From Where I Sit WE REALLY CLEANED UP!
	november 2004

by Richard Koscher, Publisher

We had a great time at the Marsh Creek Clean-Up on September 18! I never saw so many happy people enthusiastically doing something that really needed doing. We all worked diligently to clean up messes that other people had made, and had a great time doing so.

I was appalled by the state of Marsh Creek when I walked by it and really wanted to do something to help clean up that eyesore.

I heavily committed my own time and the resources of the magazine to help make this day a success.

I created a flyer that we handed out, advertised the event in the pages of 110° Magazine, and attended the committee planning meetings.

When we gathered together at the end of the project in front of the immense Tower of Trash that had been constructed from the refuse the volunteers had collected along the creek bank, our spirits were really lifted by the fact that, by working together, we had managed to accomplish so much for the good of our community.

The official number of volunteers who showed up at the event numbered 350. This was up from about 60 a year ago and 20 volunteers four years ago. The organizers admitted that the support of 110° Magazine was what made the difference.

We’re determined that the impact of the Marsh Creek Clean-Up day will continue into the future. Our editor, Don Huntington, and I met some people who are going to be rich sources of articles for us in upcoming issues. We’re planning to have an ongoing emphasis in the pages of 110° Magazine covering environmental and preservation topics of interest.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue. We’ve surely filled it up with articles that amazed and delighted us!

A Magazine that’s Difficult to Put Down
Ever since we published our first issue, we’ve been gratified by the number of people who have told us, “I love your magazine! I read each issue from cover to cover.”

One of our loyal readers gave us some additional insight into this phenomenon.

My technique in reading most publications, like newspapers or business journals, is to rapidly skim through the topics trying to eliminate all the things that I don’t have any interest in.

For most publications I’m often able to eliminate 90 percent, or so, of the content, in this way. For example, a newspaper might have two articles and a column that I will read. A journal might have one article that I will read and three that I will skim.

When I get a copy of your 110° Magazine, on the other hand, I go some place to be alone, lock my door, and read it from cover-to-cover. I enjoy every page!

Even articles on subjects I’m not interested in are written in such an engaging style, that I’m glad afterwards that I was able to read them.

We are encouraged by the loyalty of such readers as this. We like to think that we are earning such loyalty. For example, I design the cover so that readers will pick up the magazine in the first place. The format is designed to draw readers’ attention. I strategically place the pictures to capture and to hold their attention once I’ve gotten it.

Our Editor In Chief, Don Huntington, has told me that he has a goal of labeling articles so that the title encourages the reader to check out the article itself. The first sentence encourages the reader to check out the second sentence, and so on.

At least for some of our readers, our strategies work, I guess. Before they know it, some of them have read through the entire issue.