Newsletter Submission Guidelines:
The chapter is committed to producing a quarterly newsletter for the membership as a tool to disseminate and share important information and innovative concepts being implemented across our chapter region.
The Chapter is continually looking for public works related articles and news items, tips, product reviews for publication in the quarterly newsletter. No compensation is provided for article submissions, but we do offer recognition to you individually or your organization for your contribution to the profession through published works.
This document summarizes the general guidelines for preparing and submitted an article for publication in the newsletter. These are general guidelines subject to modifications to streamline the process or follow direction given by the Board of Directors. Typical submissions may include:
· News story: A news story might describe a public relations event, community event, response to natural and made-made disasters, or other event of significance worthy of notification to the Chapter Membership.
· Featured Member/Officer: This type article could highlight members who are serving as officers of the Chapter or other members who have recently received a promotion or appointment, new assignments, professional recognition award, etc.
· Featured article: Most of the submissions are “featured articles”. They usually are concerned with matters relating to the Public Works and/or Public Service industry locally and nationally. They may include subjects such as: the Chapter President’s Message, featured project accomplishments, innovative management and implementation techniques, unique processes used to solve public works problems, etc.
· Product review: Product reviews must be completed by the jurisdiction and shall be limited to announcements by local government agencies who have completed a review of any given product, and have approved the product for use in that particular local government agency. This is to benefit other local government agencies who may also be considering those products within their own locality. Product reviews by suppliers or white papers relating to certain products are not accepted under this category.
· Book Reviews: Be sure to include author’s name, publishers name, address, telephone number, approximate cost, location the book can be purchased and website, if possible. Books reviews should answer the following questions: What information in the book was useful? What is your impression as to how clearly the book is written? How easy was it to find needed information within the book? What audience is the book written to? If appropriate, were diagrams included in the book? Was the book technically accurate?
· Award announcements: Announcement of awards received by Chapter Members, including local jurisdictional awards, special awards, heroic awards, community service, etc.
Submissions:
All article and photograph submissions shall be sent to the newsletter editor via electronic mail (email) with electronic file attachments. The contact information for the Newsletter Editor is:
Denise Nelson, PE, CFM, ENV SP, LEED AP
APWA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Immediate Past-President
804-363-7437
DeniseNelson2014@gmail.com
Articles:
· Articles shall not be embedded within an email. They must be attached as a separate electronic file.
· Submit articles in Microsoft Word document format (.doc or .docx) only. Preferably 1997 version or later.
· Use “Times New Roman”, 12 point font.
· Use standard one-inch (1”) margins, top, right, left and bottom.
· Use of differing colors is acceptable. The newsletter is published electronically in color.
· Please limit article to 800 words or less.
· Include the image file names and image captions at the end of the article.
· Articles should not be written as to promote or advertise the services of a company or specific product.
· Do use spell and grammar checker routines for all articles. Perfect grammar is not expected. We cherish clarity far more than perfect prose.
· Do not use all CAPS when writing an article – or special formatting.
· Have a friend or colleague proof read your article before submitting it for consideration.
· Do not capitalize the entire article title. Capitalize the first letter of each word in the title. You do not have to capitalize “the”, “a” and “an” and other such words.
· Consider a brief, two or three sentence biography of the author. Example: John Doe is a veteran webmaster who specializes in creating websites you can easily edit. He is certified by the National Web Designer’s Institute.
Photographs:
· All photo submissions must include a caption or comment to give the reader emphasis of the purpose for providing the photograph. What is in the photograph that you want the Reader to understand or visualize.
· All photos must be in PNG or JPG format with a file size limit of 5 MB per photo or image
The Newsletter Editor will review all articles and make changes for readability, organization, and APWA format/applicability.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Newsletter Editor for assistance