Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
This poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, gets used a lot, I know. But it seemed fitting to walk it out one more time in sharing the news that our “small but mighty” member publication, United Voices, is going the way of becoming fully digital.
Writing for this magazine these last 11 years has felt very much like “the road less traveled.” And I have truly loved every step taken in that journey. Every sentence, every word choice, every editorial decision has delivered us here to this point in the path where we will now diverge in our direction.
Progress starts with a single step, they say, or perhaps a giant leap forward. We’re taking that leap with United Voices this fall by moving away from printing and mailing copies of this magazine to all our members.
Going digital affords us a larger canvas upon which we can proverbially paint. In turn, we can embed deeper, richer media within our stories. With the click of a button or swipe across the screen, you can directly see video of our member events, hear the audio of our members’ voices while they speak on the important issues we cover. These expanded opportunities to tell stories with finer details and more engaging content is exciting to all of us who work together to produce this publication.
When it comes to producing good, timely and high-quality member communications, delivery of that content is just as important as compiling it, and this process is made more efficient by moving to digital, too. We will be able to continue to send all of you these regular digests of collected materials through email, social media and other forms of electronic communication.
While we are reducing our footprint in print publications, we will in turn be expanding our capacity in electronic publishing. At the start of this migration to digital, we are going to continue our current schedule of producing four editions of United Voices magazine in an e-publication and sending to all our members through electronic means – email and text messaging platforms, primarily. If your current email address and mobile phone number are currently correct in our system, be on the lookout for the electronic version of this last issue in your in-box. If you can’t find it there, check any spam folders you might have set up. If you still can’t find it, contact our office at 701-223-0450 or send an email and our staff can help determine if we’ve got the correct contact information on file.
While looking forward is always important, I think it also instructive to look back at what we’ve accomplished here at United Voices. For the past 11 years, it’s been all our great fortune and privilege to share with all of you, the 11,000+ members of North Dakota United, 46 issues, 10 volumes, 1,404 pages, 705 articles, 1,000+ photos, graphics and QR codes, and something close to 500,000 words.
I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to this publication’s continued success over the years. Most of all, though, I would like to thank all of you who have read our print magazine since its start! We, quite literally, could not do this work without you. Your membership in ND United has made all this possible, and will continue to, as we endeavor to utilize the resources you provide us with toward delivering even quicker, more timely, thoughtful and in-depth coverage of the issues that matter most to all of you.
To quote Robert Frost one more time, “Knowing how way leads on to way,” I hope you have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, reading this marvelous member magazine, and “that has made all the difference.”
