It recently came to my attention recently that there seems to be a wide-spread misconception about the ownership of the Heartbeat newsletter. I would like to clear up these misconceptions.

The Heartbeat does NOT belong to any WW Region. The Heartbeat does not belong to Women in Circle. It also does not belong to WW International.

I conceived of the idea of the newsletter (with help from 2 women -- Natasha Taylor and Louise Lovdahl). I designed the newsletter, created the web site architecture for the articles and archives and have always edited and published the newsletter and paid for the newsletter delivery services. Chicago area Women in Circle has generously allowed me to use the www.womenincircle.org web site to store the articles and archive the newsletter.

No-one, from any WW Region or from International, monitors the content of the Heartbeat newsletter. I edit submissions for readability, clarity and quality of content. I do not always agree with every article that is published. I do not have to agree with your point of view, but I do encourage you to use your voice and speak your truth. I will publish a good article, essay or poem, even if I personally do not agree with the point of view of the article, essay, poem . . . whatever is submitted.

If you have read something in the Heartbeat in the past that you do not agree with, I encourage you to speak YOUR truth, as other women have spoken theirs.

My vision was to create a WW Global Newsletter, available to women around the world. The subscriber list now numbers 300, with 2/3 of the current subscribers from either Illinois or Wisconsin and the remaining 1/3 subscribers coming from all over the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland and even New Zealand and Australia. There are a few non-WW women subscribers as well as a few MKP male subscribers. This is an equal-op newsletter.

I hoped to see all regions utilizing the Heartbeat to list their events, contribute articles and other content, but have seen very few contributions outside of the Midwest region.

You are invited to participate in the Heartbeat regardless of where you live. Send in your stories, articles, poetry, events, artwork, etc. Hopefully the Heartbeat really will become a Global WW newsletter.

Mary Walilko
(WWTW Dec. 1996, Lake Delavan, WI)
mary.heartbeat@gmail.com