Dear JANE members:

We have solved the crisis with the Coventry Cat. For the last four years Harry and Marilyn Parkinson have worked long and hard to make our Cat into the national award-winning newsletter that it is, but it was time for Harry and Marilyn to have a break.

The requirements for publishing the Cat can be divided into several parts, and we have found new volunteers for each as listed below:

Editor in Chief:

Responsible for coordinating all aspects of the Coventry Cat, including planning the content of each issue, securing content from other members as appropriate, overall editorial control, financial management, developing a schedule for each monthly publication, and conveying that schedule to the other members of the editorial team.  This role will be assumed by Dave Pratt who currently is Editor for the monthly newsletter of the Alfa Owners of New England newsletter Velocissima.

Copy Editor:

Works with the Editor in Chief to edit articles and other content for style, spelling, punctuation, etc., to make sure our newsletter is as professionally done as possible.  Prebble Eklof has already volunteered to fill the position, though the responsibilities of the position could be shared among any other volunteers who are interested in this particular function.  This role will be assumed by Prebble Eklof.

Publisher:

This person in this position would be responsible for assembling the various components of the Cat (articles, ads, program schedules, etc.,) into the finished publication.  The Publisher would also be responsible to getting the resulting Cat to our printer and our Webmaster for publication.  Our newsletter is currently composed using Microsoft Publisher, and that software would be provided to our new Publisher.  Harry has generously offered to help train a new Publisher as needed.  Dave Pratt will also assume this responsibility.

Commercial Ad Manager:

The Cat depends on advertising revenue to allow us to have a quality newsletter without undue drain on the club's finances.  The Ad Manager would be responsible for managing our relationships with existing advertisers, seeking new advertisers, securing current ad copy from advertisers, and delivering that ad copy to the Publisher on a timely basis.  Carl Hanson has volunteered for this important task.

Classified Ad Manager:

Classified ads are a free service for JANE members and often a deciding factor attracting new members.  It is also a source of revenue for the Cat when non-members seek to advertise in the Cat (and on the JANE website).  The person in this position would be responsible for maintaining the classified ads, including converting ad copy from advertisers into the proper format, ascertaining on a monthly basis whether each ad is still current, and seeking new classified ad sources.  Carl will also handle classified ads.

Distribution Director:

The person in this position would be responsible for the regular mailing of the Cat, including retrieving issues from the printer, obtaining up-to-date mailing lists from the Membership Chairman, and labeling and mailing the Cat to members still desiring hard copy of the publication.  Note that we will soon be polling JANE members for indications of those who are willing to print their copy of the Cat from the JANE website rather than continue to receive the Cat in hard copy.  This would save the club considerable money and ease the load on the Distribution Director, as well as offer the advantage of color photographs and crisper copy to those Cat readers.  Ed Hall has volunteered for this job and he and Dave Pratt will work out the details.