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I was asked to break the ice, so to speak, in getting members of the Network's executive committee to write about themselves and their involvement in this organization. And since the alternative to my doing so was a big empty white space here...well...allow me to reluctantly introduce myself. By day, I'm the editor of a weekly law-oriented newspaper. (How I got the job nine years ago when my only legal experience consisted of having been a jury foreperson in a criminal trial is a story in itself.) I also write a weekly humor column called 'At the Sidebar' in two law-oriented newspapers and 'Funny You Should Ask' in others. My nonfiction work has been published in more than 20 newspapers and magazines, and I've won some awards for my photography. My favorite gig, so far, has been the years I spent writing for Western celebrities Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and their son, Dusty. That was a lot of fun, and I got to meet Randy Travis. Yee Haw! I joined the Network several years ago, primarily so I could submit a script to the Producer's Outreach Program. A friend who was then serving as volunteer coordinator talked me into working with her -- and resigned shortly thereafter. But since I'd already been given a free Scriptwriters Network t-shirt as reward for my service, I felt obligated to stay on. I rarely declined when asked to volunteer. Although I don't write for television, I volunteered at the Network’s 'Breaking the TV Barrier' seminar. I volunteered last fall at the Screenwriting Expo. Heck, I even worked the door a few times. I also wrote articles for the newsletter. After I'd written a few, I was asked to help put an issue of the newsletter together on an emergency basis. I'm not sure what happened, but it's been nearly four years and my name's still listed in the editor spot. What is probably most notable about my volunteer service is the fact that I live about 100 miles outside of Los Angeles. (If you've driven to Las Vegas, you probably passed my house.) Why do I remain active in the Network? Because it's worth it! Echoing Bill Lundy, I can honestly say that every industry contact I've made came about through my having volunteered for a Network job. When I joked with a showrunner while escorting him to the greenroom at the TV Seminar, he invited me to phone him. At the Screenwriting Expo last fall, an agent's assistant approached me to request a spot on a Network-sponsored panel. An agent's assistant asked a writer for a favor – there's something you don’t see every day! An influential speaker whose presentation I'd covered phoned me months after my article appeared to ask for my help. I was happy to oblige, and thrilled that she remembered me. Those experiences are just the tip of the contact iceberg. I once heard a motivational speaker talk about something called the 'boomerang effect' -- the theory being whatever each of us throws out into the world comes back to us, good or bad. That's been my experience with the Scriptwriters Network. So throw something good out there. Spend some time volunteering for the Network. Don't know what there is to do? Contact the volunteer coordinator listed to the left of this column. Or offer to cover a speaker for the newsletter. E-mail me at jamy.pacheco@verizon.net, and I'll tell you how. You never know what might come back to you. More than likely, it will be good. I mean, who can’t use another t-shirt?
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