Insite Magazine April 2020 | Page 5

Letter From the Editor Dear INSITE Readers, We live in a time of uncertainty right now, but one thing is very certain from my perspective: Community is more important now than it ever has been. Our mission at INSITE Magazine has and always will be to bring the Brazos Valley community together. That is why it is important for us to continue to put this magazine in your hands (or on your screens) so we can continue to support this community in this very unique time in our lives. Pens, Mugs & Tumblers Print Solutions Digital Printing Impact your Audience Marketing Partnership Branding You have a Promotional Items story to tell. Direct Mail Shirts & Wearables Offset Printing Custom Wall Graphics INSITE is a monthly publication, which means we write our stories a month or more before the issue they will be printed in. It also means we are finalizing the issue and sending it to print the month previous. What does this mean for you? It means we were working on these April stories before anyone had ever heard of coronavirus. It also means that I am writing this letter before we have any idea what the actual impact of this pandemic will be. Many people are working from home, schools are closed, and we don’t know when things will go back to “normal.” In fact, many of the stories we wrote had to be scrapped due to event cancellations or indefinite postponements. However, by the time you are reading this, many things could have changed. I have no way of knowing what April will look like, but I do know that supporting local businesses and strengthening our community is still a priority at INSITE . With all of this being said, there are some stories published in this issue about upcoming events. I worked closely with everyone to decide if we should still publish these stories, not knowing if the events will still take place. Ultimately we decided to move forward with these stories in the hopes things will have cleared up by then. If the events do get canceled, we still want you to know about these great local organizations. Just be sure to check back diligently on our website with all the latest updates. fulfillment Engagement Web Portals Graphic Design statement printing integ delivers. This month is also a health-related issue. Great timing, right? You may notice that we tried not to address COVID-19 specifically in these stories. Why? Because with the ever-changing nature of the information about this virus, we didn’t want to publish something that wouldn’t be relevant by the time the issue went to print. Instead, we decided to focus on general health stories and resources for you at any time of the year or in the after effects of coronavirus. Finally — and I cannot stress this enough — now it is more important than ever to support local. Our community thrives on small businesses and forced closures or modifications will have a marked effect. Shop locally whenever you can. Order takeout from your favorite restaurant, buy online from boutiques, get a gift card to use later. Visiting businesses isn’t the only way you can support local. Supporting local also means helping out our neighbors. If you have the means, donate your resources to local charities — time, money, or materials. We are stronger together, so let’s bond together however we can (whatever that looks like) to make sure this community continues to thrive no matter the circumstances. Thank you to the nurses and doctors, first responders, truck drivers, grocery store workers, and COUNTLESS others who have worked to keep our community healthy, safe, and stocked. Of course, thank YOU for reading. — Shelbi LeMeilleur Visit our website at integdoes.com Digital Brochure: Serving the Brazos Valley! 123 E. Wm. J. Bryan Pkwy. | Bryan, TX 77803 | 979.823.5567 click www.insitebrazosvalley.com 5