Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1541815
12 maconmagazine.com | December 2025/January 2026 W hen Julia, our Managing Editor, came to me about the idea of creating our Abundance Issue, it was a shift I'd been seeking. But I didn't yet know what it was. Her vision met the moment. I needed a minute to fully realize the meaning of this theme and how we could apply it to MM. Of course, there are barriers to abundance, especially when we consider policy and pair it with politics. In short: We the people get in the way of progress, choosing process over results, "venting" over "inventing", as journalist Derek Thompson puts it. The perspective that life is full of possibility, resources, and opportunity for everyone is what a culture of abundance embodies. "I always believed Macon had talented athletes who never really got the exposure or the shine to show what we're capable of. These last two years have reinforced everything I believed about where I grew up." - Lance Foster coached a Vine-Ingle Little League team with back-to-back World Series appearances (p. 82). A focus of abundance brings us to commemorating milestone moments for local organizations in these pages. It's also a plausible reason why Macon Magazine will celebrate 40 years in 2026. Read about some of our plans on p. 28. "She was very proud to bring people together for a unified vision. I would give anything for her to ride around the city with me now or look out the window of this office today and see downtown." - Karen Lambert of Peyton Anderson Foundation, on her mother Juanita Jordan's larger-than-life vision for Downtown Macon (p. 50). An abundance mindset makes us more aware that collaboration and growth are strong steps for most anything we want to achieve. Once our basic needs are met, I think real abundance requires imagination, asking questions: "How do we do this?" Leaders like Jordan, NewTown Macon, and Bill Causey asked this of local governments and partners at the inception of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, which now stretches over miles with more expansion to come. Read more from our cover man on p. 61. "Saying and meaning 'Thanks' leads to a crazy thought: What more can I give?" I read these prophetic words from writer Anne Lamott as I sat at our Thanksgiving table. "Today will be a great day. I am claiming it." - DSTO Moore, staff photographer for Macon Magazine and recipient of Visit Macon's Steven Fulbright Soul of Macon Award. He says it often. It gives me pause and a sense of balance, knowing that the tools are available to me, I only need to own the opportunity. Here's to claiming our abundance and owning it now and in the new year. Editor's letter | DECEMBER 2025/JANUARY 2026 Editor, Susannah Cox Maddux @susannahcmaddux " S ay i ng a n d m e a n i ng ' T h a n ks' l e a d s to a c ra zy t h o ug h t : W h a t m o re c a n I g i v e? " Anne L amott W e ' r e a l w a y s l i s t e n i n g . E m a i l u s a b o u t a m i l e s t o n e m o m e n t y o u o r y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n a r e c e l e b r a t i n g a t h e l l o @ m a c o n m a g a z i n e . c o m . The inaugural Macon Fashion Week, Nov. 2-8, was the product of an abundance mindset. Co-Producer, Alexis Gregg (right) and I are here with the seven featured designers: five local and two Indigenous: Jamie Rolland-Hill, Ashley Monique, Quitman Alexander, Isiah Miller, Monique Pitts- Taylor, Diane Jackson, and Jamie Bennett.