ESK Editor/Webmaster

For the first time, this issue of the ESK will only be available online.
The Empire State Kiwanian has gone through changes since it was first published in 1924. For many years it was a small booklet, and then became a tabloid newspaper. It was changed to its current magazine format in 2009-10.
Even as the format has changed, the purpose has not. It has always served to keep New York Kiwanians up to date on happenings at the district level as well as in the divisions and clubs around the district.
Over the years the cost of printing and mailing the publication have grown. Many organizations, faced with cost issues and changing technology, have stopped printing and mailing their publications and instead make them available online. Of the 30 Kiwanis districts in North America, New York is one of only three that printed and mailed a newsletter during the past Kiwanis year.
The district board has been wrestling with the question of continuing to print and mail or not. The district budget has had to deal with the loss of membership and therefore dues revenue as the cost per copy for the ESK continued to increase.
At its November meeting, the district board decided to have this ESK issue be online-only. The decision only affected this issue, as the question will be addressed again when the board meets at the Mid-Year Conference. If you would like to weigh in, let your lieutenant governor know how you feel.
Every issue of the ESK since October of 2003 has been placed on the web site and remains there. While formerly viewing required downloading a pdf, a second option has now been added which allows you to view it online. You will see links for both methods when you visit the district web site.
Club news has been featured on the district web site since the 2009-10 Kiwanis Year. As of the end of December, 2,089 articles had been published online, far more than could have been accommodated in a printed publication. Many of those items include multiple pictures.
There is only one requirement to have your club's activities included: e-mail information on the event to webmaster@kiwanis-ny.org.
For more information on making submissions, see www.kiwanis-ny.org/esk.htm.

Column Posted on Web Site January 23, 2018