From the President’s Desk – Election News

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As an American living in Canada, I have always enjoyed celebrating both Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day weekend) and American Thanksgiving in November. It’s a chance to spend time with family and indulge in turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and all that comes with a big dinner. It’s an opportunity to give thanks twice for all the blessings in our lives.

Speaking of blessings, I feel especially grateful to be part of the Catholic Writers Guild. As I was telling someone recently, I believe that the Guild is responsible for any success I have had as a writer and author. The overwhelming benefits of Guild membership convinced me to want to give back, so I joined the CWG Board in 2010 and currently serve as the President. However, as a democratic organization, we still need to hold elections.

Most of the members of our current board are willing to remain in our current positions. Don Mulcare will be running for Committee Coordinator (replacing Karina Fabian).

Here is Don’s short biography: Donald J. Mulcare, PhD, Biology Professor Emeritus retired from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2003. During his university career he participated in the American Society of Zoologists and the Society for Developmental Biology. He served as the founding president of the UMD Club/Chapter of Sigma Xi and twice represented the university as a delegate to the national meeting. He directed the Gerontology programs and represented the university as a delegate to the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. He moderated the Newman Lecture Series and co-chaired the Premedical Advisory Committee. Upon retirement, he taught in two Catholic high schools for a total of six years. Don currently contributes to the CWG Blog. His website is: https://dmulcare.wordpress.com/

The other candidates are all current board members:

Ellen Gable Hrkach – President
Jennifer Fitz – Vice-President
Ann Lewis – Treasurer
Dave Law – Secretary

If you are a member of the CWG, we will soon be sending you a link to the polls.  Please vote anytime before November 30, 2013.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any concerns or questions: president(at)catholicwritersguild.com

In Jesus and Mary,

Ellen Gable Hrkach
President, CWG

CWG Interim Website Up and Running

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Dear members,

As you know, we have had some difficulty with our site over the past week. It was hacked, and we were unable to restore the previous system.

While our new site is being developed, we have launched in interim site (thanks to Secretary and Master Programmer, Dave Law – THANK YOU, DAVE!).

The problem – while your username will not change, your password will no longer work on this interim system. Therefore, we’d like to ask you to do the following.

Go to this URL:

https://www.catholicwritersguild.com/forum/

Click the “forgot my password” link. Put in your email address associated with your account. The system will send you a confirmation. After clicking the link in the confirmation, you will be given a password you can use to login. Return to the link above and login with the new password. At which point, you’ll be able to reset your password to something you can remember.

Thank you for understanding. If you have any questions, you can email us at
info at catholicwritersguild.com .

Thanks and God bless you!
–Ann Lewis

Seal of Approval 3rd Quarter 2013 Notice

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We will NOT be accepting Seal of Approval applications for 3rd Quarter 2013.

In the last six months, we have lost two volunteers on the Seal of Approval Committee. In addition, we’ve been experiencing an increase in submissions.

We’re working on restructuring the back end. We have put a few things in place, including a limit on the number of titles an author can submit each quarter as well as a limit to the total number of submissions we’ll accept. We’ll be employing a waiting list in the future.

If you’re interested in being an evaluator for the Seal of Approval process, we’d love to have you. Evaluating includes:

  • Reading at least one book a quarter;
  • Determining whether a book is appropriate to be sold in a Catholic bookstore;
  • Determining whether a book has earned the Seal based on being true to the teachings of the Magisterium;
  • Assessing whether a book needs further editing to bear the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval; and
  • Completing the SOA Evaluation form and submitting it by the deadline stated to evaluators.

The purpose of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues in their determination of the Catholicity of a work. This reassurance from a professional organization can assist authors in marketing and promoting their works to Catholic bookstores.

For more information, feel free to contact me directly. I’m going to be contacting a few people personally to try and flesh out the committee vacancies before 4th Quarter submissions begin in September. I will also be contacting the current evaluators to touch base and make sure we’re all on the same page with expectations.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

2013 Catholic Writers Conference Online CANCELED

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2012 proved to be a difficult year for many of us, and we’re sorry to have to begin 2013 on such a sad note.  Circumstances beyond our control have caused us to cancel the Catholic Writers Conference Online, which was scheduled for March 4-15.  It was a combination of several factors, and not a decision reached lightly.  We had high hopes for this conference and some wonderful workshops planned, but alas, it was not meant to be.

We’d like to thank the generous people who volunteered to present and moderate at CWCO in March; it is through no fault of yours that the conference faltered this year.

