In August 2011, we dreamed of creating something special for our new marketing company. It was a practical endeavor. We needed a core product to build our brand and stabilize our income base.

Barely past our first birthday, Partners by Design – a small group of veteran journalists – of course, decided it had to revolve around the art of storytelling. It’s what we know. It’s what we do.

And 15 years later, we’re still doing it and loving every minute of this adventure of discovery. That first issue of Discover, The Essence of St. Clair was as diverse and fascinating as our county itself. And why not? It defines St. Clair – a smorgasbord of intriguing people, places and events you simply need to know more about.

That first issue had all of that and more: Horse Pens 40, the boulder “climbing capital,” the sport of catfish noodling on our lakes, the origin of local honey in Odenville, a spectacular mountain home, a savory story of summer’s bounty atop Chandler Mountain, the story behind Lyman Lovejoy, often called the mayor of St. Clair, backroads travel to Beason Cove and the poignant story of rebuilding of Shoal Creek Valley from the deadly tornado that ravaged it in April 2011.

Quickly following congratulations on the birth of our new magazine was fear from our readers that we would ‘run out’ of stories like those. We didn’t. And we won’t. Why? Because we know there is a story around every corner and inside just about everyone we meet.

So put your fears aside and discover a crop of fresh ones in this issue.

We travel up to Chandler Mountain, long known as a ‘tomato capital’ in the country, in search of the perfect ‘mater sammich,’ as we call it around these parts. We think writer Roxann Edsall and photographer Mackenzie Free found it on a mountaintop overlooking St. Clair County.

The county fair is back – a new tradition growing bigger, better and stronger – at the county’s ag and event center in Odenville in September.

We’ll explore how special needs children and families have discovered a special farm for coming together as Levi and Friends to make memories. And Pell City Historical Society sees just how special their new historic mural in downtown Pell City has already become as it greets visitors and admirers on a daily basis.

We often share stories of giving back to community, but Deanna Lawley’s is an extra special one indeed. Raising nearly $100,000 for the Pell City Library, Lawley coordinates group travel around the world through Friends Bound for New Horizons. She’s raised tens of thousands more in fundraisers for Pell City Schools Education Foundation and Museum of Pell City.

We’ll get a glimpse into the history of the Moody area through the eyes of Eleanor Shirley Isbell. After all, at 92, she’s lived most of it.

You’ll find these stories and more in this issue of Discover. Turn the page and discover it all with us!

Carol Pappas
Editor and Publisher