Some eight years ago, as we prepared to launch this magazine, I wrote a letter to area businesspeople in an effort to introduce ourselves to our new neighbors – and to the local publishing market. It went something like this (OK, it went exactly like this):
Arlington Today Magazine will hit the newsstands, mailboxes and waiting areas in September, thus launching a new era in local publishing history.
This cutting-edge product will tell the Arlington story as never before, as each issue will commemorate the vibrant, distinctive persona of the city and region we call home to our family, business and cultural endeavors.
For each edition we’ll go where you go, eat where you eat, work where you work and celebrate where you celebrate – all so you can finally have a publication that “really gets” Arlington and the Arlington area.
That was the plan, “back in the day.” On this day, some 89 issues later, here’s how that plan has panned out:
If you saw the cover (and who doesn’t revel in covers that feature cute kids?), you might suspect that we’re big on local education. If you read the story on page 24 that the cover promotes, you’ll become a little smarter yourself – especially if you’re the parent of a pre-K child.
Before you even get to page 24, you’ll be told that the Arlington area is about to have a renovated museum, already has a new glass art gallery, is home to not-one-but-two of the more successful country music artists in the nation, is also home to a high school student who is so gifted that an app she created is taking social media by storm, and boasts of one really cute canine.
Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll discover more than a dozen faces/places/spaces worth noting (because the faces that inspired or created the places/spaces have stories worth sharing). You’ll see a classic car and a classically renovated home. You’ll meet a local man who might be the finest finder of bargains in all the world, as well as a local woman who just experienced one fine wedding day and shares her story about it.
There are also stories about what’s going on at the University of Texas at Arlington, in Mansfield and around the horn for your Texas Rangers. If you’re looking for something fun or edifying to enjoy, we’ll show you on our Itinerary page where to go to satisfy that craving. Speaking of cravings, your tummy will thank you for turning to our Keen Cuisine dining guide, selecting one of the options and routing the car in that direction. Oh, and you’ll also get a great snapshot of the Arlington area via the many snapshots in our Scene section.
Here’s the deal: I said it in 2013, and I’m still saying it eight years later: Arlington Today is the publication of record for this city and region. And, boy, is it fun and satisfying to say that still.
