Again this year, the Astronomical League is pleased to recognize top club newsletter editors with the Mabel Sterns Award. This award is named for the League's first newsletter editor, Mabel Sterns. The award is a way of recognizing one of the most important people in any club, who is one of the primary sources of information within a club. For the seventh year, the League has offered this special awards program.

With the busy lives we all lead, that special person in the club who encourages us to submit articles for the newsletter each issue by a deadline is a real star, no pun intended. When the articles dry up and articles are needed to fill the issue, this is the person who improvises and still pulls articles of interest out of the hat and gets the publication out to the members.

With all of the creativity and outstanding quality exhibited by all our newsletter editor submissions, the judges once again had a real challenge choosing the rankings for these.

It is strongly recommended that the Astronomical league's logo be prominently displayed in the newsletter, preferably on the front page.

After the judges ranking points were tabulated this year, we had two entries with the exact same point totals for first place. Because of this, we are presenting two first place awards for 2005

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Our 2005 Winners are:

First Place Winner: Marcia Young

Marcia is newsletter editor of the Cosmic Messenger, the newsletter of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City. She has been editing this publication for the past two years.

Her innovative insight, creative talents and editing skills have reshaped the whole newsletter. She has introduced different printing techniques that have saved the club money and increased the quality of the printed material. Her "go getting" attitude to encourage club members to submit articles has promoted new and varied material and content for club members reading and enjoyment. She has introduced color, center spreads and various viewpoints with feature articles each month as well as series pieces.

To quote one of the Sterns judges, the publication is "well laid out" and has "good navigation, interesting and pertinent content, yet not overwhelming." It "succeeds in disseminating important club information regarding duties/responsibilities/dates and events/officer contact information" and "appears to provide the club with an economical and versatile communication strategy that can either be used in print or supplied online."

In addition to her tremendous skills with the newsletter, she has transformed the appearance of the club's membership directory, with new images, artwork and layout design.

 

First Place Winner: David Yustein
David edits NOVAC, the newsletter of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club. He has handled editorial duties for two years, overseeing the newsletter's evolution from a strictly hardcopy, mailed product, to one now available in hardcopy and as a .pdf download, as well as accessible from the club website.

A sample of the newsletter submitted for the Sterns program is packed with relevant information for members, including a current astronomical calendar with sample sky maps geared to the local area.Dave made certain that club members without computers never missed an issue as the club converted the majority of member subscribers to an electronic format. By providing the e-newsletter as a push (members are forwarded a file) or pull (members notified that the newsletter is available on the website), he has expanded the convenience factor for the membership.

The immediacy of its availability and expansion of the color images is greatly appreciated by the membership. This movement toward distributing the newsletter primarily electronically has saved significant money, enabling the club to expand member benefits in other areas. Kim Belier, who handles the actual layout of the publication, also helps make this a most readable and enjoyable publication.

Second place winner: Debbie Hipp
Debbie is in her first full year as newsletter editor of the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club's publication, the Gazer's Gazette.

Her ability as editor to draw contributions from a number of gifted colleagues and blend these contributions into a crisp, organized and pleasing package has been remarkable. She has done this outstanding job while being temporarily relocated out of the immediate area because of her job.

The newsletter is available in print form as well as an enhanced version available online.
A recent issue of the newsletter, submitted for the Sterns program, included a practical article entitled "Building Setting Circles for your Dob," which describes an inexpensive way to add ALT/AZ setting circles to a Dobsonian telescope.

Other informative components of that sample newsletter included Minutes and the financial report from their last Executive Board Meetings as well as articles of recent observing by members, including astronomical photos of their observations. Another article entitled "The Electromagnetic Spectrum"was sparked by the author's interest in infrared light and how it works in conjunction with night vision instruments.

 

Third place winner: Don Marzewski

Since assuming the role of editor in January, 2005, Don has used his creativity and ingenuity to make his club's newsletter a valuable, informative periodical that members look forward to receiving each month and often keep for future reference. More members are submitting articles than ever before.

Titled The Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomer, this publication of the Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers utilizes the benefits of online publishing, including the addition of many color photos and graphics. Also, members are encouraged to choose electronic newsletters instead of the paper version. Among the many benefits of the online version for those observers who rely on the newsletter to know what is happening in the sky, the more timely and reliable delivery of the newsletter is a great benefit. Don incorporates an index inside the front cover page, a four-column format and a star to designate the end of articles. His consistent layout includes a list of the board members, the club's mission statement and other basis club information.

Other 2005 outstanding newsletter editor finalists for the Mabel Sterns Newsletter Award are: James Anderson, Observations, Chester County Astronomical Society (PA); Lorri Patel, North Star, North Houston Astronomy Club; and Larry Deal, Rosette Gazette, Rose City Astronomers (OR).

For information about the 2006 Mabel Sterns Award program, please contact Mr. Carroll Iorg, A.L. Awards Coordinator carroll-iorg@kc.rr.com (816) 444-4878) or visit the League's website www.astroleague.org/. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2006. The president of the club should send four paper copies of a recent newsletter, along with four copies of a letter of recommendation to the Awards Coordinator, 7241 Jarboe, Kansas City MO 64114. A photo of the newsletter editor, preferably taken in an astronomical type setting, should also be submitted in the packet. In addition, the postal address of the newsletter editor should be included.