ROBIN CARSON | Editor , news & views

This issue is our one-hundredth .

Maybe .

news & views began as a newsletter — a vital link from a rapidly-growing association to its membership in a world without an Internet . It carried information about the direction that ARTA was moving , and , with its mandatory reports from both president and executive director of ARTA , a look at the workings shaping that direction . As ARTA grew , so did news & views — moving from that first single issue to two a year , then three and then four . Because ARTA doesn ’ t have any sort of archive that goes back to the beginning of news & views , and because of the variation in the number of issues distributed each year , we can only guess at the precise number of the issue you are reading — but a hundred seems about right .

Besides , somewhere along the way we deserve to celebrate the vision of those who saw the need to create a voice not only for ARTA as an organization but also for its individual members . As well , we deserve to celebrate the growth of news & views from a newsletter providing information to a magazine that has not forgotten its mandate to inform , but now also provides entertainment , lifestyle insights , travel destinations and . . . well , it ’ s a pretty open-ended list . news & views today is fifty or more pages , printed quarterly in colour . It uses carefully

chosen typefaces and is printed on paper chosen to be friendly to ageing eyes . Originally just for teachers , today the magazine has broadened its reach to include articles for a more general readership of seniors while still including information and articles of specific interest to our original audience of retired teachers .

This year , we will pass 20,000 as the number of magazines we distribute quarterly — a long path that was begun with that first newsletter .

We understand that bigger doesn ’ t equate to better . Personally , I believe that the vision of those who began news & views as the voice of ARTA and the voice of its members must remain the mandate of the magazine . For all we might change the design of the magazine , or introduce an electronic version of it , the right of our members to be informed — and to be heard — remains paramount . There is always room for what retired teachers are doing , but we are also working on ways to be more inclusive of our retired members who were not teachers .

Remember , you can always write to me with your thoughts and ideas ; and remember , too , that we gladly consider our readers ’ articles , stories and short poems for publication , and even pay for them — but not much , in case you had your hopes up . You can reach me at nveditor @ shaw . ca And we really do need a better archive ! �

news & views AUTUMN 2017 | 9