By By Adam Prestridge
In December, the Atmore Advance will re-establish a Readership Advisory Board, which has not been in place for numerous years.
The board, consisting of businessmen and women from Atmore, will meet monthly to discuss various aspects of the Advance’s print and web editions in hopes of receiving feedback that will be helpful in improving the products.
While working on this project for several months, I have been told by numerous people that they either served or were asked to serve on the board when it was implemented in 2003. Those that I spoke with said that the meetings held proved to be productive and beneficial for both the newspaper and its readers. Unfortunately, the board was put on the backburner after some restructuring, but we at the Advance are pleased that it will be starting back up.
The monthly meetings will include a wide range of topics as they relate to news, sports, advertising and circulation on both a local and national level. The team here at the Advance is eager to know what our readers like and dislike about the Advance, and want to see included in its pages. After all, the Advance has been Atmore’s newspaper since 1927.
Personally, I believe having The Atmore Advance Readership Advisory Board in place will add to the paper’s credibility within the community. With the board in place, readers can be assured that their voices are being heard as they will be able to give suggestions to board members who will relay those suggestions to the Advance staff.
Those who were selected to serve on the board for 2009 include Nick Smith, Kathleen Hall, Rene’ Godwin, Tim Manning, Zickeyous Byrd, Peggie Byrd and Robert Maxwell. We feel that this diverse group of individuals ranging in age from mid-30s to early 80s will benefit the Advance in so many ways to assist in moving forward in the future, but keeping in touch with our hometown flavor.
Adam Prestridge is publisher of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123.