Nearing my two years as managing editor of Jefferson City Magazine, I’ve noticed that there are so many wonderful memories that we haven’t been able to share with our growing readership. People often see our final product — when all the stories, photos, ads, and special additions have been primped and propped. But, there is much much more. So on this note, we’d like to show you some of our favorite moments of 2021!
January/February 2021
In January of 2021, we had the pleasure of celebrating our new class of Ones To Watch and began the many daunting tasks that go into preparing for City’s Best. In a truly lavish fashion, we gathered more than 50 of Jefferson City’s best business owners and professionals and toasted to the new year. And while looking towards the future, we took the opportunity to complete a story nearly a whole year in advance while meeting a truly special family for holiday dinner. By February, we also welcomed our very first Young Ones To Watch recipient, Shelby Welling.
March/April 2021
When we began working on our May/June issue in March and April of 2021, things were already starting to heat up. We had so much fun at our photoshoots with Mertens Bait & Tackle and the Ice Cream Factory, even though photographing ice cream proved to be a very messy event. We also learned how to construct planter arrangements with Joan Penno at Green Horizons, made a quick trip to the lake with Paul and Leah Roberts for a bonfire night with “Little Red.” Back at the office, Laiken Bohl made sure everyone stayed on track, one of our City Fit trainees, Dale Vaughn, brought in his favorite furry family member during a City Fit photoshoot, and we welcomed our second canine office greeter, Cooper, a two-year-old cocker spaniel.
May/June 2021
May and June was an adventure as we traveled all throughout Mid-Missouri to collect content for our stories. We hosted our first booth at KidsFest, took to the sky with Shawn Burcham and local chefJohny Graham, danced around a 1968 Airsteam camper with the Christiansen family, collected farm-fresh eggs from East Lohman Acres, held chickens and baby bunnies at Westphalia Trading Company, and photographer Keith Borgmeyer even became best friends with one of the donkeys at Avodah Farms. And of course, we can’t forget our photoshoot with JCPD at the Missouri Capitol Building.
July/August 2021
Enjoying the long days of summer, we had gotten on a health kick so to speak and began preparing for our upcoming holiday issues. We started by paying a visit just down the road to our friends Love2Nourish to create a truly delicious Gourmet spread. Then, Missy, Sarah, and Janelle paid a visit to the Lincoln Farmers Market and all of us teamed together to win third place in the second annual Holy Guacamole competition with our blackberry and goat cheese guacamole. In August we were honored to meet George Woodrum to tell the story of a true hero, received the most relaxing tour with Tricia Orscheln at the Tree Of Hope Counseling And Wellness Center, and we surprised Aaron Clark with a sneak peek of a spooktacular feature on the Hobo Hill house.
September/October 2021
By September, our holiday spirit was already in full swing. Harvest season began with a fantastic launch party at the Missouri Soy Innovation Center and covered some unique pet rescue stories with Hunter the dog, Petunia the pig, and Clarence and Gertrude, the cat and dog duo. We also had the great opportunity to hit the shopping scene early with Hello Belle for a behind the camera look at their growing success, and our CityFit trainees had the final photoshoot of their CityFit journey. In October, we kicked off the Christmas season with a full-on cookie swap for our November/December cover. While making perfectly-looking sweets at home proved to be a big challenge, they certainly were delicious. And don’t worry, we still made sure to celebrate Halloween with a witchy charcuterie board.
November/December 2021
As our year came to a close, we had so much to be thankful for and much to celebrate. We celebrated with Keith Enloe, as he marked his two-year streak as The Good Life writer and with all partners of the JC Wellness Center during their open house. We celebrated with Elliott King and his classmates as we surprised him with our final YOTW award for the year. We celebrated as I was also nominated as one of 2021’s Exceptional Employees at the Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Summit and as Missy won Entrepreneur of The Year for Cole County at the Women Who Own It Awards. And most of all, we celebrated with each other for our year of success and cheered to a new year.
Are you loving the behind the scenes looks at Jefferson City Magazine? It doesn’t end here! I will be posting a behind the scenes look for every issue in 2022, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for my next post!