President’s Letter

Start spreadin’ the news

by Roy Harris, National President; Senior Editor, CFO

A healthy sense of growth pervades ASBPE these days, in part
because of the new life that members are breathing into chapters
around the country.

Chicago’s National Editorial Conference got lots of editors
thinking about the possibilities for their local organizations.
The best of ASBPE’s award program, its ethics guidance, and its
programming skills were on display there last July. And members
took their experiences home.

Countdown to relaunch

Two of the most exciting post-Chicago developments have been in Dallas-Fort
Worth and in southern California. DFW chapter president Jyme Mariani, managing
editor of BMPro, conducted a “gala relaunch” in late September, getting commitments from a half-dozen fellow editors to help rebuild the local organization
for the benefit of the whole business-to-business community. They were joined by
Paul Heney, ASBPE’s past national president, and a strong proponent of chapter
growth.

“Relaunching a chapter can be harder that starting a new one,” Jyme says. And
she should know, having been a charter board member of the original DFW organization.

But now, things are on track for a resurgent chapter to keep ASBPE’s
very active Houston group company. The incoming DFW president is Tonie Auer,
president of Penguin Media Consultants.

Our Los Angeles members have been without an active chapter for two years.
But that too is about to change. Mary Slepicka, editorial director and associate
publisher of Advanstar’s Dearlernews, has been organizing a board to give southern
California a new start in that challenging, spread-out setting. Gertrude Stein
had it right: There is no there there. But Mary’s plans include creating a “virtual”
connection from the San Fernando Valley south to Orange County, perhaps even
throwing in San Diego in the bargain. Stay tuned. I know I will, with my fondness
for the L.A. scene, where I spent two decades as a newspaper journalist.

Meanwhile, back East

Good things happen when chapters thrive. New York City, one of our great success
stories of recent years, has earned the right to be ASBPE’s center stage next year.
Our chapter president, National Underwriter Life and Health senior editor Warren
Hersch, along with Jan Tuchman, Ginger Conlon, Keat Foong and Jo Fleischer,
will be the “host chapter board” for the 2007 National Editorial Conference. Warren,
Jan and Ginger have already been active in laying the groundwork for an inspirational
— and affordable — conference.

I think we’re in for a great year, from the expanded Azbee competition to the
New York conference. And growth will be its theme.

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