Eudora Welty Society

 

Minutes from Business Meeting Held at ALA in Boston on 5/22/25

 

Attendance: Sarah Ford, Rebecca Harrison, Kaitlyn Smith, and Keri Watson.

 

President Rebecca Harrison called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to the annual ALA business meeting of the Eudora Welty Society. She also extended greetings from the other officers who could not be present due to conference budget allocation issues and/or geographical constraints. Before moving to the official agenda, Harrison provided an overview of the International Eudora Welty Conference, which took place in Jackson, April 10-13, 2025. She also thanked the many hands that went in to preparing the event and making it such a success.

 

Business Item: EWS CFPs and Conference Needs for 2026.

 

Harrison reminded members that 2026 was a year in which both the ALA and SSSL will convene and that the society would ideally sponsor two panels at each event. She noted that filling the panels could be tricky given that the conferences will most likely happen within a few weeks of each other, the date and location of the SSSL is still TBA, and faculty travel budgets are increasingly diminishing, especially at state institutions. Thus, panel topics need to be broad and appeal to a variety of audiences, and we will need Chairs for SSSL targeted panels who can be flexible given the location/date issue. Discussion ensued and the following prospective ALA and SSSL 2026 panel/roundtable topics emerged: brief contexts are provided where necessary.

 

• Fleeting Moments & Wonderful Weirdness in Welty. The idea for this topic, which garnered the most discussion in the meeting, focused in on investigating the small events and/or oddities in Welty’s work and their larger import: think the witnessed streetcar accident in “Music from Spain,” the heard of goats in “Asphodel,” the talking head in The Robber Bridegroom, etc.
• Eudora Welty’s Minor Figures. This focus area, which could be a panel or a roundtable, would be geared toward bringing Welty’s minor figures to the center of investigation.
• How I teach _______ by Welty in _______. This potential topic would be a pedagogy panel or roundtable geared toward how works by Welty can be taught in classroom contexts other than those focused on literature and/or the South. In sum, its aim is to think about Welty’s contemporary relevancy in non-traditional English curriculums and to draw in scholars from adjacent fields.
• New Approaches to The Golden Apples. While a version of this panel appeared at SSSL 2024, it would be a possible good choice for ALA 2026—perhaps with a slightly modified title—given Harriet Pollack’s forthcoming CFP for a volume dedicated to this text.
• Welty and Twenty-First Century Media Contexts. This idea was floated as one that could further investigate Welty, multimodality, and her place/appearance in contemporary media/social media contexts.
• Revisiting Adaptations of and Performance in Welty.
• Welty’s Urban Spaces & Non-Southern Wanderings.

 

Given our small numbers at the business meeting this year, President Harrison stated that she would send the panel ideas to the listserv, solicit feedback and interest, and then take that information to the next officers’ meeting for vetting. Attendees agreed.

 

Announcements:

 

1. Summer Officers’ Projects: Harrison stated that the society by-laws contained some errors and that the officers agreed that they needed a general modernization. The officers plan to address them this summer, send recommendations to the advisory board for discussion, and then put forth a final document to the membership body for a vote.

 

2. Recruitment & Engagement: Harrison noted that at the Jackson conference several society members reflected on and shared their desire with her for more online engagement and at least one annual online business meeting a year for those unable to travel to ALA. Doing so, these members felt, would build more engagement and investment in the society, and more tangibly recognize the limitations imposed on members, especially graduate students and junior faculty, due to shrinking travel funds. The officers, who had discussed this issue in early April, and those present at ALA agree with this sentiment, and it will be further vetted as part of the by-laws update.

 

3. Financials: Harrison read the Treasurer’s Report and highlighted the following notes of business for the past year:

 

• Dues: Our new dues structure continues to go well. Registrations and dues for the 2025 Welty Conference were handled by our society Paypal account, managed by Laura Wilson, combined with a spreadsheet tracker. Three graduate students were awarded with $250 each to facilitate their attendance at the conference: Charlotte Aexel, Gabrielle Bowden, and Tanner Crunelle. The society also paid $600 toward bus transportation costs for attendees.
• Banks Account: The officers decided to reopen a US bank account, as we have not had one since 2022, and need more flexibility with payment than our Paypal account provides. The account will work in tandem with, not replace, our Paypal system. Kevin Murphy, our recently elected co-treasurer, explored bank options with locations where the various officers are located. The eventual choice was x  based on the number of physical branches in convenient locations, including the annual ALA conference hubs, and the company’s overall understanding of a business account for a non-profit organization.[1] Kevin will manage the account, including all distributions, and the EWS President and Vice-President will be listed as authorized back up users. Kevin will remove individuals when they rotate off the presidency and facilitate the incoming vice president being listed as a back-up user. The officers will recommend adding this new process to the bylaws.
• Financial Status: Following the completion of conference payment reconciliation, $ will be left in our bank account as the officers agreed that the bulk of the EWS’s money should remain housed in a FDIC insured account. $ remains in the EWS’s Paypal account to continue to cover operating costs. The Co-Treasurers will work together to maintain an appropriate balance of the accounts.
• Tax Filings: Laura and Kevin successfully filed our e-filing postcard for tax year 2024. Thanks to our new federal status, this is the second year in a row that the society has not had any issues with this process. Laura also successfully filed our Tennessee charter status. Leslie Petty continues as our Tennessee contact.

 

4. Eudora Welty Review News and Updates: Sarah Gilbreath Ford noted that issue 17 is forthcoming and spotlighted two new inaugural features readers will experience in the issue: “Provocations” and “In the Pleasure of Our Meeting.” She also spotlighted the CFP for Issue 18, particularly noting the special cluster on Eudora Welty and other writers spearheaded by Mae Miller Claxton. All pieces are due September 1, 2025.

 

As there were no business items or other announcements offered from the floor, the meeting was adjourned.

 

Minutes respectfully submitted by Rebecca L. Harrison.

 

[1] All specific financial information—bank name and amounts—have been redacted to increase our security protocols. Any member of the EWS can email the current president for specific financial data.