Gerald Barnett - East Berkshire Group
Group newsletters are an essential means of communicating with members. Glossy magazines produced centrally can promote national issues, but don't tell you what is happening where you live. Group newsletters explain the challenges and celebrate the achievements of the Ramblers on a local level.
Our Group publishes an 8 - 11 page newsletter, together with a separate Walks Programme, every four months, in April, August and December. My role as Newsletter Editor is to request contributions from relevant members of the Committee and the membership, write some articles myself and consolidate all contributions into the final edition.
The primary purpose of the newsletter is to provide members with up-to-date information on Group activities and important issues. Most importantly, it gives our Footpath Secretary a medium for bringing rights of way issues to the attention of members, which is really important if we are to engage their support. It ensures that the membership has a clear understanding of how the Group is working to achieve RA objectives.
Across a year I aim to include the following regular features:
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A welcome to new members
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A full report on the AGM, including the Financial Report
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Updates on local footpath issues and campaigns
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A call to members to recruit friends, neighbours and relations to the RA
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Promotion of Group Weekend Breaks with booking forms
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A write-up of the latest holidays with photographs
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Information on long distance walks, coach trips and social events
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Publicity activity - new publications and attendance at shows
My aim is to provide our members with a very readable, well-presented A4-sized colour newsletter that is visually attractive, utilising photographs and clip art. To reduce costs I have managed to persuade some local equipment stockists, a map publisher and Ramblers Holidays to pay for advertisements.
For speed and ease of editing I encourage contributors to send me their items by email wherever possible. The newsletter is produced in Word, so I have a basic format set up which I download articles into, type in others sent to me in hard copy and write articles in myself. Most are typed in 10-point type with headings in 12-point and the strap-line in 11-point italics. I use mainly single column layout but break up the monotony on some pages by using two uneven columns at the bottom third or quarter of the page. Advertisements are on alternate pages.
The front page has the main feature of the issue (usually an update of the latest key rights of way issue and a welcome to new members) all under a standard format banner (clip art, name of the Group, RA logo, registered charity number and RA mission statement). At the end of the Newsletter is a standard disclaimer explaining that I reserve the right to accept, reject and edit items. I sometimes have to edit items to give clarity or reduce length, but not often. I send a reminder to contributors in the month before the issue and give an absolute deadline for contributions.
I taught myself to type (two-fingered!) and use a PC when I retired in 1993. I usually work on the newsletter for 3 to 4 days every four months. I enjoy being creative and communicating my love of walking to our members and the newsletter is one medium to do this. I have developed the format and presentation over the years, the latest improvement being greater use of colour and more photographs. The newsletter is not cheap to produce, but the advertisements help, as well as a small profit from Group Weekend Breaks and social activities. But we accept that a newsletter like ours is a very justifiable expense.
