Becoming the editor of the Caboose kibitzer was an ambition I'd had for several years before finally being given the chance when the previous editor resigned. I know that subscriptions were down, and I felt the old-fashioned "newsletter" look of the old version was partly to blame. I completely overhauled the entire magazine, updating its look throughout. The major limitation was that the only color pages were the outside covers; everything else was black and white.

One of the big challenges in running this magazine is that it's a volunteer effort. We worked entirely with submissions from region members, and if there were too few, we had to create some content ourselves. Annual conventions provided quite a bit of content, as we would publish pictures of the contest winners.

Another challenge was finding images of good eough quality for the covers. This was before high-MP digital cameras were widely available except to professional photographers, and a lot of people didn't understand the concept of DPI and why I kept asking for pictures with more of it.

I tried to keep with the theme of the caboose, a piece of antiquated equipment that served to tie off the end of a train, and provide communication with the engine.

Inside the magazine, I faced the daunting task of bringing a cohesive loook to the various recurring departments. Several required updating each issue, and the Directory needed a complete overhaul every year as new officers were elected into office. I tried to make it clean and clear, well-delineated, and did my best to keep article text together. There's nothing I hate worse than being told to flip several pages ahead to finish an article.

As part of my duties as editor, I was also in charge of working with the printer (ah, the smell of the ink!) and making sure the magazine got mailed on time. Once a quarter, my living room would be filled with boxes of magazines and pages of printed address labels, and big, white Postal Service boxes. I was in charge of maintaining the subscription and mailing list, and handling subscriber complaints when their issue didn't arrive. I learned quickly that I needed to order a few extra and keep back issues, just in case.

By this time, the Region was also seriously considering going to an online-only subscription model. I agreed that the magazine should be made available online, but argued against completely doing away with the printed version. I eventually lost that argument.

This issue was sent to all members of the Region, regardless of whather they'd paid a subscription or not. It was a last-ditch effort to save the printed Kibitzer. It also contains an article I wrote, reviewing a high-end building model.

By this time, I was beginning to feel the pressure of working for a living, and having three kids in school. It was time for me to hand the throttle over to someone else. I tried to bring the Kibitzer out of the Wild West era with more modern typefaces. I wasn't entirely happy with it.