Commonwealth Network
Saturday, March 8, 1997
Greetings, Cyber Neighbors!
It's time for an update from F.O.A. HQ. In an effort to be a bit moreorganized, I shall title the sections by category so you can more easily findthe information you are most interested in. The categories are as follows:Amy News, F.O.A. News, Virtual F.O.A. News and Lori's Tidbits.
AMY NEWS:
Saw Miss Amy yesterday morning just briefly as she and Ruth emerged from herworkout. Had the pleasure of putting the new newsletter in her hand. She wasvery pleased. Ruth was ecstatic and voiced her praise enthusiastically. Aftershe left, Amy said that Ruth's reaction had meant the most to her. Amy has ahard time getting excited about something that is all about her. It's gettingrave reviews all around!
The album release date has been moved back yet again. I have personallydecided not to even mention a date until it stays on the calendar for morethan one week. They are trying to get the last of the songs mixed which putsthem at the mercy of a lot of different schedules. The good news is that A&Mhas plans for all 30 songs that have been recorded. Watch for them as bonustracks on CD singles...
Had taken Amy a copy of Bob Millard's book to sign for a fan and she actuallytook a few minutes to thumb through it. She stopped long enough about halfwaythrough to read a page and couldn't even get through a whole paragraphwithout finding misinformation. I pointed out that Mr. Millard had creditedher influence in his own spiritual journey in the forward, so she read thatand then began with chapter one and couldn't even get to the bottom of thepage. She said, "See, this is why I don't read this stuff. I can't even getpast the first page. My grandfather was never a doctor." Ah, well. So itgoes...
F.O.A. NEWS
This would be FRIENDS OF AMY for those of you who might not know. This isAmy's official Fan Service organization that "yours truly" is in charge of.
The February newsletter is out/going out even as we speak. I picked it uplate on Wednesday, delivered labels to the mail service Thursday morning andnoticed several trays of them when I dropped in yesterday to pick up themail. You should have them in hand in a matter of days. Everyone that hasseen it has been quite enthusiastic. In fact, my printer even took thefull-color center spread and displayed it on his work board in his receptionarea. That's the first of our work to make it there!
I have already begun work on the June issue. I gave Amy an assignment toreminisce a little for us. She has been in the studio this year and was inthe studio 20 years ago working on her first album. It seems that there couldbe some interesting contrasts. Am already collecting contributions fromothers as well. I love working on these things :-)
VIRTUAL F.O.A. NEWS
Well, we tripled our list in less than 30 days! Welcome aboard to all you newsubscribers! Many thanks to those zany guys and gals that make this servicepossible! In celebration, my assistant and I delivered Dairy Queen Blizzardsto the office of NetCentral yesterday and a big time was had by all! CraigHanson and Cy Fenton are the two Grand Umpas of this fine organization and itwas a pleasure to consume extremely fattening desserts with them and theircrack staff. The list is now over 5,000 addresses strong!
We are planning the next contest to be used as a countdown to the new albumrelease. Will be making a more formal announcement in the next two weeks. Iplan to do a weekly give-away beginning May 1 until the album comes out(within reason, of course). There may even be a press release on the contestshowing up in print mags that cover internet activity. Even the managementoffice has noticed what a responsive bunch you are and eagerly await myupdates and reports. It's an exciting time!
LORI'S TIDBITS
I don't really have much to add. It's been a busy time with the family andwith work. All my children are well. Thanks for keeping us all in yourprayers and thoughts. It's a relief to get the newsletter out finally. Iappreciate your patience. Having Jeri Melton to help me with data entry andgeneral organization has been a tremendous relief. We are working to gear upand have everything well in place before the onslaught we always experiencein the wake of a new album. When I read letters from people who just can'tunderstand why they haven't gotten their newsletter yet, I wish that EVERYONEhad internet access.
I'm off this morning to help lead praise and worship (which is kinda funnyreally considering that I don't sing and I'm in a city running over with verytalented "wanna be's"), but God very often chooses the least likely agentsfor His work. This is actually the 3rd time our ladies bible study has donethis and the response has been overwhelming. We sound so much better than wereally should that I know the angels are singing with us!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
-Lori Mc
Lori McAlister, Dir. of Fan Relations FRIENDS OF AMY