Hello to all the subscribers, readers and advertisers of the Saratoga Sun. My name is Gary Honodel and I was recently appointed to be the publisher of this great newspaper. It is quite an honor.
Virginia Parker will be staying on at the Sun. I'll let her address this in her own words, but will say that while she did want to achieve a more flexible schedule, she is also dedicated to our local paper. I sort of think of her as the Air Boss, a Navy carrier position that might not be flying the plane but without them bad things can happen. And often in a hurry. So I am grateful she will be remaining in her new role. And Joshua Wood is here in Saratoga, although his primary responsibility is as Operations Manager of all Stevenson Newspaper properties. Grateful, too, for his patient direction during this transition.
My own background is primarily from the digital side of marketing, advertising and publishing. I entered this field through what was then still called America Online. Soon enough to become AOL, and, yes, I do still have an AOL email account. I don't give it out much since the cool kids then assume your mobile phone must have a rotary dial. It was a great experience and I worked on several major initiatives across the brands that included the main site and, among others, Netscape, Mapquest and AIM-which in the days before text messaging was a huge portal all its own.
Myself and a couple of other AOL alum formed a small Internet publishing company, Wired Mountain, that built out online area guides in several of the well known Colorado resort towns and two in Northern New Mexico: Taos and Angel Fire. This was something of an early gen effort to drive local content. We sold that company in 2016. By then Internet marketing was leaping past us, in many ways, as they perfected serving what is now known as 'hyper local' results. Recently I was working for Yellowstone Publishing in Montana managing a small department of theirs; the Billings Area News Group. After Yellowstone Publishing was sold I was looking for an opportunity with a publishing company of this size, and certainly not in a major metro area, so I feel fortunate to be here.
I would like to note that my time at Wired Mountain gave me real insight into mountain communities. Towns that relied, in large measure, on travel & tourism. Communities where the economy hits the brakes twice each year. Mud Season, as the ski towns call it, in the spring and then again about the time the Leaf Lookers fade but there are still several weeks before the snow falls and settles to support those winter activities. In my role with Yellowstone Publishing, I worked on several special publications centered around the farm & ranch ag business, like the Montana Fair, the PBR event and the NILE Stock Show & Rodeo. Fantastic folks to work with and I know they are a part of Saratoga also.
I am a person who likes to play outside. I was a ski patroller when I was younger, a ski instructor up through 2019 and worked seasonally with Colorado Parks & Wildlife. I mostly just think of the countless hours and many miles on trails of all sorts, including many 14ers and, my personal favorite over the past decade, cross country skiing. I know the Sun does a great job with outdoor sports and rec, but it is possible you'll see even a few more stories of that nature (pun fully intended).
I would like to close with this observation. Since I'm new to Saratoga I've been able to see the town through the eyes of and with the experience of a visitor, a tourist, a stranger. This is a very welcoming town. The stores, restaurants and businesses greet people like they are friends and have a helpful approach to any question. That is something to be celebrated.
It is not lost on me that this paper has been published since 1888. This position carries a significant responsibility to that legacy. And then we, the team at the Saratoga Sun, also carry an equal responsibility to serve this wonderful community.
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