AMHR Journal

[Lewella]

We appreciate your patience as we (The Journal Committee & The Journal Staff) work diligently to catch up and produce a product that we can all be proud of!

For the record The Journal COMMITTEE had opted to pull all time sensitive ads and issue refunds for those ads well before the board had any discussion on the issue.

Just an FYI also - The Journal is not a magazine per se - it is the official NEWSLETTER of the ASPC/AMHR/ASPR. As such there will be times when official information will effect the production schedule.

As for getting AMHR Nationals info after AMHA World show info - the AMHA's magazine production schedule is different than The Journal's (and the number of results printed is signficantly smaller). The AMHR Nationals issue of The Journal is the December/January issue. The Journal's scheduled mailing date is the 15th BUSINESS day of the first of the two months it covers. Therefore, the December/January issue is expected to mail right before Christmas. As it mails periodicals and this is a heavy time of year for first class mailings, you should never expect the December/January issue to arrive until the first week in January at the earliest. When it arrives the first/second week in January it is still ON TIME for The Journal's production schedule.

The WEG delay timeline:

1. March Board meeting - board voted to print 5000 extra Journals to be handed out at WEG.

2. Mid April - The Journal ran proposed ad rates for said extra print run past the office and was told to hold off as there would be a meeting between Marketing and WEG end of April. Were a extra print run of The Journal to be feasible it had to be promoted in the April/May issue.

3. Mid/Late April - The Journal Committee Chair contacted the President and was told run the information pertaining to the extra print run as the board had voted to do the extra print run for WEG.

4. Second Week in May - The Journal finally received notification of the results of the meeting end of April between WEG and Marketing and found out that we would be unable to hand out copies of The Journal at WEG. April/May printing was stopped and all information pertaining to the extra print run of 5000 issues of The Journal had to be removed.

5. Beginning of June - The Journal once again set to be printed with time sensitive ads pulled and extra print run references removed. The Board voted to opt out of participation in WEG. Needless to say this in turn has a snowball effect on production as once again references to the event had to be pulled as well as time sensitive ads and some columns with time sensitive information edited.

The Journal is once again (3rd time now) at M&D Printing being processed. We are extremely lucky to have a printer like M&D who bends over backwards to accommodate us and does not charge us if printing has to be stopped and rescheduled.

During all this production of the June/July issue of the Journal continued. The August/September issue is projected to mail on time.

As for someone's comment about just including a page that says something like disregard this, this, this that is not feasible with how the printer processes The Journal. The Journal goes in in 16 page signatures so any changes to any one page in turn can effect the other 15 pages in that signature. Unfortunately there was WEG information in nearly every signature of the April/May issue. An insert would not have been feasible given how The Journal is mechanically processed for mailing. Combining April/May with June/July would have resulted in further delays as throughout the April/May delay June/July production continued.

As Belinda touched on, The Journal has been understaffed for nearly 3 years. Yes, there was an assistant in the office but the assistant that left 3 years ago who handled much of the day to day administrative work (interaction with advertisers, proofing, billing, filing, photo/cd returns, getting information from the office in a format usable by The Journal, etc.) was not allowed to adequately train her replacement and the subsequent two assistants received no training from the original Journal assistant. The board in March voted to allow The Journal to hire extra staff at The Journal's office in DeKalb. We now have an assistant in DeKalb in place who has print, office management and bookkeeping experience and is now doing much of the administrative work that the editor has been doing for the past three years. The latest assistant in the office has taken an active interest in The Journal also and just last week spent two days in DeKalb receiving training. For the first time in three years we feel we have the staff to get everything done in a timely manner!

Once again, The Journal Staff and The Journal Committee would like to thank you for your patience and understanding.

Lewella Tembreull

Director Area VI & member of The Journal Committee

 

[LaVern]

Holy Mackeral Andy! I hope Amy gets a raise for putting up with all this, what a night mare. Thanks, Lewella

 

[kaykay]

Thank you so much Lewella for giving the whole story of what happened. This is directly in line with what I was told by another director. I had posted that in the short version on the previous Journal thread (and this thread)but its seems no one wanted to believe that pulling out of WEG could have such an impact on 2 issues of the Journal.

I think that the editor has done an amazing job given what she has to deal with and the lack of help and support she has received for the last few years.

Kay

 

[Songcatcher]

You know, I'm honestly not sure how a late magazine means that the registry is not as good as some other similar registry? I'm not even sure how a late magazine makes a registry's complete organization "a mess"! For me, a late magazine does not make the registry inferior in any way. If the only thing that makes a registry or organization superior is the newsletter or magazine that it produces, IMO that doesn't say much for the registry/organization.

