I am very honored to be selected as the new Foreign Insulator Editor. I consider Marilyn Albers a true pioneer who has dedicated much of her life to the pursuit of foreign insulators and sharing discoveries with others. She has done this enthusiastically, patiently, and with plenty of hard work. I want to publicly thank Marilyn for mentoring me and encouraging me to research Colombia's insulator manufacturers. It was a fulfilling and rewarding challenge.

I am excited to have this opportunity to pursue and write about foreign insulators. I am committed to promoting insulator collecting thru sharing new discoveries, communicating with fellow collectors, attending insulator shows, documenting, researching and publishing insulator manufacturer's information and photographing insulators from around the world. In order to help me achieve this I am asking for your support in the following ways:

1. Write me and/or call to share any new foreign insulator discoveries you find. In most cases color digital photographs (on solid white background using full-spectrum lighting), shadow profiles, complete embossing description including width, height and thread pitch measurements (number of threads per inch) will be needed (see Marilyn Albers and NR Woodward's book Glass Insulators From Outside North America [GIFONA], Second Revision page 191 for more details). After the item is confirmed to be a candidate for a new cd number I will contact NR Woodward ("Woody") to verify this. In some cases, it may become necessary to allow him to personally inspect in the insulator before a number can be assigned. In that event, arrangements will need to be made to ship the insulator to Woody. I can be contacted by email at: zicme_insulators@hotmail.com or call me at (503) 283-2204 (no later than 9:30pm PST).

2. Let me know if you have any research information on foreign insulator manufacturers or have any of their catalogs, advertisements or other literature. Many collectors have reliable sources of insulators made or used in service in various countries. I invite you to share any information you have or find. I want to encourage you to research insulator manufacturers, especially if you live outside of North America. This could be an exciting project or give you an excuse to travel! If anyone wants to volunteer to take on any particular manufacturer please let me know. The more coordinated our efforts become the more success we will have in achieving these goals and prevent unnecessary duplication.

3. Bring your foreign insulators to shows. Look for an announcement on ICON as to which shows I'll be attending ready to document any new finds you bring.

4. To increase your knowledge base get the books. A lot of effort has gone into writing the GIFONA and Worldwide Porcelain Insulators. Without them you will miss out on a lot interesting details, photographs, and research. The supplement that I am currently working on is designed to compliment the GIFONA not supercede it. So if you wait for my new book you will have an incomplete source of information.

At a recent show at Howard Banks' home, Cliff Kendall of Sutherlin, Oregon brought a beautiful yellow green Folembray 218 measuring 3-3/8 inches wide by 5-3/8 inches tall. Some sleuthing reveals that this insulator is listed in Milholland's book as #842, but embossed Folembray 213 (likely a typographical error). It is listed in N.R. Woodward's files as CD 578. For some reason it did not get published in the GIFONA. The dimensions match those of a CD 578 marked Verlica Belgium BT17/TT. A phone call to Woody verifies this is a new manufacturer listing for this CD number. A lucky swap meet find without the expensive overseas shipping! Little is known about the manufacturer of the insulator, except according to GIFONA it is of French origin and most likely manufactured between 1934-1952.

Keep your eyes out for new discoveries, they often show up when you least expect them. Or as Marilyn Albers used to frequently remind me: "Keep looking up!"