October 2024 marks one year since the Fort Leavenworth Lamp Army community newspaper for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, transitioned from a longtime civilian enterprise no-cost-to-the-government contract publication (October 2000 to Sept. 30, 2023) to a Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation activity, which is still overseen by the Fort Leavenworth Garrison Public Affairs Office.
What was once a mixed civilian-soldier-contractor staff — consisting of an editor, photographer, multiple reporters and a production assistant — has been reduced to just me, the lone “Lampie,” and thus I am now responsible for all of those roles.
As much as I would like to be able to be everywhere, it just isn’t possible, and so coverage of the community has required the assistance of public affairs professionals and volunteers.
THANK YOU to all of the contributors who have submitted photographs, stories and commentaries for publication in the Lamp over this past year. Your assistance in helping tell Fort Leavenworth’s story is greatly appreciated!
All-Stars
• The Fort Leavenworth Garrison Public Affairs Staff
Garrison Public Affairs Officer Scott Gibson, Operations Chief George Marcec, Department of the Army Photographer Stephanie Mahone and Social Media/Public Affairs Specialist Sean Bergosh are a wonderful team to work with. I appreciate their willingness to jump in to help cover events, to share content, and be the wonderful co-workers/friends that they are every day.
• Army University Public Affairs Officer Sarah Hauck and Munson Army Health Center Public Affairs Officer Maria Christina Yager
Hauck and Yager are talented and dedicated public affairs professionals who contribute content to the Lamp nearly every week, including this week’s issue. They are always helpful and come through for me when I need help covering assignments at the Command and General Staff College and MAHC, and they often contribute high quality content without any prompting as well.
Regular contributors
Additional contributors who have shared multiple photos and/or stories over the past year include Jason Bortz, Combined Arms Center Public Affairs; Peter Grande, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks historian; Melissa Kreitzer, Army spouse; Dan Neal, Army University Public Affairs; Randi Stenson, Mission Command Center of Excellence Public Affairs; Tisha Swart-Entwistle, Combined Arms Center - Training Public Affairs; Taylor Wead, Combined Arms Center Public Affairs; and Mark Wiggins, Command and General Staff College Foundation.
Volunteers
Lamp coverage has also been assisted by a few volunteers, including Dani Lander, who offered to help write while she lived at Fort Leavenworth and has continued to write occasional Lamp articles since her family PCSd to Germany a few months ago; Pfc. Kalisber Ortega Santiago, who has been shadowing and volunteering as a photographer and reporter to gain some on-the-job training to hone her journalism skills; and Colbie Fairley, 2024 summer intern in the Fort Leavenworth Garrison Public Affairs Office.
To volunteer to assist with event coverage and other tasks, apply for the “Fort Leavenworth Garrison Public Affairs Assistant” position on the Volunteer Management Information System at https://vmis.armyfamilyweb portal.com/volunteer/opportunities.
Additional contributors
Other community members who have earned a byline by contributing content (excluding command messages, press releases, wire news and file photos/stories, which are also appreciated but not listed here) have included the family of Sharon Adams, Dr. Patrick Armistead-Jehle, Lt. Col. Craig Arnold, Shannon Arnold, the family of Lois Arter, Neil Bass, Monica Bassett, Judy Bauer, Jeanne Boetig, Melissa Bower, David Bornn, Sgt. 1st Class Dakotah Bradley, Jessica Brushwood, Christopher Burnett, Sgt. Steven Casselman Jr., James Castle, Matthew Dixon, First Judicial District CASA Association with Dan Billquist, Katrin Fuller, Madison Fuller, Mike Fuller, Karly Gadell, Ruie Gibson, Lt. Col. Joshua Goldfarb, Thomas Gonzales, Maj. Christopher Hart, Willis Heck, Elizabeth Helm-Frazier with Carlton Philpot, Deb Henley, Tiffany Herring, Megan Hunter, Brittney Jackson, Merideth Kendall, Karen Kirk, Henry Knudsvig, Tristen Lang, Marina Lemanua, Ricarda Lowe, Melanie Marcec, Joel Marquardt, Macy Marxman, Loren Mayr, Tracy McClung, Staff Sgt. Robert Navaarrizon, Samantha Odle, Mark R.W. Orders-Woempner, Pin-Ups For Vets with Shane Karns, Maj. Ben Pimpl, Matthew Price, Marisa Ranney, Philip Reynolds, the family of retired Chaplain (Col.) Gary “Sam” Sanford, Cathy Schrankel, Zak Schulte, Katie Skrmetta, Staff Sgt. Joshua Stiles, Janet Walther, Chaplain (Col.) Sean Wead, Alex Wiley, Ken Wilson, Rhonda York, Tiffany Zink and Taylor Zumbusch.
In addition to all of these contributors, I am grateful for my “go-to people” at the various organizations across post and in the area, who are consistently helpful, let me know about upcoming events, and respond quickly to my requests for information.
