When Destination was created almost three years ago, a conscious decision was made about the editorial content, about the features and columns that you read in this magazine. The credo we adapted was unusual for a publication that is provided for free. It is simple, really, but alone among the other magazines in the area we have stuck to it: we separate the advertising side (which makes money) from the editorial and creative side (which costs money). While other publications in the area sell their editorial space and covers along with their ads, we keep them apart. For that reason you, the reader, can be promised that what you read here is written by a talented collection of writers, illustrated by an equally talented group of photographers, not by the advertisers. We pay them to be objective and to handle their subject in a way that is interesting and honest.

When we make up the editorial calendar for Destination, the roadmap we follow for each issue, we make decisions based on what will make for a better magazine. When we saw that a new magazine was actually selling their editorial content (buy a half page ad, get a half page “story” as part of the deal) it only strengthened our resolve.

To publish an honest magazine that the reader can trust, you have to stand firm. I am happy to say that as we enter another new year we have stuck to our original promise. We haven’t resorted to turning out things like “menu guides” or shopping inserts, we don’t misrepresent ourselves, we stick to real deadlines every quarter, even when it means long hours and lost weekends, and in the end we produce a magazine that the thirty-plus people involved are glad to be a part of.

No editor would be able to consistently turn out a magazine like this without the support of the legion of readers, local and visitors alike, who read the magazine and who call us, write us, email us and stop us on the street when they have a compliment, comment or suggestion. We’re gratified by the way so many people have come to count on Destination for the approach we take, and all I can say, other than thank you, is to say that we will not waver from the promise we made in our first issue, to turn out an honest magazine for a deserving audience.