From The Editor Eric Wolfley, RPT It’s been a long time coming, but here it is…another issue of our newsletter. You will notice it has a new look as well as a new name – The CAUT Forum. The Forum was not only the place where the ancient Romans lent each other their ears, but was also a gathering place or market, depending on what was going down at the time. I hope this publication will be all that as well – a place where ideas can be put out on the table for discussion, a soap-box, so to speak. We, as CAUT members, have our national and regional meetings, which we call "forums" as well as the rich, new medium we call the "CAUT List" to vent our ideas and concerns. Of course, not everybody can attend the national convention this year, and many don’t participate on the CAUT list due to the lack of time to keep up or to the lack of a computer. (Yes, to those of us who can’t walk in the same room as the computer without checking e-mail, there are people who exist quite well without it). I hope this publication will bridge the gap and bring people from that larger audience into the mix. To those who receive this newsletter who are not in the Guild, I hope you can see the benefit of what we are trying to accomplish in our forums. We aim to improve our lot as well as to improve our ability to provide the service with which we are charged. The equations are simple…better technicians = better pianos, happier technicians = happier pianos. As a Committee, this year we have been charged with the task of revising and updating the much-discussed "Guidelines for Effective Institutional Piano Maintenance". The issues brought forth in this publication in the form of Bill Schull’s excellent article as well as the snippets I have included from the CAUT list will no doubt provoke much discussion at the Arlington forum. I’m sure there will be many other topics brought to the table, so bring yourselves as well as your ideas and join in. Please take the time to fill out the enclosed questionnaire and mail it back. We need data to see if we are making a difference, and to see where we need to direct our efforts in the future. It has been ten years since the guidelines have been published, so now is a good time to be able to assess the impact that publication has had on our lives and on the quality of the pianos in institutions around the country. Oh, and I need copy!! ANYTHING that moves you to put ink to paper or make clicking noises on the keyboard will be welcome. Thanks, Eric
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