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I want to switch this sentiment from the "Help wanted" thread started by Rocky because I want to be sure Rick gets the credit he deserves. There's a good chance that very few officers or members realize the enormity of the task of putting out the club magazine every three months -- and the calendar at the end of the year. I don't know what he was paid, but I'll bet most of us wouldn't want to work for his hourly rate.
Magazines of the quality of ours do not happen automatically--articles, ads and updates need to be solicited; deadlines need to be met -- this means harassing officers, contributers, and club-events reporters for articles; then when you do get the articles, they need to be edited for spelling, grammar, and syntax (and maybe rewritten) and sent back to the authors for approval; photos need to be begged, borrowed or taken -- and when a "great" photo you've been promised turns out to be a 72 dpi web image that's not fit for printing . . . well, you get the idea.
Then -- when you get all of the parts together (and you almost never get all of them until the last minute) -- there's the design and layout. Do you have a good enough cover photo for the feature story or will you have to make do? Will stories or pictures have to be cut to fit? What if you lay out a story with a half-page ad at the end only to be told later that the advertiser changed his mind and wants only a quarter-page ad? Then a proof gets sent out for approval (to the president? who else?) and there are more changes to be made.
With all of the files finalized and preped for imaging, you now deal with the printer -- then the mailer -- then the members wondering why the hell their buddy got the magazine before they did.
I think I got a little carried away. My goal here is to give Rick the credit he deserves. He has consistently put out a superior club magazine and has done it for many years. I sincerely hope that he resigned because he wanted to spend his time differently, and not because he felt unappreciated by the club leadership or members. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to the club -- it's not going to be easy to find a replacement who can meet the standards he set.
Bob Culp
Magazines of the quality of ours do not happen automatically--articles, ads and updates need to be solicited; deadlines need to be met -- this means harassing officers, contributers, and club-events reporters for articles; then when you do get the articles, they need to be edited for spelling, grammar, and syntax (and maybe rewritten) and sent back to the authors for approval; photos need to be begged, borrowed or taken -- and when a "great" photo you've been promised turns out to be a 72 dpi web image that's not fit for printing . . . well, you get the idea.
Then -- when you get all of the parts together (and you almost never get all of them until the last minute) -- there's the design and layout. Do you have a good enough cover photo for the feature story or will you have to make do? Will stories or pictures have to be cut to fit? What if you lay out a story with a half-page ad at the end only to be told later that the advertiser changed his mind and wants only a quarter-page ad? Then a proof gets sent out for approval (to the president? who else?) and there are more changes to be made.
With all of the files finalized and preped for imaging, you now deal with the printer -- then the mailer -- then the members wondering why the hell their buddy got the magazine before they did.
I think I got a little carried away. My goal here is to give Rick the credit he deserves. He has consistently put out a superior club magazine and has done it for many years. I sincerely hope that he resigned because he wanted to spend his time differently, and not because he felt unappreciated by the club leadership or members. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to the club -- it's not going to be easy to find a replacement who can meet the standards he set.
Bob Culp
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