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New Beginnings
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eedless to say, the past few years have been challenging for people all across the globe, but emerging from quarantines and isolation has also given many people the chance at a fresh start. I include myself in that group. Now, I am no stranger to new beginnings. As a military spouse for 20-plus years, I moved with my Army husband wherever we were told to go. Along the way, we bought, sold and rented out houses, including doing a complete renovation on a foreclosure in Colorado—doing all the work ourselves. During this time, we had three children and they quickly learned the family way of going with the flow, adapting to new surroundings and schools in our adventures. One thing I told my kids as we moved across the country and back is that each move is an opportunity. It is what you make of it: you can choose to be miserable and wallow in self-pity or you can choose to get out there and make an effort…and have a high likelihood of making friends and enjoying the place you live. A few years ago, my husband retired from the Army and we chose to move back to Alabama, where our families live. We chose a small town near where he grew up and proceeded to put our family plan into action once again, getting involved in our new community—but this time, we were setting down roots. Our oldest was just starting high school when we moved for the last time. Our youngest was about to start Pre-K (how’s that for starting over?). A few years after we were settled into our forever home, my two daughters told me they kinda missed moving every few years. It had become part of their lives and their “normal.” They also confessed they missed going someplace new and having that fresh start, so we pledged to travel more with them and renewed their passports…then came 2020… My oldest graduated high school in the weirdest school year most can remember. Her last quarter was hurriedly shifted to a virtual format and many teachers and students struggled with the sudden changes. There was no senior prom (even though we already bought her dress), no Honors Day, no senior picnic, no graduation parties…you get the picture. She was captain of the varsity soccer team—a dream of hers ever since she started playing the game at age three—for a total of three games before the season was cut short. She started college that fall, but was almost a prisoner in her dorm room for the first semester with so many restrictions and all her classes shifted online. I asked her if she wanted to come
�New beginnings are all in your attitude, and I am looking to make my time with Surface & Panel long, meaningful and fulfilling.� home, but she had so looked forward to being “on her own,” she chose to stay on campus and things eased a little second semester. It was not exactly the fresh start she planned, but to her credit, she adapted and made the most of it. This year, my younger daughter graduated high school, enjoying all the festivities her sister had to miss—I definitely think she appreciated those moments a little more. When she heads to college this fall and her older sister returns to campus, I will be outnumbered by boys in my house for the first time ever. Along with all these adjustments, I started a new job just as the school year was ending. You can say I am in full reset mode. As the new editor for Surface & Panel, I am excited to continue its traditions and take it to the next level. Having been a writer and editor for newspapers and magazines over the past few decades, I am excited to combine my passion for storytelling with that for construction and design. I know a bit about the industry, but I am constantly learning. I look forward to meeting so many of our readers at the IWF in Atlanta in August, to absorb all the amazing innovations that have come about in the industry over these past few years and to hear more about what you’d like to see here in our pages. New beginnings are all in your attitude, and I am looking to make my time with Surface & Panel long, meaningful and fulfilling. Feel free to email me with any article ideas or things you’d like to see on our webpage or in our social media—I am formulating grand plans for those, but always appreciate more experienced input. So here I go, navigating yet another new beginning—setting down my professional roots here at 526 Media to flourish for years to come. Jennifer Williams, Managing Editor
JENNIFER WILLIAMS | MANAGING EDITOR | SURFACE & PANEL MAGAZINE | JWILLIAMS@526MEDIAGROUP.COM | 714-486-2735
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