When I met Angi Burns a little over a year ago, we sat down with steaming cups in hand at Armor Coffee in The Village at Allen. I was looking to do a little copy editing work, and she was preparing to launch the publication you now hold in your hands. I imagined myself carefully reading each editorial in search of comma splices and mechanical errors, but within moments of meeting Angi I was blown away by her vision for Allen City Lifestyle. I knew I had to be a part of making it a reality.
Like many of you, my social media feed is increasingly full of anger and despair, punctuated only occasionally by a Pedro Pascal clip or cat meme. It's easy to believe that what we see on the news and in our feeds is the sum total of reality. Thankfully, it's not.
Angi's vision for Allen City Lifestyle has always been to create a publication that raises awareness about the wonderful people and organizations in our community dedicated to making Allen and surrounding areas better. In serving as editor, I've chased down dangling modifiers and fixed spelling errors as I expected, but, more than anything, I've been inspired.
Each month, we take the opportunity to tell you, our beloved readers, about the remarkable people in our community. From first responders to stellar students to nonprofits, we share the stories of those devoting their lives to supporting others and making our little corner of the world a safe and welcoming place. Moreover, we get to share with you about the business owners and leaders in our community. Angi has carefully vetted each of our advertising partners, ensuring that the businesses we endorse on our pages are truly best in class. You can patronize the businesses in this publication with confidence.
It has been with the greatest joy that I have interviewed people in our community and copy edited the stories submitted by our incredible team of writers. Each editorial reminds me of the good in our community and encourages me to make my own contributions to our area. I hope you are encouraged too.
As I reflect on this past year, I want to say a few thanks.
First of all, thank you for reading Allen City Lifestyle each month. Angi and I hope you find the stories we publish to be relevant and uplifting.
Thank you to our partners. Getting to know you this past year has been absolutely delightful. I love hearing your stories, and I love being able to confidently tell my friends and family, "You should call..." whenever a need arises.
Thank you to our writers: Fatima Durrani, Alisa Hauser, Megan Hernandez, Blaine Mountain, and Tiffany Velasquez. You bring the stories of our community to life and uplift us with your words.
Thank you to our photographers: Catherine Chong, Catina Hall, Zaharra Hemani, Kristin Jewell, Zoe Martin, Joseph Rivers, Rebekah Ussery, Kate VanMersbergen, Amy Wales, Rachel Webb, and Schuyler Wick. You show us the world through your lens and help us focus on the beauty in our community.
Thank you to Kathy, our Publisher's Assistant. Having you on board with City Lifestyle has perfectly rounded out our team. You are the exact blend of sugar and spice that we needed to keep us on track and focused on our goals.
Happy Birthday, Allen City Lifestyle. I can't wait to see what this next year brings!