It's a pleasure to be here to celebrate the tenth anniversary of PIC Press. Looking back at the last 10 years, it is a testament to the determination and dedication of Kingston residents that this paper is still going strong in 2001.

I started with PIC in 1998, volunteering to do a bit of layout as needed. Within three or four months, I was asked to consider becoming the editor of the paper. I was really impressed with the work being done at PIC, and since it was a volunteer position, I thought, how much time can it take? I agreed to take over the reigns from Alec Ross for the January 1999 issue. The next year really taught me a lot about the devotion of the people who make sure PIC comes out each month, as I quickly realized that this volunteer position was, in fact, quite capable of taking over every minute of my spare time.

Over the course of 1999, we had many ideas about how to improve the efficiency of the organization, but found our time was constantly taken up with simply making sure the paper came out on time. We were approved for some government funding which enabled us to make the editor's position a paid position, effective January 1, 2000.

Having this paid position has been a wonderful help to PIC in many ways. I am now better able to keep in touch with volunteers (current and potential), and to put some of our past ideas into practice. Over the past year and a half, we have been able to complete many projects that have strengthened the organization. These initiatives include the publishing of a style guide; the streamlining of our invoicing and collection procedures (meaning that we now get paid for every ad that we print); the creation of policies and procedures for PIC; and several successful fundraising events, including the recent talk by Naomi Klein.

Although having a paid position has benefited the paper, our volunteers are really the heart and soul of PIC, and it has been an honour to work with the talented people that devote their time to Kingston's independent, alternative newspaper. Many of our volunteers have been with us since I came along, which is a credit to their dedication and also a great help in ensuring the consistent quality of the paper. We have a wonderful group of over 100 volunteers who work hard each and every month to pull together the stories and graphics that fill our pages.We also have a huge group of people who make sure that the paper gets into our readers' hands each month. Our board of directors, which looks after the "big picture" of PIC, is also comprised of people who donate their time.

I would like to thank everyone involved with PIC for giving me the chance to work on this valuable publication, and express gratitude to all of our volunteers for their commitment. Congratulations, PIC, and here's to another 10 years!

Kate Archibald-Cross has been the editor of PIC Press since January 1999.