The eyes of summer are upon us. Hard to believe we are looking at May already. My son is a college graduate now. He graduated UF this week and officially ended his college career. His mom and I are so proud of all that he has accomplished. He, along with all the other graduates who walked across the stage on Monday, did more than just earn a diploma – they beat the pandemic. They showed that nothing can stand in the way of succeeding if everyone works together to solve problems and move obstacles. Hats off to every student from kindergarten to graduate school. You adapted, stayed vigilant and made us all proud. It makes me feel a little better about this county and who we will be handing the keys off to down the road.
Our March/April edition was a very successful issue for us. We actually had record sales and more new advertisers than any other previous edition. We have carried that over to this issue with more new advertisers and several calls and inquires about us. I associated it with people wanting to finally get outside and do something. Vaccinations and downward turns on all virus charts show a positive attitude coming into the summer months. Traveling is opening back up and many events are back on for the calendar year.
Time is such a unique element. It can be our best friend or worst enemy. One thing we must always remember is to cherish it. Life can change it a heartbeat and not one of us is ever guaranteed a tomorrow. Love those in your life – Respect them, listen to them, cherish them. I mentioned earlier I thought the upward tick in our business was from the people wanting to get outside again, but a friend of mine, a retired banker, had another take on it. He mention the five year bounce and it goes something like this: “You are finally entrenched in your market, People recognize your brand and your product is consistent.” The journey so far has been a continuing learning experience. My background was in design and production when we started this magazine, I knew hardly anything about the business side of it – mainly sales. Its been a hard learning curve but the more I got to thinking about it the more I realized the phone has been ringing a bit more lately and the emails have been picking up as well. I can’t argue with a banker I guess, although it makes me wonder what the “10 year” bounce will be.
Our July edition will be all scalloping so please be on the lookout for it in July. Until the next time, thanks for reading and safe travels.