Editor's Corner

Welcome to the Winter Edition of Aikido East 2008. First, my sincere apology for the late launching of this edition, and for not having the new name of the newsletter featured. Due to a variety of circumstances, this has been an unusually hectic fall/early winter and there were several items that had to be put on hold; the name change to USAF Aikido Newsletter was one of them, and formating pictures for the Time Frames section was another. It is my intention to have both items up and running for the May 15th 2008 edition. I thank you for understanding and for your patience.

On a lighter note, you can see that this edition has more content than ever before. I thank everyone who continues to submit articles and photos for all the various sections. In fact, please notice there is a new section, titled The Bulletin Board. This is a place for all the bits of information that may not qualify as a seminar or an article. It will feature a welcome page for all dojo that have applied to and been accepted by the USAF. It may have announcements or art work. You can post if you are looking to buy or sell used mats, if you need a ride to summer camp, if you're a proud new parent etc. Basically, it will be recreated with each edition depending on what you chose to send me. I hope you enjoy this new addition.

This is a reminder to the Chief Instructors that the renewal packages went out at the end of November, and the renewal deadline is April 1st. As we know from experience, time flies and that date suddenly appears out of nowhere. I am available to answer any questions you may have.

Many instructors have taken the opportunity to contact me for their login and password for the new interactive site. Please keep in mind that this is only the beginning of a very long process. I have taken notes on all the feedback, both positive and negative, and will make an effort to address every suggestion and work towards improving the site until it's as good as it can be. In addition to enhancing some of the existing capabilities, the next stage will include having all documents online and available for download, as well as setting up the ability to use paypal if that is your prefered method. Again, any and all suggestions are welcome.

The next edition will be online May 15th 2008, so take notes, take pictures and stay in touch!

Laura Jacobs Pavlick