From the President, January 2002
What Do You Want?

During my tenure as newsletter editor I received newsletters from chapters across the country. It’s amazing how much they vary. Some are a single page, some are larger than our own newsletter, some have color pictures, and some are delivered by e-mail or download.

Our own editors have tried to make our newsletter more useful by including technical information, things that we can use in our jobs. Although we have occasionally used “filler” items, we have avoided giving you information that you can get elsewhere. Why repeat “news” from other magazines, or information that you probably already know?

There has been a lot of discussion lately about electronic distribution of newsletters. Some chapters already distribute most of their newsletters either by e-mail, or by e-mail notification that the newsletter is available on the chapter website. The usual reason for such a move is that it significantly reduces the cost of producing a newsletter.

I’m not sure what the current figures are, but when I was editor it cost about $1,500 to produce and mail the newsletter each month, or about $3.00 per copy. Fortunately, our editors have always produced the newsletter at no cost to the chapter, using advertising revenue to cover all expenses.

There are other expenses, though, that are not covered by advertising. Unless you have been the editor, you can’t really understand how much time it takes to put a newsletter together. And the editor isn’t the only one who spends time; those articles don’t write themselves! Obviously, the people who contribute to the newsletter want to do so, and are committed to bringing you something useful each month.

But maybe you don’t really care what the newsletter looks like, or if you get one at all. What would you like it to be? A single page advertising the time and location of the next meeting? Are the technical articles interesting? What do you like about our newsletter? And what do you not like? Maybe you don’t really care what the committees are doing, and maybe you don’t want to know what the president thinks.

Would you prefer to get the newsletter by e-mail? Would you prefer to get it from the chapter website? Should we have more pictures? Should we use color? Take a few minutes to look at this issue, and others if you have them. It’s your newsletter - what do you want?

Who do you want?

CSI elections are coming up in the next few weeks. Members will have the opportunity to elect Institute officers, Institute directors, and chapter officers - a chance to affect how our organization is managed. But, as is the case with elections for government office, most people do not exercise their franchise. Last year we received less than 140 ballots. A few of those were returned due to incorrect mailing address, and several were rejected because they were not properly executed. The election for chapter officers was decided by twenty-five percent of our members.

As the largest chapter, we have an unequalled ability to influence leadership at both region and Institute levels. Unfortunately, our failure to vote prevents us from realizing our potential. There have been many times when a member of our chapter lost an election for region office, and many times a member of our region lost an election for Institute office. Each time, the results indicated that we could easily have won.

I'm not saying you should vote for candidates simply because they are from our area. Election should not be popularity contests - they are the means by which we gain representation on the boards and committees that lead our organization. If you believe that someone from another chapter or region is the best candidate, that should decide your vote. Otherwise, you should have some faith in our nominating committees, who do the best job they can to nominate people qualified for each open position.

The next Institute ballot will also have a proposed amendment to the Institute Bylaws that would combine four member categories - professional, industry, associate, and intermediate - into a single group. This may appear to be a trivial issue, but it does have serious implications. Please weigh the issues and potential results carefully when you make your decision.

Sheldon Wolfe, President
Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter, CSI
swolfe@bwbr.com