P.E.O. Record
Between the Covers
A peek inside the redesign of The P.E.O. Record
The only constant is change
What woman doesn’t want an occasional makeover in some facet of her life?
For most of us, our own personal style has evolved throughout the years and more than once we have updated our wardrobes, modernized our accessories and renovated our homes. We’ve refurbished, revised, renewed and revived our surroundings and ourselves when we’ve felt the time was right – and we’ve found that the energy that comes from such an exercise is, well… refreshing!
The P.E.O. Record has seen its share of evolutions since the first issue, dated January 1889, was mailed to less than 500 subscribers. Through the years there have been many changes to The P.E.O. Record, yet the editorial staff has remained true to the ideal that the first editor, Effie Hoffman Rogers, D, Oskaloosa, Iowa, expressed in her Salutatory in that inaugural issue, "We intend to give you … good reading matter, pure, clean and helpful."
The P.E.O. Record is the official publication of the Sisterhood. Among its primary objectives are to keep members informed about P.E.O. projects and to facilitate the exchange of ideas, news and information between chapters and among members. Throughout the years the publication has undergone many evolutions, both in size and context and in the policies under which it functions. Some of the milestones and historical moments indicated here are mentioned in the centennial history book "Out of the Heart: A Century of P.E.O. 1869-1969."
- In 1895 a policy was adopted which made every P.E.O. a subscriber by adding 25˘ to the dues of each member, thereby establishing The Record Fund. This policy has continued through the years, the present allocation being $5 per capita.
- For much of the early history of The Record, commercial advertising was a source of revenue for the magazine. Ads in the pages of past issues themselves are an interesting reflection of the times: white granite sanitary rolling pin, 50˘; combination dipper (8 articles in one!) 30˘; a used square piano, $80; Benzoin Beauty Cream, Sapogen Shampoo and even Freckle Balm! By the 1960s commercial advertising had essentially been eliminated from the magazine.
- During the 1965-67 biennium, the circulation department faced the daunting task of affixing ZIP codes to all mailing addresses. The U.S. Postal Service had introduced the five-digit codes in 1963, but they were not mandatory until later in the decade.
- Also during 1965-67, each member became responsible for sending her own change of address to The P.E.O. Record; prior to that time it was the duty of the corresponding secretary to report any change in a chapter member’s mailing label.
- 1967-68 marked the first introduction of color to the inside pages. In 1978 the mailing list was converted from a manual system to a computerized database maintained in the Circulation Department.
- In 2005 the CARE issue — a supplement to The P.E.O. Record — was added. The CARE issue includes valuable data including bed and breakfast information, project policies and procedures, reciprocity information, etc.
Taking everything into account
Many factors must be weighed before an overhaul of a membership-based publication is undertaken. The primary consideration is – of course – what are the needs and wants of the readers: What do they enjoy or dislike about the current publication? If they don’t read each issue in its entirety, why don’t they? What other periodicals do members subscribe to, and why do they find those publications engaging? To help gather answers to these and other questions, the executive office took both formal and informal polls of members, including a survey sent to each chapter president in the 2008 winter mailing. What the responses revealed was that while there is certainly a loyal and faithful following out there, some members were beginning to feel that the magazine had become less compelling, and that perhaps the time had arrived for The Record to be refreshed.
For the past five years, P.E.O. has worked with a graphic design firm to update the organization’s overall visual image, to bring cohesiveness to publications and convention materials and to develop special projects such as the recently released "The Girl Who Reached for the Star" book. So, with a relationship already in place, it seemed natural to turn to Des Moines-based Sayles Graphic Design to explore the possibility of a makeover for The P.E.O. Record.
Anne Pettygrove, P.E.O. chief executive officer, reflected on the eight month redesign process as this issue was being prepared for print. Anne shared that "There were many, many considerations to take into account during this ambitious process. One major challenge is the fact that there is no stereotypical or 'average' P.E.O. per se. While this is the very thing that makes our sisterhood so rich and rewarding, it poses a challenge with projects like this one, which involve communications. Our membersrange in age from 18 to over 100; we have sisters who are career women and others who are lifelong homemakers; we have chapters that are only a few weeks old and others that are planning their sesquicentennials. To try and find one design that will resonate with all has been a challenge and it is likely that for a while at least, the magazine will be a work in progress."
In addition to changes in layout and design, there have been some adjustments made to the editorial content of the magazine. While each project will continue to be represented in most issues, certain projects will be highlighted at particular times throughout the editorial year. New standing features include "For the Record" penned by Anne Pettygrove and "To The Point," formally called F.Y.I., and a new column written by BIL. Many feature stories will be supplemented with additional information available on the website, peointernational. org. More refinements to editorial content are planned for the future.
Anne concludes, "We realize there may be a kink or two that we need to address in the new design and as we refine the editorial process. It is my hope that Record readers will be patient as we transition, but that they will also voice their opinions about what we have presented thus far."
Some things don’t change!
In her report to the 1967 convention of Supreme Chapter (now International Chapter), Alvina Mattes, Chapter JJ, Des Moines, then editor of The P.E.O. Record said “Editorially, effort has been made to keep the content of the magazine interesting, informative, and varied, with the thought in mind that it must be valued by P.E.O.s of all ages.”
And what do you know: more than 40 years later, the objective is still the same!
Next year The Record will mark 120 years of continuous publication.
It would seem we are due for some evolution in the official publication
of the Sisterhood, and thus with this issue we are delighted to unveil
the newly revised, renewed and redesigned P.E.O. Record!