Editor's Corner

Welcome to the Winter Edition of Aikido East 2007. I hope everyone has a healthy and productive New Year.

I consider this a very successful edition of the newsletter. I have been told that everyone really enjoys looking at seminar photos, and there are several that have been submitted, as well as great articles and spolights on dojo/kamiza. So thank you to everyone who helped make this a substantial issue!

The new name for the newsletter has not yet been determined, but should be announced in the near future. It will better reflect that this is a Federation newsletter, rather than a regional effort.

The 2007 New Year's renewal package will be mailed out soon. It will be in a new format, a USAF Handbook, which will be packed with new forms, applications, explanations, and other important information. Documents will be added to it or amended, as needed. All fees remain the same for 2007, but several procedures have changed so please make sure you read it when you receive it and keep it in a safe place. Most importantly, Hombu Dojo requires all dan grade applications to be typed and must be presented on the day of a student's test. These forms are available in a fillable pdf format upon request by the Dojo-cho. We are also working on transforming the USAF website into an interactive base where Dojo-cho will be able to access and sort important information.

If you have any questions, ideas, articles or photos, please email me directly. I only accept articles and digital photographs by email, not regular prints or type-written documents.

As always, we are trying to compile an accurate email address list of USAF dojos, so please remember to email us if and when your address changes: editor@aikidoeast.com. Also, many of the subscribers' email addresses are no longer valid so please re-subscribe if you have changed your address. I will be deleting all addresses that are returned.

The next edition will be online May 15th 2007, so take notes, take pictures and stay in touch!

Laura Jacobs Pavlick