Greetings! This is my first official editor’s note in the pages of Slice, and it’s incredibly exciting. Exhilarating. Thrilling. Terrifying. It feels like I am peering out from behind a curtain and stepping forward to meet all of you, and I must say, it’s nice to finally see you face-to-face … or, ink to eyeball.
Does anyone else have the sense that this is like a blind date? I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but a mutual acquaintance thinks we might be perfect for each other. Let’s have a little introductory chat before we get down to business, shall we?
Some of you may know that I am new to the position of editor-in-chief, but not at all new to the magazine (and its previous incarnations – here’s a shout out to any original Nichols Hills News readers – we go way back). A lady never tells her age, but I am rapidly approaching that point in time when I will have worked here longer than I have not. In my whole life. Whoa.
I’ve worn many hats and worked in just about every capacity that a publishing company has to offer, and I have been lucky to do so alongside a terrific team. My colleagues are like a surrogate family to me – perhaps growing up as one of nine children set me up to immediately adopt my co-workers. I am thankful for the opportunities I have had to “grow in place.” I’ve read that job-hopping is becoming the norm in our society, and I always think to myself – those people haven’t met the Slice team. We’re lifers. (And I mean that in the best possible way, not in a prison gang kind of way.)
I know we will continue to get acquainted in the coming months, and I do hope in the meantime you will drop me a line to let me know what’s on your mind. Let me just scribble my email address on this cocktail napkin for you. Now … on to the show.
May is jam-packed with festivities, and for a quick rundown of our can’t-miss events, see Steve Gill’s “Top 10” on page 78. Sara Gae Waters urges us to get outside and enjoy the springtime weather with “Sitting Pretty” on page 28. John Parker lives the dream (if only for a short while) when he takes us inside the world of Oklahoma’s jet set on page 38. Lauren Hammack shares the mission of some philanthropic businesspeople dedicated to empowering the women of the world, on page 33, and in honor of Mother’s Day gives a rundown of her favorite TV moms on page 110. (I have to admit that Peg Bundy was my choice of TV mom role model. No offense, Mom. Love you!)
We recently had a chance to mix and mingle with you, our fantastic readers, at the inaugural Slice Awards, where we honored your choices for best in central Oklahoma (page 65). It was a fun shindig, and we are looking forward to several upcoming events where we get to know you better. Keep an eye on our Facebook page (facebook.com/sliceok) and our Twitter feed (@sliceok), or subscribe to the magazine and provide your email address to stay in the loop on our parties.
There is plenty more to be found in these pages, but I know the pleasure I get from letting a good read unfold, so I will say no more. Except this – when we get a new issue of the magazine at the office, we tear into the box of advance copies like a pack of ravenous wolves, then cluster ’round to immediately flip through it at lightning speed. I noticed last month that one person began reading front-to-back, and one read back-to-front. Does that say something about your personality? Purist or rogue? Either way, we’ve got you covered.
P.S. I wondered if some dedicated readers might miss seeing publisher Elizabeth Meares’ face here, so I was tempted to include a photo of us together (perhaps one from my 2003 wedding where she was the matron of honor?), but decided I should save that kind of blackmail for when I need the big guns. Like annual review time.
