Condo Media - January 2019 - 56

Ask a Busy Person
You won this year's CAI-NE award
for outstanding communications,
recognizing the association newsletter you edit. How did the Sauta
Farm Newsletter begin and how did
you come to edit it? The newsletter began seven years ago. It was the
Board of Trustees' idea. I agreed to edit
it because the board chairman at the
time asked me to. I liked and respected
him and trusted his judgment. He said
there was a need for the newsletter, so I
was happy to say yes. I accepted rather
joyfully, but also a little tentatively, because I wasn't sure what was expected
of me. But I thought I would enjoy doing it because it drew on skills I had.
Did you have a background in editing or writing? I did. During the
11 years I worked at Digital Equipment
Corporation, I was program manager
for a program that sent engineers back
to school to earn masters or doctorate
degrees. I did a lot of writing in that job,
and in an earlier
job, managing an
internship program for students
at a regional high
school. But the
experience most
relevant to the
newsletter was at
Digital, where
I learned the
basics of using a computer. Digital
at the time was the second-largest
computer company in the world.
You couldn't work there unless you
learned how to use a computer. I also
learned how to use "Publisher," which
is the software program I use to produce the newsletter.
You publish the newsletter six times
a year-the fall issue was 14 pages.
That's a lot of work. How do you put
it together? It was difficult in the
beginning, because I really didn't know
what I was doing. I had to learn how to
organize pages and insert photos. But
after seven years, it's become almost

CONDOMEDIA January 2019

What can boards do to convince
more people to get involved?
It's true-only a small percentage
of people attend board meetings, participate in community activities, or volunteer to serve on committees. And I don't
know what you do about that. For me,
I thought the newsletter was important
and was something I would enjoy doing.
So it was easy to say yes.

SHIRLEY STAHL
VOLUNTEER AND NEWSLETTER EDITOR,
SAUTA FARMS CONDOMINIUM
automatic now, so I don't see it as a
chore. Also, I arrange the material as
I get it. I don't wait until the deadline.
How do you get the material?
The board submits a column
every issue, and I receive
reports from a core group
of contributors announcing
upcoming events-meetings of
the book club, the yoga group,
and others. We also have a
very active Landscape
Committee, which
usually has something
to report. And I encourage people to
submit news about trips they've taken
or photos about things going on in the
community. And I add things I learn
about as well.
What do you think the newsletter
contributes to the community-why
is it worth doing? I have to believe it
brings people closer together. Learning
about their neighbors, seeing pictures
of what's going on in the community
makes them feel more a part of it.
You're something of a rare breed in
the condominium world-someone
who volunteers in your community.

What do you enjoy most about it?
I enjoy getting contributions from
others-the more the better. Their
input makes the newsletter more
interesting and more valuable. I also
like the process of putting it together.
I especially like it when I have a lot of
material to include. Sometimes it gets
to be 16 pages long! That gives me a lot
of pleasure. I proof it several times and
my spouse proofs it too. I don't want to
make any mistakes.
Do you get any feedback from
residents? I probably get two or
three comments after every issue, from
people who say they enjoyed reading it.
And that's very reassuring.
Are there any
features that
have been particularly popular?
I did a series
with photos
of dogs in the
community and
then we did cats.
People liked
those a lot.
Do you get any complaints? I don't
get any directly. The board may get complaints, but if they do, they don't tell me.
Were you surprised when you won
the CAI-NE award? I had no idea
it was coming. I didn't know until I got
there why the board chair had been so
insistent that I attend the banquet and
had offered to drive me. It was quite
a night. People took a lot of pictures.

Condo Media - January 2019

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