The UVRC newsletter has a long and proud history. On the website we go back to issue 3, March 2012: https://uppervalleyrunningclub.org/march-2012-newsletter I actually have issues 1 and 2 here on my hard drive; I must upload those sometime when I get a chance. Issue 1 is dated January, 2012, about one year after we started the club. The original editors were myself and Steve Andrews (who has since moved out of the area).

We haven’t managed to publish continuously since then. Newsletter editors have come and go, and while it isn’t an all-consuming task, it does take a fair amount of timely consistency and effort. It’s a job best shared amongst a few folks. Looking back on the old issues, as well as generating reading material for us club members, I see that it provides a great history of the club and what we’ve done over the years.

Your current editors are myself and Amanda Kievet. We’ve both been working on the newsletter for quite a few years now, and leading into the pandemic we were feeling a little stale in the role. It was important to the club to keep the newsletter going through the tough times of the last year, but now that we’re getting through the socially distant times, it’s time to bring some new folks in. I can’t speak for Amanda, but I would like to step down as newsletter editor at the end of this calendar year (December 2021). I’m involved in quite a few aspects of the club, and while I enjoy them all, it is important to maintain some balance and also allow other folks to be involved.

So with that, we need help! Anyone who is interested in helping out can email us at newsletter@uppervalleyrunningclub.org. There are two main tasks. One is collecting articles, which doesn’t involve much technical skill; being able to do email is probably enough. Someone who is relatively social and present at club events is probably a good fit for this role. The other is actually putting together the newsletter, which requires that you be able to log in to the website and edit text with light HTML; some technical aptitude is needed but nothing too exotic. Either way, this is a great opportunity to give back to the club and get involved.

That gives us 6 months to bring in some new folks; let’s do it and keep the newsletter going!

A note from the editor, the aforementioned Amanda:

Yes, I would also love to pass along this torch! And you really don't need to know any HTML to do it, just be a little savvy with a computer. Anyone who uses social media or any other web-based publishing platform could do it.