I’ve never been one to look in the rearview mirror. Once an issue of CH2 is in print, there’s a 90% chance I never flip through it. At that point in the month, I’m deep in production with photo shoots for the next issue and in the planning stages for the one after that.
A few months ago, as we were setting the stage for a parody of Taylor Swift’s Fortnight video with a backdrop of CH2 and CB2 covers, the enormity of what 17 years of magazines truly looks like hit me.
That’s a lot of pages. What an incredible team effort it took to produce such a history.
So, as we embark upon our 18th year, I am taking a moment to reflect on all the creative and dedicated people that helped us get here, starting with our fearless leader who owned a bunch of restaurants and decided “why not a magazine too,” the magnetic Pierce Lowrey.
Talented writers like Linda Hopkins, Barry Kaufman, and Courtney Hampson – who has been around since almost the beginning, when we first met on a fox hunt at Palmetto Bluff.
Creative and imaginative powerhouses like Tom Staebler, who graced us with his knowledge after an illustrious 40-year career as Playboy’s art director. Under his tutelage, the logo changed and I was instructed in photography by the man who shot celebrities for one of the most prolific publications in history.
And to new energetic forces, like Jevon Daly, who convinced me the magazine was way more than what the public saw on the printed page, and helped catapult us into a digital and social media presence I would not have imagined possible five years ago.
The core of our team, however, has always been the women, so I have to shout out to all of my CH2 girls, who are not just workmates, but truly family at this point. To countless photo shoots and creative sessions with Catherine Davies and Hunter Kostylo, who are still making this magazine beautiful every month. And to Kelly Stroud, our very first art director, who brought energy, humor, and talent to those first few years of issues.
And what would a magazine be without a sales team? Out of business, probably. I have to thank my girls Morgan, Kim, Kaila, and Kandace for keeping those ads coming in, as that’s what allows us all to be here, for free, in your mailbox every month. Shout-out to our former CH2 girls as well – women like Becky, Lindsay, Bailey, Katie, our rockstar Ashton, who helped us get to where we are today. And only our clients know Mame Bowser, the CFO who handles the business side of things so we can be wildly creative … but we really owe more to her than anyone will ever realize publicly.
I dedicate this, our 206th issue, to Bonnie Lowrey – thanks for believing a bunch of kids could do it!
We hope you enjoy this Love Affair with Food issue. It’s probably the 10th … maybe the 14th? I don’t know … I don’t really keep up with that sort of thing.
Cheers!