In the meantime, we are still going ahead with the writers’ retreat October 13-17, 2013, at St. Francis Retreat Center, Dewitt MI.  The speakers will be Michelle Buckman, Al Kresta, Father Matthias Thelen, David Krajewski.  We are not sure of the fee yet, but will keep you informed.

In addition, we are also holding the Catholic Writers’ Conference Live on August 7-9, 2013 – Garden State Exhibition Center, Somerset, NJ.  We are in need of presenters, and thanks to a generous contribution, are able to pay small stipends to speakers this year.  Please contact Ann Lewis at treasurer(at)catholicwritersguild.com if interested.  We will also need volunteers, and as always, will provide hotel rooms and free admission.

New Evangelizers Blog Seeking Catholic Bloggers

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I’m writing today to ask you if you might be interested in writing for the New Evangelizers blog.

We’re trying to put together a team of writers/bloggers to write about the New Evangelization and build up both the content and the audience at New Evangelizers. Our goal is to have someone writing

In the event that you are interested, I’m including the guidelines below.

Please pray about it and let me know if you might be interested in it. Please feel free to share this information with anyone who you know who might be interested, to share it on your blogs and social networks, and to send anyone who’s interested my way.

That said, here’s the caveat: I’m offline next week due to family travel. (Smile, wouldja? It’s likely to be a hilarious picture.) So if you don’t hear back from me in a timely manner, know that I will do my best when I return (and maybe even from my iPad while I’m hiding in a bathroom in a rest stop somewhere, but you DID NOT hear that from me).

Many blessings and thanks!

New Evangelizers Blog Writers Guidelines:

Thank you for being willing to be part of the New Evanglizers blog writing team! We ask that you keep your writing 100% in line with the teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to pay for submissions, but will be happy to work with you to promote your work and writing projects.

Items we need to get started:

1.  Your first two column submissions sent to Sarah Reinhard at [email protected] – you can send them as Word docs or within the body of an email. Please include “New Evangelizers submissions” in the subject line. If you have images, please attach those separately (not in the body of the doc).

Column/post guidelines:

  • Word count of less than 2000 words. The average blog post is around 500 words, but can be shorter (Sarah has been averaging 300 words with her weekly posts).
  • Feel free to be personable, but please only write things that somehow tie into New Evangelization and specifically with ideas of how to Know Your Faith, Live Your Faith, and Share Your Faith (which is the motto of New Evangelizers).
  • Your writings may also tie into any of the other missions of New Evangelizers (Rosary Army, Total Consecration, Promote Catholicism, That Catholic Show, The Catholics Next Door), but with an emphasis on how those things tie into New Evangelization (for example, Rosary Army and Total Consecration help people develop better spirituality (Know and Live Your Faith), etc.
  • Please note, you must have full permissions to use any images you want attached to your entries.  These can be royalty-free photos or your own originals, but you need to procure permissions for images that will be included with your blog entry.

2.  A digital author photo

3.  A brief bio paragraph – this will appear at the bottom of your columns, so please include any links, projects you would like to promote, etc.

4.  Your scheduling preference: weekly, biweekly, or monthly. When you give me your submission schedule preference, I will assign you dates on our publication calendar and notify you of your schedule. We ask that you submit your contribution the week prior to your scheduled run date or notify me that you will be unable to submit by that deadline. This helps me with planning and balancing content on the website.

5.  Contact information, including your mailing address and a telephone number.  This will remain confidential and is for internal New Evangelizers purposes only.

6. Facebook Page – We are working on getting our Facebook page active. Please go to https://www.facebook.com/NewEvangelizers and “like” the page so that you can be tagged and mentioned in posts on the Facebook page.

Submission Guidelines & Procedures:

Send your New Evangelizers submissions 1 week prior to your scheduled run date to Sarah Reinhard with “New Evangelization submission” in your subject line.

If you can’t make your scheduled slot, please notify us. This helps with planning and balancing content on the website.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions – we look forward to getting to know you and sharing your writing!

What’s New, CWG?

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Hi all!  A little late with this because my life has been busy!  The great news is, the Guild has been busy, too!  We’ve been going strong with several of our projects, and a couple that have been on hold took off this month.  Here’s the scoop:

Catholic Writers Conference-LIVE: Arlington, TX, Aug 29-31 (https://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php):  Are you going?  It will be an awesome time, as usual.  In addition to the workshops on writing, the opportunity to promote your work to publishers and bookstores on the events floor, and the in-person pitch sessions, we have secured a special deal with SPQN!  They are having their conference next door to ours, and for an extra $25, you can attend their Friday workshops on blogging.

