From the Publisher’s Desk

Sacramento Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan was gunned down during a domestic disturbance call in June 2019. Her death sent the region into mourning. I’ll never forget waving our American flag on the Business 80 overpass as her funeral procession slowly moved from Rocklin to Elk Grove.
The idea for a beautiful tribute to Tara began over cups of coffee between friends earlier this year.

The essay below appeared in February 1996 in our first Inside East Sacramento. I found it recently in a book of the first year’s editions my husband made for me as a gift.

My first reaction was astonishment. As I read, I realized little has changed with our mission after 25 years.

Last month, Inside Sacramento was honored with two special awards. First, we were selected as part of “10 News Publishers That Do It Right 2021” by the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.

This month celebrates a milestone: 1,000 Inside editions in 25 years of publishing. Each edition has featured an original piece of local art on the cover. It’s fair to say we have circulated and promoted more art than anyone in Sacramento history. When our quarter-century press run is added up, more than 20 million impressions of art have been shared since 1996!

I am honored to serve as Inside’s cover art curator-in-chief. It’s by far the best part of my job.

At first, when we published one edition, I worried we’d never find enough art for 12 covers a year. I knew a watercolorist who painted house portraits. She had a portfolio of a dozen pieces. That got me started.

I grew up in a small Michigan town with a lovely Main Street. Local merchants owned the shops and cafes. My mom and dad were friendly with many of these small business owners. We knew their children and they knew us.

A large part of what attracted my husband and me to East Sacramento was the small-town attitude that supported local merchants. When we bought our vintage 1925 home in 1989, one of the first neighborhood shops we discovered was East Sac Hardware at 48th Street and Folsom Boulevard.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Inside Sacramento. At a time when print publishing has been decimated, my husband Jim and I feel grateful to have survived and thrived.

Today, a new publication like Inside would be called a “micro” business. In 1996, we divided the tasks based on the experiences and success of our previous careers. My career was in interior design and project management. My strengths were writing, graphic design, sales, marketing and community involvement. Jim handled accounting, payroll, printing, delivery, invoicing and business details. He had been an executive for IBM and a small business manager.

What made Inside unique was our motivation. Neither of us had publishing experience.