Joe Lavine resigns
Written by:
Diana Coogle
For more than 17 years, Joe Lavine has been the Applegater’s magnificent webmaster. Like the wizard hidden behind the machine of Oz, Joe has been the invisible genius behind what we see when we go to applegater.org.
It was Joe who consistently and promptly put the latest issue of the Applegater on the website. It was Joe who entered and updated the names, bios, and photos of new board members. It was Joe who responded with goodwill and promptness to every “Joe, will you…” about website matters. For years, Joe has tirelessly served as webmaster “extraordinaire and voluntaire” for the Applegater.
But nothing lasts forever. Joe has told us he is ready to retire. This will be the last issue he posts on applegater.org.
Former Applegater editor Barbara Holiday, who thinks the world of Joe, said, “Over the many, many years that we worked together during my time as managing editor/editor-in-chief, he has always been so reliable and responsive that it’s hard (and sad) to envision the Applegater without him. I wish him many, many years of unfettered enjoyment in his retirement. He is certainly ready”—and, I would add, deserving.
With Joe stepping out of the webmaster position, the board has taken advantage of this moment to do a complete revamp of the website. Alyssa Prophet, of Prophet Solutions (and our ad rep for Jackson County), is working with board member and artist William (Whit) Whitney to design and implement the new website. Stay tuned! Before the next issue of the Applegater, you will be able to access a new applegater.org with all of the elements that Joe created—the current and past issues, the board bios, information about advertising, article requirements, books for sale, ways to donate, and much more—in a new form.
Joe Lavine was one of the longest-serving and most important of the Applegater’s numerous important volunteers. We offer him our heartfelt thanks for these many years he served as our webmaster and wish him well as he steps out from behind the curtain of applegater.org and sets aside his wizard hat.
Diana Coogle
Chair, Applegater Board of Directors
Photo 1: The Applegater's own webmaster, Joe Lavine, shows off the Applegater website on his iPad while in Avignon, France.
