From the Publisher

By Louis A. Weil III

It is often said around our offices that if you look at him closely enough, you'll notice that Richard Heinemann has a red border. That's a small exaggeration, but throughout a career that has included the jobs of TIME U.S. advertising-sales director and associate publisher, Dick has always displayed a highly contagious enthusiasm for this magazine. "I have had the luxury for 21 years of always being able to sell something I love and believe in," he says. "That is the best of all jobs for a salesman." Now Dick is bringing that exuberance to his new role as vice president for advertising of the Time Inc. Magazine Co., supervising multi-magazine ad sales for 27 publications, including TIME, of course.

Thanks largely to Dick's salesmanship, TIME is enjoying another strong advertising performance this year despite a daunting climate for magazines. In the third quarter, for example, we recorded higher ad revenues than in the same period a year ago.

How does Dick do it? For one thing, he brings an instinct for journalistic values to the task of selling ads. For years he has delighted in meeting regularly with TIME editors to learn about the stories after each week's magazine is published. Then he takes his sales pitch into the field. "Making a sales call with Dick is a little like a religious experience," says TIME U.S. advertising-sales manager Barry Briggs. "By the time he finishes his delivery, the congregation is on its feet."

Reared in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and a graduate of Lawrence College in the same state, Dick combines a folksy sense of humor with finely honed competitive instincts. He started with TIME in 1969 and joined our Detroit office in 1974. There he found himself running neck and neck in ad sales with fellow Detroit staff member Jeff Cornish. The two men bet a pair of shoes on the outcome. "It was close," Cornish recalls, "but he edged me by $600 for the year. Then he dashed out and bought himself the shoes."

When he is not selling ads, Dick plays fierce games of golf and tennis, and each fall he roots for the Green Bay Packers. His favorite singer: Willie Nelson. That is altogether fitting, because in his new job Dick is again calling on customers, loving every minute of being on the road again.