8/31/2009 Kara Kugelmeyer from Thorndike Publishing on the Future of Publishing
Sergeant at Arms
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Jeff Jolicoeur was our Sergeants of Arms today. Thanks Jeff!!!!!
Greeter
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Mark Pitman served as Greeter. today. Kim Hawkes will be our Greeter for the September 14th meeting. (No meeting next week due to Labor Day.)
50/50 Tickets
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Dan Parks sold 50/50 tickets today and Gene Beaupre was the winner. Gene generously donated his winnings back to Rotary. Thanks, Gene!! Gene will sell tickets next week. Charle Gaunce won 10 free tickets the next 50/50 drawing on Septemebr 14th.
World Service Cup
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The donations for this month's World Service Cup will go to acquire back-to-school backpacks with anti domestic violence themes for kids.
Fined for pictures in the Paper
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There were no pictures in the paper last week.
Cell Phones
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A $10.00 fee for cell phone ringing continues for the 2008-2009 Club year. No fines assessed today.
On Leave
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Cynthia Corbin.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
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Charlie Gaunce introduced former Waterville Rotarian Chris Hatch.
Sarah Sugden introduced today's speaker Kara Kugelmeyer, visitor Chris Cormier, and her son, Jack.
What can you do?
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* Tell Board Members what you are passionate about for community projects
* Tell the program committee about interesting speakers/topics you would like to listen to
* Be involved, join a committee
* Be active
* Be positive
Happy Dollars
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Marc Pitman had lots about which to be happy. He took a road trip with his Dad, from Maine to Mississippi. Marc noticed that his dad's a lot smarter now than he used to be. Marc's sister recently gave birth to a child. Inland Hospital's booth at the Taste of Greater Waterville won the "Best Sandwich" award.
Chris Gaunce was happy about last week's great program (F. Lee Bailey) and that we had so many guests last week. He showed a doctored photo of the back of Al Feather's head, complete with added Rotary keyway.
Ken Viens celebrated both his son's and his own wedding anniversaries this week. He is beginning a new position at Kennebec Savings Bank in wealth management. Congratulations, Ken!
Seth Sherwood, in an unusual state of affairs, is happy twice in the same week. His expectant child is a girl, and his son Aidan began kindergarten.
Mark Ford celebrated his 26th wedding anniversary; he has been with Day's Jewelers for 21 years; daughter Lindsey began her senior year at college with an invitation to an all-expense-paid conference in New York, as one of 100 applicants selected from a field of 1500. Move over, dad.
Nikki Desjardins thanked volunteers, Rotarians who formed teams, and generous sponsor OneSteel for the success of the recent Rotary Golf Tournament. She is happy (relieved?) that two managers at work afflicted with health issues are both healing well.
Doug Carnrick enjoyed the Inland Hospital food at the Taste. He took his son to college in Pennsylvania, visited his daughter, and learned all about contra dancing. Our two RYLA candidates this year are our own Nikki Desjardins, and Maria Clukey of Colby College.
Joe Donato is happy to be back from a six-month leave of absence, with a better schedule at Thomas College.
Tom Barton is happy that his storage and condo rental properties are rented.
Sarah Sugden is happy that her son, Jack, got his teacher of choice. Her nephew began attending George Mitchell School, but is unhappy because he didn't learn anything on his first day.
Announcements:
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Our Rotary Youth Exchange student is settling in with her local "family" in Winslow. She is playing field hockey. Please send warm thoughts her way. Next year we will try to find a local student to send to another land in a reverse exchange.
Today's speaker, Kara Kugelmeyer, is an alumna of the Rotary Youth Exchange program.
Upcoming speaker schedule:
======================= September 7, 2009 Labor Day (no meeting) September 14, 2009 Steve Erario, Mid-Maine Sustainability Coalition September 21, 2009 Lauri LaChance, Maine Development Foundation September 28, 2009 Tom McAdam, Kennebec Behavioral Health October 5, 2009 International Woodfuels
Waterville Rotary Club Web Site
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http://www.clubrunner.ca/waterville
Today's Program: An Introduction to the Publishing Industry (Kara Kugelmeyer, Thorndike Publishing)
Today's speaker, Kara Kugelmeyer of Thorndike Publishing, was introduced by President Sarah. Kugelmeyer describes herself as a voracious reader and an advocate of public libraries and "the book." She earned a baccalaureate from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1990. Her first years out of college were spent working in a satellite corporate office of Whole Foodsâ€"in IT and later as Director of Customer Service. She then migrated to the web, working for Lycos/Wired as a Product Manager working on their search engines and advertising products for four years.
Following the call of the wild, Kara moved to Maine in 2002 to work for Thorndike Press, an imprint of Gale/Cengage Learningâ€"the world's 13th largest publisher. Her current position at Thorndike is Senior Editor, New Product Development.
The main hurdle facing the publishing industry these days is to convince us, the readers, of the importance of authoritative content. Wikipedia is not an authoritative source.
Delivering product in an efficient way that makes a profit for publishers is today's focus. Possible new approaches include offering a single chapter of a book at a premium price. Trade publications grapple with price competition from Amazon. Most publicly owned publishing companies have significantly restructured in recent years.
The future of publishing will rely on partnerships and global repurposing of content. In the future we can look for online education courses with instructors who were formerly unaffordable at a local level. Home schoolers will also benefit. Videoconferencing will add access to professionals.
What will the tactile learning experience of the future be? Its price point and distribution mode are not yet shaped. One possibility is "Level 26" a multimedia reading experience where users can choose alternative endings to their selections.
Q. Will the language of texting be incorporated into general media usage in the future?
A. It's already being integrated into books. Its acceptance into academia is more of an anthropological discussion.
Q. Will a need continue to print longer documents for eyesight's sake?
A. Expect new technology, such as a gel screen, to incorporate a tactile experience.
Q. Will collecting books cease?
A. No. Many libraries specialize in digital collections. The form books take in the future will change.
Q. In five years will kids carry a Kindle rather than a backpack filled with books?
A. It's not out of the question. The technology is moving too fast for the economically deprived to fully attain.
After his presentation, Sarah presented Mr. Bailey with a Rotary Four Way Test keychain with the thanks of the club.