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How does this work? Our objective is to reduce the amount of paper that flows among chapters and to make newsletters and fliers more available to the membership. To accomplish this, we propose the following:

Chapters submit documents that are published on this web page. The documents are published in a standard format (Adobe 4.0) that can be retrieved and read, regardless of the software they currently have installed on their PC's. If the document is provided in Microsoft Word, the document will be published in the Word format, as well.
We send a notice to everyone on our Notification List that the document has been published. Anyone can be on the Notification List, but officers and staff from each chapter should be represented.
At their convenience, the people retrieve the documents, review and then print a copy of the document in its entirety or just the pages they need.

Why should a chapter participate? The objective of this process is to reduce costs and increase availability of documents that are prepared and distributed by each of the chapters and the District. There are a number of reasons why this is a good idea.

Money: When we did an analysis of Chapter U's newsletter distribution, we found that of the 110 newsletters printed, 23 were sent to other chapters, 8 went to officers at the District, Regional and National level, and 15 were sent to members who had email addresses. If there was a method for distributing those newsletters electronically (46 in all), Chapter U could save over $500 per year in postage and reproduction. Multiply that by 23 chapters and we're looking at a potential savings in excess of $10,000, just by changing the way we distribute the newsletter.
Time: In Chapter U's case they will reduce the number of newsletters that need to be printed, collated, stuffed, stamped and mailed by over 40%. Tell your newsletter editor that his production time for distributing the newsletter will be cut in half and see if they get excited.
Timely Distribution: We can notify any number of people in any Chapter that the newsletter from another chapter is available. This will save each Chapter from passing around the newsletters to each of the officers.
Availability:By posting all newsletters and flyers in a single location, people will know where to get the documents when they need them. Those individuals who typically do not receive newsletters from other Chapters will now have access to them.
Remove Duplication: When you review a stack of chapter newsletters, what becomes readily apparent is that there is a significant amount of duplication in each newsletter, namely District, Region and National News. Assume that each chapter publishes two pages of GWRRA news in their newsletter every month. If each chapter then sends every other chapter a newsletter every month, over the course of a year, we will have sent each other over 12,000 pages of GWRRA news. With this process, we can download each newsletter and then only print the pages that are relevant.

Will this mean more work for our newsletter editor or the person who create the fliers?We don't think so. If your people are creating these documents using word processing or a similar computer program, the file we need to publish on the web page is already created. All they need to do is email it to us.

Will the content of our newsletter change? No. You are still preparing the newsletter to be received by your members in printed form. This is just a distribution alternative.

We are already distributing our newsletter through email. What's the difference? Congratulations. Your Chapter is already taking advantage of electronic distribution to save time and money. By using this process however, you can make your newsletter available to more people.

Because we are sending an email indicating the document is available, and not the document itself, the complaints about long download times when your newsletter arrives will be eliminated.

How do we submit a document? You simply attach your document to an email addressed to jimmc@adelphia.net. This is easily done by selecting the Email Us on the web page. Any document that can be attached to an email should be acceptable.

What documents should be submitted? Any document that should be made available to all chapters; newsletters, flyers, press releases, whatever, should be submitted. The only catch is that the document must relate to GWRRA activities and must provide information that is pertinent to the members. If there is any question, the District Director has final authority on whether a document is published.

Do the documents we submit have to be in a special format? We are using a utility called Adobe Acrobat to convert all documents received into a standard format. To date, we have converted documents received in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, PrintMaster, PrintShop, and CorelDraw. At this point, send it and we'll try to convert it. if we have problems, we'll let you know. All documents will be published on the web page in Adobe format. If the document is submitted in a Microsoft Word format, that format will also be published on the web page.

What is the Notification List? Who should be on it? Every time a document is published, an email will be sent to each person on the Notification List. In this manner, the availability of the document will be announced. You can view the current members of the list by selecting Current Notification List by Name or Current Notification List by Affiliation on the web page. Any number of people from every chapter should be on the Notification List. Anyone can be added to the list at any time. To add someone to the list, select Comments/Change Notification Status on the web page.

Those people who typically receive these flyers and newsletters should be included on the Notification List. This would include officers, educator and/or the newsletter editor.

Who is responsible for making sure the right people get notified about my documents? You are. Our responsibility is to be sure the documents are published and the email notices are sent. Each person submitting documents for publication should check the Notification List to be sure the correct people are receiving notification.

Here is the simplest way to insure that everyone is getting your documents. When you are ready to mail something, print a copy of the Notification List on the Web Page. Compare the Notification List to your mailing labels. If the person is on the Notification List, don't send them a printed copy. Even if the person is on the Notification List, do not permanently delete them from your mailing labels. They may change their mind someday and you'll need their address.

If you identify someone who you think should be on the list and they are not, let them know or let us know so we can get them on the Notification List.

If I remove my name from the notification list, will I automatically receive a printed copy of future documents? No. As a convenience, we will publish your request to receive paper copies in the District Newsletter, but we do not guarantee that you will receive printed copies from all chapters. We will also include your request with the next email notice sent out. However, your only guarantee would be to contact each chapter personally.

Should we still send printed copies to everyone? The major savings in time and money occurs because we reduce the number of printed copies that have to be produced and distributed. We recommend that you distribute printed copies only to those people who request them. If we're sending an email telling the person about the document on the web page, it really isn't necessary to send a printed copy too.

