the last word
Publisher ’ s Note if you ask me about the month of September , I will tell you it ’ s like starting fresh . September for me has a January kinda feel , you know , resolutions and pondering on I ’ ve got four months left to achieve all that I said I would do in the beginning of the year . That ’ s right , iF Magazine is gearing up for all the international events coming during the fall , conferences , festivals , gala , etc . Please feel free to contact us with information on your upcoming international event you would like for us to cover ! Also , September is the first cooling-off month of the year for Houston and that ’ s always a good thing !
During the hot Houston summer rather than vacation , our iF Magazine team of editors , writers , graphic artists , photographers and I hammered out our strategy to move forward and we all feel we ’ re headed in the right direction . Well , it hasn ’ t been all work and no play for our team . I ’ m sure they ’ ve spent time with their families as I have . Speaking of spending time with family , I ’ ve been pleasured this summer with my son , daughter-in law and grandson visiting from Guangzhou , China . I must say we ’ ve had a fabulous time together , I can ’ t wait to see them again . Perhaps I ’ ll get an opportunity to see them while on a trade mission to Hong Kong in December . Guangzhou in mainland China is only an hour train ride away from Hong Kong .
Speaking of visiting foreign destinations , I ’ d like to quote the mayor of Houston “ I can drive around Houston and visit Europe , Africa , Asia , the Caribbean , Central and South America all in one day ” on the extraordinary diversity the city enjoys . iF you asked me what I ’ ll be doing all this fall other than making the scene covering the many diverse cultural events , I will tell you my most treasured parts of town are midtown , downtown , southwest and northeast Houston with an incredible amount of diverse cultures . I ’ ll spend time making my rounds visiting friends and business associates throughout the city .
I hope everyone who calls Houston their home takes the time to explore all the many diverse parts of town to do your holiday shopping or a joy ride to see that you live in a very special one of a kind city . I think you ’ ll agree that you can ’ t find anything like it any place else on Earth .
Val
Val Thompson Publisher & CEO Val @ IFMagazine . net
56 iF Magazine | September 2016