JAM SESSION

from The Capital Kiwanian - October/November 2022

by Capital District Kiwanis

EDUCATION NEWS

PASSING THE BATON WITH THE START OF A NEW YEAR

BY JOHN A. MONTGOMERY

Please allow me to introduce myself (as Mick Jagger and the Stones performed so memorably decades ago).

I am the new editor of the Capital Kiwanian, effective with this issue, the start of the 2022-23 Kiwanis year.

I am succeeding our previous editor, Jen Wolff, the most creative and capable individual who has skillfully filled the editor’s role for the past 10 years, a significant milestone. Now that Jen has moved into her new role as governor, it makes sense to turn over the editor’s reins to another Kiwanian within the district.

It’s an appropriate time to recognize Jen for a job extremely well done and wish her the best in her year as governor. We’re all pleased to know that Jen will continue to maintain a very close association with the magazine, applying her professional skills to its layout and design.

My role will be to write and encourage the submission of articles from Capital District Kiwanians, coordinating the editorial content.

During my 25 years in Kiwanis, I have met many of you. I am a past president and currently the secretary-treasurer of the Roanoke club. I served as a Lt. Governor in 2008-09 and Southwest Region Trustee from 2018-2021, and have attended many Kiwanis gatherings, trainings and conventions during my time in Kiwanis. My wife, Joyce, is an active Kiwanian as well – serving as district convention co-chair in 2021.

Professionally, I worked with Roanoke-area publications for much of my career – about a decade each with The Roanoke Times, the Blue Ridge Business Journal, and finally, Play by Play, a local sports monthly that I owned. I enjoy writing about people and their experiences, a background that should fit well with the purpose of the Capital Kiwanian.

As editor, I hope to continue many of the successful features and departments that Jen has established over the past 10 years. I also hope to add some innovations of my own. I’m hopeful you will continue to recognize Jen’s touch and yet notice some new tweaks that I will offer. Although Jen and I live some 200 miles apart, we will maintain regular contact. Kiwanians are a team!

Succeeding Jen is a challenging task – in sports terms, not unlike succeeding Bear Bryant or John Wooden. Not an easy job, but one which I’m proud and eager to undertake.

I am optimistic that you, our members, will support our bimonthly magazine with the same enthusiasm and fervor that you’ve afforded Jen. Thank you for already welcoming me to this team.

(John A. Montgomery can be reached at jmonty@cox.net or (540) 761-6751.)