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'Living the dream' for 15 years!
It is hard to believe it was 15 years ago we started publishing Grosse Pointe Magazine. My how time flies!
The idea for the magazine came to us in September 2009 as we were driving to Florida for our annual post-Labor Day vacation. (We never had children of our own, so going after school started made sense financially and crowdwise.)
I had been out of work for two years after having been fired from the Grosse Pointe News after 19 years there. I was 54, and Terry got tired of me telling people I was “retired.” “What are you going to do?” she asked during the drive south. “I don’t know,” I said. “Grosse Pointe has a newspaper. That’s all I know.”
“What about a magazine?” she asked. “I don’t know,” I responded. “That’s pretty expensive printing.” (I was used to newsprint.) But the magazine idea gained traction as the miles passed. We recalled the former Signature 48230 & 48236 magazines the Detroit newspapers published for seven years before discontinuing in December 2008. They were glossy, feature magazines. We recall everyone was disappointed when they stopped publication. So we did what every good entrepreneur does — we copied their format!
By the time we got home, we had a business plan and printing quotes. We knew how much money we needed to raise through advertising. The editorial part was easy. As former editor of the Grosse Pointe News, coming up with stories was easy. Selling advertising was another matter. We went through two advertising managers who quit before they got started, declaring, “Advertisers are telling us ‘print is dead.’”
So Terry and I — with the help of friends like Marilyn Waldmeir — went out on our own. Our first sale was an ad for Crowther Carpet & Rugs. Second was edmund t. AHEE jewelers, thanks to Marilyn’s introduction to John Ahee, whom we miss dearly. The third ad Terry and I secured was The Hill restaurant, which graced our inside front cover for six years.
When we had sold enough ads to pay for printing, our first issue was published in May 2010. Inaugural advertisers still with us include AHEE, Beechwood Manor, The Portrait Place and Ford House. (Joining us for issue No. 2 was Assumption Cultural Center and Pointe Fitness.)
We have successfully published ever since thanks to the support of our generous advertisers, without whom Pointe Magazine would not be possible. Thank you, Grosse Pointers! See you around the Pointe!
John Minnis
Publsiher
Fifteen years ago, my aunt and uncle published the first edition of Grosse Pointe Magazine. I can remember delivering that issue on foot. I was still getting to know the community and I was astonished by the number of people who opened their doors to me.
Corey, who was my fiancé at the time and is my husband now, delivered the magazines with me. At one point, we were pulled into a house where the landlord showed us a second-floor unit he’d love to rent to us. At another home, a woman waved me inside as I tried to hang the magazine on the doorknob. Everyone we walked past nodded or smiled — a bit of a novelty to me. It was the most exhausting and best way to get to know the community.
From launching in the shadow of the Great Recession right through the pandemic, the community has supported this publication. The story nominations, the regular submission of pet photos, the continued advertising — Grosse Pointers have shown up.
This support is yet another example, amid the countless I have had the honor of writing about, of how deeply Pointers care about our community, our organizations and our businesses.
On our 15th anniversary, I want to thank you for taking the time to flip through these pages. As someone who can only read physical books as opposed to e-readers, to me, there is no substitute for a tactile, tangible mode of reading. In this age of misinformation and fast, often AI-written content, we are passionate about print, about producing another kind of media.
Each issue is comprised of almost exclusively happy, hyperlocal features. We hope each edition makes you feel grateful to call this place home. I know I do.
Our anniversary year shares an anniversary year with many other local businesses and organizations as well — The Family Center, Pointe Fitness, Grosse Pointe Music Academy, Savvy Chic Boutique, Bogart’z Food & Spirits and others. Some of their anniversaries you will find celebrated in these pages and others in future issues.
Thank you to my aunt and uncle for inviting me along on this ride. To our partners and advertisers, to those who have allowed us to tell their stories and to our readers. We wouldn’t be here without you.
Lauren McGregor
Editor
The Happiest Day in Grosse Pointe!www.facebook.com/124303337591975/videos/292240332790704/
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