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Before I (re)introduce myself, I’d like to take a moment to applaud Jeff Vrabel for the astounding work he’s done on this magazine. Jeff has really stepped up Monthly’s game during his tenure, and the task of filling his shoes is daunting, to say the least. He leaves this magazine better than he found it thanks to his quick wit, editorial savvy and seemingly bottomless well of talents.
For me, filling the role of editor-in-chief at Monthly is something of a homecoming. It was here that I first cut my editorial teeth, serving as an unpaid intern during my college days. True, in keeping with intern tradition I cut my editorial teeth by mostly moving filing cabinets around, but it taught me a valuable lesson: lift with the editorial knees, not with the editorial teeth.
It also taught me that this magazine means a great deal to me.
After college, I returned to Monthly as a freelance contributor until Lori graciously hired me on as managing editor (or associate editor or assistant editor; we changed it every few months) and I stayed on for nearly five years. During that time, with my knowledge in filing cabinet transportation as a foundation, I learned what makes this magazine work and why.
I learned that there is a lot to talk about each month, and the hardest part of the job is whittling that list down. I learned that we have some of the hardest-working contributors in the Lowcountry. I also learned that I’m capable of downing an entire pot of coffee an hour during production week.
But it wasn’t until I left that I realized how much there was still to learn.
For example, I learned that a publication’s greatest strength is its readers. I spent three years with Bluffton Today, a newspaper founded on the notion of not just talking to readers, but engaging them in conversation. I enjoyed hearing not just from the event planners, community leaders and PR spokespeople who wanted to see their clients, festivals and new developments in print, but from the readers who were genuinely interested in the community around them who wanted a say in its future.
I know that this community has plenty to bring to the table, and I want to continue bringing you into the conversation here at Monthly. Over the next few months, online and in print, expect to see new ways for you to express your thoughts through Monthly. In short, I want this to be your magazine.
If you happen to find yourself down on New Orleans Road on the south end of the island, come on up and bend my ear. I’d love to hear what you think about the magazine, the Lowcountry and life in general. If you can’t make it down here, email me or call.
I should be available to chat, assuming all the filing cabinets are where they need to be.
Barry Kaufman
