Editing, writing, training for 30 years

May 2022 marks 30 years since Nancy Flight, Anne Norman, Claudette Reed Upton, Lois Richardson, John Ricker, Barbara Tomlin, and Yvonne Van Ruskenveld formed West Coast Editorial Associates (WCEA). What do you give a partnership on its 30th anniversary?

Pearls? Traditionally, this is the Pearl Anniversary. According to the Pearl Source website, “Pearls represent wisdom gained through experience,” and the eight partners in WCEA today offer more than 200 years of collective experience.

Diamonds? One of the hardest natural substances, diamonds are known for their strength and durability, and, like a diamond, the WCEA partnership has been resilient, continuing to offer reliable editing, writing, and training, even as former partners move on to new jobs or retirement.

Lilies? The Spruce, a home and garden website, says that lilies are the flowers of a 30th anniversary. They represent remembrance and transition from one stage of life to the next. According to Quora, a 30th birthday represents the transition from youth to full adulthood: “Thirty is an age when people are unofficially old.” WCEA has avoided aging, however, by bringing in new, younger partners. Our average age is currently 10 years younger than it was at the time of our 25th anniversary!

But no gifts please! After two years of getting together on Zoom, the only present Amy, Audrey, Barb, Lana, Lucy, Merrie-Ellen, Rowena, and Ruth want is to celebrate with an in-person meeting sometime this year. And we’re happy to continue having the opportunity to “look after the words in your life” as we’ve done for the past 30 years.