I too thank Belinda for coming on here & giving that info. It is good to know that the BOD is on the magazine problem and trying to get it resolved.

Minimor, I want to first say that I have read your posts for several years and I have always had great respect for what you have to say. BUT, in THIS case, you are totally mis-interpreting what I said. I did NOT say the "complete" organization was a mess, but obviously part of it is at this time. NOWHERE did I say that the only thing that makes a registry or organization superior to an organization is their newsletter or magazine, but it certainly is PART of it. I have tried to point out that BOTH organizations have their good and bad points and that I support BOTH. I don't appreciate the twisting of my comments. I believe my voice has been the most impartial of any on here. :arg!

 

[Songcatcher]

Wow that is a pretty strong statement.. You don't see some of the disfunctions of AMHA being aired here , and both have their demons believe me .. It does no good for either Assoc to bash one over the other .. There is more than enough room for both Assoc. and each one has their good points and plenty of them.

We as Directors for AMHR/ASPC are concerned and we have had a meeting about the late issues , and the Editor has assured us we will be back on track by the Aug issue , and yes we know if not then we will need to take further measures .. But at this time more help has been hired , and we can just hope that we have fixed the problem.

Again as Area V Director I am sorry to those who had ads in the April /May issue and I was one of them, we will refund the money for those advertisers who had time sensitive ads, such as sales , shows etc.. Believe me you will not be charged for those . I hope we can just go forward from here and have the Journal in our mailboxes in a timely manner .

And for any of the other Directors who lurk on here , I welcome you to put your two cents in also., Silence is not always golden !!!!!

Belinda Bagby

Cross Country Farm

Belinda, if you really believe the part I have highlighted in red, you don't read much on LB. The part I have highlighted in green, I agree with wholeheartedly.

Thanks to you and Lewellen for coming on and explaining the situation.

 

[JWC sr.]

You know when I see this type posting going on sometimes I just sit and shake my head. This type of complaining really get nothing done or solved. I hope it make folks feel better to get things off their chests as that is the only positive thing that can happen for the back and forth stuff being said and exchanged.

I for one have the following to say about it, which I guess doesn't make my point of view anymore valid than some of the other stuff,. But that is OK with me!

1. Lewella and Belinda thanks for being folks with direct knowledge & be that are willing to speak up and give the whole story on any issue that comes up. I really appreciate the candid and appropriate information.

2. AMHR directors have openly identified the problem, ask the office for help in correcting the problem and are prepared to make changes if need be after the office is given a chance to rectify the problems. That is what I voted for in the directors election and it seems to me both the staff and the directors are attemping to do the job WE hired them to do!

3. Stuff happens and getting a mag. late is not the end of the world. But I still hope the problem can get corrected and I am sure it will be one way or the other.

My dad taught me that if a person is not doing anything they will never make a mistake or have a problem. It seems these officials/folks are all doing a lot with a minimum of staff and I think as busy folks they need to be given the chance without all of us getting in the way to make the changes to correct the temporary problems they are having!

 

[tagalong]

Belinda, if you really believe the part I have highlighted in red, you don't read much on LB.

I agree with that ^.

AMHA has often been dragged through the mud and skewered on this forum while AMHR got a pass for the most part - even on items that AMHA was trashed for - like directors making decisions, the membership not getting to vote on everything etc.

Lavern - I have to say I much prefer the printing quality, colours and paper stock in the MHW to the Journal... I was in graphic arts for many years and to me there is a lot of diiference between the two - YMMV of course.

Even NEWSLETTERS need to meet deadlines.... and if the things keep getting muddied up for the editor and deadlines continue to slip by - then the Journal is not doing its job as a magazine, a newsletter or an advertising aid to members.

 

[Belinda]

Well I have tried to reply twice and now I give up as this dumb computer keeps knocking me off. All I would like to say in answer to Kay is I meant everything I said, No I do not feel I was out of line nor did I cross the line, And yes I feel very much that all the Directors were concerned , Not sure why you would question that ???

No one is making a whipping post out anyone ,But ASPC/AMHR IS A BUSINESS , AND BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AND SHOULD BE RUN AS SUCH..!!!!!!

and to songcatcher , I will retract that part of my statement you highlighted , as You are right both Assoc, have taken some pretty good spankings on these boards, and you were also right about me not coming to this forum very much, And this is a great example of why , everytime I post in Hot Topic , I end up having to come back on here and defend my statements, And NO SONGCATCER THAT IS NOT AIMED AT YOU .. <<<lol>>>

 

[LaVern]

It may not get anything solved, but I think that being informed is a good thing. What is wrong with asking questions. And personal preferences are okay, I think. Some like the World, some the Journal, and some like Good Housekeeping (not me).

