A brief intermission

This is my last column for a little while. Don’t worry – I’m not leaving forever. I’m just taking a little break for the summer to recharge my batteries.

I came to GIE Media, Lawn & Landscape’s parent company, nine years ago from a small daily newspaper. Working as a crime and cops reporter was a fun job right out of school, but the job didn’t have a lot of long-term opportunity. So I came to work here, armed mostly with enthusiasm and an ability to write coherently on deadline, and I was blessed to find a good job, helpful colleagues and a great company.

GIE offers many benefits: The company donates thousands of dollars to local charities, sponsors runners in the Akron Marathon and throws an awesome Christmas party where Santa Claus himself delivers toys to the employees’ kids.

But even better than Santa is the opportunity to take a sabbatical. Starting at the end of this month, I’ll be taking the summer off to rest and recharge.

During the past nine years, I’ve loved the work, the challenges and the opportunity to work with some of the smartest and most talented people in the world of B2B publishing. Thanks to the hard work of all those people whose names are listed below, we’ve grown L&L to the biggest and most-read magazine in the industry, and we still have a lot more opportunity to get even better.

But it’s time for me to take a short break.

So this summer, I’m going to get outside and get my hands dirty in my garage and my yard. I’m going to plant a vegetable garden, watch it grow and then eat all the cherry tomatoes right off the vine. I’m going to take my daughters to dance and karate practice, and play Super Mario with my son.

I’m going to read. I’m going to write. I’m going to ride my bike. I’m going to spend more time with my kids and my wife. We’re going to travel. I’m going to close my email and turn off my phone.

In short, I’m going to slow down. It’s not a vacation, but a chance to improve myself, renew my creativity and prepare for many more years at the helm of this great magazine.

My talented and capable team of editors – Brian, Kate and Katie – will remain to run the magazine. I am truly grateful to them because I couldn’t do this without their support. While I’m gone, every month you’ll get insight and opinion (and more Guns N’ Roses references) from Brian.

So with that, I leave you – just for the summer, – in the capable hands of the L&L team. See you in September.

– Chuck Bowen