Brainstorming a Tribute for Bob

[jaredyates]

Mark Goldberg had a great idea of compiling a book of notes from builders, to Bob, to express appreciation for his work. I can think of a few ways to accomplish this, but seek input for other ideas.
I like the idea of having folks send them in so that we can put them in a binder, and then present them all to him at once. This poses some challenges with logistics, especially for our far-away Bearhawkers. And I'm worried about keeping them looking nice through the mail.
Email travels well but then there are challenges for the sender to scan.
Hand-written notes would add a nice level of personalization.
A standard size would be beneficial, should we use a half page, full page, etc?
What do you think?

[Sir Newton]

100% agree, I know I am new around here. However, I honestly do not know how to thank Bob for making this experience possible for me & my house. It could not have been done with out Bob.

[alaskabearhawk]

The overseas folks use DIN A4 for paper, so that's a bit different. Based on that I would go for a PDF template (8x10?) with a space for a photo and a hand-written note of thanks. Make that available for download at the forum. That way everyone has the same size regardless of paper size and can print it with their desired type of paper. Assemble the pages, make a nice card-stock cover then take it to a The UPS Store or FedEx to have spiral-bound. I don't think fanciness is Bob's style. OR, same idea but more work: Same template idea, but scan every page and have some online service make a bound digital picture book. Just some thoughts...

[Chewie]

Right, if there's an 8x10 "printable area" and folks stay within that, various print and scan formats can be used and the borders trimmed during the binding process. But I'll just mail mine to whatever size people want. Great idea!

[Wyo Johnson]

Jared,
Thinking about the logistics of all the "notes" coming in and from all the locations/countries...My wife suggested something like Shutterfly. They are a company that you can make an actual book that they print for you. Bearhawkers could simply go online and upload a pic of their note and then you can simply edit it and press a button and they ship the book. There are several companies out there that do this but have experience with Shutterfly.

Or the Bearhawkers could email you a pic and you can upload and edit....happy to help.

Andy

[Dpearson]

What a great idea!
I’d suggest 8.5x11 full page format, one contributor per page. PDF is probably the most robust format for electronic transfer. I think it would be nice if you can accept other formats (ie JPG) or even hard copy for those that prefer it.

[Utah-Jay]

Jared,
Thinking about the logistics of all the "notes" coming in and from all the locations/countries...My wife suggested something like Shutterfly. They are a company that you can make an actual book that they print for you. Bearhawkers could simply go online and upload a pic of their note and then you can simply edit it and press a button and they ship the book. There are several companies out there that do this but have experience with Shutterfly.

Or the Bearhawkers could email you a pic and you can upload and edit....happy to help.

Andy

We do books like this when we go on really cool trips. One the text and photos are dragged and dropped in place it is a really easy and beautiful presentation…. Of course my wife does the heavy lifting on this stuff. But they are coffee table quality.

I will happily submit text and build photos (still building)

[jaredyates]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and input. I think what we'll do is just have anyone who is interested send your "Bob" note to me, and I'll compile them and present them in person, perhaps at his fall picnic. Let's see if we can keep it a surprise from him! Here's the address to send them to: 2201 Finger Bridge Rd, Hickory, NC 28602. Let's keep the size 8.5x11" or less please. We'll provide a plastic sleeve for things smaller than that.

[AKKen07]

Jared, would you prefer an emailed file or snail-mailed paper?

[jaredyates]

Either is welcome!