PUBLISHERS – READERS COMMENTS

`A toast to you, and wishing our friends, readers and advertisers all the best for this holiday season. May you enjoy the companionship of family and friends as you celebrate the season.

‘TIS THE SEASON…

Season’s Greetings!  Did you survive Grey Thursday, Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and
Cyber Monday?  We’re now fully engaged in the frenzy of the holiday season, and as the catch phrase coined years ago says: “The Holiday Season Starts in South Miami!”

If you have a moment, pour yourself a cup of coffee and let me spend a few minutes with you as you thumb through our holiday issue.

Thanksgiving fittingly ushers in the holiday season.  It provides us a good time to reflect and express gratitude before the hustle and bustle otherwise distracts us.

Our cover feature is “Hometown Traditions.”  We reflect on the many great family-oriented events happening in our hometown.  Our two art festivals, the Parade of the Elves, Safe Streets Halloween
and more are part of the fabric of what makes South Miami so special.

For the past thirty-plus years as an image marketing and business development consultant with my offices here in South Miami, I’ve had the privilege to work on and help develop some of these events.
In the first Parade of the Elves in 1983, my then seven-month old daughter Ashley was the littlest elf in the parade riding in a car seat with me as I drove the Grand Marshal’s convertible.  The parade would forever be part of our family, as it is for many other parents (and children), as over the years Ashley would be decked out as a cute elf.  The parade also brought me to a greater awareness of how important celebrated events are in the life of the community.

Community events shape who we are, and whether you dress in a Halloween costume with your kids, put on a pair of running shoes for the 5K run, stroll through the artist tents on Sunset Drive for our annual art shows and car shows, the experience of coming together is a refreshing and exhilarating experience.

In this 90th Anniversary Year of the founding of the City of South Miami, we continue our series chronicling its nine decades.  This issue’s focus is on the Bakery Centre development and its demise, which leads us to our present discussions regarding the future of Sunset Place.

The proposed redevelopment of The Shops at Sunset Place is now under review by the City Commission.  This vision by the team of new owners will provide the much needed impetus for economic development in our retail and restaurant district by introducing hotel guests and residents to our “hometown.”  As they say: “third time’s a charm.”  Read more on page 37 and continuing online at somimag.loc.

The building of our town center is a significant “branding” effort that requires a sustainable marketing campaign and other infra-structure improvements that will require support from our municipal, county and state elected officials, commercial property owners, our area merchants and professional businesses – and you, our shoppers and diners, who walk the tree-lined streets in our “hometown.”

As we began our thirteenth year with our last issue (October/November), our centerfold Keeping It Local, highlighted ten businesses which are just another reason why SOMI is so special.  We continue in this issue and will throughout this year, in recognizing certain businesses who are our “SOMI Business Subscribers.”  And we’ve got some new businesses in town to introduce you to in our What’s New in Town feature (see page 40).

And so after Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday, I hope you can enjoy the pleasant presence of family and friends in this joyous holiday season.

Enjoy the SOMI experience in 2018 and remember to SHOP SMALL in SOMI all year round!

All the best in the new year,

 

 

 

 

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