The Publications Committee has been in transition this year. While volunteer efforts are an essential part of the work done by this committee, it has become increasingly evident that many individuals are too busy to meet their commitments. To address this problem, we continually seek new volunteers.
Another approach that we have explored is hiring editorial assistance. The first example of this professional's work is the current issue of The Bulletin. Barry Bradley, a well-qualified journalist, will also add his expertise to upcoming issues of The Study Group Herald.
The current Bulletin has expanded to 16 pages. Barry Bradley edited text, wrote headlines and captions, selected artwork and chose the story flow. His experience in working with printers also helped in getting an excellent price to upgrade to four-color art. The next issue will also be 16 pages, and if feedback from the Fellowship community is encouraging, The Bulletin will remain this size.
The Dateline column, which focuses on activities of Fellowship Societies and study groups around the world, hasn't been published due to lack of time by volunteers to do the necessary reporting for the column. Carolyn Kendall, an employee at the Fellowship office, will take over this column as part of her duties. This is being done as an experiment. The added function should not demand more than eight hours of her time for each issue of The Bulletin. Long-distance telephone calls incurred at the office for this column should be charged against the Publications Committee budget.
The next Bulletin will be published after the Summer Session in Oklahoma City, followed by a year-end issue.
The Journal has been slow in coining to print due to lack of time on the part of David Kulieke, managing editor, to produce this bi-annual publication. In addition, there have been several delays waiting for authors to submit their essays.
Marty Greenhut, managing editor of The Study Group Herald, has resigned his position due to a conflict of his time professionally. The current issue focusing on the topic of aging received many accolades, and this committee will miss his contributions to the Herald. Barry Bradley has received all of the materials for the next issue. We plan to produce it this summer. Changes for the Herald already suggested by Barry include professional cover photography printed in four color.
I plan to oversee production of this year's second issue while searching for another volunteer to assume the function of managing editor.
Although it sounds like a recurring theme, Cindy Hopper has also recently resigned as a Member of this committee because of lack of time to accept volunteer projects.
Three issues of the Fellowship Forum are pending completion. They are the presentations from IC'93 and the two Wrightwood Series on Race and Gender. We will also publish presentations made at Scientific Symposium III this summer under the Forum banner.
The revised Fellowship brochure has now been translated into Spanish and French. The French version is only recently available. Its companion piece, an introductory brochure on The Urantia Book, is a top priority of this committee and should be produced in time for the fall meeting of the Executive Committee. When the final version is approved, this brochure also will be translated into Spanish and French, ideally before year end.
The project of updating the video on the history of the Fellowship has yet to receive appropriate attention. Although several people are willing to volunteer their time on this project, I haven't found the right person to coordinate the effort. Once that person is designated, the project should move forward with a date of completion sometime in 1995.
The goal of this committee is to provide the highest quality publications and study materials for the Fellowship. During my tenure as chairman, this is gradually shifting from a totally volunteer effort to the paid professional. If the publications for our group are given the attention they deserve, the price of their production would fall into the same category as our necessary expenditures for legal counsel, accounting and other professional services. With appropriate teamwork, the level of the professional's familiarity with the text of The Urantia Book or issues within the Fellowship are addressed.
Publications Committee Melissa Wells, Chairman
Nancy Johnson, Typesetter
David I .Kulieke, Managing Editor, The Journal
Robin Robinson, Reporter, The Bulletin