Welcome back to the New Lyons Recorder!

After a summer hiatus, the Lyons Recorder is back! with a new look …new staff …new plan.

Let me introduce myself as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Lyons Recorder. I have been working as a journalist for approximately three decades, and have worked for companies as Office Manager, and have opened my own businesses. I feel I have been preparing for this job all my life. Well, it’s never too late… I am supposed to be in my retirement years! …but that’s what you do in a small town.

Many of you know me for my volunteer work around town. I work with the history museum to do exhibits, programs, brochures, publicity, oral history, and more. I work with the Lyons senior center to do events, decorations, newsletters, and communication. I have also tutored for the local schools. In addition to being a journalist for 30 years, I have worked locally and written articles and taken photographs for both the Lyons Recorder and the Redstone Review for close to two decades, earning several journalism awards for my work.

In September 2020, I am starting the newest version of the LYONS RECORDER with probably a half dozen articles each week. I already have seven Lyons writers lined up and working on their pieces for the coming weeks, in addition to what I write.

The focus will be on LYONS AREA NEWS.
Yes, we will also continue the excellent fun and/or informative articles that you have seen in the past, such as Nature, Wellness, Events, Awards, About Town, Senior News, Astronomy, Photo-Spreads, and more.

But… I hope to eventually publish more “news” in the newspaper than was in the last version. Over the many decades, the Lyons Recorder differed from all other newspapers in that it told what was going on in our town, and it did it weekly, so that it was timely. There are other newspapers, blogs, Facebook pages, and lifestyle magazines in Lyons which are all very good and entertaining. But we want to be Your Paper of Record. We want to have significant information in it that people can use now, and later research, and reminisce with for decades to come.

Thank you for your support! I will keep you updated on the progress. We may not gather all the new staff for another month or two, and then we will need to have some meetings to form a team. We will also be redesigning the Front Page to look more like a traditional newspaper. So, the first issue of the full-fledged newspaper may not come out for a couple of months.

Also many thanks to Clark Hodge who is helping me with the technical end of restarting a fresh newspaper, and to the many editors and writers who have joined the team! Contact me if you wish to join…whether it is one article, or a monthly article! (see Help Wanted below)

ARTICLES COMING THIS MONTH:
(many of them will be monthly columns)
==About Town by LaVern Johnson (weekly)
==Larimer and Boulder County updates on COVID
==Gov. Polis announcements on COVID aid programs and testing
==Library News Updates
==Astronomy and Forest Fires
==Town of Lyons News by Trustee
==updated Town Commission & Board Vacancies
==Review of new Rodriquez Album Release
==Wellness during COVID (2 writers)
==Senior News
==Botanic Gardens Update
==Nature and Birds (2 writers)
==Fun Photo Spread
==Protecting your Trees
==Book Club Celebrity News
==Book Reviews by locals (two)
==Lyons Film Festival (Sept.)
==LEAF offerings, update
==BCF summary of artists needs

HELP WANTED:
Be in on the Ground Level and help set up a First Rate Newspaper!

(1) News journalist. a professional journalist or two. This could include fascinating investigative reporting, and informative Town of Lyons government reporting. Let me know if you want to write for us, or if you have any leads!
(2) Technical person with preferably graphic skills for layout and design.
(3) Ad sales person.
(4) News Editor: to run the business end of the newspaper. This would involve things like running productive staff meetings, filing government papers, arranging for bookkeeping matters, setting up publishing deadlines and schedules as to what articles are due on what day and what will be printed each week, and more.

Initially, all jobs will be volunteer. The above positions may eventually involve some compensation, based on production, once we get the revenue coming in steady.

EDITOR POSITIONS:
Positions which are not confirmed at this time are:
School News;
Copy editing;
Arts & Culture;
Features.
Let me know if you are interested in these, in case the current candidate is unable to fulfill their job. The editors would be in charge of scheduling articles and guiding the contributing writers; and, possibly writing articles, or having a column of their own.

WRITER POSITIONS:
Journalist to summarize key points in Town Board of Trustee meetings.

If you have a story idea or field of expertise you would like to share with the Lyons readers, contact the Editor with information and a brief work resume.

Thank You!