Each year our staff spends one day out of the office bonding in a silly way to kick off our biggest publication of the year: Horizons.
This year was no different. Friday our team raced the clock to solve a mystery and “escape” a room at Tippecanoe Place. Sort of like a live game of Clue, groups of team members had to work together to solve a number of puzzles that eventually would lead to finding a blueprint and a key to save the day.
Neither of our groups were able to “escape” in the given time, but great fun was had by all as we were forced to get out of our comfort zones, put our heads together to solve problems and encourage one another along the way.
This experience was reflective of what the next three months will look like for Leader Publications’ team.
Our editorial staff will race to meet deadline as they tell compelling, engaging and dynamic stories that will eventually fill the pages of Horizons.
Our sales team will work hard to pound the pavement and meet as many local business owners as they can, offering an invaluable opportunity to broadcast their message thousands of potential customers.
Our circulation team will help to keep our staff fired up for the next three months and keep the buzz going in the community that this great publication is on its way.
This year we will focus on the theme “Faces of Michiana,” showcasing as many faces as we possibly can in both our editorial content and our advertising.
On the heels of a first-place prize for Michigan’s Best Special Section in 2016, our goal is to make an even better product of which our communicators can be proud.
We’ve challenged ourselves to think outside the box and not only find new stories to sell and advertisers to showcase, but also to do so in a more interesting and compelling way.
We hope to offer digital supplements to the much-anticipated print product that distributes in February. Readers might see video teasers on our website, snippets of stories on our social media and behind the scenes photographs of various assignments.
In order to continue growing this special publication, we rely heavily on the support and suggestions of the people who know this area best: all of you.
What faces would you like to see in Horizons? Who has an awesome story to tell? Where can we find these unique individuals? Contact our news team at news@leaderpub.com, or give me a call at (269) 687-7713.
In the meantime, we’ll be working to get out of our comfort zones and meet new people, solve problems and encourage one another to ensure we make the best Horizons you’ve ever seen.
We can’t wait to show you what we find this February.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.