Thank you for all the interest in this topic. I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight....
The Journal is the "newsletter" of the ASPC/AMHR. Often, the magazine staff must wait for items to come from the association or to come in from a major event being featured in order to complete the work of an issue. As a result of this and because we are just as concerned about "missing" a schedule or disappointing our readers as our subscribers are themselves, a change to the entire production & mailing schedule was accepted by the ASPC/AMHR's national board more than 2 years ago ... at convention 2006. This change recognized the time it takes for the staff to do the work and the realities of the production and printing work. That change was promoted in the magazine for nearly a year. Then, starting w/ the Oct/Nov '07 book, the "name" of each issue changed and issues began mailing at a later time in the two-month period. Since the new schedule took effect, some books have mailed "early" while most others have mailed on time or without any type of major delay .... EXCEPT for the Dec '08/Jan '09 book. (Of course, when an issue is finished and mailed in no way guarantees how any particular book moves through the mail ... especially the regular subscriptions that go via periodicals postage.)
Regarding the Dec/Jan book ...
The Dec '08/Jan '09 issue of The Journal was delayed due to legal matters relating to the results from the 2008 AMHR National Show. These decisions were out of the control of magazine staff. Several sections, ads, and designed pages had to be redone several times as a result of the handling of these matters. The delays caused the issue to miss our original and then rescheduled press dates.... although our loyal printing facility worked deligently to slip us in despite being heavily booked. This issue should start hitting mail boxes very soon.
I would like to thank the wonderful advertisers who have been most impacted by this delay. Your patience, understanding and positive feedback .... as magazine staff has done everything we can to deal with this less-than-ideal situation put upon us ... have been truly remarkable. It is your generosity, spirit and support that make the unusual level of sacrifices required to finish that issue worth it. Thank you as well to the kind readers & members who have understood the matter and helped to clarify the facts. As always, I appreciate your support. You are truly a good group of folks.
Amy Roberts, Editor
