Page 10 - 02_March-2025

EDS
DESSERT
WITH
FRIENDS
With this being the Best Restaurants issue,
the editor’s note should be about food. So, it’s fitting
that I write about dessert. After all, it’s often the best
part of the meal.
It also signifies that it’s the end of the meal, and that
soon after, you and your friends will be parting ways.
The bill is about to arrive at the table, and you will
soon be trying to figure out who owes what.
I’ve been the editor of this magazine since 2010,
when publishers Orville Chubb and Trudy Callaghan
took a chance on someone who wanted to move back
with his family from Toronto to Edmonton. Trudy
regularly brings up how I was a terrible interview —
think Spud from Trainspotting — but my references,
thankfully, were good.
I spent the better part of the next decade and a
half working with great people — and, this magazine
became more than a place of work. We were (and are)
family. My kids grew up around the magazine. I
developed strong friendships. And we collectively
mourned when Orville passed away in 2018. I can’t
say enough about how Trudy has championed this
magazine and the magazine industry as a whole.
But, for me, it’s time to finish dessert. I am moving
on to a new chapter. This is the final edition of Edify
with me as editor. I had written another editor’s note,
but Trudy asked me to change it, because, well, I had
actually thought an Irish goodbye was maybe the route
to go. That’s because goodbyes are tough and messy.
I’ve met so many amazing editors, writers and artists
through this journey. And, month after month, you all
made me look good.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been stopped at the
mall or at the ball diamond by readers who just want
10 EDify. MARCH.25
to have a word or offer their thoughts on the mag. This
is when I recognize that the magazine means a lot to
many of you out there. And I just hope you think I did a
passable job as the steward of this mag over the years.
It’s time for new blood — and I am sure that this
magazine will thrive with new voices and fresh
perspectives. Journalism constantly needs new ideas
in order to thrive. And it’s time for this now-old guy to
leave the chair open for people who will bring a new
energy to Edify. I will be cheering you on, because I will
always love this magazine.
It will be odd going from Edify editor to Edify reader.
And, as I nibble at the final few crumbs left on my
dessert dish, as I take a few final drinks of my post-
meal coffee, I just wanted to tell you all that this has
been one heck of a meal. Thanks for having me.
Steven Sandor
Editor-in-Chief
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON PEDERSEN