Looking Forward to the Next 30

At Ingram's our mission is not so much to create business news as it is to analyze that news and create actual business. We do this by bringing people, communities, and industries together. We inspire them to communicate among themselves and with the public at large. This shared communication helps form an environment in which everyone can prosper

We at Ingram's are pleased to deliver the 30th Anniversary edition of our magazine. Having published more than 100 issues of this magazine ourselves, we know all too well the work that our predecessors--first at Outlook then at Corporate Report and finally at Ingram's--put into it.

In researching the magazine's history over 30 years, we see a surprising degree of consistency despite the changes in publishers, editors and ownership. The mission and the business plan have changed little over those years, and this constancy has helped make Ingram's as solid and as stable as it is today.

For this, we tip our hats to those who preceded us. We thank too those who have created the environment that has enabled us to succeed.

To produce this issue we have reminisced with many of the past publishers and editors and many of the area's best, even legendary, business leaders. We appreciate you all. Without your support, Ingram's would not exist.

As we have experienced ourselves, it is not always easy to operate a small business in a marketplace that favors the large and the powerful. We commend those who have used their own power to support us. That we have survived three overlapping years of recession and unwarranted competition is a testament to the fair-minded nature of this city's business community.

We thank as well the marketing community and our own editorial and design team that has worked heroically to pull this 30th anniversary edition together. We know it has not been easy.

Back to the Future

Thirty years ago, when the magazine was launched, Kansas City was experiencing a renaissance of sorts. It followed a decade of calculated dreaming and ambitious planning. Business and government leaders then saw Kansas City as a major league city, and we had four major league franchises to prove it.

We are no longer quite that. Much of the blame has been laid on the state line, and some probably belongs there. Still, I'm of the opinion that the inevitable bi-state friction can generate a distinctive kind of energy and power if wisely harnessed.

A few years ago, area business leaders and our management team at Ingram's concluded that the magazine was uniquely positioned to stimulate the kind of dialogue that could pull the area back together. In 2001 we launched the successful Industry Outlook series. We soon released the equally successful Economic Development series.

What we discovered is that area business leaders from both states wanted to align in dialogue but lacked a neutral forum in which their ideas could be fairly advanced and considered. The area also lacked a communications tool dedicated to this mission that effectively educates the community at large. Fortunately, Ingram's was well positioned to provide that forum and vehicle.

Your support is critical for us to continue and improve these initiatives in the future. The little things help. So please subscribe to Ingram's or promptly renew your subscription when the renewal notice arrives. The big things help even more. Encourage your marketing department and advertising agency to utilize Ingram's and our other publications. Remind them how useful a medium of communication and promotion Ingram's has become.

Thank you much. I hope we're all around to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. Sincerly, Editor-In-Chief & Publisher jsweeney@ingramsonline.com