Akron Life November 2022

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F R O M T H E P U B L I S H E R

[ Publisher | Colin Baker | cbaker@bakermediagroup.com ]

Party Time

Join us in commemorating two decades of the magazine.

At the time, my dad had partnered with Bill Melver, who helped him put a business plan together and started to pitch the idea around town. I was studying for my Series 7 license to become a financial planner and needed to make some money along the way, so I said I would help sell some advertising. There were about six weeks between the idea and launch of the magazine. That is a ridiculously short time to set up a new magazine, create content and sell ads. On staff, besides myself, Bill and my dad, we kept our photog rapher from Akron Business Magazine , Ray Saviciunas, and recruited my aunt, Kathy Moorhouse, as our art director. We also brought in editor Kurt Kleidon and a slew of support ing cast and interns. The first cover of Akron Life & Leisure featured a night shot of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, beautifully lit up with holiday lights in the trees. Although Stan Hywet is an Akron icon and fitting for the first cover, the truth is that we didn’t have the equipment to shoot a high resolution photograph and have it drum scanned for the quality that we wanted. And Stan Hywet had one ready to go. The process wasn’t like today, where we have high-quality digital images from our phones. We were still using film or low quality digital cameras. One of the features in that first issue was “Decades of December,” where we asked several Akronites about their

It’s officially Akron Life ’s 20th anniversary!

My career in publishing began in October 1996, but Akron Life began in November 2002. Since the magazine began as Akron Life & Leisure and shortened its name to Akron Life in 2011, I can figure out your age and time in the community quickly by if you call us Akron Life or Akron Life & Leisure . There are plenty of people who work with us regularly who still call us the latter. I guess it’s like trying to get used to the new Cleveland Guardians team name; it takes a while to sink in. Everything started with a meeting in the Summit Metro Parks at the Shady Hollow Lodge, where we put together a focus group to discuss our Akron Business Magazine and what the next move for our publishing company would be. At the time, my dad, Don, had held onto an idea that Dennis Kleidon from the mar keting agency Kleidon & Associates had suggested — that Akron could use a city magazine. He said he had several adver tisers he thought would be interested in being a part of that, and I’m sure that perked my dad’s ears up because one of the most difficult parts about starting a new magazine is finding enough compa nies to support it with advertising. My journey took a detour after that, as I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in the business. I thought I might want to be a financial planner, and at the time, I had two small kids and wasn’t sure I was in for the ride of a startup and everything it entails.

holiday traditions and memories. Among those interviews was my then-4-year-old daughter, Xaverie. She said she wanted a talking Barbie head and a toy machine that makes more toys. It still cracks me up to see that flash from the past, and that same personality is still there today at 24. I never became a financial planner, and everyone who was on staff for that first issue has moved on except me, but I can’t thank the countless staffers who have been here to shape the last 20 years enough. And I can’t wait to see what the next 20 years has in store for the magazine and The 330.

[ Publisher Colin Baker is a retired racing driver and gearhead. ] Comments? Email them to Kelly Petryszyn [kpetryszyn@bakermediagroup.com].

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