I am also grateful to the members of this community who candidly share their stories each week. I am blessed to be part of this community.
Recent Lamp history
The Fort Leavenworth Lamp celebrated 50 years of publication in 2021. The Frontier Army Museum staff marked the occasion with the exhibit “News at Fort Leavenworth,” viewable online at https://frontierarmymuseum. stqry.app/en/story/152326.
After having already reduced the number of printed pages due to decreased advertising sales during the pandemic, the last print issue of the Fort Leavenworth Lamp rolled off the presses on May 26, 2022, and the first fully digital version was posted online the next week on June 2, 2022.
I thought it important to provide an archivable product each week, rather than just posting stories at web links that disappear as soon as a content management system is updated or other changes are made, and so I have continued to produce “old school” newspaper layouts that are archivable, downloadable, printable and easy to read in an “e-zine” format.
The latest issue of the Lamp is available at https://home.army.mil/leavenworth/about/news, where an archive of the past year’s issues can also be found. New issues post at the link on Thursday mornings, and a direct link to the latest issue of the Lamp is also posted on the Fort Leavenworth Garrison Facebook page each Thursday.
The Lamp can also be delivered directly via e-mail by sending a request to usarmy.leavenworth.id-training. mbx.pao-inbox@army.mil to be included in the weekly distribution.
Send event information for promotion and potential coverage, as well as any story ideas and questions to ftlvlampeditor@gmail.com.
Businesses, organizations and individuals interested in supporting the Lamp by advertising and/or providing sponsorship can contact FMWR Marketing and Commercial Sponsorship Director Mary Manago at 913-684-1702 or mary.f.manago.naf@ army.mil.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
by Fort Leavenworth Lamp Staff Report
The Fort Leavenworth Lamp is one of the primary ways to get information to the community.
Contact the Lamp with story and photo opportunities to allow the editor to cover or assign coverage. Story and photo submissions are appreciated when the editor is unable to cover. E-mail submitted materials to ftlvlampeditor@gmail.com.
Please consider the following when submitting any content for publication in the Lamp. All material sent to the Lamp is edited or rewritten for journalistic, local and Associated Press style, as well as clarity, grammar, spelling and length. Placement in the paper is determined by the Lamp staff.
• Copyright: The sender of the submitted content should be the creator of the content. No copyrighted materials can run in the newspaper without permission from the copyright owner.
• Timely: Content should be submitted as soon as possible. The older it gets, the less likely it will run in the newspaper. Let the editor know when to expect the submission so space in the weekly layout can be budgeted.
• The 5Ws: Who, what, when, where and why/relevance should be included in every story and photo cutline.
• Photographs: Thumbnails that might appear OK on social media are generally not large enough for publication in the Lamp as they reproduce poorly. Full-size, original photo files that are 1 MB or larger in size are preferred. Files should not be altered in any way — leave any adjustments for exposure, cropping, etc. to the Lamp editor.
Images capturing authentic, candid moments are greatly preferred to posed images. Army regulations discourage publication of posed group photos, ribbon cuttings, cake cuttings, retirement, award or re-enlistment photos. Photos should not contain uniform or safety violations, nor people smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages.
Include complete cutline/caption information by identifying everyone in the photo by first and last names, as well as rank, unit assigned to and/or title, as relevant. The date and location the photo was taken, action depicted and the name of the photographer need to also be included.
• Editorials/commentaries: Readers are welcome to share their opinions with the Lamp’s audience. Letters to the editor and commentaries are welcome. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number. Names may be withheld from publication, if requested.
A letter to the editor is also a great way to provide an event summation and thank organizations and individuals who helped ensure the event’s success.
• Focus on Fort Leavenworth: The Lamp has a limited scope and is targeted at the internal Fort Leavenworth audience, not the general public. The internal audience includes military members, family members, civilian employees and retirees. Articles should be relevant to a substantial portion of this audience and are generally limited to on-post events and the people who live or work on post. Off-post events are only covered if there is significant effect on Fort Leavenworth personnel, if the event is given special command emphasis, or if there is significant command-authorized participation by military personnel.
• Post-approved organizations: Coverage and free event promotion (notices and flyers in the At a Glance and Post Notes sections) are primarily limited to post-approved organizations, as the Lamp staff has no resources to screen nonprofit organizations or charity events conducted by private individuals or businesses. FMWR maintains a list of private organizations that are authorized to conduct business and have meetings and events on post. Contact FMWR for the requirements for registering private organizations.
• Advertising vs. editorial content: Publication of the Lamp is governed by the rules and regulations of the Department of Defense, the Army and the command. There are limitations on what can and cannot be published. The Lamp does not publish free notices for businesses offering discounts or freebies for “military appreciation.” The discounts are marketing promotions, and any material promoting a particular business or product cannot be published as it could be construed as endorsement. Army newspapers must be very careful to separate reporting from promotion. Businesses have advertising budgets and can buy ad space in the Lamp. To advertise in the Lamp,
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