From the Publishers
A message from two local business people who saw a need for a
local business-to-business publication in Rockland County.

When we put together the first issue of Rockland Business Digest, we knew that Rockland’s business owners needed to reach a business-to-business market, and we thought that our publication would be a great way to provide that access.

We hoped that The Digest would be well received, but you don’t really know how a magazine is going to do until your first issue publishes. This was especially important to us because we designed this magazine to be guided by reader feedback – your feedback – and so future issues depended on hearing from you.  

You can imagine how pleased we were when we started getting encouraging calls and emails from the Rockland business community and we realized that we had hit on something good with The Digest. Sure, it feels good to know that you have been successful with any endeavor, but what we really appreciate is the opportunity to interact with our readers and hear what they hope to see in future issues of The Digest.

In this issue, we interviewed County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef about his thoughts on doing business in Rockland County. Incidentally, Mr. Vanderhoef praised The Digest, noting, “It's a representation of the strength of our business community. It sends a message that we're coordinating with one another, that we have much respect for our community, and are reaching out to the public and other businesses." You can read more about Mr. Vanderhoef’s ideas and suggestions for Rockland’s business owners beginning on page 4.

Comments like Mr. Vanderhoef’s motivate us to continue publishing The Digest because we know that people are reading our magazine and find it useful. Moreover, we recognize that it can be a powerful tool to help build Rockland’s business community.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and suggestions. We hope you enjoy this issue, and hope to hear from you again (and again) in the future.

Ken Mahoney

 

Thank you, Rockland, for receiving our first issue of The Digest with such fervor.

After all, there are literally thousands of magazines published every year. Some big, some small; but all convinced they have something important to say.

So what makes The Digest so special? For one thing, every day we hear from people telling us how much they enjoyed both the content and the look of Rockland’s first (and only) truly local business-to-business magazine. Although we knew there was a need, we simply weren’t prepared for the onslaught of well wishes and suggestions for future issues.

As Ken mentions above, we’ve heard from our readers and we’ve listened to what you had to say. As you leaf through this issue you’ll notice a few things done a little differently than our first issue. For one thing, we’ve added more “advice” columns, all written by local professionals.

Another change is the addition of “PR Patter”, a two-page spread publishing encapsulated announcements of our readers’ accomplishments and news of note. Of course, we can’t publish them all—or all the photos that have come flooding in to accompany your announcements—still, we’ve done our best to include as many as possible.

On the other hand, we continued many of the features you found so interesting. Certainly, our cover story about Mr. Vanderhoef, his views on the county, and his partnership in the gubernatorial race with John Faso was news of note. As was our feature story; focusing on four Rockland villages and how they’re preparing for the future.

Our “Retail Roundup” article about the proposed Wal-Mart on Route 59 generated both good and harsh comments and we look forward to publishing more of your letters in the issues to come, so keep them coming.

We’ve also maintained our non-profit section, “Invest in Your Community”, choosing two worthy organizations for in-depth interviews and letting you know how you can help them make a difference in the county’s quality of life. And don’t forget to read about the RBA’s upcoming business-to-business expo in partnership with the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce next month.

So, once again, bon appétit!

Steve Powell