A Retrospective

The Journey Continues

By Lisa Marie Burwell

Until this year, life, in general, was fast-paced. I literally did not have an extra minute. I only had time to keep moving forward, making deadlines and decisions to grow our magazine that I founded in 2008 with my husband. Fast-forward thirteen years, and it seems like it all happened in the proverbial blink of the eye as we bring you this Commemorative Issue. Creating it has provided a long walk down memory lane for all of us. The pandemic of 2020 was a catalyst for me taking time to think while I looked at how far we had come and wondered if these unforeseen circumstances would be the death knell to our business.

We began publishing VIE in the same year the economy entered the Great Recession. In 2010, we faced the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill that devastated tourism along the Gulf Coast of Florida, where we are headquartered. We celebrated the magazine’s second anniversary a week before we were forced to go head-to-head with that disaster. If there is one thing I knew, even then, it was that our team had a lot of tenacity and resilience. At that time, everyone was also telling us that print media was dead. I did not believe them but knew we had to figure out how to make things work in a world where everyone was singing the same tune. And so we did.

We love storytelling. We love honoring people and telling their stories. We strive to bring hope to a world that so desperately needs encouragement, to uplift our readers like a breath of fresh air. We also love people. We are a lifestyle magazine that features fashion, health and wellness, music, heartwarming stories, interior design and architecture, artists and art, travel, and all the beautiful things that life can give us. We also have published meaty commentaries on homelessness, Alzheimer’s, organ donation, veterans, wounded warriors, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, and countless other inspirational stories. We are interested in people—celebrities or not—and all aspects of their lives. I have often said that VIE is a magazine for the everyman. Our goal is that every reader feels well-fed with interesting information, beauty, newness, intrigue, and goodness when they finish each issue.

We’ve “grown up” with some of the people we’ve featured over the years and nurtured them in their journeys while building lasting relationships, as you’ll see within these pages. We hope you enjoy a glimpse of our curated highlights as you look back with us. This publication has been a testament to the American dream, as we have done it all without investors. To sum it up, the heart and soul of VIE can be encompassed in one word: LOVE. Here’s to another thirteen years of telling stories and honoring good people in the pages of our magazine.

To Life!

—Lisa Marie Burwell

CEO/Editor-in-Chief

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