LETTER
from the publisher
An answer to a challenge BY TRADE, I AM A REAL ESTATE GUY – that is how I have earned my living and it is a satisfying and meaningful venture. I never thought I would enter the game of magazine publishing, but here I am, and I couldn’t be more grateful. In 2018, Linda Marks came to me with the idea of purchasing Ocala Magazine from her, and at that time I was running four night clubs. The contrast in operating a night club and a magazine could not be more stark, and this new world offered exciting challenges. In the nearly three and a half years of owning Ocala Magazine I have come to learn quite a few things along the way, but there were some things I hadn’t expected. I have grown to love the magazine business and the opportunities it affords one in helping other people. We are able to shine a light on people and organizations that make it their very business to change the world through their efforts and generosity and I am so proud to be a part of that. From small churches caring for local homeless people to large multi-national charities, there is a great diversity in the means of administering care as well as those receiving that care. It has been a privilege to chronicle it all in the pages of this magazine. Although I have been a part of Ocala Magazine for less than four years, the publication itself has been a stalwart of the area for 42 years and continues to uphold its mission of telling the story of Ocala’s charitable and magnanimous citizenry. Our monthly Charity Spotlight section and our annual Charity Register, which is now in circulation, bring me as much pride as anything else we print because they are about local people who are selfless in the pursuit of making this a better community. That brings me to this month’s spotlight: Kids Central. The mere existence of this organization is testimony to the fact that people acting with their hearts and in the interests of their own communities is the best way to administer care for the needy, as opposed to large government bureaucracies. The more distant the administration, the less effective it will be and the success of private 501(c)3 organizations in dealing with the child welfare situation in Florida is proof. Too many children are neglected or abused in their own families and Kids Central is stepping in to do something about it. For most of its history, Florida relied mainly on the Division of Children and Families to not only investigate cases of child abuse and neglect, but to also shoulder the responsibility of finding and providing foster care. The system did not work. With the system now put in the hands of local organizations like Kids Central, acting for the most part independently of the government, we have a model for how the rest of the country should treat the issue of child welfare and likely other issues as well. When I hear the sad stories of abused kids, I think about how fortunate I was to have been brought up in a loving home and how that is something none of us should take for granted. Many kids who weren’t as fortunate are forced into the foster care system through no fault of their own, and the chances for success in their lives decreases dramatically. Thanks to Kids Central, a lot more kids have chances at brighter futures than otherwise. Until next month,
PHILIP GLASSMAN, PUBLISHER
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| FEB 2022 | OCALAMAGAZINE.COM
