community spotlight
COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR 13 YEARS
Natural Awakenings Greater Hartford Seeks New Steward
W
hen the first Natural Awakenings edition was published in Naples, Florida 27 years ago, it was to fill a specific community need. Founder Sharon Bruckman wanted to make it easier for people in her area to find information in one place about local farmers’ markets and healthy living activities and events. It may seem quaint in the post-Google era we’re in now, but Natural Awakenings was born from one woman’s honest desire to help people be informed and empowered. That mission has driven Nicole Miale’s leadership as publisher of the Fairfield County/Housatonic Valley edition for over seven years and the Greater Hartford/Tolland County edition for the past three years. We asked Miale about the role the magazine currently plays and what is next for the Greater Hartford edition.
How do you define the role of Natural Awakenings in the local community?
This magazine is an extension of the people in the community and a reflection of the interests and passions expressed there. The magazine is for, by and about the local community. Natural Awakenings continues to be a free community resource, supported 100% by members of the community and containing news and 14 Hartford County Edition
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educational articles from many others. We connect people in the area who need and want help with people and products they think may help them. We work hard to be actively involved in the community: introducing new businesses, sponsoring events, having a visible presence at workshops and fairs; distributing the magazine anywhere that will have us. The more people who can find us, the more people we can help. That’s my job; to ensure the magazine is easy to find all over the broad area and packed with credible information people can use to improve their daily lives.
How long has the Greater Hartford edition been publishing?
I’m the third owner of this franchise; in October 2020 Natural Awakenings will have been publishing in Hartford County for 13 years. The magazine’s success in recent years has been gratifying for me and the team but is mostly a mirror for the limitless energy and ability of the people in the local community. It’s pretty phenomenal to appreciate that, in part because of their involvement with the magazine, many practitioners, businesses and enterprises first established themselves and have been thriving for years.
What is most rewarding to you about publishing Natural Awakenings?
The knowledge that information we provide has lasting value and, in some cases, life-altering meaning for so many people. When someone comes up to me at an event and says, “I love your magazine!” I say, “Thank you so much. Please tell me what you love about it and what we can do better.” I’m passionately concerned with the reader’s experience. The goal is to consistently create and put out a highquality product that inspires, educates and informs on subjects that may be new to many. When I hear that faculty members at the Institute of Holistic Health Studies at WCSU have used some of the magazine’s articles as required reading for their modules, I know we’re doing something right. I am proud of the impact our collective work is having in the region.
What brought you to this work? My passion for service is in my DNA. Compassion and concern for others were modeled for me by my parents whose vocations were fire chief and social worker. I’m a seeker by nature; no matter what job I’ve held I always strive to go beyond and make it better. I look for rough spots so I can help smooth them out and break new ground. I brought that “change for the better” mindset to my role as publisher by emphasizing development of credible independent content, and building mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations with community organizations. Empowering people to make positive change is rewarding. My ongoing challenge is to get more people involved in the magazine each month. I’m doing my readers a disservice if something innovative is happening in the area and I haven’t yet included it in the magazine.
What might surprise readers about you?
My deep fascination for the diverse subject matter we cover has surprised people over the years. At no time has publishing Natural
