By the members, for the members.([from the editor])(Editorial)

At GFOA, we take great pride in fulfilling our mandate to provide high-quality products and services to our members. Of all the activities GFOA is engaged in, perhaps none is as dependent on the membership as this publication, Government Finance Review. Since its inception 20 years ago, our guiding philosophy has always been that the magazine should be "by the members, for the members." This philosophy is actually a necessity, given that we do not employ a staff of writers to fill the pages of the magazine every other month.

It has been almost a year since we rolled out the new design of the magazine. We have received praise from both within and without the association, including the prestigious Ozzie Award for Best Redesign 2003 among association/non-profit entries. While we are thrilled with the new design and the recognition it has received, we are constantly striving to make the magazine as useful and interesting as possible to our readers.

Government Finance Review can only be as good as its contributors. The greatest challenge of editing a publication like ours is identifying finance officers who are doing things that are interesting and innovative and then motivating them to write about their experiences. Too often, the only way we ...