October 2014 was the first issue we printed of Biz New Orleans magazine, which means you hold in your hand our 61st issue, and I can tell you, it’s been quite the ride.
To be honest, when I met with Errol Laborde — the editor-in-chief at Renaissance Publishing — five years ago this past summer and he said he wanted me to help launch a business magazine, I wasn’t so sure. I’d run a few magazines before related to interior design and homebuilding and the thought of covering all of the business industries in Southeast Louisiana sounded both daunting and like it had the potential to be a very stuffy task. Turns out I was right, and wrong.
Covering business in this region IS a daunting task, because over the past five years we’ve diversified and grown so much — leaping into the tech world, conquering the healthcare front and growing in basically every industry. Fortunately, readers like you are continuously reaching out to keep us abreast of everything from new hires, to business openings, to general feature ideas. I really feel like our editorial team reaches far beyond the borders of our building, and for that I’m extremely grateful. Keep the emails coming!
On that end, I’d also like to extend my gratitude to all of our columnists and reporters — especially our sports columnist and blogger Chris Price and Entrepreneurship writer Keith Twitchell, who, along with our nonprofit writer and Labor of Love blogger Pamela Marquis, have been with us since the first issue. Along the way, we have picked up so many incredible reporters and columnists who have done a tremendous job bringing business to life both within these pages and at BizNewOrleans.com — ruled by our incredible web editor Kelly Massicot. Kelly has also been a part of the team since day one, as has our multimedia blogger Leslie Snadowski and our indomitable sales manager Caitlin Sistrunk.
Now, to where I was wrong (and happily so). If there’s one thing that’s been evident since I moved to New Orleans more than eight years ago, it’s that this city is anything but stuffy, so it’s no surprise that the business industry here follows suit. What I failed to realize five years ago is that business is all about people, and the people in New Orleans are like none other on earth, which makes covering business here like no other job on earth. I look forward to all the stories and incredible personalities yet to come!
As always, thank you for reading!
