lidsletter or something...

After several years as an active member of LIDS -- I think I joined in 2013, but I'm not sure -- I am now on the board, as the Newsletter Editor. The official election was last Saturday at the potluck luncheon (and business meeting), but I had been approached about it a while ago.

In some ways, the role should be a natural fit for me -- I enjoy writing, and have often blogged about LIDS meetings. On the other hand, I'm somewhat nervous -- LIDS deserves a good quality job, and I hope I'm up to the task.

It would be easier to step into the role of running the newsletter if there were already an existing, regularly produced newsletter. Then I could just step in, learn the procedures and protocols and adapt to them -- maybe also adapt them if I like. But maybe I can view this as a positive -- I have a chance to build this up the way I envision it. 

Seriously, though, there are a lot of decisions to be made and issues to solve, and I'll be seeking the guidance of LIDS' leaders. And of my daughter.

• Should the newsletter be published on paper and mailed to members? Or created as an electronic file for distribution? I vote for the latter.
• Should the newsletter be published on an ad-hoc basis? Or a set schedule? I prefer a set schedule, but that creates all sorts of challenges.
• What tool will be used for creating it? I hope Sharon can help me there. She has a subscription (which I pay for) to the Adobe suite of programs. Maybe there's a good publishing tool.
• How will we get articles? I'm cynical enough to know that getting members to write enough articles will be a challenge. And what will there be to write about? Each meeting can be an article. And maybe previews of regional and national meetings (and writeups after the fact). Maybe something about the award winning cultivars each year. But it would be great to have more. And I still worry about the possibility that I'll end up being the main writer. We'll see.