Canadian content in SND election

Canada's own Gayle Grin leads the slate of officers running for the SND's top office. Online ballots were e-mailed out to members last week, though there are two other options for voting: mailing a paper ballot postmarked no later than Mon., Sept. 24, to SND HQ, and casting a paper ballot at the Boston workshop's registration desk no later than 10 a.m. Fri., Oct. 12.

Gayle would be the third Canadian after the late Rob Austin, former Hamilton Spectator editor (1983-84) and design consultant Lucie Lacava (2001) to lead SND.

Gayle is Managing Editor of Design and Graphics at the National Post and the design consultant for the CanWest newspapers. She's been involved in SND in virtually every possible way since becoming Region 10 director in 1997.

The Canada Blog asked Gayle for her "'vision thing" on where SND is headed:

"We are moving quickly to adapt to rapid change and SND's website is again vital and our blog lively. I think the Society has plenty of spark and vitality to offer members.

"However, new challenges are everywhere. Newsrooms are in transition and many are, by necessity, in the process of reinventing themselves. SND, as a worldwide organization, has the potential to be inspirational, a resource and support for media organizations reshaping themselves to remain relevant.

"We need to accommodate the huge growth in online journalism and design. Journalism is integrating print and online and SND needs to shift gears on what we offer members. I think we need to create more visible web awards as well as offer more web and multimedia training."

UPDATE The Canada Blog asked Lucie Lacava what it was like being SND president?

"The year I was president was 2001, the year that changed the world. Preparing for the annual Workshop which was being held in Phoenix, Arizona, just weeks post 9/11, was rather unsettling. The annual event itself was fairly understated, akin to hosting one giant wake. We were celebrating our accomplishments, while contemplating an uncertain future. But what permeated the air most of all was this feeling of loss for our American cousins and for the rest of the world."