Is bigger better?

When it comes to The Herald, and bigger means more pages with more feature articles, reviews and modeling tips, then yes, I hope bigger IS better! I have been tugging at the Great Lakes board for more pages since my first issue in January. Not wanting to be spendthrifts with your money, they have kept me reined in. Now that Great Lakes has finally secured a bulk rate mailing permit, more pages are possible. The credit goes to your Treasurer, Scott Savory. He has taken time (some of it away from his job) to wade through the postal red tape. Thanks, Scott!

Previously, our 24-page digest format magazine barely squeezed within the one ounce, 32-cent stamp first class postage limit. If I'd added pages, the postage rose to 55-cents, costing the chapter more than $40 extra per issue. With bulk mail, it drops to around 26 cents, but the weight limit climbs to more than 3 ounces. Wahoo! For this issue, it means more pages and a heavier paper for the cover.

The next change on the horizon for The Herald will be advertising. Until I got clearance to fill more pages, I resisted this. Why take space away from the member's articles when it is already limited? With that worry gone, I feel it will be proper to use space in the magazine to supplement its production costs. The board will be debating its exact rates, but I'm sure whatever they decide can only improve the financial health of Great Lakes. And as long as I'm editor, though, you don't need to worry about ads "stealing space" from articles. We could double the number of pages and still not approach the weight limits of our bulk rate permit.

One cosmetic change the post office required, though, was the elimination of the Membership Renewal Box from the back cover. I have moved it to the bottom of this column (because you ALL read it, don't you?). So, if you see an "X" here, it is time to send in your renewal.

I hope you are enjoying the artwork on the covers. They are originals created by the commercial art students of Columbus Northeast Career Center. Years ago, I graduated from there, but was not nearly as good an illustrator as these kids are. Just compare their excellent covers to the mediocre line art I create for many of the interior pages! If you are looking for an artist and would like to hire one of them, they can be contacted through me.