Rural Missouri - January 2015 - 4

| C O O P E R AT I O N

New look for an old friend
Welcome to the new Rural Missouri

here's an old country saying that goes like this: "If it ain't
broke, don't ﬁx it." That might explain why there haven't
been major changes to this publication since 1992, when
we dropped the size by an inch, started stapling the pages
together and increased local co-op pages, and 1998, when we adopted
our previous design. Before that, you have to go back to 1978 when the
name changed from the Rural Electric Missourian to Rural Missouri.
So when the staff started work on a new look for Rural Missouri,
we approached the change with more than a little bit of trepidation.
We wanted to make sure readers still recognized the publication that
has been around for so many years.
We studied other magazines we liked. We talked with our peers in
the communications world. We sought the opinion of electric cooperative managers, directors and key staff. We visited with readers at annual
meetings and the Missouri State Fair. We also devoted most of the time
at our Rural Missouri retreat to the redesign.
Eventually, we turned the effort over to Mary Davis and Megan Backes,
who both hold design degrees from the University of Central Missouri. The
two took all the ideas we had accumulated over the course of a year, shook
them a little, discarded some and massaged them here and there.
The result is what you are reading now: a fresh look for an old friend.
Really, not a lot has changed. Our goal was to modernize the design. That
has been achieved with different fonts and a lot more white space to make
it easier on the eyes.
Most of our sections have been renamed. There are a few new sections you
didn't see in December. News Briefs returns, this time as "Notes."
We've also added a new stand-alone photo feature. One of the trademarks
of Rural Missouri over the years has been our strong emphasis on photography. But often we return with photos that just don't have a place in the
storytelling. Our new "Landscapes" section will give us a place to showcase
these photos that otherwise would never see the light of day.
Another of our goals was to provide more space for our most popular
features. In the new design, you will see an expanded "Out of the Way
Eats" story with more photos of the food. We also will add pages to the
photo stories we do. This will allow us to better display the work of our
photographers and run more photos.
You may have noticed already that our classiﬁed advertising section
is gone. We had offered classiﬁed ads since 1963. Sadly, the advent
of free online advertising sites such as Craigslist and the garage sale
pages on Facebook severely cut into the number of classiﬁed ads
submitted to Rural Missouri. It got to the point where we couldn't
justify the time spent on this section.
Knowing some classiﬁed advertisers still ﬁnd Rural Missouri
helpful to their businesses, we are now offering a special discounted
rate on a 1-inch display ad just for those advertisers. Call us at 573659-3400 if you want more information on this.
Rural Missouri got its start in 1948. Since that time, our circulation
has grown to more than 540,000 monthly, making us the largest paidcirculation magazine in the state.
While we've come a long way in those 67 years, we like to think the
best years are the ones ahead of us. We plan to continue our role of championing the cause of rural Missourians as the voice of Missouri's electric
cooperatives.
Let us know what you like and don't like about your publication and ﬁll
us in on the people, places and issues you think deserve coverage. Together,
we can make rural Missouri a better place in which to live.

Dechant joins
Atchison-Holt
Electric

tchison-Holt Electric Cooperative has
a new manager/CEO. He is Kevin P.
Dechant. Kevin took over the helm of
the Rock Port-based electric cooperative on Dec. 1.
He replaces Terry Zeigler, who retired after
serving as the manager since 2007.
Prior to accepting the general manager
position at Atchison-Holt Electric, he served
as manager of compliance for the Kern Division of Paciﬁc Gas and Electric.
He began his electric cooperative career in
1992 as an apprentice lineman, and until his
departure in 2013, he held many positions of
increasing responsibility. He has directed both
engineering and compliance departments, and
served as a key accounts representative, GIS
mapping coordinator as well as a class-A journeyman lineman.
Kevin attended the U.S. Navy's Nuclear
Power Schools. He also attended Pratt Community College's lineman program and earned
a degree in business administration from
Friends University.
His experience includes four years with
Otero County Electric Cooperative as a journeyman lineman and 17 years with Ark Valley
Electric Cooperative as design engineer/lineman/key accounts.
Missouri's electric cooperatives welcome
Kevin to his new role and wish Terry all the
best in his retirement.

Kevin Dechant

EDITORIAL STAFF: Jim McCarty, editor, jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
Jason Jenkins, managing editor, jjenkins@ruralmissouri.coop | Heather Berry, associate editor, hberry@ruralmissouri.coop
Paul Newton, ﬁeld editor, pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop | Megan Backes, designer, mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop
Angie Jones-Wheeler, co-op page designer | Dusty Weter, co-op page designer
ADVERTISING: Mary Davis, production manager, mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop

"Devoted to the rural way of life"
Rural Missouri is published monthly by the Association of
Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Barry Hart, CEO/executive vice
president. Individual subscription rate: $10 per year or $22 for
three years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for members
of participating RECs $1.80, plus taxes and postage. Delivery
as speciﬁed by subscriber. If not speciﬁed, delivery will be by
periodical class mail at subscriber's expense. Periodical Class
postage paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing ofﬁces.
Copyright 2015, Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
Call for reprint rights.

RURAL MISSOURI | JANUARY 2015

Postmasters: Send address changes to Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Rural Missouri.
Advertising standards: Advertising published in Rural Missouri is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are
accurately described and sold to customers at the advertised price. Rural Missouri and Missouri's electric cooperatives do not endorse
any products or services advertised herein. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading is
never knowingly accepted by this publication.

Editorial: Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-659-3423 | info@ruralmissouri.coop | www.ruralmissouri.coop
Advertising: mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop | 573-659-3400
National Advertising Representative: National Country Market;
611 S. Congress St., Suite 504; Austin, TX 78704 | 573-659-3400

USPS 473-000 ISSN 0164-8578

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Rural Missouri - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2015