To give everyone a glimpse at SCN's member benefits, we've made this article from the September 2026 issue of our
members-only Journal available to the public for a limited time. Enjoy!
Keeping Up with a Decade of Change at Story Circle Network
by Susan Schoch, SCN President
Back in October 2025, a small group of SCN women got together online to discuss the procedure used to transition new members onto the Board of Directors. We realized that our process was lacking and sometimes confusing. It was time to clarify and improve what we were doing.
It wasn’t simple. A bit of research and discussion quickly made clear that what we actually needed was a dedicated review of the legacy documents we were still legally bound by. Our bylaws and our Policies & Procedures Manual had not been revised for a decade, and even that 2015 review didn’t include all the parts and pieces of the current Story Circle Network. Some bylaws no longer made sense, some were outdated, and we had new programs and processes to address. Founded in 1997, much has changed in our twenty-nine years. How could we address those changes and yet maintain SCN’s character, values, purpose, and community?
As a result, the group asked for and received the board’s approval to create an ad hoc committee (Governance Workgroup) to review our current bylaws and P&P manual and to suggest strategies for improvement. This workgroup is energetically led by Tina Games, who serves as Regional Commissions Director for the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, as well as serving on our board and as SCN’s Social Media Coordinator. Other members of the workgroup include Jeanne Guy (Past President and current Membership Specialist), Teresa Lynn (Administrator), Liz Beaty (Program Director), Len Leatherwood (Vice President, Past President, and Education Coordinator), and me (President). What a necessary, challenging, and gratifying journey we have been on.
Learning as we went, over the past ten months we have worked through the 2015 bylaws, updating and exploring options. Happily, at the July board meeting, there was unanimous approval of the refreshed 2026 bylaws. Yet you won’t see a lot of obvious results. Our mission is the same, our programs and community unchanged. Now, however, we’re in full compliance with Texas State Law regarding nonprofits. That’s good.
As we grow, which we must do, you will have more opportunities to shape SCN’s direction and participate in meeting the mission. For now, the next step will be to begin the same kind of scrutiny of our Policies & Procedures Manual, getting down to the specifics of processes and programs. We’ll work with the SCN Board of Directors to make our organization as vibrant, transparent, and responsive as possible. That is going to take some time, but we’ll stay in touch when there’s news to report.
Meanwhile, members can see the updated bylaws on the About page of our website (you must be signed in). Your comments and questions are welcome. Simply email storycircle@storycircle.org and mention Bylaws in the subject line.
Susan Schoch, President: A member since 2002, Susan has edited many books and periodicals for SCN and currently coordinates our book publications. She has also reviewed books at Story Circle Book Reviews and has been a freelance writer and editor for over thirty years, specializing in personal history and biography.
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