wfn.org | Publishing House meeting

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3193 notes).

Note 3190 by UMNS on Sept. 26, 1996 at 16:36 Eastern (6210 characters).

SEARCH: publishing, board, Olson, curriculum, sales, revenue,
Alexander
 Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency
of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn.,
New York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                             476(10-71B){3190}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            Sept. 26, 1996

Photo available

New Jersey attorney elected book editor 
of United Methodist Publishing House

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)--The governing body of the United
Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) elected Harriett J. Olson, a New
Jersey attorney, vice president and editorial director/United
Methodist book editor during its organizational meeting here Sept
23-25.
     Olson fills a vacancy left in the administrative staff of
UMPH after Neil M. Alexander was elected president and publisher
in January. She will begin her new duties here Oct. 15.
     Olson received her B.A. degree from Houghton (N.Y.) College
and a J.D degree from Harvard Law School. As a partner in the law
firm of Pitney, Hardin, Kipp and Szuch in Morristown, N.J., her
areas of concentration were commercial real estate and
environmental law. She is also an active member of Morristown
(N.J.) United Methodist Church as has served as a delegate to the
past three General Conferences. 
     In addition to publishing articles related to her legal work,
Olson contributed to the 1996 Abingdon Press collection, United,
Liberty and Charity: Building Bridges Under Icy Waters, and
authored One Young Adult's View  for the summer 1992 issue of the
Publishing House's Leader in the Church School Today magazine.
     Alexander told governing board members that Olson's "devotion
to Jesus Christ, deep commitment to the mission of the United
Methodist Church, intellectual gifts and interests, along with her
professional accomplishments, provide a rich foundation for her to
play a significant role" in the Publishing House and denomination.
     The 38-member board organized for its work in the 1997-2000
quadrennium under a new name approved by the General Conference in
April.  The body is now known simply as the Board of the United
Methodist Publishing House, rather than the General Board of
Publication.
     Randy Smith, an attorney from Houston, was elected
chairperson of the board; Juanita T. Henderson, Charlotte, N.C.,
vice-chairperson; and the Rev. Myron F. McCoy, Chicago, Ill.,
secretary.
     The meeting marked the end of the first six months of
Alexander's tenure as president and publisher of UMPH. In his
report to the board, he noted that sales for the 1996 fiscal year
ending July 31, totaled $99.7 million, up $1.2 million from the
previous year. But, he said, the total represents a "significant
shortfall below the amount budgeted." 
     He told board members that due to new accounting procedures
for figuring revenue, the total does not reflect curriculum sales
for the period between September and November nor does it include
August bulletin sales. These figures will be reflected in the 1996
reports. 
     Alexander also reported that net revenue represented a loss
of $849,199 compared with a gain of $667,797 in the previous year.
The reasons for the monetary loss are low sales growth, increased
cost of goods sold, and a continuing decline in sales of church
school curriculum, he said.
     Although product sales constantly fluctuate, Alexander 
attributed the chief cause of the sales budget shortfall to "a
significant decline in unit sales for curriculum resources." 
     Church school products have always been central in the
mission of the Publishing House, he said, but changes in the way
congregations use and order resources have affected curriculum
sales results, publishing decisions and the ways educational
resources are produced. 
      Pointing to changes in Sunday School attendance, teacher
recruitment and the kinds of activities and resource materials
people prefer, Alexander said these elements contribute to the
overall affect on the sales budget of the Publishing House.
     Alexander described the challenges facing the Publishing
House as "formidable" but noted that the staff is devoting
"considerable time and attention" to understand the needs of
churches and the role UMPH can play in meeting those needs.  
     "Our task now is to conceive and institute new methods and
apply new skills ... to embrace the future with a spirit of
hopeful anticipation and flexibility, as together we build an
organization equal to its mandate," Alexander said.
     To build a flexible organization, UMPH is evaluating the work
of its more than 1,000 employees to determine the most needed
positions and how work can be performed with fewer permanent
employees. The goal is to reduce staff by approximately 60
positions by the year 2000.
     Board members also celebrated the following Publishing House
achievements for the year.:
     * publication of Mil Voces Para Celebrar hymnbook and
Aventuras curriculum for Spanish-language audiences;
     * publication of the first edition of the electronic version
of The New Interpreter's Bible;
     * sale of academic products, music resources, gifts and
reference resources, especially The New Interpreter's Bible, which
exceeded expectation and reached more than 17,000 subscriptions.
     * increase in subscriptions for FaithLink (for adults) and
LinC (for youth), two study resources distributed by fax;
     * increase of 17 percent in the number of products published
including 194 new titles and 489 new church school curriculum
products.
                               # # #

NOTE TO EDITORS: UMNS sent a story dated July 30, giving you the
names of people from your annual conference elected to serve on
churchwide agencies. However, that list did not include additional
members elected, here, to assure representation by gender, race,
age, geography, church size and expertise.

Juanita T. Henderson, Western North Carolina Annual Conference
Donna Strickland Smith, North Carolina Annual Conference
Randy Smith, Texas Annual Conference
Donald W. Tanselle, South Indiana Annual Conference
Dae-Sob Yoon, East Ohio Annual Conference.

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