Parent Profile

PARENT PROFILE Jason Tanner

OWNER OF TANNER PUBLISHING CO. AND TANNER+WEST

We spent a lot of time in Nashville when our oldest daughter needed openheart surgery almost 13 years ago. She was just 2.5 years old, and Natalie and I were brand new parents. It was the most challenging time of our lives. Our baby girl, who seemed so healthy to us, had a significant heart issue that could only be repaired with this invasive surgery.

To say she's a miracle is an understatement. We saw firsthand the gifted team of specialists and God's faithfulness restore our baby girl. Within just a few days, she was ready to return to Owensboro. She played at the park just five days out of the surgery, and she hasn't slowed down yet. Today she's going into her sophomore year at Grace Christian Academy, she's a talented singer, and she's finishing up a summer job at a local orchard. And who knew that all those trips would inspire this magazine. But that's what happened. We'd pick up a Parent magazine for Davidson County with each trip to Nashville for pre-op and post-op. We loved it. Things to do, places to visit, great stories—the kind of thing I thought would be a perfect addition to our community here in Owensboro. As a graphic designer and photographer, I set out with the help of my wife, siblings, and friends Robert Williams and Ashley Wedding to create Owensboro Parent magazine. And ten years ago, we launched the very first issue. From that first magazine, we made a decision that we only wanted to create what we felt were the highest quality publications. We put all our energy into creating a product that we were proud of and felt represented our changing and growing town. And with its success, we added Owensboro Living magazine a few years later. After that, it was Henderson and Bowling Green, and Owensboro Chamber, and on and on. Today, we produce publications for partner organizations like Owensboro Health and Independence Bank. And we partnered with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum to relaunch Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. It ships to subscribers all over the world. As we grew, we were also able to start an Advertising and Design agency from the need created by our magazine advertisers. They loved what we did in the magazines for them, and now we develop websites, branding, marketing campaigns, and even Emmywinning video productions. Today, we are also part of Owensboro Times, daily news for Owensboro. Looking back at the hardest point in my life, Ella's open-heart surgery, and seeing what has grown from that experience is truly humbling. Who would have imagined. Certainly not me. There are so many people to thank that I'm afraid that I could leave someone out if I started listing them. But I hope each of them knows how grateful I am. Grateful that they believed in what we were doing enough to join our team of employees. Grateful that they chose to advertise in our magazines. Grateful that we've become friends through this business. OP

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