Words Allison Smith, Editor-in-Chief & Owner
Seventeen years ago, I moved back to the Island after several years in Vancouver attending Journalism school and working for a commercial shipping journal.
After being introduced over the phone, I met with Tim Flater, then-publisher of “Peninsula Times,” as it was called then, and became Editor-in-Chief. “No more freighters and tugboats!” was my first thought, but little did I know how much this small community magazine would change my life.
In my very first issue, I wrote in my Last Word that my goals for the magazine were simple: “I want to create something that I’ll be proud of and my community will value and look forward to reading every month,” I said. “I want the magazine to mirror the feeling of our community. That feeling lives in the smell of the salt air on the breeze, the faces of everybody you walk by who smiles and says hello, and the rolling farmland that surrounds us. It’s where we live.”
Now, many years have passed since that first issue; Sue Hodgson bought the magazine in 2011 and it’s been such a joy to work with her and help her grow Seaside into what it is today. Seaside Sue, as she is known in our wonderful community, cares so deeply about the Saanich Peninsula and the magazine’s place in it – celebrating the people, places and businesses that make it so special.
A few years ago, Sue and I started talking about how I might continue her legacy, buying the magazine and shepherding it on the next leg of its journey. We are reminded every day of how important Seaside is to our community, and maintaining its integrity is so important to both of us. The time has finally come – on June 1, I officially became the owner of Seaside – and I could not be more excited about what’s to come.
Words cannot express how grateful I am that Sue has chosen me to continue her legacy, and to our community – our readers, clients, writers, photographers and friends – who support us so whole-heartedly. We have all worked together to build what you hold in your hands today. And to that younger me who expressed a simple wish so many years ago – you did it!
Photo Janis Jean
