is this acceptable?

Ted,

Do you mean sending newsletters to Region/Chapter members or to the Publication Committee for the annual newsletter contest?

In regards to Region/Chapter members, there are a number of Region/Chapters I know that send newsetters to its members by email or post it on their Region/Chapter web site . Our Region in an attempt to save money queried the members about having the newsletter and about 12 out of 70 indicated they would be willing or able to accept newsletters electronically.

If you are refering to sending the newsletters to the Publications Committee for the annual contest, the latest info announced at the Annual Meeting in February is that you must still send printed copies to the committee members for review.

The 2008 letter being sent to the editors by the Publication Committee states the following:

"Some of you have asked if your newsletter can be sent to members of the Publications Committee by email. The answer to that question is "no" and this is because committee members receive anywhere from 50 to 150 newsletters each month. To properly read them, it is necessary to print them. As you can guess, that would be extremely expensive for each reviewer. Therefore we require all newsletters to be mailed hard copy."

"However, with the institution of the NAAP we have found a way to reduce your mailing costs. Copies of newsletters are to be mailed to each member of the Publications Committee listed below. You will notice that you only need mail to the three members who have been assigned to your Division within AACA. We still do require an additional courtesy copy be mailed to the AACA President and a mandatory copy to National Headquarters. Even so, if your budget still prohibits newsletter distribution to each of these persons listed below, you can request a waiver of this requirement by writing to the Vice President of Publications. You must request a waiver for the 2008 contest even if your Region or Chapter was granted a waiver for 2007. Your request for a waiver will receive a written response. If a waiver is granted, you are still required to forward one copy to National Headquarters and VP – Publications, Michael J. Jones."

Ted, what Bruce says is true.

His statement about a small majority of his club having the computer e-mail capability is pretty wide spread in the AACA.

He is also correct, in that e-mailed newsletters will not be acceptable for judging purposes. There would be too many e-mailed copies for the judges to have to download and/or print out each month to be judged.

Please make sure your region sends in the Officer's Reporting Form and your Region's Roster too, so you can get your name on the contest list. Upon receipt of those two items, you will receive the judge's address list in the mail. Different regions of the nation have different judges.

Wayne

Hopefully the Regions and Chapters already have their Rosters and ORFs in to National as the deadline was yesterday (March 1).

I just got mine this past Thursday from our secretary, mailed it out Friday. They have been sent in way too late nation wide for some time now. Sorry Hershey girls, Wayne's late again!

Wayne

Wayne,

A few days late probably isn't a big deal and the HQ staff is probably used to it. It's when it gets into the summer months and there are still rosters and ORFs unaccounted for. As a member of the Regions Committee, I have in the past had the duty of making numerous phone calls across the country to remind Regions and Chapters of their obligation. The past couple of years seemed to get better though, and less phone calls were needed.

Bruce, our region was one that got the call last year. Sometimes these letters are received by new regional members and they have no idea what to do with them, as happened in our case.

Earl used to take care of all of those things. We're lost since he went south for the duration!

Wayne

Wayne,

A suggestion I would make for members new to serving as club officers is to review the AACA Policy & Procedure Manual. It contains information on the operation of Regions and Chapters, including what must be done with the Roster and ORFs. The Region/Chapter president should get one each year. If a copy wasn't received, the latest version of the Policy and Procedure Manual is available online at http://www.aaca.org/publications/pp/2008_AACA_Policy_Procedure_Manual.pdf

Another avenue for information on Region/Chapter matters is to contact the AACA Development and Support Chairman for your area. They are always glad to attend a Region/Chapter meeting and can answer questions, provide information, and help Regions/Chapters resolve problems. Neil Sugarmeyer was the Chairman-Development and Support in Virginia for 2007 but I am not sure who is serving that position for 2008 (it may still be Neil).

Also consider the Region/Chapter Officer training seminar held at the Annual Meeting and other selected National Meets for members becoming club officers for the first time. The seminar covers pretty much just the basics but is helpful for new officers. At our meeting in Philly this year, we talked about the possibility of having "advanced" officer training seminars in the future.

Hope this helps.

Good idea, Bruce!

Yes, Neil still is.

And, now to actually get some Northern Neck Region members interested in going to Philly.

"Is that somewhere near Fredericksburg??"
"Do we need a suitcase?"
"No, my microwave packing box works just fine!"

