July 2002
All Swell
A Super Group of Colleagues and a Magazine in good Hands
This is the 38th issue of Munich Found on which I have worked—in one capacity or another. I have written about Tollwood and various Frühlingsfeste a number of times, have wracked my brains trying to come up with catchy titles for articles on everything the city has to offer, ranging from opera to Oktoberfest—a couple of my favorites to date are “Hearing Voices” and “Oktoberfest: It’s in Tents”—and have praised and panned local color and tradition. I have had the great fortune of working with art directors, editors and authors who have taught me a thing or two about the business. One of these is the talented former television producer/commentator and print journalist Inez Sharp, who will become managing editor of MF when I return to the States this summer.
Shortly after agreeing to contribute to MF during an interview I conducted with her for our Profile page about two years ago, Inez took over Ian McMaster’s Red Tape column when the amiable editor of Spotlight decided that his tenth anniversary with us was a good time to quit while he was ahead. Since then, Inez has not only entertained and informed by sharing her own experiences with bureaucracy, but she has also thoughtfully reviewed art exhibitions, described her transatlantic crossing adventures and jumped in to help in times of crisis. Several months ago, owing to the sniffles of a cherished freelancer, we were short one book review just two days before going to print. Inez pulled out a current bestseller she had recently read as well as the latest cookbook by an English television icon and went to work. She delivered the articles within hours. The staff at MF is looking forward to watching this dynamic journalist, who has lived in and appreciated the Isar city for many years, “do her stuff.”
Though MF is produced by a family of fine people—including the magazine’s publisher, Angela Wilson—who provide everything from superb story ideas to
paper clips, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank “my sisters,”
without whom I never would have made a single deadline. Katharina Adler, who recently left to focus on her studies, began with MF as an editorial assistant and quickly found herself in the role of
associate editor. Working countless hours to keep up with her college courses and serve as editor of MF’s extensive calendar section, Katharina still found time to write articles, order artwork and twist herself into a pretzel to help us present the finished product. Munich Found’s copy editor, Michele Schons, is a freelance professional who taught me everything I now know about the pesky comma.
Flexible and willing to edit on Sundays, Michele thwarts such disasters as the use of “which” instead of “that” and the
rinting of incorrect translations of kings’ names and churches.
And, last but not least, I would like to bring to light the efforts and commitment of art director Sharin Armantrout. When the Wilsons purchased the magazine in 1998, they were blessed with the vision of a local graphics guru who revamped MF’s look. Sharin subsequently came on board and has not only kept that style alive, but has made it her own. Taking on so much more responsibility than her art director position requires, she is truly a backbone of the operation. Because our editorial staff works as a team, free of power plays and an unnecessary hierarchal structure, other than in title, I have come to consider all of my MF colleagues as friends, confidants and the talented hard workers that they are.
As I look to my Munich-free future, I am sure of several things: I will miss beer gardens, Christmas markets and wasps landing on my Leberkäs at the botanical garden. I will miss the colleagues who made going to work a pleasure and a boss who supported the creative process. I’ll miss Tollwood and Oktoberfest, but, next year, I will leave the clever titles to Inez.
