From the Publisher's Desk

Welcome to the second issue of Liberty Life. Thank you for taking the time to read through it. Our mission is to provide relevant, relatable and useful information to our readers. Our readers are primarily the military, Veterans, and their families serving and living on the military bases and in neighborhoods across Camden, Nassau, Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties. I’m excited for the opportunity to show you just how much that mission inspires our work.

Our Veteran staff continues to mold our journalistic voice and shape how we deliver information, resources and activities to you. Late nights, new lens-views and spirited video discussions have become the norm. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman’s classic forming, storming, norming and performing stages of team development are being revalidated.

I want to share one example of our evolution. Our audience is principally spread across seven and a half military bases, five counties and two adjoining states. Finding a concise regional and geographic descriptor to replace the wordy and repetitively used “Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida” emerged as a priority. Identifying an inclusive definition of who our readers are, in addition to where they are, was important.

As we worked through the dilemma, it was clear that recognizing our defense community as being diverse is an understatement, as we have “them” all: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, GUARD and Reserve bases and commands. Each of the bases have many different units. We even have the Army Corps of Engineers, Homeland Security, FBI and numerous other Department of Defense entities spread across our turf.

On base, these organizations are staffed with distinct populations of professionals, such as pilots and aviators, ship and boat drivers, technicians, mechanics, security forces, logistians, support, administrative and service personnel, engineers, environmentalists, specialists, and crew chiefs, just to name a handful of these groups. They range in rank from Seaman Recruit through Sergeant First Class to Commanding Officer.

In town, Veterans from World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam and Cold War, and the 20-year era labeled Post-9/11, live and work here. Additionally, Liberty Life Media informs and supports the many military and Veteran spouses and family members who also live, work and go to school in our region.

The common thread? All of them support our ability to live the Liberty Life. The aha moment: WE ARE The Liberty Coast!

So… you heard it here first. The Liberty Coast is a region of Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida, located along the Atlantic coast, that is the home to one of the largest communities of military Servicemembers, Veterans and their families in the United States. The Liberty Life Media crew looks forward to sharing with our readers the people, places, resources and things to do on The Liberty Coast.

After reading through the issue, I invite you to share your feedback, submissions or desire to be a contributor with me at 904.476.7861 or Publisher@LibertyLifeMedia.Com. You can reach the crew at Info@LibertyLifeMedia.Com.

On Base • In Town • Pro-Military. _____________________ Joe Snowberger U. S. Navy Mustang (Ret) Publisher I Liberty Life Media