It’s a new day dawning for BWNA. Not only do we have a new president, but of the 14 members currently serving on the Board of Directors, all but three were initially elected this year or last. The newsletter staff is following suit. Reporter Mark Mohammadpour came aboard earlier this year, President John Sandie has assumed additional reporting and writing as well as distribution duties. And most significantly, graphic designer Deb Schwing has passed the torch to Amy Gwilliam for layout. Deb’s departure and Amy’s arrival represent a major transition for the B-W newsletter and are deserving of special note.
But first some background on the role of a newsletter graphic designer. Here’s the way it works: articles and ads are submitted to me for editing, then forwarded to the graphic designer for placement in the newsletter. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot more to the layout than just cutting and pasting. In actuality, it’s a painstakingly creative task, with myriad details to navigate. Once completed, the preliminary draft is sent back to reporters and copy editor for further polishing, then back to the graphic designer for final revisions and to press.
Over the past five years, Deb Schwing has approached her work on the newsletter as a labor of love for the neighborhood. The abundance of compliments we’ve received from residents over those years about the look and feel of the Newsletter are a tribute to Deb’s prowess and dedication. Moreover, she’s been a terrific person to work with—dependable, affable, cool under fire, etc. It was a shock to see her go, but to quote the biblical passage and folk song lyric, “Turn, turn, turn…”
Finding a willing and competent replacement for Deb seemed like mission impossible. But out of the blue stepped Amy Gwilliam to save the day! Call it fate, call it luck, Amy was exactly what the newsletter doctor ordered—a designer who has tons of experience working on newsletters for nonprofits. When asked by Board member Barb Strunk if she would be interested in serving the BWNA neighborhood in this capacity, Amy’s answer without hesitation was, “Sure!”
Deb and the rest of the staff have collaborated closely with Amy on the layout for this issue, and we hope you enjoy it. Nice debut, Amy!