Ann Lewis still needs some volunteers to help her out.  Contact her at president(at)catholicwritersguild.com.

The Catholic Arts and Letters Award:  We hope eventually this award, also known as the CALA or the Lilly, will become the premier award for Catholic writing.  After a small start, we had to put it on hiatus for a year because of lack of volunteers to help out.  (Folks—we need you!)  However, Michelle Buckman has courageously taken it on, and is gearing up to do an award in 2013 for books published in 2011 and 2012.

In addition to fiction, the 2013 award will have nonfiction categories.  We’re tentatively thinking theology, devotionals, biographies and self-help/misc.  We may also be able to offer a cash prize to the winner—someone has offered a grant, and we are talking with that person about details.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT ENTER:  You must have an Imprimatur or the CWG Seal of Approval to qualify.  That means if your book is published in late 2012, you must get the manuscript approved (if you are a member) or the book submitted no later than Jan 2013 to the CWG committee.  There will be no exceptions!

Right now, we have a committee of three and could use some more folks to help.  Of special need are a couple of people to receive and distribute the books to the judges (CWG will pay for postage), and folks to help promote in conjunction with the publicity committee.  Please e-mail MichellePBuckman(at)gmail.com if you can help.

Catholic Writers’ Retreat:  April 19-23, Indianapolis, IN:  Things are looking good as far as getting a grant to help us keep the costs down on this.  We’re putting a down payment on the Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House in order to hold the dates.  Mark your calendar!

Steady as she goes…

Catholic Writers Conference Online: March 4-13, (https://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php).  We’re already lining up presenters and publishers.  If you know someone who could do a workshop (or want to do one, yourself), contact Laura Lowder at laura.lowder(at)gmail.com

Blog:  If you’re here, you know it’s awesome.  However, it’s getting BIG!  Jennifer would like someone to help her with the tech side of wordpress to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

Note for Paying Members Only:  We are taking poetry submissions for the blog.  No pay, just credit, and do remember that publishing on a blog does count as publication to some magazines.  If interested, send your submission and a short bio to:  poems(at)catholicwritersguild.com.  If you can devote an couple of hours a month to tweaking and some simple tasks, e-mail her at blog(at)catholicwritersguild.com

Seal of Approval:  We’re in our second quarterly cycle, and things are running smoothly.  Please note that we have a new PO Box for sending hardcopy books to.

CWG Book news:  We send out a monthly newsletter to bookstores and interested readers.  We’d like to expand this list.  If you know any stores, libraries, schools, etc. that might be interested in learning about new Catholic books, please send a note to Ellen Hrkach at vicepresident(at)catholicwritersguild.com

CWG newsletter:  Maria is always looking for new writers!  She especially wants some help with book reviews, the saints column, and news.  Please contact her at mariarr(at)comcast.net

 

Press Release: Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

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M E D I A   R E L E A S E

CONTACT:  Ann Margaret Lewis

Phone: (317) 755-2693

e-mail: [email protected]

For Immediate Release

Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

Arlington, TX–The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe.

This year’s conference will focus on “Writing and the New Evangelization.”  Speakers include Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St.Anthony Messenger Press, Mike Marshall of FAITH Catholic Publishing, authors Ellen Gable Hrkach (In Name Only and Stealing Jenny) and Patti Armstrong (Catholic Truths for Our Children, Stories for the Homeschool Heart), Ann Margaret Lewis (Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes), and EWTN personalities Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR. More excellent speakers are still being confirmed.

The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique with professional editors and writers. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site.

In partnership with the Catholic New Media Conference, also taking place in the convention center, writers conference attendees will be able to attend a special track on blogging for $25. Information on this opportunity will be made to attendees upon registration.

“It’s not just writing, it’s not just fellowship, it’s inspiration, too!” says 2011 Conference attendee Sarah Reinhard, blogger and author of Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative or Clueless and several other Catholic family books. “It was great to put faces with names and personalities with suspicions. It was also great to share the Eucharist and evening meals in person with writers who inspire me, encourage me, and motivate me the rest of the year. I enjoyed it so much I’m afraid I’m addicted.”

The Catholic Writers Guild, a religious non-profit organization, sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature. “Our conferences are totally focused on encouraging faithful Catholics to share genuine Catholic culture and faith in their writing no matter what genre,” says CWG President Ann Margaret Lewis. “These events are integral to our mission of ‘creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

Registration costs $70 for CWG members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students. There’s also a discounted combined membership. To register or for more information, go to https://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

 

# # #

Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

Click here to download the media release as Word document.

