free validated parking at lunch and two hours free validated parking after 6 pm for dinner.

Directions on Pier 39 website:

From the South Bay
Take Highway 101 North to Highway 80 East
Exit at 4th Street
Stay left onto Bryant Street (get in right lane)
Stay on Bryant Street to The Embarcadero
Turn left onto The Embarcadero (get into right lane)
Straight to PIER 39 (2 1/2 miles)

From the North Bay
Take Highway 101 South across the Golden Gate Bridge
Pass through the Toll Plaza and stay to your left
Take Lombard Street Exit (on right side)
Follow Lombard Street to Van Ness Avenue
Take a left onto Van Ness Avenue (stay right)
Follow Van Ness Avenue to Bay Street (about three blocks)
Stay on Bay Street until it runs into The Embarcadero
Turn left onto The Embarcadero
You will see PIER 39 on right side of the street

From the East Bay
Take Interstate 80 West across the Bay Bridge
Take Fremont Exit (on right side)
Stay in far right lane
Turn left on Folsom St.
Follow Folsom to The Embarcadero
Turn left onto The Embarcadero
Straight to PIER 39 (aprox. 2 miles)

Please RSVP by Aug. 3, using our online RSVP system:
Go to www.BATW.org, click on “Member Log-in.” When the next window comes up, click on login. Type in your username and password there. Then click on EVENT LIST, then click on the Aug. 8 event. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says Register for this event: “Aug. 2009 RSVP.”

Case Studies:  How (and Why) I Built my Website And What It’s Done for Me Lately

Prospective members and members’ guests welcome.

A panel of several BATW members, from web novices to old hands, talking briefly about their websites. Panelists are Edward Hasbrouck, Laurie McAndish King, Erin Van Rheenen and others.

September 19
San Francisco Library
San Francisco, CA

Members, when it gets closer to the event, RSVP using our online RSVP system. Go to www.BATW.org, click on “Member Log-in.” When the next window comes up, click on “login.” Use your username and password there. Then click on “EVENT LIST,” then click on the date for this event. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says register for this event: “[DATE] RSVP.”

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Coordinator

Please note that this event takes place on the second Saturday of the month, not the usual third Saturday.

– Sandy Sims
Programs Chair