I attended Wayne Burgess' Publications Seminar at the Annual Meeting and it was extremely well done. Judy Edwards and Terry Bond had seperate but very insightful presentations for Newsletter Editors, and it was nice having West Peterson present, who gave some "inside information" as to what the judges pay attention to. Thanks Wayne!

No problem. Glad you could come, but I wished you had introduced yourself. Us DFers have to promote our hobby. BTW,I was very nervous myself as a first timer that day.

We still have a lot more information to get out for the future. Photo editing is a hobby of mine, so I'd like to address that in a small way next year.

I gave out questionaires which needed to be compiled and answered. I plan to post the commentary here, so everyone can learn from the experience. It will contain answers from Judy Edwards, myself, and probably Earl Beauchamp......independantly, of course. It should be fun to see what the various answers will be.

I've also gotten AACA approval for another quite large project for next year, that will really prove to be interesting. Stay tuned for the news next year.

Wayne

Glad you enjoyed the seminar. It is always a challenge to come up with good programs. Wayne, did an excellent job as moderator (although his check hasn't cleared the bank yet).

Seriously, please let Wayne or someone at National know what you would like see in next year's seminar. It is a difficult job to come up with topics that will appeal to everyone. Editors, both print and web, are a diverse group each with different levels of skills and abilities. If there is an area that you would like presented, please let us know. After all, the whole idea behind the seminars is to share knowledge.

Judy, Sorry, I had to add a couple words that disappeared. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> But, you're right. We need to hear from members who have questions or problems. Give me a few more days and I'll show what we have so far in that area.

Wayne

Everyone did a great job on this Seminar that Wayne Burgess put together. It was a treat to find new and spirited leadership for the Seminar. This is one of the things that attendees ask for in all of the Seminars. Thanks to all of the folks who worked this Seminar. Earl Beauchamp, VP Publications

Not a problem. Thanks for catching any mistakes. I admit I do not do my best typing with a fever of 101.2.

A couple of suggestions for next year -

1. There is never enough time time to answer questions. I think it would be interesting to have a panel of several editors to answer any questions. Each panelist I am sure would offer a different prospective on the topic.

2. I would like to see a more in depth discussion of copyrights - not only what is copyrighted, but how to obtain permissions, and resources that are available that avoid the copyright issue.

Just a few thoughts I had!

I'm finally back in Florida, and beginning to catch up a little bit. First I'd like to say how much I appreciate the wonderful job done on the Newsletter Seminar by Wayne Burgess, Judy Edwards, West Peterson and Terry Bond. Early in the year I asked Wayne to organize the Seminar, and he did an admirable job. The speakers were terrific and provided a lot of valuable information to those in attendance.

Some of you have asked more recently what my Committee is looking for in Region and Chapter newsletters. If you are one of those people, the very best answer I can give you is to go here on the AACA website to the section where the RUMMAGE BOX is. Look at the Spring, 2005 Rummage Box and read my article.

I am more interested in content more than anything else, followed closely by the name of the Region or Chapter on the cover, the AACA logo, a Region or Chapter logo if one is available, both on the cover. The President and Editor's name, address, phone number (with area code) in a prominent place in the newsletter and hopefully other officers as well. Also the Editor's and President's email address at the same location, if they have one. Of course there needs to be a listing of upcoming activities, and I like to see National activities included. It always scores with me when I see Rummage Box articles reprinted and reports on local or national events that members have attended. Most important of all, I like to see at least one ten-minute story about member's cars or experiences. That item ranks high in our scoring. Quality of print and photos is considered. However, where photos dominate without copy to support them, that is a minus and if they do not have captions that is a minus.

Read my article in the Rummage Box and then get back to me with any questions. I think it covered all of the bases. But one more thing I learned this past year....it is very confusing to receive newsletters that are not stapled together, or do not have a center fold. The loose pages get all out of order and mixed into the pile of newsletters being graded. So, humor me, and staple at least the one you send to me if you normally produced several pages and mail them a loose in an envelope I'm getting old. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Earl Beauchamp, Jr., Vice President - Publications

Great points Earl. I always got a lot from exchanging newsletters also, and the samples Wayne brought along to Philly went quickly. It is amazing how important newsletters (and of course websites) have become as a recruiting tool. We've always printed extras to hand out at our fall car show to prospective members but the point you make about having contact info is critical. New members or prospective members want to be able to join the fun and a newsletter/website should have enough info (including who to call) to enable them to participate. Its often assumed that everyone knows how the club is run but thats not always the case. Even some of us old timers occasionally need to double check in the newsletter to verify the starting time, where to go, what to wear, etc.

I enjoyed helping with the Seminar and congrats to all involved.
Terry

I resemble that remark Terry <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Not long ago we got up on Sunday for a club breakfast and found out it was yesterday (Saturday) <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> On a more serious note, times and directions and dates in big print, in a box located prominently in the newsletter will increase attendance.