Seal of Approval Now Accepting Submissions

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We’ll be accepting submissions for the Seal of Approval from April 1-30.

If you meet the qualifications below, consider applying now!

Purpose

The purpose of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues in their determination of the Catholicity of a work. This reassurance from a professional organization can assist authors in marketing and promoting their works.

Our Process

Submission and awarding periods as follows:

  • Accepting submissions January 1-31, awarding by March 31
  • Accepting submissions April 1-30, awarding by June 30
  • Accepting submissions July 1-31, awarding by September 30
  • Accepting submissions September 1-30, awarding by November 30

Requirements

For a book to be considered for the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval:

  • Book is published OR will be self-published OR book is under contract with a publisher
  • Author must be Catholic
  • Book is Catholic in nature (for fiction, this means Catholic themes and characters)
  • Book does not contradict nor disparage Catholic teaching
  • Book does not speak disparagingly of an accepted Catholic practice (such as Novus Ordo Mass or Tridentine Mass) nor give the impression that only a particular Catholic practice is the right way to salvation.
  • Book does not support heresies or New Age philosophies

One of the concerns we face as an organization is the quality of the work we stand behind. While we do reject titles when we have concerns with poor editing, there is now the opportunity for one resubmission with proof of professional editing.

We may request up to five hard copies and/or electronic copies for our evaluators.

The Seal of Approval application is here. If you are a Catholic Writers Guild member, you may apply free of charge. If you are not a Guild member, there is a processing charge.

We also need volunteer evaluators!

To be an evaluator, you have to be a member in good standing with the Catholic Writers Guild. To evaluate a book, you read the title you sign up to read and complete the evaluation form. We ask that you have some background in the Catholic faith and that you are willing to look up things that may be questionable.

All evaluations must be true and faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

What we evaluate:

  • Is the work libelous or slanderous?
  • Does the work seek to foster hatred or conflict among individuals or groups, including racism, religious fanaticism, or anarchy?
  • Does this work contain obscenity or promote anti-Catholic views of modesty, decency in language, actions, or basic morality?
  • Does this work contain pornography?
  • Does this work promote pre-marital, extra-marital, or other non-marital sexual relationships?
  • Does this work lack respect for the reasonable privacy of others?
  • Does this work degrade the dignity of the person, including the promotion of euthanasia, abortion, homosexual actions or unions, child labor, or prostitution?
  • Does this work promote the worship of false gods?
  • Does this work attempt to draw others away from the orthodox teachings of the universal Catholic Church?
  • Does this work use others’ proposals or ideas without credit or permission?
  • Does this work present others’ work as the author’s own original ideas?
  • Does this work violate any known laws?
  • Does the author of this work belong to an association(s) or participate in activities that may compromise integrity, damage credibility, or cause scandal in the Guild’s sole determination that you are aware of? Examples include freemasonry, Catholics for a Free Choice, NAMBLA, a history of works opposed to the Guild’s values or ethics, excommunication, etc. For example, these may be stated on the book jacket or may be from your prior knowledge of the author.
  • Is this work so badly written or edited that granting the Seal of Approval would harm the reputation of the Catholic Writers Guild as a writers organization?
  • Can you see this book in your local Catholic bookstore?

We have a “theological experts team” that is on-hand to answer any issues we have with doctrinal issues.

If you’re interested, email us at SOA -a-t- catholicwritersguild.com

Meet the committee:

  • Sarah Reinhard, Fearless Chair (or Big Boss Lady, depending on the day)
  • Carol Ann Chybowski, Submissions and Evaluator Coordinator
  • Mary Gildersleeve, Awarding Coordinator

If you’re interested in learning more about the Seal of Approval, email us at SOA -at- catholicwritersguild.com.

The New and Improved Seal of Approval Process

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The purpose of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues in their determination of the Catholicity of a work. This reassurance from a professional organization can assist authors in marketing and promoting their works.

Our process includes submission and awarding periods as follows:

  • Accepting submissions January 1-31, awarding by March 31
  • Accepting submissions April 1-30, awarding by June 30
  • Accepting submissions July 1-31, awarding by September 30
  • Accepting submissions September 1-30, awarding by November 30

These are the requirements for a book to be considered for the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval:

  • Book is published OR will be self-published OR book is under contract with a publisher
  • Author must be Catholic
  • Book is Catholic in nature (for fiction, this means Catholic themes and characters)
  • Book does not contradict nor disparage Catholic teaching
  • Book does not speak disparagingly of an accepted Catholic practice (such as Novus Ordo Mass or Tridentine Mass) nor give the impression that only a particular Catholic practice is the right way to salvation.
  • Book does not support heresies or New Age philosophies

One of the concerns we face as an organization is the quality of the work we stand behind. While we do reject titles when we have concerns with poor editing, there is now the opportunity for one resubmission with proof of professional editing.

