2023 AGM Tribute Grant

A tribute grant is to be awarded by the JASNA Oregon/SW Washington Region for attendance at the AGM in Denver, CO - "Pride and Prejudice: A Rocky Romance, November 3-5, 2023. 

FAQs are outlined below, as well as contest rules and the grant application. For more information, please email our Tribute Grant Coordinator at [email protected].

Why is this grant called a "tribute grant"?
  • The AGM Tribute Grant is an annual tribute to beloved members of our region and their many contributions. William (Bill) Boyd and Marna Tisdel.have been selected as our 2023 AGM Tribute Grant Honoree/s.
  • Congratulations and many thanks to Bill and Marna for their years of service to the Oregon and SW Washington Region of JASNA. We are very grateful for all they have done!
  • The Grant winner also writes up to two thank you notes to the Tribute Grant honoree/s or the families of the honoree/s.
Who are the Honoree/s for 2023?

  • William (Bill) Boyd is a retired construction litigation attorney for the state of Oregon Construction Contractor's Board and a former civil engineer for the City of Portland. Bill a devoted and enthusiastic Janeite. He discovered Jane Austen after viewing the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility. He has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years and faithfully attended AGM's. Bill served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AMG in Portland in 2010. Bill hosted and led discussion group meetings and co-presented at discussion group meetings. With other regional members, Bill co-led discussion group meetings on "Jane Austen's Letters: A Contest of Wit and Satire," "Liberal or Conservative Jane," “A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz,” (a favorite book of Bill’s written by a male Janeite), “What Happened in 1817: The Year Jane Austen Died," and "What Happened in 1803 and in Jane Austen's Life." Bill has such a wealth of Jane Austen knowledge and trivia that he could always be depended upon to provide enlightening comments and insights at our meetings. Bill also gave several PowerPoint presentations on Jane Austen to Multnomah County Library and its branches. Bill was always on the hunt for his beloved Jane Austen in his numerous travels to England, Europe and across the U.S. including his many Volkswalks. On his Volkswalks, he found Jane at Harvard and MIT campuses. Together with his wife, Marna Tisdel, they visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photograph them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. In his spare time, Bill is researching and writing a Jane Austen time travel novel.  
 
  • Marna Tisdel is a retired middle school teacher for the Community Transitional School (for at risk children of homeless families) where she worked for 20 years. She is also a former catalog librarian at Fort Vancouver Library. Marna is an avid Janeite and a patron of Jane Austen in the arts. She has always known about Jane Austen from reading her in high school and college, then becoming more interested in her through her husband, Bill Boyd. Marna has been a JASNA member of our region for nearly 20 years and attended AGM's as a companion with her husband, Bill. Marna supports our region in a myriad of ways. She served as Secretary and unofficially assisted Bill when he served as Regional Coordinator from 2009-2011 and Chair of Information/Registration when our region hosted the AGM in Portland in 2010. Marna is exceedingly helpful  and gracious and faithfully attends our regional meetings and actively participates in discussions providing insightful comments. Marna can always be counted on to help our region flourish. Together with Bill, she hosted numerous discussion group meetings at their home. As patrons of Jane, Marna and Bill donated paid tickets to our region for attendance to Jane Austen plays and provides carpooling to regional meetings and events. Marna also provided scheduling information for group attendance at events such as Sense and Sensibility at the 2018 Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. In 2023, Marna, researched possible venues for our Battle of Prague performance. A Jane Austen fan, Marna traveled with Bill to England and Europe and across the U.S. including their many Volkswalks looking for Jane. They visited libraries/bookstores to see Jane Austen editions and photographed them. They visited Jane Austen sites in England at Chawton, Bath, Lyme, and Winchester. They even attended a Jane Austen Festival at Chatsworth where Netherfield was filmed for Pride and Prejudice. For more Jane, they rented a car and did their own tour of the Southampton sites that author, Stephanie Barron wrote about in her Jane Austen Mystery Series. On Marna's continued travels in the U.S. and abroad, she looks for Jane Austen wherever she goes.
Who can participate?
  • Members of the Oregon/SW Washington Region of JASNA may apply for the AGM Tribute Grant, if they have not previously attended an AGM as a paid registrant.
  • Applicants must have a major credit card, as all expenses will be reimbursed from receipts for registration/hotel/travel costs​.
  • We encourage applicants who were not awarded the Tribute Grant to reapply in the future.
What do I win?
  • The grant covers AGM registration fees, a private room at the hotel where the event is taking place for three nights, and at least part of travel costs.
  • The maximum amount awarded each year is not to exceed $1500.00. The balance of the cost of airfare (if any), extra nights, tours, or admission fees to events not included in the registration fee will not be covered under the terms of this grant.
  • The grant will be in the form of reimbursements of receipts for expenses up to $1500.00.
  • Any costs incurred above $1500.00 will be the sole responsibility of the grant winner.
Do I have to join the Jane Austen Society of North America before I can submit an application?
  • Yes, an applicant must be a member of the Oregon/SW Washington Region of JASNA.
  • To become a member, visit our Membership Page and follow the directions to join JASNA.
When can Grant applications be submitted? We will be accepting applications for the 2023 AGM Tribute Grant after February 1, 2023 and must be received by April 1, 2023.
When will the Grant winner be announced?The names of the winner will be posted on the regional website at www.jasna-orswwa.org and announced at the spring meeting 2023. The winner will be contacted before his/her name is posted on the website.
How is the grant winner selected?The AGM Tribute Grant committee will select the applicant who it thinks has given the most compelling short-answer responses. Judging will be done anonymously. The committee’s decision is final.

Contest Rules

Grant Application
  1. Applicants must have a major credit card, as all expenses will be reimbursed with a receipt.
  2. ​The applicant must be an official member of the Oregon/SW Washington Region of JASNA. (See FAQs above for links and directions.)
  3. ​The winner must write up to two thank you notes to the Tribute Grant honoree/s or the families of the honoree/s.
  4. Application information must be truthful.
  5. All questions must be answered, and the application complete.
  6. Application must be written in English.
  7. Each short-answer response should be no longer than 500 words.
  8. The application must be submitted via e-mail. Submissions must be sent as attachments to an e-mail message labeled “AGM Tribute Grant Oregon/SW Washington.”
  9. Entries must be e-mailed on or before April 1, 2023.

Applications that do not conform to the above requirements, or those which arrive after the deadline, will be disqualified.
Please download the grant application, which is provided below in both Word and PDF formats. 
 Instructions to applicants: 
Please save the above form to your computer, and then fill out all sections of the application. Limit question responses to 500 words. 

Save your completed form as a Word document or PDF and send it to JASNA ORSWWA as an e-mail attachment to: [email protected] on or before April 1, 2023.