20 years and 1000 editions!
Can you believe it?
CJS is twenty years old this month.
No, we can't quite get our heads round it either, in some respects CJS has been around for ever but then again it seems like it was only five minutes ago that we were stuffing pieces of A4 from a daisy-wheel printer into multi-sized,shaped (and even perfumed) self addressed envelopes. Yes, that's how it all started which was a huge step forward from photocopies of adverts in newspapers (mostly The Guardian) which formed the Jobs Service for CMA members way back when. Niall and Anthea took on the task of converting those snippets into a cohesive newsletter. Anthea came up with the nine unique three letter headings of the standard linage adverts, Niall sorted out the filing system for the envelopes and they were off. As word spread of how good this new service was subscriber numbers increased and the daisy-wheel printer was swapped for a dot-matrix before the heat from the printwheel caused the office to combust. In those early days there was no paid advertising only the Standard Linage which was all free. It was with the increase of outside funding and funding partners needing to use logos (even on a free advert) that we started taking paid adverts. Niall and Anthea went on a holiday of a life time to New Zealand leaving Tracey and me in charge and I think I got a bit carried away! By the time they came back CJS was slightly bigger, open five days a week (instead of the previous three) and we needed a new member of staff - welcome to Amy. CJS has continued to grow following the natural progression of the countryside sector with just a gentle nudge every now and then. Expanding to include the whole countryside, conservation and wildlife sectors, increased coverage of complimentary areas such as professional training and more recently the daily news round up. We still hold true to the principals of putting back as much into conserving the countryside as possible and we still offer Standard Free Linage in CJS Weekly keeping with Anthea's original nine headings. In fact, it's possible to advertise virtually anything (anything relevant to the countryside that is) free of charge with CJS.
To celebrate we're making today's edition open access to everyone, click here to read. And for all new and current subscribers we're offering you a 50% discount on electronic (email or download) subscriptions* simply quote CJS20 at the online checkout or over the phone.
There are plenty of plans in the pipeline to ensure that CJS continues for several more decades. However, rest assured promoting job opportunities in the countryside, conservation and wildlife sectors remains our top priority and we will hold true to the founding principles of CJS, read more about those online here: http://www.countryside-jobs.com/CJS_Stuff/About_Us.htm
1994 - 2014, here's to the next twenty years and beyond ...
Kerryn Humphreys, Editor
*T&C: minimum spend £5, offer valid until Thursday 21 August 2014, not valid on postal subs (sorry).