Are we giving up control of our documents? Will they be edited by Big Brother? Documents will be published AS IS. There will be no editing done on any document.

Our Chapter Director doesn't have email. Can we participate? Any number of chapter members can be included on the Notification List. Any person in the chapter could be designated the Information Technology Specialist. Their job would be to make sure that the documents are retrieved and made available to those who do not have email access.

What's this Adobe Acrobat thing? Why Adobe? The Adobe Acrobat is a utility that provides a format for storing documents. There are a number of reasons to use Adobe.

The Adobe format is a universal format. Adobe provides a reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader) free of charge to any user.
The Adobe Acrobat Reader is readily available. Many new PC's come with it already installed. If you do not have a copy, you can download one directly from Adobe by selecting the Adobe icon on the web page. (You download the utility once. It's a big one, so plan on the download taking a little time.)
When documents are converted into Adobe format (.PDF), they usually take about 25% of the space that the original file required. Therefore, the download time to receive the document is significantly less.

What does the email notice look like? The email notice that is sent to announce a given document has been published is very simple. We will identify the document title, document type (newsletter, flyer), date if appropriate and the sponsoring chapter. The email will also have the hyperlink to the web page so the user can go to it directly from the email.

How do we maximize the use of this process in our Chapter? First, be sure to submit all appropriate documents for publication. Second, make sure that those people in your chapter that should be receiving documents from other chapters are on the Notification List; e.g. officers, newsletter editor, COY. Third, identify those members of your chapter who have email and create a notification process of your own for those members. This is easily done by creating a group in the address book of Outlook or whatever email software is available.

Should I put individual members of my chapter on the Notification List? Anyone can be on the Notification List. Just remember that anyone on that list will receive notification of documents published for all chapters. It may be better to create your own notification process for chapter members separate from the Notification List on the web page.

How do we know that people will retrieve our document? There is no guarantee that the documents will be retrieved. Just as if you mail something out, there is no guarantee that anyone will read it or distribute it to other members. At least this way we can distribute it to more people for the same cost.

When a chapter sends me a newsletter attached to my email, it takes forever to download. Does this help that problem? Yes, first the size of the file in an Adobe Acrobat format is about 25% of the size of a typical word processing document, so transfer times will be significantly reduced. Second, with this process you, and not the sender, will determine when to tie up your PC. The problem with receiving newsletters by email is you don't know when they are coming. You innocently check your email and then wait any number of minutes to see what the delay is all about. With this process, the email notification is short, so it takes less time to transfer, and then you retrieve the document when it is convenient.

Can groups outside of Pennsylania submit documents? We welcome documents from any organization that is affiliated with GWRRA. This could be chapters from other states, Districts, Regions or even National. The objective is to improve distribution of critical information, so everyone is welcome.

What if our chapter does not participate? Three things will happen.

Your chapter will be spending time and money needlessly.
Fewer people will have access to the documents you have invested your time to create.
Frank will be very sad.

Is there a quick way to print a document? Yes, under certain conditions. First, you must be using Internet Explorer. Second, the document must be available in the Word Format. If both those are true then you can print the document directly by 1) Position your cursor over the document name in the Word Format column. 2) Click the right-mouse button. 3) Select Print Target on the menu. The system will automatically print the document. This will not work if you are using Netscape. Do not attempt to print the Adobe Format document. You will get nothing but jibberish (that's the computer term for garbage). Finally, this may not work if the version of Word you have on your PC does not match the version of the document. You can try this. If it works, great. If it doesn't work, don't try it again.

Do you have any tips for preparing a document for publication?Yes. When preparing documents for publication, either on the web page or on paper, keep in mind the following.

Try to maintain a margin of at least 0.5" on each edge. When doing a flyer, space certainly is critical, but when reproducing these documents, it is possible for those items close to the edge to be lost in reproduction. A contact person's telephone number is of much value if it's just a smudge along the edge.

Use graphics and color to make the point, but limit their use. Remember most newsletters and flyers will be reproduced on black/white printers and copiers. The value of color will be lost and the graphics will be less than spectacular in two-tone.

When using colors, be sure to avoid light colors. They will not reproduce as cleanly as darker colors.

Be as creative as your talents allow, but remember the important thing about each document is to convey information. For example, fliers should include such information as:

Title
Description of the event and/or activities at the event if it is not self-explanatory
Reason to participate; e.g. have fun, lots of food, bike judging, raising money for a good cause
Date and starting time
Location
registration fee, if applicable
Deadline for registration
Person to contact if there are questions or more information is needed

Can I get a virus by downloading one of these documents? There is always a chance of getting a virus anytime you copy a file on to your PC. However, every document is scanned for viruses using McAfee Anti-Virus prior to publishing the document. It is the best protection against viruses available aside from abstinence from downloads, and we all know that abstinence is not any fun.

When I try to download the .PDF format, I get an error, something about could not find color Cs6. Any ideas? Yes. Documents published on the web page have been created using version 4.0x of Adobe Acrobat. If you are trying to open these documents with a version prior to 4.0x, you will get an error. Be sure that you have installed at least version 4.0x. To determine the version you are using, open Adobe Acrobat Reader, select Help and then select About Acrobat Reader. The version of the utility is displayed on that window. (Author's note: Al Rizzo, PAU, did all the leg work to identify the solution.)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)