 

[muffntuf]

If it (meaning the April/May) issue has not yet gone to print I wonder if they can combine it with the next one? Otherwise how can they ever catch up? Our June/July issue should be going out now this would put the Nationals issue out in Feb or March sometime if it doesnt get caught up

Maybe combining 2 issues would be less stressful for Journal staff as well?

we have critical Congress ads that need to go out, so combing with the June/July Journal would be bad. Lots of ads for youth stuff, etc.

 

[kaykay]

Posted Yesterday, 11:00 PMWell I have tried to reply twice and now I give up as this dumb computer keeps knocking me off. All I would like to say in answer to Kay is I meant everything I said, No I do not feel I was out of line nor did I cross the line, And yes I feel very much that all the Directors were concerned , Not sure why you would question that ???

I agree that directors are concerned about the Journal being late. What I take issue with is you never saying WHY the Journal is late and implying that "further steps will be taken" which comes off sounding like a threat to the editors job. Your entire post makes it sound like you agree with all the previous posts that the blame lays solely on the editor. None of the directors I have spoken with agree with that.

I posted several times on this thread and the previous thread that the issues were late due to pulling out of WEG but lisa and others kept saying that couldnt be right. And by you posting what you posted it made it sound like it was the editors fault and had nothing to do with WEG.

No one is making a whipping post out anyone ,But ASPC/AMHR IS A BUSINESS , AND BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AND SHOULD BE RUN AS SUCH..!!!!!!

I totally agree and have said that for years. So as a business another person should have been hired years ago. I have always said that it was crazy not to have a back up and/or assistant for the editor. I cant even imagine only having one person responsible for an entire magazine with no help.

And as a business we should have known all the facts about entering WEG since it has been in the planning for 2 years! There should have been no surprises just a couple months from going there and then no need to pull out at the last minute and throw away thousands of dollars. Not to mention all the members that had planned to go and represent ASPC/AMHR and what they went thru getting their horses ready. I wonder who is taking responsibility for that? In a nutshell poor planning and poor decision making. So ironic to me that people are so upset with the Journal being late but no one cares about all this money thrown out the window for nothing. Last I heard it was around $20,000.00. That could have been used to create more ammy and youth incentives! Youth and royalty are always trying to find money and yet we throw this away and dont even blink an eye.

To those wanting to submit resumes for the editors job-you may want to re think that after this thread. And you might want to apologize to Amy.

 

[~Lisa~]

we have critical Congress ads that need to go out, so combing with the June/July Journal would be bad. Lots of ads for youth stuff, etc.

Ummm not as bad as getting that issue AFTER congress LOL

 

[~Lisa~]

W

During all this production of the June/July issue of the Journal continued. The August/September issue is projected to mail on time.

Lewella does this mean that our June July issue which as been continued to be prepared will be mailed out now ? If it has been worked on during this delay and wait for the April/May issue?

Heck I guess I should expect to see my June/July issue in the next few days then ???? Has it already gone to print?

Kay I am not saying anything against Amy- not sure why you keep making this a personal attack on Amy.? I am still not convinced the WEG is the only reason we are behind seeing as we started out the year behind in fact even prior to the year starting. Not a dig at Amy- we changed the schedule once perhaps it needs to be changed again to better fit the delay in info that seems to be happening every issue?

 

[Minimor]

Well, Kay, with all due respect it is rather difficult to believe that one decisions--namely pulling out of WEG--could possibly make a magazine issue so late, particularly when that issue should have been out before the decision to pull out was even made. Without Lewella's detailed explanation that reason really made little sense, so it's no surprise that people would express doubts.

As for blaming Amy--it's always been hard to know who to blame. Some imply it was the fault of the editor, others insist that it isn't, it's the fault of the office...yet if you talk to the right person at the office they will tell you that it't not the office's fault because their reports & such were all sent to the editor on time, yet they don't say who is to blame if not the office. Until now the Directors haven't said much of anything, in fact in the past it has seemed that some directors were defending the editor without just cause. More than once it's seemed to me that what they were saying in a roundabout way was that whoever is to blame, don't blame the editor because she is who she is & we won't criticize her. I have no idea and quite frankly--as I've said before--I don't really care because the Journal just isn't that big of a deal to me. I've just wondered different times what the problem really is, and if the BOD really cares that there is a problem and what, if anything, is being done about it. Perhaps the BOD really does care, it's just hard for us to know that when they don't say anything about it and they don't give any explanation and won't say anything about what is being done to fix it.