Actually, we had one new attendee this year with Mike and I, and he said he will go again next year. So, we're getting there.

Wayne

I am the editor for Ted Sweet's news letter. I think he was wondering about it being sent to members. I have a dial-up net work so it takes for ever to send any thing that big. I have tryed to send it to a member for her to proof read and we both gave up. I take it to her husband's work he gives it to her to read when he gets home. I don't know how it get it to send faster. I was sending one page at a time.

Wayne I was ahead of you I sent my roster in on the 25th of Feb!!! My newsletter registration goes out today!
Deby

We're all proud of you Debby!

At least you sent it.

Last year, everyone in our region waited for everyone else to do something. Naturally, it ended up late.

Judy Edwards and I have been sending newsletters back and forth like that. She's on dailup. I'm not sure, but I suspect that once she "sets the wheels in motion", she goes off doing something else. Even on DSL, it takes a while for a PDF newsletter to download....1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
But the quality is excellent!

Wayne

Debby,

A couple of quick questions.

1. What software package do you use to generate the newsletter - Publisher, Word, Page Maker, etc?

2. When you send the files, are you sending the newsletter in its original format or are you sending a pdf (Adobe) file?

I have recently taken on another Region editorship - the Buzzard's Breath Touring Region - with Fran Shore as my co-editor. With this Region, it is basically being sent electronically. We only mail 20 hard copies and 100 electronically. I am currently working on our 3rd issue and have managed to keep the file size down to 574 kb for a 20-page newsletter. It does have 12 pictures and numerous clip art images. If you are going to send an electronic newsletter, you do have to approach the design of it differently than if it was a hard copy.

I use Serif Page Plus that the club had before. I make it as small as possible but I think because of all the pictures and the clip arts it takes for ever. I am out in the boonies to far for DSL which I have been trying for the last two years to get. It's 1/2 mile from us now. I even tried the dish but no luck there eather. I am stuck with dial-up.
Deby

Debby, what happened with Dish?

Hughes Net is getting big around here!
Wayne

Debby,

I am not familiar with that software package but I am downloading a copy now. You can't complain about the price. The basic package was free to download and an upgrade is only $9.99.

What version do you use? I noticed that in the upgraded version that is offers an pdf export feature. If you are going to send the files electronically, pdf format is a must as it has a built file compression. My file sizes are reduced from about 3 mg to 550kb. This is quite a savings on dial-up, which I am also on.

Where did you find down loads? I have a really old one from Ron from at least 2002 and I have never updated it. I did not know it had one. Maybe if I did that it would work.

I have Dish Network and I had the guy come here to see if they could do some thing over the dish while he was fixing another problem. With out geting all programs I can't do any thing and with our hills here I can't get everything any way. So the dish is out.

Debby,

Here id the link I found:

PagePlus by Serif

I got the file half downloaded and then I got dumped. Oh the joys of dial-up. I will try again later.

Funny!
I got dumped right away!
I am trying later.
Thank you Judy for the link!
Deby

Debby,

If you are going to upgrade, you might want to think about going to something more mainstream. That way if you have questions more people might be able to help. Page plus is pretty obscure.

I was thinking about it.
Right now will not be good as we have the twins baptism (party at my house for 50) and my parents are having health issues. So I would have to wait a while so I have to to get used to the program and have time to work with it. I think I will try the down load and see if that would help for now any way.

What program do you use?
Thanks
Deby

Debby,

What software package you use is a matter of personal taste. I personally use Microsoft Publisher and have for over 10 years. I have used it since the 1st version came out. I use it for all my Region's stuff - newsletters, membership cards, etc.

If you don't want to buy the most current version until you know you will like it, try Ebay. The older versions are still as good as the newest. They just might not have all the bells and whistles. I just checked and they are selling any where from 99 cents to almost $100 depending on what version you are using. Just make sure that you are buying an unopened package so that the warranty will still be in effect. It comes complete with some clip art, fonts, and lots of pre-made templates for newsletter, brochures, greeting cards, business cards, etc.

If you are familiar with any of the Microsoft products you won't have any trouble. Of course, the forum is always open for questions and answers.

I met the monthly mailings to region members.

and yes, the key is to send word processing documents as pdf files.

If any of you need a way to convert your newsletter to PDF, I can burn a copy of my PDF Creator onto a disc & mail it to you. Pretty simple to use.

Not advisable...Trademark Infringement!

Wayne