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Editor's Last Word
Only 10 years in the making
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Paul Ramsdell
Editor |
We could call for a bunch of balloons, hats and big banners to help
celebrate this issue, the 10th anniversary of the first publication of
Pacific Northwest Golfer, but the real party should have been years ago when
it first got off the ground.
And while such a milestone calls for reflection, everyone would be
better served if all energy was pointed toward the future.
To get to where you want to go, however, you need to know where you've
been. And for Pacific Northwest Golfer, it's been an intriguing 10-year road
trip so far.
Raymond "Spike" Beeber, as chairman of the Publications Committee for
the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, has had a front-row seat the whole
way.
"We really didn't have any idea what we were getting into," Beeber said
of the formative years from 1992 until the first issue was published. "We
really didn't know third base from deep center field."
Beeber's guidance would prove valuable, however, and the magazine became
a reality.
"It was our plan at the outset to get the magazine out to however many
members we could at no cost, no gain just break even. That took a couple
of three years to get to that point," said Beeber, a member of the PNGA
Board of Directors from Portland.
At the start, that meant 30,000 copies. Now, that figure has more than
tripled. Some aspects, however, have never changed.
"We always thought, and we always wanted, to be first class, by that I
mean the good paper, the good pictures, and the good ink, and whatever it
takes to be first class, and I feel like we've really done that," Beeber
said.
Some first-class people helped along the way. Beeber gave credit to
Stein Swenson, a financial consultant in Bend, Ore., for providing the early
expertise in advertising. Varsity Communications of Seattle and its
president Dick Stephens handled the production and sales aspects with
distinction through most of the magazine's life.
John Bodenhamer, the executive director of the PNGA, directed the
editorial and administrative ends, and was assisted by Angie Wean, who had a
six-year stint as the senior director of communications for the PNGA up
until last June.
"To have made it is testament to the remarkable job that John Bodenhamer
has done, because he is really the guy," Beeber said.
Going forward, our goal is to make the magazine more pertinent to all
its readers throughout British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
We constantly wrestle with providing the proper mix of news and results
from the PNGA and the various golf associations in the Northwest, with a
smattering of feature stories we hope will be of interest from Idaho Falls
to Vancouver Island.
New to the mix is Golf Northwest Magazine, a monthly the PNGA purchased
last year and currently is distributed in Oregon and Washington. Our sights
are set on adding Idaho and British Columbia in the near future.
As editor of both publications, I'm eager to hear any suggestions on
what paths we should follow in the next 10 years. Feel free to e-mail me at
paul@pngamedia.com.
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