The theme for the February issues of COMO Magazine and COMO Business Times is Passion Projects. It’s all about the things that people in our community have a deep connection with or passion for.  

I find it fitting that I’m writing my first publisher’s letter this month. My wife, Sara, and I have called this community home for twenty years. We have had three Boone Babies and feel a connection to Columbia like we were born and raised here ourselves. Though I was raised in Tipton, we made frequent trips to the “big city” growing up. Both of my grandparents were Mizzou basketball season ticket holders for many years, and I attended my first games in 1974 and haven’t missed a season since.  

I have family that grew up here and raised their kids here, so Columbia really is home for our family. When the opportunity arose to invest in this company a few years back we decided to step in and help. At that time, we owned and operated Midwest Computech and while to some it didn’t make sense to get involved in the publishing industry, it just felt right and necessary.  

COVID and the subsequent years were challenging times for everyone — I think especially for a marketing company and community magazine — but we felt so strongly that at this time Columbia needs to have this platform for storytelling and information for all the great things going on here.  

Now that Sara and I own and operate COMO Companies, we are excited for the things we have planned for 2025 and beyond. As we have reimagined this company from the ground up, we look forward to sharing with you a new look and feel to parts of the magazine — an expanded and reimagined digital platform with more content and features, and an exciting new direction and vision for our events highlighting our up and coming leaders (20 Under 40) and our nonprofit organizations, leaders, and volunteers (Impact COMO Awards).  

One new feature the magazine will have is new sponsored sections. These are sections that organizations were excited to help get started or get back in the magazine and to ensure they will be a consistent part of the content. These sections contain our editorial content but thanks to those organizations we can consistently bring those features to you.   

I hope you will see and feel our passion for this community through the pages of the magazine, the new content and platforms we bring through our website, other new digital offerings, and our community events highlighting the amazing people and organizations that make Columbia such a great place to live, work, and play.  

We look forward to sharing this journey with you.