Straight Talk May/Jun 2024
Straight Talk from the “Mann” Cave
Bruce Mann
Lots of things are changing. Having put that on a piece of paper, you’re probably all wondering what does that mean? Well first and very important to all the membership, after thirteen years, Mr. Mike Tooke, editor for NAMGAR has decided to retire. We probably knew it was coming at some point but not quite so quickly.
Mike has been the editor of MGA! for a long time and has had the Editor position longer than anyone. According to my calculations that is some seventy-five plus issues. That is quite an accomplishment; many hours behind the computer on beautiful sunshiny days trying to hit those deadlines. Evenings spent finding the right photos and rearranging the layout to fit 48 pages. Now, he will have to work on those home projects that Pam has been planning.
There is a lot of work and knowledge that goes into putting out a world-class magazine and Mike proved that he was certainly up to the task. I trust that many of you will write him a farewell note in MGA! as well as wish him well at GT-49 in Welches, Oregon. Yes, he will be there.
Replacing Mike are the dynamic duo that have come out of retirement to give us all a hand at doing what they do best. Steve and Diane Mazurik, long-time NAMGAR members and board and staff members, are stepping up to help NAMGAR continue a long tradition of providing our magazine. Steve was previously the editor of MGA! From 2008-2011 and Diane was the copy editor from 2001-2011. Considering that MGA! may be the only communication that some of our members see as the face of NAMGAR we are very fortunate that this void in the organization is being filled quickly.
We have been fast tracking a parallel path to make sure we did not have any interruptions or break in the magazine. It took a lot of coordination with the board and staff to make sure this happened. We are very proud of the work provided by all was well worth the effort. I personally would like to thank the staff for their support in pulling this off. I have attached Steve and Dianes bio and pictures on another page for all to review.
One more thing before I forget it. We have been working tirelessly on updating our website to make it more intuitive and active with what is going on with NAMGAR. Please spend some time on the site and give us some suggestion you would like to see. We feel with the ever changing dynamics of electronic data that having a website we can use is very important in growing the register.
The road to success is always under construction.
