.jpg)
Mallory Donald presided over the meeting today since President Lynn Walton was not in attendance. Jerome Brown provided the opening prayer. Bill McLeod led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four Way Test. The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn in Hattiesburg and via Zoom.
Mallory reminded everyone to bring in an item for the silent auction. Ryan Kelly reminded everyone that we are committed to ringing the bell for two days this year. Richard Topp suggested we have two locations this year, both being Corner Markets. The MidTown and Belleview locations. Others recommend we have the scheduled times after work on a weekday rather than Saturday. With December Saturdays being taken up with family and the holidays.
Mark Killingsworth introduced today’s guest speaker, Susan Hogue. Susan is the owner of Stages Mississippi, a quarterly publication that focuses on the beauty and creativity of everyday people experiencing every stage of home living.
Susan was getting takeout one day a few years ago and ran into the woman who used to own Stages Mississippi. Susan stayed and had lunch with this person catching up and ending up buying the magazine. Stages was originally opened in 2008 and closed in 2011 so Susan was basically starting from scratch. She named her publishing agency after her beloved Olde English Bulldog Adeline.
Stages Mississippi magazine debuted as a bi-monthly publication in central Mississippi and since its conception, Stages has become the most read and collected home and garden magazine across the state of Mississippi.
Originally, she was printing the magazine every other month but during Covid, a lot of her customers were closed. Not knowing if her customers were going to be going out of business, she changed to printing the magazine quarterly. This was a game-changer. Not only did it call for a fuller magazine, but she was able to have a personal life and more free time.
Her problem now is that her “featured advertisers” are having trouble getting items in stock to complete their homes. Some may be waiting on microwaves, new windows, appliances, etc. This is causing her to change up her schedule.
EPA has put so many restrictions on the trees that it is forcing her to order all her paper from overseas. But she firmly believes in printing a quality magazine and that includes great paper.
The magazine has really taken off and the advertising spots are booked until 2023-2024.
She prints anywhere from 15-20,000 magazines each time and distributes them from Oxford to Bay St. Louis. In order to advertise in the publication, you must sign a contract to buy 2 or 4 times a year. She also doesn’t believe in giving companies a “shout out” if they don’t advertise in the publication. Why should she promote John Smith Cabinets in an article when he doesn’t advertise but Jane Smith Cabinets does?
Supporting local businesses and telling stories of homeowners, businesses, and Mississippians as they navigate all stages of life is what Susan and her magazine are all about. Along with beautiful photographs, Stages Mississippi provides articles written by experts in fields such as banking, real estate, landscaping, building, and design.
On the website, they have back issues of the magazine you can read digitally. You can also subscribe to the magazine and get issues before they are distributed through the different counties. For more information about advertising or looking up back issues, visit https://stagesmississippi.com or call Susan at 601.209.3262.
Mallory thanked Susan for her informative remarks. There being no further business to come before the club, she adjourned the meeting with our motto: “Service Above Self.”