Hello dear reader!
You are holding the debut issue of Radford Magazine! The very first one! How exciting! The mission of Radford Magazine is to celebrate the people and businesses of Radford, Virginia, as well as the nearby parts of the New River Valley. Radford Magazine is free to the public and will be published twice a year, featuring a Spring/Summer issue and a Fall/Winter issue. The magazine will be sharing the stories of small business owners, events and festivals, art, theater, wine, beer, and more!
In this issue we begin by visiting the fine jewelry institution that is P.R. Sturgills, the legendary lady behind Elliott’s Military Surplus & Fishing Tackle, the legacy of Dean’s Body Shop, the colorful story of Painting Consultants, a clear-ringing piece about New River Valley Hearing, and the refreshing new tale of Long Way Brewing.
The Radford Magazine Team
My name is John Brill and I am the publisher of Radford Magazine. Historically, I have been a layout graphic designer. As a graphic designer, I have worked on a lot of different publications over the years, but my favorite has been Floyd Virginia Magazine. Floyd Virginia Magazine was launched in 2008. In 2013, I joined the team as the graphic designer, and in 2018, I became the publisher. Floyd Virginia Magazine was my first experience working as a publisher. Suddenly, in addition to the graphic design work I had always done, I was now doing sales, coordinating stories, and doing the physical distribution of the magazine! It was a challenge, but I took to it well.
Now, I will be bringing that publishing experience to Radford. Oddly enough, this will actually be the second time I have been behind the layout and design of a Radford publication. From 2015 to 2018, I was one of the layout graphic designers on the Radford New Journal. It’s funny how things work out. With Radford Magazine, I plan to use the same formula that has made Floyd Virginia Magazine a success for these past fourteen years.
The only thing I don’t do is the editing, for which I am eternally grateful to Vickie Holt. I have known Vickie for over fifteen years, and she is a very talented woman! She even edited this article. Her writing and editing backgrounds include international publication as the writer behind several issues of the once-popular ElfQuest comic book series from 1993 – 2000. In 1998, she completed a novel that was adapted by a company in New Jersey to a radio-show style, audio format. In 2003, she wrote briefly for the Vinton Messenger, and in 2005, her investigative article about Britain’s first mega-rock-star, Tommy Steele, was published in Blue Suede News magazine.
In 2014, Vickie took an interest in Bollywood, the Indian film industry. In an effort to introduce this exceptional entertainment source to America, Vickie created “Vickie’s Bollywood Beat”, a website for which she wrote movie reviews, actor biographies, informative articles, and news items. Because of her activity, representatives from the India-based news platform, UCNews, approached her to become a contributing entertainment journalist! Between July 2017 and November 2018, Vickie wrote no fewer than thirty-one articles that became available to the Indian public. She was thrilled that one article about up-and-coming actors that big-budget producers should be paying attention to resulted in actor, Harshvardhan Rane, contacting her personally to thank her!
Throughout 2016 and 2017, Vickie regularly wrote for ColorsVA Magazine. From 2017 – 2019, she was the main writer for a craft-beer and community-focused magazine that went through a couple name changes, ending up as Brew Hub Magazine. She wrote the majority of almost every issue, covering the region’s craft breweries, local musicians, and local food trucks. In 2018, Vickie came on board as editor and writer for Floyd Virginia Magazine, and now she will be bringing her deft expertise to Radford Magazine.
Where will I find it?
Chances are, you found the Radford Magazine you are holding on a business counter, in a convenience store, in a restaurant, in a tourist spot, or in a hotel. Those are the five broad categories of locations where the magazine will be displayed. More broadly, the magazine will be distributed in the City of Radford, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, and Floyd County. As we grow the magazine, the distribution may go even farther afield. If you know of a spot where you think the magazine should be available, please let me know!
Stories!
The articles themselves will mostly be submitted to us by the people and businesses of Radford. That’s right! If you want to submit a story for the next issue, you can! One person cannot replicate the knowledge of many. Over the past four years with Floyd Virginia Magazine, I have often had people ask me how I find some of the niche stories that we have featured. They are always surprised when I tell them that most of the time, I don’t find the stories. The stories find me!
Many may be reluctant to submit because they feel they may not be the best writer in the world. That feeling is natural. The talents of the people and businesses of Radford are focused on the activities that define their lives and livelihoods. But that is why we provide writing guidelines and a talented editor. If you are thinking about submitting to the magazine, please see our article submission guidelines online at www.RadfordMagazine.com.
The most important thing about the articles we’re looking is the audience. There are three audiences for the magazine. People who live in Radford, people over the border from Radford in nearby localities, and tourists passing through. When it comes to our stories, the concern is that they speak to all three audiences. Aside from that concern, I pass stories onto Vickie, sight unseen, because you should trust your editor. Vickie then applies her polish in order to make each article meet professional, journalistic standards. Also, it’s important that the articles are not a list of services and products currently provided. Radford Magazine offers an array of competitively priced advertising opportunities for that purpose. Stories need to be about people.
Why Radford Magazine?
I have been asked about starting other magazines for other localities by a number of people for the past four years. Usually, the asker is a small business owner who has seen the quality of Floyd Magazine and the positive results. I have always liked the idea, but I’ve always thought, “I won’t have time this year”.
In the Fall of 2020, however, I was approached by a Radford gentleman with extensive sales experience. He asked me about working together to launch Radford Magazine. I considered the geography and knew it would work. Having someone else to anchor the sales would also solve the problem of having enough time. After a few conversations, we formally began working on Radford Magazine.
Earlier this year, however, that gentleman had some unfortunate life events and had to step back from the team. But I had already started selling ads! Well, once I start a project I very much dislike letting it go. So, I made the time. After distributing the Spring/Summer issue of Floyd Virginia Magazine, I set to work in earnest. And here it is! Right here in your hands!
Anyway, all of that was to say Radford Magazine is my second magazine, ultimately because I was asked.
The future!
This issue of Radford Magazine is thirty-two pages, and the next issue will be bigger. The more advertisers we have, the larger we will grow, allowing more space to showcase Radford and the New River Valley!
Again, Radford Magazine is free to the public. It is paid for entirely by our advertisers. Every advertiser in this book is one that put their money where their mouth was and really wanted this magazine to exist. So, if you like Radford Magazine and want it to be the best it can be, please stop by some of our advertisers and thank them.
I would personally like to thank everyone who is making this work. Everyone writing the stories, the advertisers, and you, the reader. That’s right. This magazine doesn’t work without you, the reader.
After working on Floyd Magazine, I came to experience that readers talk to me. They tell me what they think about this or that, and the result is valuable feedback. With that, I try to do better on the next issue. They may suggest a story idea that can then be pursued. A reader may even point out that thing I’m missing from the map. It is an ongoing conversation with the community, and that conversation is already happening.
Another reason why you, dear readers, are making this magazine work is that before many of you even finish reading it, you will show it to others and say things like: “Have you seen this?” “Look at it! And on such quality paper too!” “Did you see the picture of the dog?”
Anyway, thank you all! And here’s to Radford!
John Brill – Publisher
Radford Magazine