The creation of our new website is a story of a tortoise and a hare.
Playing the part of the tortoise (not willingly) is our web designer Karen Pollard, who signed on to create the site more than two years ago when she was a freelance designer. The plan was to have the site up and running in about six months. But when the recession hit, I decided that we needed to focus on Bethesda Magazine—and I postponed the re-launch until the economy started to recover.
Early in 2010 I decided it was time to move forward. Karen, however, had gotten a full-time job in the meantime. Being the consummate professional that she is, Karen worked countless hours on nights and weekends to get the site ready. She is not only a talented designer, but a class act.
Playing the part of the hare is our web editor, Andrea Leitch. Andrea moved here in late June from Tulsa, Okla., where she had a similar job at TulsaPeople Magazine.
Before Andrea moved, I was on the phone with her one evening and I heard an eerie sounding siren in the background. When I asked Andrea about it, she nonchalantly said that it was a tornado warning and that she was standing in a safe place in her townhome.
I assured her that she wouldn’t have to worry about tornados after she moved to the Bethesda area.
Wrong.
Within her first month here she endured a tornado warning, a violent storm, an earthquake (and the commute to and from Olney, where she’s living for the summer).
At least she wasn’t here for Snowmageddon.
Worse than natural disasters and horrendous traffic, Andrea endured the almost impossible task of getting our new site ready for launch in six weeks. She did so with grace and professionalism—and no threats to move back to Oklahoma.
Unlike in the fable, Karen and Andrea arrived at the finish line at the same time. The result: the new BethesdaMagazine.com
