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Journey of an Award-Winning Newsletter
By Rick Bradshaw, Signature Editor 2000 to 2002

See Signature Wins Award of Excellence

Joint Effort Pays Off

The newsletter is a joint effort of many people. One person may have the vision, but it takes many more to make that vision happen.

The lifeblood of the newsletter is its authors. Without chapter members willing to write feature articles, the space would be filled by outside authors who know the value of their information.

Without the authors who write columns, we would miss the perspective (and the humor!) of those in our own community.

Without copyeditors, we would not have the continuity within and between issues.

Without proofreaders, we would not catch the errors that can easily slip through. Without an illustrator and photographers, the newsletter would lack depth.

In short, no one person can do it all and have a quality publication. Sometimes it really does take a village to make it work and work well.

Looking Back
Three years ago, the newsletter was an eight-page printed document that members received whenever the post office delivered it. Often, delivery was quite late. Most of the content was taken from other chapter newsletters. It was a good and an award-winning (Merit) newsletter, but it could have been better.

Two years ago, the newsletter was still an eight-page printed document that members received whenever the post office delivered it. It was still often quite late. However, most of the content was locally generated.

We began to charge for ads and earn some money for the chapter to help offset the considerable printing costs.

Last year, the newsletter became an electronic document. Print costs were eliminated. The newsletter became a profit center instead of a cost center. We went from an 8-page to a 12-page-plus document, putting in more information than before. Articles that would have been discarded due to lack of space now were included. We were able to bring in opinions and views from around the world so that our members could have a more global view of their industry.

We added illustrations to give the membership a better picture of who was doing what and how. Some of our articles were reprinted in other newsletters. Our newsletter was passed along by at least one director-sponsor as a model for others to learn from. We became a leader rather than a follower.

Still Moving Forward
In last year’s STC Newsletter Competition, we won the Excellence award by the skin of our teeth. This year, we earned another Excellence award, missing the Distinguished award by less than four points. We’re closer to our goal than ever before!

This next chapter year, with new management, a new format, some new and some old editors, proofreaders, illustrator, and authors, will be onward and upward. If you haven’t yet written for the newsletter, take the challenge and the opportunity to do so. The word volunteer is just another word for opportunity. Grab it if you haven’t already. [See Five Great Reasons to Write for Signature.]

I want to congratulate all those people who participated this year in making the newsletter what it has become. The awards and the comments could not have been received without each and every one of you. Those awards and comments are for everyone that contributed in any way at any time.

Thank you all for a job well done. Thank you for stepping up, being counted, and becoming part of the village.