Beachwood Buzz Magazine - October 2014 Page 3

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Callout

Letter from

THE EDITOR

By Debby Zelman Rapoport

October 2014

Beachwood Buzz

We're 18!

n celebration of Beachwood Buzz's 18th birthday, I'm dedicating this
column to the story of how it all began.

There's a lot going on

in our community, and

I am grateful to have

the opportunity to pull

it all together. When

starting

Beachwood

Buzz, Andy and I

agreed that this would

always be a magazine

about Beachwood, by

Beachwood and for

Beachwood. Today, I stick

to that premise . . .

First, I thank everyone who

supports this local magazine. I
am grateful for the support of
the City of Beachwood, Beach-
wood Board of Education, the
Beachwood Chamber of Com-
merce, Beachwood Convention
and Visitors Bureau, advertisers,
readers, and contributors.

I also thank everyone who

works with me each month to
compile everything necessary to
publish this magazine. We are a
great team, and I thank you all!

Finally, I thank each of you

who continues to read Beach-
wood Buzz and patronize our ad-
vertisers. Without your support,
we wouldn't have made it to this
"coming of age" milestone.

Rolling back the hands of

time, here's how it all began. In
August of 1996, I was a stay-at-
home mom raising two children,
both in elementary school. I had
come to a crossroad in my life,
thinking about what to do to
earn a few dollars.

Enter Andy Shupp, my cousin's

husband. I was home, washing
dishes, when he came over and
said to me, "I have an idea. Let's
start a magazine."

I responded by saying, "What's

this `we' business, and what do
we know about magazines?"

His explanation amounted to

a business plan in its most sim-
plistic form. He had been work-
ing in his wife's family business
and, as a side job, was doing
the layout for another commu-
nity paper. He explained that it
would be easy. We would share
the responsibility of selling ads
to cover our costs, I would be
responsible for the editorial side,
and he would do the layout.

Without breaking stride, I said

we should call it Beachwood
Buzz. The next day, Andy came
over with four logo designs. We
agreed on one, sold enough ads
to cover our costs, and published
our first issue in October, 1996.

Once it was published, I met

with Mayor Gorden, who liked
the idea and wished us success
teaching me a valuable lesson.
He told me his name is spelled
Gorden, not Gordon, the way I
spelled it in that very first issue.

After about two years, Andy no

longer had the time to continue
with this venture because of the
demands of his full-time position.
He said we could shut down, or
he would wish me success to
continue. I chose the latter.

Shortly thereafter, I built rela-

tionships with the City of Beach-
wood, the Beachwood Board of

Education, Beachwood Chamber
of Commerce and now the
Beachwood Convention and Visi-
tors Bureau. Our advertising base
is strong. Circulation goes to ev-
ery resident and every business,
every month, and our feedback
is positive. Status quo is never
alright, and I've learned many
valuable lessons since publishing
that very first issue. Each month
is a learning experience, and in
spite of what Andy said 18 years
ago, it's not always easy but it is
always worthwhile.

There's a lot going on in our

community, and I am grateful
to have the opportunity to pull
it all together. When starting
Beachwood Buzz, Andy and I
agreed that this would always
be a magazine about Beach-
wood, by Beachwood and for
Beachwood. Today, I stick to that
premise and ask you to please
email your contributions, photos
and ideas to beachwoodbuzz@
gmail.com. Also, as of August,
Beachwood Buzz can now be
read online at www.beach-
woodbuzzmag.com, and, as of
last month, we have a Facebook
page so please be sure to like
us and watch for updates. Once
again, THANK YOU and have a
great month.