Commencing with issue 3 for 2015 (November) The AICCM will no longer be providing a hard-copy newsletter to members. In its place we will introduce an e-newsletter, which will serve the same function, and will also open new and exciting possibilities.
National Council have agonised over this over a number of years and have reached the decision reluctantly; many of us are extremely fond of the Newsletter in its hard copy form. However, we are increasingly living in a digital age and we feel that a digital form for the newsletter is the way forward. There are also financial reasons for the decision: the hard copy newsletter is an expensive thing to maintain and we feel this money could be better used to serve the membership.
Furthermore, we have our own website which has the functionality to accommodate an e-newsletter and do things not currently possible in the print realm, such as incorporate high quality colour images, respond rapidly to changing circumstances, include content such as videos and interactives, and include links to information outside the organisation. Basically all the sort of functionality you could expect in the online world. The change will also make searching for information in past newsletters much easier.
All current newsletter content will remain and we will collect content in exactly the same way. This will be located on the website and an e-newsletter will go out to members which will have basic text and hotlinks to each item. The content will also be archived electronically.
And finally, as we move forward, we would like to extend profound thanks to the company who have diligently designed, compiled, typeset, printed and mailed out the hard-copy newsletter over the last 10 years. They are Eco Designs helmed by Anna Marsland. Anna and her team have consistently produced a high quality professional looking newsletter, with a minimum of fuss and a lot of good grace; always happy to ‘hold the presses’ if we needed to make a last minute change. Thank you Anna! We are indebted to you and very sorry to have to move on.