5 Editor's Note

Welcome back! We’ve had a lot going on this month and are gearing up for a busy fall. Multiple things I want to share with y’all.

Welcome, New Advertisers!

Southern Tides is thrilled to welcome (in alphabetical order):

Mark’s Mobile Marine (page 6) Sabenati (page 22) Satilla Marine (page 20) The Burger Boat (page 26) Top Angler Apparel (page 27)

In addition, Maricom Navigation has taken a second ad spot to promote Dry Case products they are now carrying in their showroom.

Also this month, a group of advertisers in Thunderbolt, Ga. have joined together in a two-page ad (the magazine’s fi rst!) under the banner of River Drive Marine Group. Check it out on pages 26 and 27.

Thank you all so much for allowing Southern Tides to help promote your businesses! Your advertising dollars help make this magazine available for coastal readers and we all appreciate your support.

Mark’s Mobile Marine

h Th The B Burger er r Boa B t

Sabenati

Welcome, Crawfi sh!

Captain John “Crawfi sh” Crawford, with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, has agreed to act as our offi cial Southern Tides consulting naturalist. In truth, he’s done so unoffi cially since the very fi rst issue and I don’t know why I didn’t put him on the masthead from day one. I’m sorry! Crawfi sh has been my go-to person for everything in the natural world I have questions about or need to fact check. I do believe the man is a walking encyclopedia and we’re so lucky to have him!

I’d like to throw out a challenge. We’ll call it “Stump the Crawfi sh!” If you can pose a question John can’t answer, we’ll give you a free oneyear subscription to Southern Tides Magazine.

On a side note, is it a coincidence that two of my all-time favorite critters − gators and crawfi sh − are part of the Southern Tides crew?

Look at that smile! Crawfi sh doing what he loves best - sharing his knowledge of local fl ora and fauna with others. In this case, a baby diamondback terrapin. Photo provided by UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant August 2018 Southern Tides Magazine 5

Vote in our 3rd Annual Best of the Coast Survey NOW!

The poll is open until the end of the month – don’t miss out! Vote now on your favorite marina, boating supply store, fi shing charter, boat service provider, coastal non-profi t, lighthouse, and more. Results will be announced in next month’s 3rd Anniversary issue. www.surveymonkey.com/r/southern_tides, fi nd the link on our Facebook page, or email me for a form you can fi ll out and send back. However you do it – please vote!

www.survekymonkey.com/r/southern_tides

Readers − We need your help!

In the nearly three years we’ve been in print, Southern Tides has found its niche in this water-focused community. There are very few people who haven’t heard of it, it’s picked up every month with very few issues leftover, advertisers tell me their ads send them new business, the organizations we partner with fi nd the magazine a valuable tool for reaching the community, and readers frequently write, call or stop me each month to tell me how much they love Southern Tides. That's all thanks to you for reading the magazine every month.

As you all likely know, we're almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue to survive. Meaning without the solid base of core advertisers we currently have, we wouldn’t be able to keep the magazine going month after month. However, it’s a close thing.

Losing a couple ads, unplanned expenses, or not getting invoices collected on time can throw the budget out of balance, delay printing, or result in late bill payments, and it can take a couple months to get back on track. A couple months of a lot of stress, penny-pinching, annoyed advertisers (why is it so late getting out?), annoyed readers (where’s my subscription?), and more time spent putting out fi res than doing what I should be doing – working on bringing you more great content.

How can I make that happen? Sell more ads. That’s the bottom line – and it really is the bottom line.

This is where I ask you for help. If you’re reading this column, you have some stake in this community we all love. Whether you own a boat or you fi sh or paddle or you belong to a conservation organization, or whatever your ties are to this community – you have a stake in it. And I’d like to ask you to please, please help us grow by talking about Southern Tides Magazine. • Please choose Southern Tides advertisers to do business with – and tell them how much you appreciate their support of your local magazine. • Please tell other businesses about Southern Tides and how much you, as their customer, would appreciate them supporting the magazine as well. • If you have ideas for potential advertisers, drop me an email. • Follow us on social media (facebook.com/southerntidesmagazine or Instagram.com/southerntides_mag) and like/share our advertiser spotlights and other posts.

And of course, keep picking up the magazine each month and share it with friends!

We’re all in this together!

See you out there!

Amy Thurman Editor in Chief amy@southerntidesmagazine.com