Winter 2010

	Combined Together With
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 For over thirty years, the Virginia State Police Association has had a magazine, the “Trooper”, and a newsletter, the “Informer”. In October of 2007, your Board of Directors decided to change to one publication described as a “hybrid” newsletter.  The first issue of your new Virginia State Police Association newsletter was published in January, 2008.

The new newsletter retains the name of the discontinued magazine.  The “Trooper” newsletter will be distributed quarterly and will be produced for us by the reputable marketing and public relations firm of Neathawk Dubuque & Packett.

Woodrow Wilson said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” So the logical question would be, “Why this change?” There are two major reasons.

The first reason, like most everything in life, has to do with money.  There was a time the magazine was a revenue producer for the Association.  We were able to raise in excess of fifty thousand dollars annually from the ads sold for the magazine. We have seen this steadily decline over the last eight to ten years until it has become a financial liability. We switched last year from the publisher we had employed for years because of declining revenues. The new publisher we hired recently terminated the contract because he was unable to produce the revenue promised.

The second reason has to do with better serving our membership. We believe we can get news and information into our members' hands in a more timely manner with a newsletter. Now when an event occurs, it is written about, the magazine is compiled, it goes through several proofs to insure accuracy, the ads have to be compiled, it goes to the printer, etc, etc.…I think you follow my point. By the time the magazine is distributed, the articles in many cases are “old” news. We believe we will be able to provide information in a timely manner with the streamlined process of an improved newsletter and our constantly improving the VSPA website located on the Internet at www.vspa.org.

The "Trooper" newsletter will continue, as the magazine was published for the Virginia State Police Association and its members, as a membership benefit.  Circulation is controlled to members of the Association, those involved in active law enforcement, members of the legislature and leaders in state and local governments.