Heavy Mettle in 2020

To be certain, it’s difficult to view anything but sorrow and anguish when looking back over the past 12 months with broad brushstrokes: A global pandemic, the devastating flood disaster, racial strife and political divisiveness will become the defining moments of 2020.

But look a little closer. Beyond those broad generalities are the more nuanced and detailed aspects of 2020 that don’t define the year as much as they define us. The past year tested us all as a region; and we demonstrated that we don’t bow, bend or break when faced with adversity.

The true and pure character of the Great Lakes Bay Region was in full focus and on display throughout 2020. There are typically only two outcomes in times of a crisis. It can shred the fabric of society from the outside inward or it can unite those threads together in an even tighter unbreakable bond. We chose the latter, and we endured as a community. I have never been prouder to call you my friends, family and neighbors, and I have never been prouder to call this my home.

Yet our endurance didn’t come without a cost for all of us, and that holds true for even this publication. We have all had to adjust to the changing circumstances of reality over the past seven months and make difficult decisions about our future paths forward. The difficult decisions we have had to make with the future of Great Lakes Bay Magazine — and the reasons behind them — are outlined in a special message to you, our valued readership, on page 40.

I wish you all a pleasant and peaceful holiday season.