Macon Magazine

December 2025/January 2026 | maconmagazine.com 29 Exped qui iumqui audam aut et verit volor re eumqui Exped qui iumqui audam aut et verit volor re eumqui downtown has come back way beyond what we imagined, and we are so glad that we never gave up. We also knew that people were curious to see inside homes in our historic districts as well as outlying neighborhoods, so we worked hard with our writers and photographers to make that happen. We also wanted to showcase the arts and our many fine artists and arts organizations, and we had original art on the covers of many issues. And we wanted to feature Maconites who were making a difference in planning for its future. We never gave up on being cheerleaders for Macon, so we hope we planted some seeds for its future. Macon Magazine will continue to grow and thrive as it covers so many new people who are choosing to live here and making a difference, new businesses that are popping up and making it a great place to live and work and focuses on bringing all its people together to make Macon a better place for everyone to live. Jodi Palmer Macon Magazine has developed a unique personality over the last 40 years. I hope we helped to hone its talent and way of looking at what's good, what's beautiful and what's needed in this Macon of ours. When James and I purchased it from Joni and Lynn, our first vision was to keep it a successful small business that could grow as we learned our way in the magazine world after a life as newspaper journalists. Building on their success was always our vision. The city of Macon needed to grow. Downtown needed its vitality back. And young leaders needed to be recognized and take over for the city to thrive. I believe Macon Magazine was able to help a bit with that vision and those goals during our tenure. And I believe today, with Susannah's creativity and energy, there will always be a place for Macon Magazine as it continues to highlight the best that Macon has to offer and what a good future in our city should and can look like. Exped qui iumqui audam aut et verit volor re eumqui cus, que premqui si conse nese. we hope that each edition feels fresher than ever to our mission and to the identity of Central Georgians. Read below to hear our reflections from the founders and owners of the magazine on this momentous occasion: Joni Woolf When Lynn Cass and I started Macon Magazine, we wanted it to reflect the best of Macon. In 1986 Macon seemed to have an inferiority complex. The new mall (now the old one on Eisenhower Parkway) had opened, and Downtown Macon continued its death march. We believed a thriving downtown was a vital part of any successful city. We wanted to promote the arts, historic preservation, and public education. We wanted to tell the stories that might not get told in other local print. Both of us are Georgia natives, we know the dark side of the area's history, and we wanted our writers to help us tell the truth about who we were—and offer our dreams of who we could become. As it turned out, owning the magazine gave both of us opportunities to serve a wide variety of organizations (leading some of them) that brought real change to the community. It was just serendipity that Theatre Macon moved downtown not long after we started the magazine, and that was a big part of the beginning of downtown renewal. It was a big struggle for years, but that started an arts movement, with Tony Long offering free (or very cheap) loft spaces for artists. Downtown's rebirth was sort of like The Velveteen Rabbit's remark. It doesn't happen all at once, and by the time it does...well, you know the story! Now downtown is real. It became. Lynn Cass When Joni Woolf and I started Macon Magazine in 1986, we wanted our readers to know about Macon's history, about the present time, and what the future might bring. We wanted to tell the stories. Downtown had been practically emptied by the opening of Macon Mall, but we were hopeful for the future and wanted to see Macon come back as a thriving place to shop and live, so we continued to cover stories about downtown. With the beginning of NewTown Macon, Do you have a story about how Macon Magazine has impacted you? Please write at hello@maconmagazine.com That we've lasted during these particular 40 years, as publishing has undergone its biggest revolution seemingly since Gutenberg first set type, feels especially meaningful. So why a print magazine, even now? "There are still areas where a culture is definable and where its people are identifiable. They value their roots, they are proud of their differences (even their eccentricities), and they work hard at maintaining a strong connection between their past and their present. Macon, Georgia, is such a place." That was the very first editorial note in 1986, accompanying an inaugural cover of the 1842 Inn painted by local artist Sterling Everett. Macon's stories are so valuable, we believe you deserve time to sit with them. We hope a feature of a special person can be framed on their office wall, or that someone gets a kick out of cracking open a years-old edition sitting on the back of the toilet. In an age where we seem to be leaning away from community and into siloed digital spaces, we invite everyone in Central Georgia to be a part of our pages. Our hope as Maconites to open the doors wider to others was part of the magazine's founding, too: "We believe that Macon is in the process of becoming what it can be: a city large enough to welcome growth and development in a variety of areas, and small enough to promote a feeling of community, of belonging to a place. We will be successful in that growth if we reach out and welcome the newcomer and listen to what he may teach us, while at the same time, honoring those who have spent their lives in this place, and who continue to work to give Macon a quality of life that will rank near the top of anybody's list." Throughout 2026, see our special anniversary logo as we celebrate local soul louder than ever. We plan on including a special "Where are they now?" feature in each edition, in which we track down updates to a story from the archives. We will also ask for your tales of how the magazine has impacted you, in a multimedia series that we'll call "My Magazine." Finally, we'll culminate what we've learned during the anniversary year in an art exhibit at McEachern Art Center next winter. We may be getting a little older, but

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