Photo: Gavin Howarth
Rebecca Darwin, with Editor in Chief David DiBenedetto at a G&G event for readers in Bermuda.
A page in Garden & Gun is prized real estate. With only six issues a year, our editors have to be ruthless about what makes the cut. So I especially value this opportunity to send a message on the occasion of our tenth anniversary.
Even more valuable, though, are our readers. You are an active and engaged group whose interests we keep front and center in everything we produce at Garden & Gun. Early on, I knew we had a special bond with our readers that I had never experienced with a publication before. I could tell from all the calls, e-mails, tweets, and letters we received that we were striking a chord. You are the reason we love what we do, from the magazine to our website to our events to our G&G Mercantile retail venture. Even when times were tough, you kept us going.
As we started doing events around the country, I got to know you even better. I often compare our gatherings to family reunions. That’s because I have come to know many of you personally. I’ve met your parents or your children, you’ve been to my house, and we’ve connected at our annual Jubilee. We’ve had a good time eating, drinking, fishing, shooting clays, listening to music, and laughing. I look forward to getting even better acquainted in the days to come.
Because we have invested in quality storytelling and photography and offer unparalleled experiences, from fishing in Bermuda to Women in the Field shoots, and truly organic extensions of the brand such as our three books, we have won our industry’s highest honors, including National Magazine Awards and a James Beard Award. We enjoy consistent newsstand and subscription growth, and we continue to bring a rich array of advertisers to you that we believe match your lifestyle. We couldn’t have done any of it without Pierre Manigault, John Wilson, Evening Post Industries, Ed Bell, and the others who have helped us succeed.
That includes our readers, the true “Soul of the South”—the heart of all we do. Thank you for being there, and for entrusting us to elevate Southern culture to new levels of awareness and respect. Here’s to the next ten years of flourishing together.
