Not just a pretty face - Editor's Note - Editorial

Internal Auditor, August, 2003 by Joanne L. Hodges

ANYONE WHO'S BEEN THE SUBJECT OF a photo shoot knows that there's nothing glamorous about it. The end product may look sexy or fun, but the reality is that the process is tedious, time-consuming, and always scheduled on the hottest or coldest day of the year. This year's photo shoot of The IIA's new chairman, Bob McDonald, was no exception. It had all those characteristics plus one additional hurdle--we made him endure the process twice. You can read the chairman's message, "Embrace the Challenge," beginning on page 62; we asked him to begin embracing the challenge a bit early.

For the first shoot--on an unseasonably hot Orlando day--Bob sat through five hours of positioning, waiting, positioning, smiling, positioning, pulling, tucking, and staring passers-by. Although he'd flown in from Australia the day before and must have been tired, he never once complained. Unfortunately, technical difficulties made those pictures unusable. So, we regrouped and scheduled Bob for a second session. With monumental grace and understanding, Bob accepted.

For the second shoot, we challenged Bob to embrace two hours in a studio, three hours on a running track, and two more hours on a diving board--in the rain, I might add. Again, after an 18-hour flight from Down Under, he embraced that challenge with patience and dignity. I have to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to Mr. McDonald and to let him know that we're all looking forward to having him as The Institute's chairman for the coming year.

The editors faced a challenge of their own with this issue--104 pages with a modicum of Murphy's Law at work: The software article had to be rewritten from scratch halfway through the production cycle, so staff took on that challenge in addition to their already heavy editing schedule. Our art director's computer system was acting up, so e-mails became a challenge for a few days. And, the greatest challenge was to coordinate the extra material with the same resources used to produce smaller issues. As you'll see, staff stepped up to the plate to bring you a magazine worth keeping.