AN ANT went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning. A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her. The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove take wing.
Happy New Year!
It is time for an annual report for the year 2018. This will also be presented at the Annual Membership Meeting on January 26th in Sedalia, MO.
At the end of 2017, Larry Brown stepped down as President of MO-TELL. We thank him for his exemplary service to Missouri Storytelling, INC. He kept it alive and worked hard to maintain our relationship with the Missouri State Parks.
I was elected President to continue the work of Larry Brown, and former Presidents, Sue Hinkel and Perrin Stifel. We continued with the following board members, Sue Hinkel, Treasurer, Jim Two Crows Wallen, Secretary, Gary Kuntz, At Large, in charge of the web site and Perrin Stifel, Emeritus. Becky Walstrom joined the board later in the year as an At Large board member in charge of grant writing.
During 2018, MO-TELL sponsored 12 storytellers for Missouri State Parks with the help of an anonymous donor and the State Parks Office. Thank you to our donor and John Cunning in the State Parks office. We were also able to obtain a Missouri Arts Council Grant for $1724.00 to help out with the sponsorship.
Becky Walstrom and Sue Hinkel were responsible for the writing and obtaining of the MAC grant. They deserve a big round of applause for all their time and effort working on this grant. Thank you, Becky and Sue. Thom Howard continues to help us out with our financial reporting and record keeping. Thank you, Thom.
Once again Missouri had a Liar’s Contest. We want to thank Gary Kuntz for the wonderful planning and executing of this year’s event. Let’s also give a bign thanks to Mid-Continent Public Library and Kimberly Howard for their help with it. It was held at the Mid-Continent Public Library, Woodneath Library Center. They not only helped with space for the storytelling and provided judges for the event but they also advertised the it. The day included two workshops and an open mic.
Winners in the Oral Storytelling category were, Ken Wolfe, Christine Henderson and Jim Two Crows Wallen. In the Written Storytelling category the winners were Jim Two Crows Wallen and Carole Shelton.
We started a newsletter this year to better reach our membership. I started it and produced three newsletters. Ken Wolfe took it over last month and is doing a fantastic job. Thank you, Ken.
Sue Hinkel was born and raised in Oklahoma. She met her husband John there and they moved to Missouri, to the St. Louis area. They live on the Meramec River and wake up to the sounds of the river and the rustle of the trees surrounding their home. They like to call it their paradise.
Sue and John have two daughters, Heidi and Heather and one grandchild, Troy.
Sue is the treasurer of Missouri Storytelling, Inc. (MO-TELL) now, but she has served on the board in one capacity or another since its inception. She was the second president of the organization.
As treasurer, she collects the dues, pays the bills and files the taxes. She is the members first contact in most cases.
Mother, wife, teacher, artist, storyteller, adjunct professor-Sue wears many hats. She stays on top of the storytelling world by being a member of local and national storytelling organizations such as NSN, River and Prairie Storyweavers, Gateway Storytellers, Riverwind Storytelling and, of course, MO-TELL. She is also on the planning board for the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. She has been telling her tales at this event since the second of its now forty years. She was a featured teller two of those years.
Awards:
1. Volunteer of the Year for the St. Louis Storytelling Festival 2. Volunteer of the year for the University of Missouri St. Louis 3. National Storytelling Network Oracle Award, South Central
Region, for Service and Leadership 4. Missouri Art Teacher of the Year Award