Honestly, Belinda's post wasn't necessarily a slam against the editor----I guess it's whatever anyone wants to read into it--it's only a slam against the editor if you believe the editor is to blame & so you read that into Belinda's words! It's just as easily a reference to the BOD and the decisions that led to the Journal having to be pulled out of production 3 times...and decisions the BOD will have to make if the problems aren't resolved so that the editor and her crew can get the magazine back on track by the Aug. issue--in that context it is nothing at all against the editor!!

I do appreciate Lewella taking the time to post all of that so that we have a complete description of what's been happening with the magazine printing and why it is so late due to WEG.

While I agree that WEG should never have been in the works in the first place, I don't have any problem with the fact that the registry cancelled out of it at this late date. There comes a point where it is better to pull out of something rather than to continue to throw good money after bad.

And I guess when it comes to wasting money on promotional activities, I guess that there will never be complete agreement on where money should be spent. Some wanted it spent on WEG, Kay wants it spent on youth and ammy...for my part I would put it into supporting new shows in general....shows where there currently aren't any shows, or exiting shows that offer all divisions instead of just AMHR in areas where it has always been AMHR only...there are many who have no interest in youth or ammy and don't want to see large amounts of money channeled into those divisions when there are other places that money could be used.

From what I've heard, those who were planning to take horses to WEG to represent ASPC/AMHR will still get reimbursed for their vet expenses, so won't be out of pocket on WEG. That is something at least.

 

[~Lisa~]

Holly I agree with everything you said about pulling out of the WEG and where I believe promotion money should go. Well said!

:yeah

 

[kaykay]

Lisa I never said that YOU made a personal attack on Amy. But you did repeatedly say that WEG couldnt be the reason for the Journal being late.

This is just one example of what goes on that none of us see making the Journal late. There have now been 2 threads devoted to this and many have attacked the editor. I will always speak up for what I believe in even if its not popular. And I would venture a guess and say that all of you posting would be pretty upset if this was your job and livelihood we were discussing on a public forum.

I only used the youth and ammy programs as an example because those are 2 areas really hurting for money. To me youth and ammy are the backbone of the association. I dont even show ammy anymore but do realize how important they are. I really dont care what you spend it on as long as its not thrown away. Im not even saying the decision to pull out was a bad one. The bad decisions were a year ago or two years ago when we didnt know the full extent of being in WEG.

Anyway this is my last post as theres no reason to beat the issue to death.

 

[Lewella]

Lewella does this mean that our June July issue which as been continued to be prepared will be mailed out now ? If it has been worked on during this delay and wait for the April/May issue?

Heck I guess I should expect to see my June/July issue in the next few days then ???? Has it already gone to print?

April/May is printing in June/July's alloted slot and the next opening will not be for a couple of weeks. Our printing company is great and bends over backwards for us but they do have other customers as well. Understand also that there can be in plant delays when we are fit in as The Journal goes thru several different sets of machinery and each set of machinery has its own schedule that we will need to be fit in to.

 

[SweetOpal]

Just an FYI also - The Journal is not a magazine per se - it is the official NEWSLETTER of the ASPC/AMHR/ASPR. As such there will be times when official information will effect the production schedule.

Lewella Tembreull

Director Area VI & member of The Journal Committee

If it is only a Newsletter per se that only pertains to official information, then why do all of us fools spend money to advertise to be in it?? Its great that you are refunding the money to people that had advertised for shows and what not, but that didn't help promote our shows....The clubs and individuals were diligent on getting thier materials turned in so that they could advertise and promote thier shows by means of our NEWSLETTER.....refund is only half of the problem...we lost alot of promotion of the shows by not being in the official NEWSLETTER.

 

[~Lisa~]

April/May is printing in June/July's alloted slot and the next opening will not be for a couple of weeks. Our printing company is great and bends over backwards for us but they do have other customers as well. Understand also that there can be in plant delays when we are fit in as The Journal goes thru several different sets of machinery and each set of machinery has its own schedule that we will need to be fit in to.

Oh I see so then did they add all the related Congress news Trace was worried about into the April issue?

Kay.. while I understand your point most of stand up what we believe in popular or not... the issue is in a large group many will believe in different things and see things differently

 

[muffntuf]

So I am now very confused - I had an ad go in for the Youth Roving Reporter for Congress - when is that going out or is it now?

And my Congress Ad - is it going to be out before or after Congress?

And guys I hate to say it, but there are always late ads going into Amy, many of us, me included, directors, membership, are all guilty of that. Amy has always been wonderful about accommodating stuff. She works hard and puts in lots of hours a week. I don't envy this job to her. I am glad they hired someone to help, I think we will see a big difference in the near future.