Publisher’s Letter

FROM THE PUBLISHER

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” Jim Watkins

Good day SLO County! It has been a while since I went completely off-script in the publisher’s letter. I wanna make it count. First, let me thank all of you fabulous readers who have been with the Journal since it wasn’t even Plus. Now, it is the Central Coast Journal and we are ready to make it the best monthly magazine in San Luis Obispo County. Get ready for our May issue when you will see things really take shape for the direction we head.

We will keep the character of the magazine as you have come to expect it, but we will add some things to it that will make it a must-pick-up every month. Also, you may be so lucky as to receive it in the mail now. We have begun mailing out to thousands of addresses in San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, and Pismo Beach to start, and we look to expand as we go.

It’s a true honor to serve the county I was born in. We began what was a dream come true in 2017 when we bought Paso Robles Magazine. Things were going so good, we started a sister publication in Atascadero in 2018 (then called Colony Magazine) and then a travel magazine in 2019. So well in fact that the owner of the local newspapers called and asked if we wanted to take over the newspapers here — of course we did!

That is when Hayley left her job in the medical industry to join our upstart. What a time. What a tale. We had no idea we’d watch the world crumble six months later with global health crisis. Really though, 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year in so many ways.

We made it through and you all know who you are who kept us going! We are happy to be on your team.

So here we are now, after deciding in 2020 that we wanted to grow and not die as a company. So we did. We picked up five new publications and now serve the entire county of San Luis Obispo with great magazines, have a really young and fun team of 13 employees (yes, they are all Stars). We also serve Santa Ynez Valley with the SYV Star, and the amazing City of Malibu with The Malibu Times and Malibu Times Magazine.

We all watched the world change (or not) over the past two years and it seems Abraham Lincoln was right — you will be just as happy as you make your mind up to be.

Our team likes the real world. We like real people. We like creating something you can keep on the counter or coffee table. We like printing something worth reading.

Since the beginning, you have given us something worth writing about, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and you can thank all our advertisers for making it all possible by shopping their stores and making a new friend for life. We all appreciate it.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Central Coast Journal.

Nic (guest publisher) & Hayley

if thou wouldest win immortality of name, either do things worth the writing, or write things worth the reading.

— Thomas Fuller, 1727 This month’s edition of Central Coast Journal is brought to you by all the local advertisers that fill our pages. Thanks to them, we are able to bring you your local Hometown Magazine. publisher, editor-in-chief

hayley mattson

layout & design

neil schumaker evan rodda

copy editor

michael chaldu assistant content editor

camille devaul

ad design

jen rodman

ad consultants

dana mcgraw brooke brinar jamie self

office administrator

cami martin | office@13starsmedia.com

powered by 13 stars media

contributing writers

sarah ambrose james brescia, ed.d. barbie butz betty hartig chuck graham dr. cindy maynard

ian parkinson kathy mastko lynn kishiyama missy reitner-cameron sarah santana simone smith

OUR NEXT ISSUE:

MEMORIAL DAY, NATIONAL TOURISM MONTH May 2022 PUBLICATION DELIVERY DATE April 1, 2022 ADVERTISING DEADLINE* April 10, 2022

For more information about advertising, upcoming issues and editorial themes, contact our advertising representatives at office@13starsmedia.com

CENTRALCOASTJOURNAL.COM

office@13starsmedia.com • (805) 546-0609 OFFICE 5860 El Camino Real Ste G,

Atascadero, Ca 93422 MAIL P.O. Box 6068 Atascadero, Ca 93423

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Annual subscriptions are available for $29.99. Inquiries concerning subscriptions, advertising, etc. can be made by emailing Cami Martin at office@13starsmedia.com, or by calling (805) 466-2585. Central Coast Journal is a free monthly publication distributed to over 600 locations throughout the Central Coast and is also available at centralcoastjournal.com.

EDITORIAL POLICY

Editorial submissions are welcome but are published at the discretion of the publisher. Submissions will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. No material published in the magazine can be reproduced without written permission. Opinions expressed within are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Central Coast Journal. Our Local Business section spotlights select advertisers. All other stories are determined solely by our editors.