JULY/AUGUST 2016
| TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 125
even go near the comptroller’s duties, but Aaron had a trusted
employee who could handle that side of the business.
It was obvious almost immediately, that the most important
thing I needed to do to keep the magazine on track was to sell
ads. I had always sold the most Girl Scout cookies, or whatever
needed selling. Plus, I was used to collecting money for nonprofit
causes. I began juggling my other activities in order to fit the
new magazine duties into the schedule. My real “aha!” moment
came when I answered my cell phone while I was back stage
changing during a big fashion show. When they called my name
to line up to go on stage, I held up my fingers to signal “just a
minute,” which is totally unheard of during a show. However,
I was talking to a potential magazine advertiser. I actually sold
the ad and made it on stage in time, but decided it was probably
time to put my efforts into the magazine and give up some of
my other activities. I still model, but now I do it as a celebrity,
rather than as a professional.
At the beginning, things went well at the magazine, even
though I had challenges, such as dealing with people who thought
they or their businesses would appear on one of our covers; the
advertisers who didn’t care about business from the “other side
of the Bay,” whichever side they were on; and the skeptics who
enjoyed pointing out that Tampa Bay was a body of water, not
an area.
After Aaron sold off the
Kapok Tree properties, he was
looking for something to do, so
I suggested he come work at
our magazine. He has a great
sense of business, enjoys leading
our weekly sales meetings, and
was able to very quickly put his
thoughts into writing on legal
pads. It came easily to him, as
he was accustomed to writing
legal briefs, as well as reports
and speeches for every U.S.
president from Kennedy through
Carter. Best of all, he didn’t care
how much editing I did.
Working together has turned
out to be perfect for us. We are
both on the same page all the
time. We enjoy sharing our
days, whether they are good
or bad. Fortunately, we think
the same about business, so
if someone asks us the same
question separately, they will
almost always receive exactly
the same answer.
We have always attended numerous events, just not nearly
as many as we do now. In fact, if you see something in
Tampa Bay Magazine, we were there, making great new friends
and enjoying a plethora of new experiences. We have been able
to help promote the nonprofits in ways that weren’t being used
before through Tampa Bay Magazine’s “Events,” “Best Bets,”
“Social Seens,” and “Fashion Calendar.” Fortunately for our
Tampa Bay area and its charitable organizations, this type of
“fluffy” coverage has again become popular and important to
other media groups, who along with us, now attend, emcee and
cover these worthwhile activities.
In the last 30 years, this area has become a vital unified whole,
and we have been able to help organizations succeed in many
ways. The Tampa Bay area has climbed in its ranking from the
13th largest area in the country to the 11th behind Houston,
Texas but ahead of Phoenix, Arizona and Detroit, Michigan.
Our amazing professional ball teams carry the name Tampa Bay;
and Tampa Bay has become successful enough to host several
Super Bowls, the Republican Convention in 2012, and the Indian
International Bollywood Awards in 2014.
We are our own typical readers; so, we know that if we enjoy
something, some place or someone, we are pretty sure that
our readers will too. We look forward to working and being
together every day, and we feel fortunate to have such a wonderful
“magazine family” that includes our talented staff, as well as
our advertisers and readers.
Tampa Bay has proved to be an incredible place to live, work
and play, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you have any questions about the people, places
or things in the Tampa Bay area, please send them to “Ask Margaret” at
Tampa Bay Magazine, 2531 Landmark Drive, Suite 101, Clearwater,
Florida 33761. We regret that not all questions can be answered.
Tampa Bay Magazine’s publishers/editors
Aaron Fodiman and Margaret Word Burnside are
celebrating their magazine’s 30-year anniversary
with this July/August 2016 issue.