We may request up to five hard copies and/or electronic copies for our evaluators.

The Seal of Approval application is here. If you are a Catholic Writers Guild member, you may apply free of charge.

We also need a team of volunteer evaluators!

To be an evaluator, you have to be a member in good standing with the Catholic Writers Guild. To evaluate a book, you read the title you sign up to read and complete the evaluation form. We ask that you have some background in the Catholic faith and that you are willing to look up things that may be questionable.

All evaluations must be true and faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

These are the items we consider on the evaluation:

  • Is the work libelous or slanderous?
  • Does the work seek to foster hatred or conflict among individuals or groups, including racism, religious fanaticism, or anarchy?
  • Does this work contain obscenity or promote anti-Catholic views of modesty, decency in language, actions, or basic morality?
  • Does this work contain pornography?
  • Does this work promote pre-marital, extra-marital, or nother non-marital sexual relationships?
  • Does this work lack respect for the reasonable privacy of others?
  • Does this work degrade the dignity of the person, including the promotion of euthanasia, abortion, homosexual actions or unions, child labor, or prostitution?
  • Does this work promote the worship of false gods?
  • Does this work attempt to draw others away from the orthodox teachings of the universal Catholic Church?
  • Does this work use others’ proposals or ideas without credit or permission?
  • Does this work present others’ work as the author’s own original ideas?
  • Does this work violate any known laws?
  • Does the author of this work belong to an association(s) or participate in activities that may compromise integrity, damage credibility, or cause scandal in the Guild’s sole determination that you are aware of? Examples include freemasonry, Catholics for a Free Choice, NAMBLA, a history of works opposed to the Guild’s values or ethics, excommication, etc. For example, these may be stated on the book jacket or may be from your prior knowledge of the author.
  • Is this work so badly written or edited that granting the Seal of Approval would harm the reputation of the Catholic Writers Guild as a writers organization?
  • Can you see this book in your local Catholic bookstore?

We have a “theological experts” team that is on-hand to answer any issues we have with doctrinal issues.

Meet the committee:

  • Sarah Reinhard, Fearless Chair (or Big Boss Lady, depending on the day)
  • Carol Ann Chybowski, Submissions and Evaluator Coordinator
  • Mary Gildersleeve, Awarding Coordinator

If you’re interested in learning more about the Seal of Approval, email us at SOA -at- catholicwritersguild.com.

Committees: Introduction by Karina Fabian

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I’m Karina Fabian, and I’ll be posting on second Fridays (and perhaps other times) about what’s going on with the committees of the Catholic Writers Guild.

Committees are the hands and feet of the Guild—they do things and take us forward.  When you see someone announce that they’re book received the Seal of Approval or that a bookstore has just ordered copies because they saw it in a newsletter, when you attend one of the conferences, when you read this blog—you are seeing the result of the hard work of our Guild committees.  These people give of their time, talent and sometimes their treasure to take on projects to help others achieve their writing dreams.  The Committee Chairs in particular give a lot of themselves to keeping these programs going.  Without their dedication, we would have a Guild that is name only.

I’m honored to be the Committee Coordinator in 2012.  I’ve been with the Guild since it was just an idea on a Yahoo group.  I helped found it, create rules for it, and have led it as President, Vice President, and Secretary.  However, I feel like the most important practical aspect of our Guild is in the committee work.  There, we harness the power of our group and its reputation to help not just each other, but Catholic literature in all its forms.

However, this is often frustrating work—there’s so much to do, and so few who step up to help out—or those that offer their help aren’t consistent.  This is a long-running problem in the Guild, and this year, I want to dedicate my efforts to building our cadre of volunteers and finding ways to make the experience of working in the Guild more rewarding.

I’m certain this isn’t a matter of “finding the right people.”  We have a wonderful, giving membership!  However, we also have a busy membership, so we need to find ways to make it easier to volunteer, to match guild needs to member strengths, to encourage consistency, to improve communication and direction.  I’ve started talking to the committee chairs about what they need.  Members, soon, you’ll be seeing a request from us to fill out a survey with your talents interests and how much time you can volunteer, as well as specific volunteering opportunities.  In the meantime, if you have any ideas about how we can improve Guild operations, please make your comments below or e-mail me privately at https://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=ContactPro.

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