By Community Alliance
Change can be a happy and scary time depending on who you ask. One thing is for sure, it’s inevitable and opens up opportunities to grow in a variety of different directions. Here at the Community Alliance, things are changing, and we want to let you know what’s happening. In addition to some new columns and contributors you’ll be seeing throughout this and future issues, we have someone that will be taking on the important task of layout and design. Let’s welcome Joel Perez.
Joel is a transplant to the Fresno area from Bakersfield. He graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor of arts degree in mass communication and journalism. Joel was awarded the Outstanding Advertising Graduate award by Fresno State in 2011. While working on his undergrad, Joel was the national sales manager for the The Collegian, the award-winning newspaper at Fresno State. Since graduation, he has used his educational background to design and write employee training manuals for California LifeLine and Covered CA.
In his free time, Joel volunteers as event coordinator for Critical Mass Fresno. He founded Critical Mass Fresno with a group of cycling advocates after seeing a community need for a family-friendly community bike ride that was open to both beginning and advanced cyclists. Critical Mass Fresno has now grown to more than 100 cyclists each ride. He also has a passion for art and likes attending ArtHop on a monthly basis and supporting local artist and local businesses in the Fresno area.
When asked what he hopes for the paper and also what he wants to let you, the reader know, he said that the “Community Alliance has sustained journalistic integrity throughout the years and has become well respected in the community. As layout designer, I feel my job is to create a visually appealing community newspaper that shines light to the articles that are written by the community. I will continue using the logo that has been a symbol of pride for the newspaper while I make slight changes that will modernize and make the newspaper more reader-friendly.
“I also hope to sync the overall look and feel of the newspaper to the online edition of the Community Alliance in order to create a better brand. Our community is rapidly changing and growing, and I feel that the Community Alliance can be at the forefront of this change. I want to help the Community Alliance not only to be part of the change, but be the change that the community needs.”
Thank you—the reader, the subscriber, the donor—for making this paper possible and giving us the ability to hire on great people to do great work like Joel.
If you want to learn more about Joel, feel free to visit his Web site at www.yllwdesigns.com.
