From Rex Hammock:
At the Folio Awards on Nov. 1, we learned this Ride magazine cover had won a Silver Ozzie in the non-profit/institutional/custom magazine category.
“It’s nice to be recognized by one’s peers,” as they say in the awards world. The Ozzies are a big deal in the magazine world because they recognize the best design of the year.
I’m very proud of our design team’s consistent performance in the Ozzie awards and am especially proud to learn that a cover from one of our magazines, Ride PWC, is one of three finalists for this year’s Ozzie for Best Cover (association, institutional or custom magazine — it is the official magazine of the American Watercraft Association). Being a finalist in this category is a great honor and I have great hopes that this particular cover wins the Ozzie.
I wouldn’t usually say this (I’d be blowing my “humility” cover), but I’m especially proud of this cover as it knowingly breaks many clich rules of “cover design” yet with great craft and success displays how powerful a medium magazines can be.
The interplay of photograph, typography along with the juxtaposition of words and images all connect in telling a wonderful story.
It makes me want to be down there, riding that PWC across the “R” and off into someplace great. I can just imagine those folks in the cars wishing they were on that PWC. I know the cover connects powerfully with the magazine’s readers in a way that only a PWC enthusiast can truly appreciate.
At Hammock Publishing, we think our job is to help our clients tell their stories. Some people may call this “branding.” We call it storytelling.
This is one of those times when I am not only amazed at how well our team helped tell the AWA & PWC story, they created a classic tale.

Hot of the presses is Hammock Publishing’s new collaboration with Conferon Global Services: The CGS Guide to Room Block Management. The 64-page resource details the best practices of the industrys leading meeting planning firm, drawing on its collective wisdom of 35 years of experience.
Because successful room block management is one of meeting planners’ toughest challenges, the CGS Guide breaks down the process for veterans and novices alike. The publication gives strategies for compiling group history, selecting a site, determining room counts, creating the proper mix of hotelsall while ensuring that meeting attendees are satisfied and associations remain on firm financial footing.
Hilton Hotels, sponsor of the Guide, shares cover billing with CGS. They will unveil the new publication at this weekend’s annual meeting of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in Nashville.

We’re not sure what we were looking forward to most: the arrival of spring or the April/May issue of MyBusiness magazine. Both came on the scene recently as the magazine we produce for the 600,000 small-business members of NFIB reached readers this week. The cover story depicts an unlikely partnership: small business and the government. MyBusiness readers usually want the government to stay as far away as possible from their small businesses. But this story shows the benefits of working closely with Uncle Sam by scoring federal contracts.
The issue also looks at how the Internet has changed small business over the last decade. Can you remember life without e-mail? We sure can’t. The MyBusiness Manual covers the many ways outsourcing can be a boon for busy small-business owners. We also talked to a guy who will have your customers begging to be put on hold when they call your office. And of course, there’s the regular commentary from our favorite columnist, Harvey King.

Forget the fact that half the country is still freezing and parts of the West Coast are, tragically, turning into goop too thick to drink and too thin to hold up houses. Spring is SO close, and the hot-off-the-press March-April issue of Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine makes waiting even harder. We publish Ride for the American Watercraft Association (AWA).
For this issue, Editor Bill Hudgins pried himself away from 500 hours of bowl games on New Year?s Day to go riding with some local folks on Old Hickory Lake, near his home in Gallatin, Tenn. “It was about 60 degrees that day, but was sleeting just a couple days earlier. That’s what passes for winter here,” recalls this one time Manhattanite.
Covering the wide world of watercraft, our writers and editors spared no effort to find cool places to ride. One of them gaped in awe at 50-foot-plus waves in Hawaii, while others found out that South Dakota is a great place to take a PWC vacation, and that watercraft can help keep beaches from eroding. And they met an 87-year-old woman who outruns riders a quarter her age. Who knew?
Ride is available as part of an AWA membership and also at AWA-supporting PWC dealers.

A detail from a quilt in the DAR Museum collection graces the cover of the March-April issue of American Spirit, the award-winning, bimonthly magazine we publish for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
Unlike Hammocks own Lisa Ask, an aspiring quilter, I couldnt sew if my life depended on it, says American Spirit Editor Jamie Roberts. Still, I was inspired by the collection of 19th century quilts featured in this issue, and even more so by the patriotic quilts and samplers on display in the DAR Museum’s current exhibition.
Not everyone can make it to Washington for a tour of the DAR Museum. That’s why we make it easier to see inside the museums impressive, unique collection with our new department, National Treasures. (NOT to be confused as a plug for Nicholas Cage’s latest movie.)
There were other ways that our ancestors captured images of their lives, and one of those crafts lives on in the hands of a modern artist practicing the classic art of silhouette portraits.
Speaking of ancient arts: Bestselling author Dan Da Vinci Code Browns forthcoming novel is about secret societies. American Spirit takes a closer look at one such societythe Freemasons and digs through the myth and misunderstanding surrounding the controversial group.
But what about women? An excerpt from Gail Collins’ book, Americas Women, gives just a glimpse of how much there is yet to re-learn about women and early America.
Information on how to subscribe to American Spirit is available at the DAR Web site .

Shannon Scully, MyBusiness magazine’s managing editor, writes:
Barbara The Production Director has finally thawed after her trek up north to Wisconsin for the MyBusiness press check. And while she’s glad to be home, we’re thrilled with how great the February/March issue turned out. Over the next few days, NFIB members across the country will be finding copies in their mailboxes.
So what are some of the must-read stories in this issue for small-business owners? We love the one on becoming the perfect leader . Who doesn’t dream of an office where everyone works hard, gets along and goes home happy every night? (Not to brag, but that’s about how it is at Hammock.) For small businesses looking for ways to grow (who isn’t?), we suggest taking a look at the story on how to decide if you’re ready to take your business overseas. Besides, writing-off trips to Europe doesn’t sound too bad to us.
Speaking of write-offs, the February/March issue includes our annual guide to small-business taxes. With April 15 just around the corner, you’ll want to check out all the ways you can keep more of your hard-earned money. As always, this issue is chocked full of ideas and tips on running your business, plus a lighter look at the life of an entrepreneur.
And if you like getting free stuff (like a lifetime membership to NFIB and $20,000 in Dell equipment), be sure to enter the Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence in Customer Experience Award. (Applications available beginning Feb. 8.)

We were proud to learn that MyBusiness Magazine, the small business magazine we publish with our friends at NFIB for their 600,000 members, has been named a finalist in the 51st Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. Out?of the 1,168 entries, ours was one of 81 to make it to the final round. MyBusiness is one of three finalists in the category of “best department” for its recurring feature, “MyBusiness Manual.” This is the second consecutive year for “My Business Manual” to be a finalist in this category. (Who knows, maybe this year, the judges will see the light!)
Seriously, the Neals are business-to-business magazines’ most prestigious and most sought-after editorial honors. We are proud of the work we and NFIB do in publishing each issue and honored that such work has received this recognition by others. The Neals are presented at a luncheon ceremony in New York on March 16.