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[Editor's note: The following letter is from the September/October 2000 issue of the Central States District Serenade, John Petterson, editor. The letter was in response to a CSD editor's concern over the BETY judging standards. Editor John Conrad's letter was in a previous issue of the Serenade.]

To the editor:

I was interested in John Conrad's letter in the Serenade, July/August 2000. I can understand John's concern but I offer the following in rebuttal.

I have been judging district and International bulletin contest entries since-and I hate to date myself-the early 1960s. I edited an International Medallist chapter bulletin (K.C. Harmonotes) and also the Rocky Mountain District, New Harmony Horizons.

Contest bulletin requirements (I would rather call them suggestions) were organized, designed, hashed and rehashed many times through the years. These guidelines were put together by members of PROBE-chapter bulletin editors-not judges or someone in the Kenosha White House playing dictator. WE did it! WE editors! It is as simple as that.

I have scored hundreds of bulletins in the Content Category. Many of those entries were certainly not suitable as contest entries. Regardless of their quality, however, the editor learned something about improving his bulletin, and he also learned that chapter officers, committee heads and other members had a responsibility to contribute to their bulletin. Therefore, instead of blaming contest judges and the Society for the fact that editors do not enter contests because the chapter officers don't contribute articles, if that is true, how about including in the job description for chapter officers, committee heads, etc., that a contribution to the chapter bulletin be submitted for every issue? How about including in the job description for the chapter bulletin editor that he enters the district BETY contest every year, or every two years? I will be shot down in flames for the following statement, but I believe it to be true, "A great, informative, well composed, chapter bulletin is more important to the chapter's well being than the chapter executive group and the board of directors."

When I see a great chapter bulletin, I know there is a chapter behind it that stands tall in the Society.

Think about it!

-Warren Edmonds, Frank Thorne Chapter, Certified Judge (Content Category), Excelsior Springs, Missouri