Judging the Best of the Best: The 2018 Golden Quill Award winners

What it takes to win a Golden Quill Award

BY Chief Judge Gerald Perschbacher, LLD & Old Cars Staff

An outstanding array of car club publications are in the list of Golden Quill Award winners for calendar year 2018, according to Chief Judge Gerald Perschbacher and the Old Cars editorial staff. The winners reflect a serious yet fun and educational approach to the collector car hobby. In effect, the winning editors clearly enjoy making their publications professional and personable, all the while advancing the hobby through understanding of automotive history.

“The energy and dynamic of being good editors truly is evident,” says Dr. Gerald Perschbacher, who served as chief judge in the initial process. His findings were reviewed and confirmed by the editorial department.

“The improved writing, layout and preparation of club publications may be attributed to electronic helps and options, but it still remains a very human effort to be a successful editor and please the necessities of a local, regional or national club, regardless of membership size,” said Perschbacher.

Perschbacher’s own editorial experience includes serving more than three decades as the editor of a large publication with worldwide circulation. He notes that car club members may not fully appreciate what it takes to meet the task of editor.

“First, there is the matter of obtaining and selecting articles, then come edits, revisions, testing the facts, stylistic formats, selection of visuals, occasionally the securing of legal permission and a rafter of other steps leading to design and layout,”’ Perschbacher said. The work of an editor is time-consuming but the reward of accomplishment and reader enjoyment fuel many editors to keep up the level of enthusiasm necessary for a good publication.

Many club editors work within a budget and have guidelines to follow for his or her club. Editors must balance content that educates and entertains club members while binding those club members together. The editor has keen responsibilities to carry the torch for the club in image, reporting accomplishments, schedules and pending matters for a club.

No editor is perfect, but the best of them strive to do better with each issue. This year’s winners show the best balances of content and the best presentation of the club through its publication. Winners were selected based on a multitude of specific factors: balanced content, visual interest, good historic articles, print quality, member and member car features, technical information, solid club news and reports, and a sounding board for members to present ideas and discoveries and ads. Other items may be added but should not overpower the main content or detract from important space. Among the greatest challenges for editors in the final hours leading to printing are accuracy and visual integrity. Technical articles may vary in depth but should not be beyond the understanding of most readers.

“Tell your editor that the work is not taken for granted,” said Angelo Van Bogart, Old Cars editor. “If your club’s publication is on the winners’ list, share a word of cheer and congratulate them. For those in ‘honorable mention,’ give extra encouragement by submitting articles or ideas for articles. Tell them what you do and do not like about your club publication and perhaps offer a helping hand — many editors are overwhelmed and under-assisted volunteers. The competition never is quite the same, so who knows how many of those ‘honorable mentions’ may inch up to being a winner next time, especially with your help.”

To be eligible for award consideration for 2019, copies of club publications are to be sent to Dr. Gerald Perschbacher and the Old Cars office at the addresses below. Submission of publications allows for potential consideration and inclusion in an installment of the “Club Clips” column that regularly appears in Old Cars. Because format is one of the factors in categorizing winners, digital submissions cannot be fairly judged.

Dr. Gerald Perschbacher
8868 Rock Forest Drive
St. Louis, MO 63123

Old Cars Editors
5225 Joerns Dr. Suite 2
Stevens Point, WI 54481

Golden Quill Award Winners for 2018

National Luxury

Intermediate

Compact

Museums

QUILL REGIONS/CHAPTERS 2018

Full Size

Compact

Sub Compact

Honorable Mention