Back in 1984, I graduated from the University of Missouri
with a degree in Magazine Journalism and an Associates in Commercial Art. My
first job out of college was as editor for On The Green Magazine in South
Florida. I pretended that I knew a thing or two about golf to get the job, but
what I was really sure of was that I knew how to do a magazine. I figured the
whole golf thing would work itself out, and it did in short order.
Over the next few decades, I found myself being pulled farther and farther from my original field of study. First came ad agencies and the exciting roles of copywriter and then creative director, then freelancing for ad agencies, and then handling client accounts from top to bottom and all the layers in between under my own shingle, The Creative Stable. I’ve been fortunate to be able to dive deeply into broadcast, branding, print, social media, outdoor, web design, and account management, and continue to enjoy the variety.
But while I love each and every aspect of the advertising
biz, long-form journalism always been close to my heart, and I relish the times
I could do investigative editorial pieces and content-rich brochures.
In 2015, My Career Path Came Full Circle
That was the year this home-grown little publication called the Lake Jovita Homeowner News fell into my lap. With the blessing and full support of the HOA, it was my opportunity to not only elevate it as a publication but to raise the expectations of those who read it. The Homeowner News morphed in January of 2015 into Lake Jovita Life, a high-end coffee table-worthy publication that covers the community of Lake Jovita, what’s newsworthy that’s going on around it, and adventurous opportunities available outside its gates.
Now, four years later, Lake Jovita Life has not only become
a source of information, but a source of pride in the fact that the community’s
HOA offers a publication that matches the quality that surrounds them.
Within each quarterly edition, we create custom content
based upon interviews with the HOA leadership and through reaching out to
residents for story ideas, group activities, and special events. I comb through
news articles looking for changes that will affect the community or our quality
of life in the coming months and years. We also ask for Service Directory
submissions and begin building that database of trusted providers readers can
refer to when in need.
The Circle Widens
Now, I’m preparing to offer the same level of service and
quality Lake Jovita readers enjoy to other exclusive communities. If you had
asked me five years ago if I thought I would enter the publishing business, I
would have said, “no.” If you would have asked me 30 years ago, I would have
answered with a resounding “yes.” After all, the more things change, the more
they stay the same.
And that’s the whole point of this blog post. While we spend our lives, both professional and personal, continually reaching for that next shining opportunity, we sometimes stray so far off the original path that it seems too difficult to return to it. Yet, there’s always an off-ramp to return to your roots. Lake Jovita Life is living proof of that.