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The 2006-2007 Newsletter Editor, Lucy Poludniak, and Designer Adriana Villarreal were honored during the October program for their excellent work on the award-winning newsletter. In addition, AWC member Barbara Hendricks was recognized for providing her years of editing, writing and proofreading skills, which made this publication so award-winning.
Note from Chapter President - Sharon Lozano 
Wow! What an exciting year we've had so far. We launched our new Web site, www.wicsa.org in August, instituted a new Evite system for our monthly programs and presented three outstanding programs. With an outstanding group of professionals on our membership roster, the coming new year is shaping up to be quite exciting with even more great programs, and it's not too late to get involved! Discover just a few ways in this inaugural version of our "Connection" e-newsletter.
It all began with "Using Technology to Communicate in a 24/7 World" where AWC member Annika Ayala, Public Information Specialist for TXDOT, AWC member Theresa Brown Cortez, senior public and media relations representative with CPS Energy and Gavino Ramos, Director of Corporate Relations with the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), shared the technology they use, and how they draw those all important lines between work and personal lives while being wired. AWC member Melanie Villalobos and SAHA's chief of staff did a great job as moderator.
In October, an Emmy Award winning Dallas television reporter, Jeff Crilley, shared his insight on how to garner Positive PR. Everyone who attended received his new book Free Publicity. If you'd like to receive a copy we have extras for $12, click here.  
Recently, our annual Meet the Pros event was once again a great success. By allowing area college students studying communications to sit down with professionals in their field of interest, this program truly defines what our organization is about - supporting, mentoring and sharing. This year, professionals represented public relations, graphic design, newsprint, advertising and broadcasting. With an outstanding group of professionals on our membership roster, the coming new year is shaping up to be quite exciting with even more great programs, and it's not too late to get involved! Discover just a few ways in this inaugural version of our "Connection" e-newsletter. Send us your thoughts and ideas, as well. Our newsletter editor, Salwa C. Lanford, would love to hear from you at schoucair30@hotmail.com. Of course, none of these great programs or opportunities would be available without the hard work and dedication of each member of the board. To each, I say, "thank you." Feel free to contact me at slozano@regval.com.
Silent Auction Items Needed for Annual Holiday Party In order to make our Annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction spectacular, this year's Silent Auction chair Mary Anthony could still use items for the auction. If you have contacts with hotels, restaurants, spas, shopping centers, portrait studios or other fantastic places, hook us up! See the attached letter to give to perspective companies/individuals and the attached donor form to complete. In addition, please send Mary an e-mail at maryant@sbcglobal.net to let her know who you are contacting so we don't duplicate our efforts. Items received so far include restaurant gift certificates from L'Etoile, Boudros, La Caliza Grill and the Skyline Room; entertainment passes from the San Antonio Symphony, Santikos Theatres and Trinity Theater; books such as The Architectural Legacy of Alfred Giles; an embellished pet Christmas sweater from Rob Cary Pet Resort; and custom-designed jewelry by Lea Kochanek.
Make a List and Check it Twice at the Annual Holiday Party, Silent Auction You don't want to miss out on our annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction, which is just around the corner - 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Trinity University's Holt Center, located on the corner of Shook & Oakmont. All proceeds from the auction benefit the Chapter's Ajay Castro Scholarship Fund for re-entering women. The cost is $20 for members and non-members. RSVP by Friday, Nov. 30, to rsvp@wicsa.org. Check off a few more holiday gifts on your list at our Annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction. Bring a guest or two, as well, and sit back for a spectacular holiday menu created by Aramark Executive Chef Miguel Ardid. (Many longtime San Antonians will remember his family's restaurant, Chez Ardid.) Sip a glass of wine or enjoy a nice cold beer while you browse through a wide array of silent auction items and enjoy visiting with colleagues and friends. Once more, the party and silent auction begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Dec. 5, at Trinity University's Holt Center, located on the corner of Shook & Oakmont. For a campus map click here (Adobe PDF). See you there!
Linda Lee Worsham Davis 1944-2007 A Leader, A Visionary, A Friend  A former Headliner and AWC chapter president, Linda Lee Worsham Davis, passed away Sept. 24, 2007, after a valiant struggle against a rare form of multiple myeloma, but her talents and gifts remain with us and will continue to impact San Antonio for decades to come.
The high standard of community service and leadership modeled by her parents set in motion Linda Lee's vision of serving in leadership positions. The wide array of organizations she championed enhanced the city she loved so much. Her concern for the most basic needs, health and welfare of others was evident in all her choices of service arenas. Linda Lee was always interested in helping others. She had a special interest in communications and was recognized by two First Ladies for her work with the elderly and the disabled and the list of the non-profit organizations that benefited from her expertise would fill this page. 
Linda Lee was born in Waco, Texas, July 20, 1944, destined for leadership. Her family had a Texas-sized tradition of education and service, including great-grandfather Randolph Clark, cofounder of TCU in Fort Worth and several other schools; her uncle, R. Lee Clark, Jr., the visionary who brought M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston into international prominence; her aunt, Leoti Clark Deaton, who directed training for the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASPS) during WWII; and her father who was instrumental in building the first hospital in Kenedy, Texas.
