Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500026
32 C I N E M O N T A G E C A M B E R N learning curve in terms of understanding the work our members perform," she added. "Donn accepted me with open arms and made me immediately feel like a part of this family. His kind support made everything easier for me." That support also led many people, in- cluding Smith Holley and Maysie Hoy, ACE, to consider running for the Guild's board of directors. "Donn was so much more than a highly regarded editor," Repola added. "He always led from a place of wanting to help make his fellow members' working lives better. And he did." To that end, some of Cambern's many accomplishments included raising the profile of the Guild by facilitating three important mergers with other IATSE locals and, through his personal friendship, the creation of a new logo to represent the three film aspect ratios, designed by the famed film title designer Wayne Fitzgerald, said Lisa Dosch, Guild executive administrator. For his commitment to bringing people together at a time of "great change for the Guild and the industry," Cambern was later honored with the Guild's inaugural Fellow- ship and Service award in front of more than a hundred adoring friends and colleagues at a special banquet in Los Angeles in 2007. "His leadership was instrumental in b u i l d i n g m o m e n t u m t o w a rd g ro w i n g a n d m o v i n g t h e u n i o n f o r w a rd ," s a i d national executive director emeritus Ron Kutak. "Donn was a diplomat, the 'Benja- min Franklin' of the Editors Guild," Kutak added. "He was a great listener, courteous and unambiguous, and he always put the membership first. He had no ego about being president. As a consensus builder, Donn had the skill of molding agreement and also the ability to conclude discussions on a topic without offending anyone. He ran meetings efficiently and was an extremely popular president." One of Kutak's proudest accomplish- ments while serving as the Guild's executive director during Cambern's presidency was expanding the union from a group of editors in Los Angeles to a nationwide organization that encompassed all post-production. "It was truly the golden age of the Guild's growth," he said. Smith Holly agreed, adding that "Donn re a l ly h e l p e d o u r G u i l d m ove i n to t h e digital world by providing opportunities for us to learn." One of the key ways of doing this was by supporting the creation of a new four-color glossy magazine for a compelling series of articles such as member-to-member interviews, editing analysis, and pieces covering the technology transformation the membership was experiencing at the time. "When Mary Lee and I approached Donn with the idea of transforming the Guild's newsletter into a full-fledged magazine, he couldn't have been more supportive, and his encouragement became a key part of the work we did," said editor and former board member Steve Cohen. "He understood that the best way to get the results we all wanted was to give us the freedom to create, and his optimism and wisdom inspired us to see how much a magazine could contribute to our community." With the help of many people at the Guild, the new "The Editors Guild Maga- zine" was born. Cohen became editor in Peter Fonda, star of "Easy Rider," with Donn Cambern who edited the film. P H O T O : G E T T Y I M AG E S