If you believe in such things as the Universe at work, it seems that She was very busy about two years ago. That’s when sisters Veronica Kautz and Terry Azad were presented with a fabulous business opportunity — one that would also benefit the residents of Scotch Plains and Fanwood.
At a time when changes in their professional lives shifted their worlds — Terry had spent nearly thirty years as an executive at commercial real estate firm JLL, and Veronica had built a career in sales that began, as you will see, in the most organic way imaginable — they put their heads together and fulfilled a lifelong dream. That dream had been alive since they were teenagers growing up on Long Island: to live across the street from each other, raise their then-imaginary children more like siblings than cousins, and maybe — just maybe — own a business together. Sixteen years ago, they moved with their families to Scotch Plains. They don’t actually live across the street from each other, but close enough.
A sign hiding in plain sight
A little over 18 months ago, City Lifestyle corporate reached out about the availability of Scotch Plains City Lifestyle magazine. The prior publishers wanted to sell, and Veronica was approached. Her first call was to Terry.
“Terry was always kind of my mentor when it came to work things,” Veronica says. “She was the first person I’d bounce things off.” Terry had recently retired from a fulfilling career at JLL after having reached her desired rung on the corporate ladder. She was just two years from her 55th birthday — a mentally preset milestone when she had always imagined stepping away from corporate life. The timing, in other words, was exactly right.
Veronica went to Terry’s house. She pitched the magazine. And Terry went upstairs — and came back down with every single issue she had ever received. She had kept them all. Loved them. Even placed them on display in the guest room.
When they met the prior publishers, Lynn and Kevin Harris, and discovered they shared the same last name — Veronica and Terry’s maiden name is Harris — the decision felt less like a business calculation and more like the magazine ownership was simply meant to be.
…they met the prior publishers, Lynn and Kevin Harris, and discovered they shared the same last name — Veronica and Terry’s maiden name is Harris — the decision felt less like a business calculation and more like the magazine ownership was simply meant to be.
Complementary by design — and by nature
Ask either sister how they divide the work and the answer comes quickly: Veronica leads advertising and sales. Terry writes the stories and drives editorial consistency. They both manage client relationships. It sounds like a neat division of labor. It is actually the result of who they have always been.
Veronica’s sales instinct showed itself early — very early. As a girl on Long Island, her sisters were supposed to sell items from a Tom Wat fundraising kit to earn money for a 4H trip or to Washington DC. None of them wanted to do it. Veronica, on the other hand, was all in. She went door to door — “Hi, I’m Veronica, your neighbor. Would you like to buy something?” — and made the sale. Consistently. Her sisters went off to Washington. And Veronica launched a career in sales that would take her through Yahoo, Zip Recruiter, and Brandwatch before landing her here, in Scotch Plains, with a dream and a magazine.
Terry, meanwhile, has always been drawn to the story — to the writing, the editorial eye, the instinct for what a community needs to see reflected back to itself. She joined the Rotary Club to report on it for the magazine and liked it so much she stayed. That’s the kind of publisher Scotch Plains City Lifestyle has. And if you ask around town, more than a few people think Terry should run for mayor — although she laughs it off noting she would prefer to serve as “Social Chair.”
Direct mail on steroids — with a soul
The sisters describe their magazine with characteristic directness: “direct mail on steroids.” It’s high-quality print, delivered to almost every homeowner in Scotch Plains and Fanwood — and to over 600 businesses in the greater Westfield area — designed to stay in homes and get multiple reads. The franchise model handles printing, postage, and operational systems, freeing the local team to focus on what they do best: community storytelling and partner success.
Their mission, stated simply, is to connect small businesses and people to the community, celebrate local stories, and advocate for partners with integrity. They position themselves as marketing partners, not just publishers — making introductions, championing businesses they believe in, and occasionally advocating for companies even outside paid partnerships when it serves the community.
They know they’re playing a long game. “We love to hear people say how much they like the magazine,” Veronica says — including the story of a wife who literally grabbed the current issue out of her husband’s hands. That kind of loyalty isn’t built overnight. It’s
built the way the sisters’ father taught them everything worth having is built: steadily, with integrity, and without ever living small.
What their father knew
The Harris family produced five daughters in seven years. “We don’t remember a time when our mother wasn’t pregnant,” the sisters say, laughing. Their mother was a nurse who returned to school for social work — her true passion — while raising five girls and staying deeply involved in community life. Their father was a Marine: social, gregarious, a born storyteller who believed without apology that hard work pays off and that success lives outside the comfort zone.
He sent all five daughters to private colleges. Nineteen successive years of tuition — not because it was easy, but because it was right. “If he had one dollar,” the sisters say, “he would give you two.” And when each daughter graduated from college, the gift from Mom and Dad Harris was not jewelry or a fancy car. It was luggage — luggage to leave home. The message was unmistakable: “Don’t move back. Pack up your things and start your life — because that’s exactly what we just gave you. A start.”
…when each daughter graduated from college, the gift from Mom and Dad Harris was not jewelry or a fancy car. It was luggage — luggage to leave home. The message was unmistakable: “Don’t move back. Pack up your things and start your life — because that’s exactly what we just gave you. A start.”
It’s no surprise that all five Harris daughters found their own paths. Mary became a news producer in Los Angeles. Karen is the executive director of an assisted living facility in Boston. Loretta, an independent consultant, lives in New Hope, PA. And Veronica and Terry — the two who always seemed destined to do something together — found their way to Scotch Plains City Lifestyle.
The party
Dad never finished college. He had to work — to support his family, to do what needed doing, to give others what he couldn’t always keep for himself. So, his daughters gave him what the institution never did: an honorary doctorate in Finance and Education from the University of Life. They threw him a party to celebrate it, with all the ceremony the moment deserved.
Strong Harris family ties and gratitude for all their parents had done for them turned youngest daughter Veronica’s college graduation party celebration into a party for Dad instead. For the Harris family, it has always been family first. And Dad was worth every bit of it.
Their father died in June 2024 at 86 — suddenly and peacefully, after brunch, still socially active, still fully himself. Nineteen years of tuition. Five daughters launched into the world with luggage and a mandate. A community that knew his name. And a party, at the end, that said: we see you. We thank you. We always have.
Five daughters launched into the world with luggage and a mandate. A community that knew his name. And a party, at the end, that said: we see you. We thank you. We always have.
What’s ahead
A strong work ethic and the fun they bring to the magazine (fun that often includes champagne) means there’s nothing in the plan that signals slowing down. A podcast — Toast of the Town — is on the horizon, beginning with short social “toast” snippets before expanding into full interviews. Their events strategy is already strong: a recent speed-dating style networking event at Ethan Allen drew rave reviews, with attendees leaving with meaningful connections rather than just business cards.
Upcoming issues include a Women’s Issue in May — their stated agenda is to elevate women-owned businesses — and a Gentlemen’s Issue in June featuring a “girl dads” story that already sounds like something their own father would have loved.
It has been, by any measure, a phenomenal start. And if the Harris family’s tenacious history is any indication, this latest chapter is very much still the beginning of the story. What’s more, there’s a living legacy here — and hands down, Mom and Dad Harris would be immensely proud.
For advertising and editorial opportunities in Scotch Plains City Lifestyle, Veronica and Terry can be reached as follows:
Veronica.Kautz@citylifestyle.com
Follow them on Instagram at Scotch Plains City Lifestyle