And so, we move on

I feel like an era has passed. Three longtime Plant Engineering editorial staff members have left our staff, and I am compelled to give public recognition to the tremendous contributions they have made to the magazine and to you, our readers.

Cheryl Firestone, senior editor, was with PLANT ENGINEERING for 12 years. She joined our staff shortly after graduating from college and developed into an outstanding production editor, her primary responsibility. She was at the heart of getting our magazine to you each month. In addition to her production work, she did many special features and regularly edited several departments.

Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, joined our staff in 1975 and provided a wealth of coverage in the magazine before becoming our web content editor about a year ago. Over the years, Jeanine was responsible for our HVAC coverage, instruments and controls, computers and software, news, and a few others. She developed our popular "Management Side of Engineering Department" and completed a number of special projects. In the short time she handled our web presence, she introduced many new ideas and brought our site to a new high in quality and usership.

Ron Holzhauer, managing editor, leaves us after 28 years on the PLANT ENGINEERING editorial staff. More than any other individual, Ron was responsible for the high level of editorial quality that is our standard and for the planning and scheduling that has kept us running smoothly. At one time or another, Ron covered nearly every subject in the plant engineering function. Ron was, in fact, my partner in managing our editorial operations, and I depended on his counsel as well as his incredible editorial skills.

Working with Ron, Jeanine, and Cheryl has been a pleasure and an inspiration. But most important of all, they have become true friends.

While we salute these staff members who are moving on, we welcome Jim Silvestri as a new senior editor on our staff. Jim will be handling our coverage of management-related topics as well as several departments and editorial production.

And so, we go on. Change is the essence of life and needs to be embraced. But rest assured that as we reorganize and adjust, we will continue providing you the best problem-solving resource for plant engineers.