From the Editor's Desk

By Gary Nakamura
National Director Communications
  

Here we are after another successful National Convention. Thanks are in order for the great hospitality and times to the St. John’s club. It was a great time indeed.

As Director of Communications and the person responsible for the Progression, questions were asked to me at the convention regarding aspects of the newsletter. I thought I would take this time to further explain some of the questions regarding the Progression.

One of the questions was related to acquiring a hard copy of the Progression and would it be possible to provide them to fellow members if requested?

Cost is the major factor in not providing a hard copy to each member as was done in the past. Printing and mailing costs for the Progression were in excess of $10,000 per year and did not reflect the true cost as part of the printing costs were donated. The publication was being done electronically and the ease of getting this format to the members through e-mail as well as providing it on the web site were also factors in the decision. The Progression is now being provided to each club president and once it is posted on the web site, a link to the publication is provided to each member. If a member desires a hard copy, please contact your president and ask them to print one for you if you are unable to print one yourself. Further, if a club desires professionally printed copies of the Progression, please contact me and I can send the original file that can then be forwarded to a commercial printer.

The Progression is difficult to read on screen. Can it be formatted for ease of reading on screen?

The Progression is designed to be read as a hard copy and thus the format of the newsletter. The Progression posted on the web site is meant to be read on screen and is formatted for that purpose. If a member does not wish to print out the newsletter, they have the option of going to the Progress web site and reading it on line once it has been posted. You do not need to log into MCS to have access to the newsletter on line.

In the past, the Director of Communications has acted as the editor and publisher of the Progression. The task of laying out and publishing the Progression can be daunting and is probably the factor when someone considers running for the position of Director of Communications. As my term is up in 2007, the search is on for a replacement. But wait – a twist – Sharon Ward and myself have volunteered to lay out and publish the newsletter which leaves the Director of Communications as the editor along with their other duties in that position. The editor would be responsible for gathering all of the articles and photos from the clubs, editing and forwarding them to either Sharon or myself. I am also looking for other members who may be familiar with Adobe InDesign and the Creative Suites and who would be interested in assisting with the layout of the Progression. If you are interested or would like further information, please contact me.