WHERE ARE THEY NOW? TEN LEADERS REFLECT ON WHAT WAS, WHAT IS AND WHAT’ S NEXT.

DIAMOND EDITION

2016-2026 | $ 12

While publishing the Flagler Chamber publication, Holley was approached by the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce to produce a magazine with them.

The concept was to tell the story of how Daytona Beach had changed from a Spring Break destination for college students to a growing, economically diverse community.

“ Because Daytona was evolving, that’ s where the name came from. Nancy Keefer, Janet Kersey and I were brainstorming and all felt that EVOLVE best described the aspirations of the business community,” Holley said.“ It was about solving a communication problem.”

After taking four or five years to establish EVOLVE in Daytona Beach and Volusia more broadly, Holley and the Daytona Chamber parted ways.

“ We could never get enough energy going to get a flywheel that we could at least break even,” he said.“ So, we determined that the only way to sustain the magazine would be to expand into other markets.”

That led to an evolution of the magazine with an expansion to Palm Coast and eventually further north to St. Johns County. As EVOLVE Magazine was finding its footing covering a wider area, the world was facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

“ The pandemic really almost did us in,” Holley said.“ That required a real radical shift in strategy. There’ s no discussion about that and how we did survive it except that it was because of Halifax Health and Team Volusia.”

The two corporate entities were strong partners with the magazine, believed in the value it brought to economic prosperity, and have continued to play a prominent role in the publication’ s sustainability.

John Guthrie, vice president and executive director of the Halifax Health Foundation, said partnering with EVOLVE was good for the organization and the wider community.

“ It’ s helped Halifax Health show up as an engaged community partner and share how healthcare connects to workforce, growth and quality of life,” he said.“ EVOLVE also gives us a consistent way to celebrate the leaders

John Guthrie who move this region forward, starting with Gary Harris on the first cover and

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