The family, including big brother John Worsham Jr., settled in San Antonio toward the end of WWII and - though her adventures sometimes took her to other parts of the country - San Antonio remained "home" for the rest of her life. She lived in her childhood home in Olmos Park off and on for almost 50 years, only leaving it for her and husband Charles' new "dream home" in 2002. Creativity and humor were her hallmarks. Whatever she created - and she created numerous programs and events - was fun and lasted. She created two new Fiesta events, including the first official Fiesta event for those with disabilities. 
Women in Communications was especially blessed, because when she was President, we got "two for one" since her husband Charles generously helped us with his accounting brilliance.
As President, she kept us on course, enhanced our position in the community and - as with everything she did - made it look easy. Her famous sense of humor was second only to her incredible memory and innate sense of the right thing to do. Her expertise, brilliant mind and dedication were recognized by the Chapter when she received the Maggie Cousins Headliner Award, our highest chapter honor. Everyone is special, but some are just more special than others and Linda Lee, our colleague, inspiration and friend, belongs to that rare group. She understood life as a journey, not a destination, and our road is sadder and lonelier without her. Memorial gifts may be made to the Nature Conservancy, the McNay Art Museum, the Rotary Club of San Antonio Foundation, the Alamo Heights School Foundation or a charity of your choice.
Member Cheers Fellow members of the San Antonio Chapter are making changes in both their professional and personal lives. Read all about it here! Send your own cheers to schoucair30@hotmail.com for inclusion in the next newsletter.
Note from National by Secretary Cindy Wallace, San Antonio Chapter member If you missed the AWC National Conference in Orlando, you missed a really great time. From top-notch speakers to a night out at EPCOT, the conference was jam-packed with timely information that attendees could immediately put into use. If you missed the conference, go to the National web site at www.womcom.org and check out the books available from Conference speakers, including selections by Columnist and 2007 Matrix Award honoree Helen Thomas. Did you know that AWC will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2009? What better place to celebrate than in the city of its birth . . . Seattle! Your National Board of Directors is already busy planning for the 2008 conference, which will be held in either Atlanta or Washington, D.C. Watch for an announcement about that conference locale in mid-November. Please vote for the AWC National Board of Directors candidates. Balloting is open through Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007 (until Midnight Eastern Time), with successful candidates to be announced Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007. Learn about the candidates by viewing their bios and pictures here. You will be asked to login to view the page and to vote. Cast your votes now.
Member Spotlight - Renee Higgins 
As the business manager of the Law Journal at St. Mary's University, this AWC board member, like many of us, juggles her professional career and personal joys as a mother by doing what she loves and staying focused on what's most important to her.
While hard at work on the upcoming 274-page St. Mary's Law Journal for St. Mary's University Law School, AWC board member Renee Higgins finds her thoughts turning to yet another passion - her boys. As the den leader for a group of seven-year-old Cub Scouts, which her own son, Denny, is a member, Renee is thinking about the upcoming evening's meeting where they will be making dream-catchers. That's quite an appropriate craft to showcase for this mother of two, who has followed her dreams as a communicator, mother and entrepreneur and continues to see where those dreams will take her. Today, Renee works with law students and a 60 plus staff at St. Mary's as the Business Manager of the Law Journal. She provides the continuity such a publication, which publishes student work, requires. Her professional career, however, started upon completing her bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas in the School of Public Relations and Community Service. Renee, a musician herself, immediately began working with an educational music publisher where she honed her marketing skills. This led to another opportunity with the Texas Music Educator Conference's journal, Connection, which she continues to design and paginate on a quarterly basis. One of the gutsiest moves Renee has made professionally was re-starting a magazine, Builder/Architect South Texas edition. As publisher, she oversaw the advertising, editorial, design and printing of this bimonthly publication. "I always wanted to do a really nice full-color, high-quality magazine or trade journal," Renee says, "and that is what I had the opportunity to do with Builder/Architect. "Among the things I learned were that it is just too problematic to sell advertising AND prepare editorial," she continues. "The conflict of interest is not comfortable, but I learned a lot about builders in town and products used to build and furnish new homes. I saw lots of gorgeous homes and worked directly with an excellent professional photographer. The best part from that experience was getting so many lovely pieces to put in my portfolio." During this last professional change, Renee found support from fellow AWC members. While she's been a member for about four years, this is Renee's first year to serve on the board as the chair of the Proliner Committee, and she's excited about the upcoming Proliner Awards. In fact, she wants everyone to continue checking the Web site for the new entry form, which will be posted by the end of the month. Through AWC, she's developed great relationships with other professionals and established a network of individuals with different expertise. "I feel like I've met a lot of people who are similar to me," Renee says, "and it's helped me realize that the world is not that big after all." Oh, and back to her musical side, Renee can be seen and heard playing the obo during the holiday season at Fellowship of San Antonio. With an elaborate set and two performances, this holiday production takes up a little of her time for rehearsal, but keeps her motivated. Of course, this mom's ultimate dream is spending time with her sons, Daniel and Denny, and one day, she wishes to travel to all the places she's never been. Here's hoping her dream-catcher continues to help her dreams come true.
Mark Your Calendars! Upcoming Chapter Events
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Our chapter walked away the Excellence in Best Newsletter award at the annual AWC National Convention in Orlando this year. President Sharon Lozano and President-Elect Mary Anthony represented the local chapter where Anthony also received the Chapter Star Award for her dedication and outstanding service during the past year. In addition, Anthony was awarded a national Clarion Award for Most Improved Online Newsletter for her work editing On Trinity Hill. See photos from the national convention.