Over the years I have written a lot of columns. I’ve written columns for little newspapers and big newspapers, numerous newsletters and a few magazines. My guess is most of those were some editor wanting to make points with the boss or needing help to fill some space and not because I am that good a writer or have that much of interest to share. But, for whatever reason, I have put an awful lot of words on paper in the past 40 years and, who knows, maybe someday somebody will read them again and consider them of historical interest. Nahhhhh.
I guess it is important to know that I’m a worrier… at least Twila tells me I worry too much. I prefer to think of it is strategic future consideration. And I suffer from a bit of OFD (Old Fart Depression). Twila says I’m not old and it is always amazing to me how much it helps to hear that. But as I watch the time pass and realize that some years are just a blur as they fly by, it makes me realize how fleeting our time on this globe truly is. And with that realization it is also good to understand how important it is to slow down enough to say “thank you” to those who have made your life better.
First of all, thank you to YOU! Yes, YOU! If you are kind enough to invest your important time in reading your copy of SOKY Happenings, then we want you to know how much we appreciate you. And if you are kind enough to enjoy the information provided by our sponsors and maybe even drop in, buy something and tell them you saw it in SOKY… well, that puts you up for sainthood! 🙂
Equally important with our readers are our wonderful sponsors. Some of you guys have been with SOKY since before Twila and I adopted it all those many years ago. You have never missed an issue with us… even through the horrible time of COVID. We know we reach a lot of your current and potential customers, but we are thrilled that you recognize that and choose us to help share your important message.
Next, I want to thank the folks who provide content for SOKY. We don’t have a huge staff to put out our wonderful magazine. We prefer being the voice and palette of South Central Kentucky. So every month in SOKY you are enjoying articles from 30 to 50 individual writers plus art and photography from a number of talented creators. A group that is often overlooked is the talented graphic artists who design many of the ads in SOKY. They are the unsung heroes of print marketing and I wish I could name them all here. But you know who you are and we thank you!
Then there are the folks who have to put up with me nearly daily… Abby, Meredith and Krystal. I don’t have enough room to write all the nice things I would like to say about them, but suffice it to say without them SOKY would have been gone a long time ago. They are simply the best and we are blessed to have them on the team.
Of course, I must thank my best friend, business partner and wife… Twila. We celebrated 30 years of marriage this year and nearly that many years in business together. We actually met in a newspaper where I was consulting and she was head of their production department. The owner of that newspaper never forgave me for stealing her away from him and hired me a few years later… I always said he did that just to get Twila back, just like I say many of our friends put up with me just to get to spend time around her. God truly touched my life in a positive forever way when He brought us together. Need I say more.
And finally, and truly most importantly, I thank God for the great life and successful business He has given us. Twila and I adopted SOKY all those years ago with the goal of keeping it small and available to small businesses and non-profits as a way of sharing their message in a cost-effective way. We have continued to follow that philosophy and, God willing, always will. The advertising world has changed a lot in my 40 years in the business, but two things have never changed and never will… it is all about the content and what makes people respond to a message. A bunch of pictures of folks are interesting to a few folks who might know them… but interesting, informative and timely content will reach thousands of folks every time. And that same content will cause people to respond to your message and that is what SOKY is all about, and I thank God He has allowed us to provide that opportunity to small businesses and non-profit organizations for all these years.
So, thank you for your patience, your interest and your support and may God bless you with a great holiday season, a wonderful next year and with the time and desire to take a moment to say “thank you.”
