Publisher's Letter
This is the season of gratitude. I do not have adequate words to express my appreciation for the many people who have been an integral part of our first two years. So, Happy Birthday to us; we are officially a toddler! The infancy stage was challenging, to say the least, lacking in sleep and full of every emotion.
As I reflect on all we encountered trying to get our first ever print magazine on stands, I am struck by the village of people it took to make it happen. Facing one struggle after another, I almost lost hope we would make it on time. We had team members dropping with COVID while desperately trying to add all the finishing touches. During the proofing process, we left a printout of the entire first issue in our proofreader’s mailbox. It disappeared. After the issue had finally been printed and was being shipped from San Antonio to Texarkana, the shipment got lost three times. Somehow, they could not locate 10,000 magazines! How was that even possible?
Finally, I received word that some magazines had arrived at the local freight terminal, so naturally, I drove over there to finally lay my eyes and hands on them. When I went to the loading dock, I could not find anyone to help me. Still, since it had already been very chaotic, I fired off an email to the company that I would be loading them up and taking them with me. The next thing I knew, the cops showed up and told me they were looking for someone wandering the dock, threatening to take the product. “Ohhh… oops… I think that is me,” I admitted. “My bad.” Anyway, that situation got worked out, and everyone was friendly after I got hold of my emotions. I even convinced the slightly terrified dock workers to take a fun selfie with me so I could commemorate the day I almost got arrested.
Long story short, all 10,000 magazines finally arrived in Texarkana. Fred, my boys, and I dropped them off at the post office at 6:58 pm with a 7:00 pm deadline to get our first issue out in the mail on time. It happened by the hair of our chinny chin chins. Praise the Lord! Thank you all for making the last two years the wonderful adventure it has been. At Texarkana Magazine, we are honored to tell your stories. Keep being exceptional, and we will be right there with you cheering you on.
Local business owners everywhere constantly experience hardships and chaos we never know about in order to provide a finished product or their vital service to our community. We never see the emotions nor feel the stress behind what is neatly packaged and offered to us as consumers. In this current climate of inflation and shortages, our local food industry owners are experiencing insane inflation and shortages in supplies and workers. It has been a tough time for many of them, as Shane Kennedy, owner of Reggie’s Burgers on St. Michael Drive, shares in this month’s cover story. So, the next time you are out with your family enjoying delicious food served by friendly wait staff, remember they are all doing their best. Be kind. After all, it is the season for it.
