NYSAE typically reports from the perspective of the association headquarters staff. For this ongoing series we reached out to elected volunteer presidents who lead the board of directors and serves from an association headquarters in New York City.

Milton C. Toby JD is the volunteer president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) headquartered in New York City. ASJA, founded in 1948, is a professional association of independent non-fiction writers. 

When I’m not serving as ASJA President, I am: Often worrying about ASJA anyway, which has become a fulltime job most days lately. I'm also legal counsel for another writers' organization with similar concerns as ASJA (American Horse Publications) so I can share what I'm learning about pandemic management for the benefit of both groups. Breaks from the computer and worrying include exercise, usually long daily walks since my gym and personal trainer are on hiatus because of Coronavirus and bicycling on a smart trainer in our garage. Working on my 10th nonfiction book, this one about performance-enhancing drugs in Thoroughbred racing, occupies what little free time is left.

Now that we’re weeks into this “new normal” of the COVID-19 pandemic, how are you finding the time to lead ASJA, has it changed?: Not much has changed. I've always done my writing at home so there was not a lengthy transition period from a "real" office to a home base. I also did a substantial amount of legal work at home when most of my clients were inmates on Kentucky's Death Row or in prison somewhere else. And my wonderfully involved vice president, Laura Laing, does a lot of the heavy lifting and we have an active board committed to the organization's best interests. Finally, staff from Kellen, our association management company, advises and takes care of day-to-day operations.

How has COVID-19 impacted your organization and what are the plans to lead ASJA to success? The major impact so far was postponing our annual conference in New York City. It's always been ASJA's most visible showcase and year-to-year our most successful event. We rescheduled the conference, but not until 2022 because of the uncertainty associated with the pandemic. Moving forward, we're scheduling a series of free, members-only webinars and a major teleconference networking event that matches members with clients in April and a full slate of virtual conference sessions throughout the summer and early fall. I hope that this shift to virtual programming will become a permanent way to expand ASJA's reach beyond, and in addition to, our in-person events. We're also tracking and sharing information about federal and state disaster assistance efforts because in the long run, our success is a reflection of the success of our members

Any other thoughts you want to share with us? I live in Kentucky and our governor, Andy Beshear, opens each daily Covid-19 press briefing with this: "We're going to get through this. We're going to get through this together." There's no better mantra for a professional membership organization like ASJA.