Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. We like to be able to identify and put a face to bodies with which we associate. At times the face is that of a person who has the power to influence outcomes and at other times it is a willing spokesperson, a media face. Within our club structures, the group that forms the executive is usually supporting the leader or chairperson in public statements. Unlike politicians, we don’t and can’t justify having a media spokesperson in a not-for-profit body. But at times the very important role of the publicity officer is the unsung hero who gets the message out to the membership, the TV print and broadcast media and, of course, to other clubs and enthusiasts. Normally we don’t get to see or hear much of publicity officers except for perhaps their name on the bottom of a post or news release. Yet it is this person who can provide a wide range of support to our body not only with the necessary dispersal of information but making sure that the name of our club is “out there”. These days there are many platforms which people use for sourcing news and information. Once we depended on books, libraries and newspapers but these days the Internet gives us instant access to many opportunities. To this end, do you know what your membership turns to for entertainment, news and messaging? Once it was web pages that carried the traffic but these days we have numerous social media platforms and they tend to be used by different segments of the community. Has anyone gone to the trouble of finding out what club members are using regularly or what family members are chatting with from school ages through to grandparents? I bet you will find that many households are represented on several of these apps. Then naturally we have to include our specific avenues which are dedicated to supporting amateur radio. We have club pages on net platforms, the bi-monthly Amateur Radio magazine and of course our weekly news service provided by the WIA. As a regular listener have you taken the time to count the number of clubs who provide material to QNews? The regular number would probably amount to the fingers of one hand with maybe two or three appearing more than a couple of times each year. This is why I believe the publicity officer is the unsung hero because they take the time to answer those questions I have asked and they endeavour to get their messages out on all the appropriate platforms. While I was at school, I started listening to the weekly news broadcast and continued doing so as I became a shortwave listener and then a licensed amateur. If my experience stands for anything, we never know who is listening. With the world widespread of amateur radio and the internet, we should never be surprised where these listeners are. We are a community of enthusiasts and we should know how to speak to each other and include those we don’t know as well. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think….how about you?