MOVING FORWARD

Ibelieve there comes a time in everyone’s life when you ask yourself the question, “Am I happy with my career or personal life?” For me, that question arose this year regarding my career, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure of the answer. Healthy Living is approaching its five-year anniversary, and the journey has been filled with lots of hard work, struggles, accomplishments, successes, and failures. To say it has been a rollercoaster ride would be an understatement. Launching a new company requires extreme dedication and long hours of work, especially when you decide to start in the midst of a recession.

The long hours have been very taxing on my health and personal relationships. Because of my extreme work demands, I have missed many events with my friends and family and have had to watch from the sidelines as life moved forward. Recently, a friend of mine was facing a life-threatening illness, and she shared with me that when she thought about the fact her life may end, she didn’t think about her career. She thought about all the time that she wanted back with her family. That statement shook me to the core. It made me ask myself, “Is what I’m spending my time on really that important?”

After many days of soul searching and reflection, my answer is a resounding “yes.” I realized that I am doing exactly what I was called to do. I know this because over the years God has opened doors and blessed our company beyond belief. Healthy Living is not like other magazines. It is a constant reinforcement of inspiration, strength, and guidance for its readers and the community it serves. In a world where most media focuses on the darkness, Healthy Living reflects light and encouragement. God has placed His hand on our company because it is a reflection of His goodness.

With this in mind, and with the overwhelming love and support of my friends and family, I move forward with more passion and drive than ever before. I am here to serve our readers and to continue to guide this magazine to be what it is meant to be — an inspiration.

Cheers to the next five years.

TINA MORRISON editorial/community relations director tina@akersmediagroup.com

MARY ANN D ESANTIS editor-at-large maryann@akersmediagroup.com

SHEMIR WILES copy editor/writer shemir@akersmediagroup.com

JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com

HEATHER TOOTLE office manager heather@akersmediagroup.com contributing writers RICHARD T. BOSSHARDT, MD RICHARD BURGUET

TRACY DRAPER

LORI ESAREY SANDRA FRIEND

ROBERT FROSS

THOMAS FROSS

FRED HILTON SHERI HUTCHINSON

THOMAS H. RUGGIE, CHFC, CFP

STEVEN J. CODRARO associate creative director steve@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer/advertising josh@akersmediagroup.com

ANTHONY CASTO senior designer/editorial anthony@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com

AUBREY AKERS receptionist contributing photographer MORGAN ELLIS RON VANDEVANDER

SALES // MARKETING

TIM MCRAE vice president of sales and marketing tim@akersmediagroup.com

MIKE STEGALL senior marketing representative mike@akersmediagroup.com

LORI STRONG marketing representative lori@akersmediagroup.com

HEIDI RESSLER marketing representative heidi@akersmediagroup.com

JIM LAW marketing representative jim.law@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

DISTRIBUTION

SCOTT HEGG distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com

Kendra Akers publisher