A Change is Gonna Come
By Brian Pitman, June 2012
I trust this issue of The Carnival Pump finds you planning a fantastic summer (including the fantastic ICGA convention next month) and ready for some fun, some glass and some warmth with friends and family. I can tell you that the ICGA Board of Directors is also busy this summer, finishing up the preparations for the convention and planning the convention for next year. But on top of that, we have one more thing we are working on for all of you.
The Carnival Pump is the best newsletter in America when it comes to carnival glass newsletters. Each year, we receive tons of letters and calls complimenting us on having the benchmark in carnival glass publications, and those are greatly appreciated (not to mention reminders of how a newsletter should educate, inform, provide a format that is easy to read, and provides a sense of elegance). The guiding force behind The Carnival Pump’s success over the last several years has been our editor, Carl Booker. Carl puts dozens and dozens of hours into each issue, covering everything from writing and editing stories from others, picking the right photos to accompany each article, sending highly annoying reminders to the President that his article is three weeks late, getting the layout nailed down, traveling to pick up the final printed version of The Carnival Pump, stuffing them all into envelopes, and putting them in the mail to those of you who receive them that way.
After nearly two decades as editor (for the second time, mind you), Carl has decided he would rather read The Carnival Pump the same way that all of you do: when it arrives in the mail. While I personally wish we could chain him to a desk and make him do it for another two decades (at least), he has more than earned a chance to enjoy his retirement by not working a bunch of hours for ICGA. He will always have my personal gratitude (and amazement), and he has been one of the primary treasures of the organization in its history. And in 20 years, when he is ready to be editor again, the job is totally his.
So with Carl stepping aside, I return to my President’s message of December last year when I said The Carnival Pump is going to change. There are a lot of changes coming. First of all, Barb Chamberlain will be switching hats from Treasurer of the organization to its new Pump Editor. Barb has been creating and designing some sections of The Carnival Pump for awhile now, and she is ready to step it up and do the entire newsletter. Furthermore, a team of us (including Carl) are currently redesigning The Carnival Pump to freshen up its layout while adhering to rules number one and two: the design must be easy to read and have a real sense of elegance. You will see at least part of that new layout in the September issue.
And finally, The Carnival Pump will be in full color. All of it. I am very excited in bringing this advancement to the newsletter, and we have all seen examples of full color newsletters that haven’t lived up to the standards we hold dear here at ICGA. Our ambitious goal is to show you how color newsletters should be done.
And so, a change is gonna come. Until then, we hope to see you at the ICGA convention next month (the information and registration form are in this issue for you to use), and come give Carl your personal thanks for giving us the best newsletter in America these past several years.
Brian