May Letter from the Editor - Coming together in the Community

April showers bring May flowers, right readers? Well, that's what I keep telling myself on this dreary first Friday in May. This month has come upon us so quickly here at Halfstack. As I write this we are preparing for our first ever Health Expo at Crossfit 630 in Naperville, IL taking place this Saturday May 3, 2014 at 10AM. It is amazing to me how business and life often mix. Many of us on the team at Halfstack have been working really hard to take back our health and that is where the idea of this Health Expo came from. We are so excited about it and to share the stories of our keynotes - amazing locals and entrepreneurs and online business owners making waves in the health, fitness and nutrition industries. If you want to learn about crossfit, barefoot running, paleo and how optimum nutrition can help you on your fitness journey - make sure to sign up for your FREE tickets HERE.

Keynotes include Nick Wernimont of Factor75.com, Marla Sarris of Paleoporn.net and Lauren Rippy - Head coach of the women's Lacrosse team at Aurora University and trainer at Endure it! in Naperville. We also have a ton of great vendors and sponsors along with some amazing giveaways! So, please take some time to stop by and say hi!

Now, into May's letter - this month our editorial focus will be on the idea of community. Whether it be how you work in the community, what the communities around us are doing or how you can help to make your community a better place - the stories we will be showcasing on the blog this month will deal with community. We are excited to continue to grow our podcast and will have some great community activists and cause-related business owners talking with us this month on Halfstack Highlights. Our stories will showcase brands doing great things for their community and so much more. If you haven't had a chance, please feel free to subscribe to our podcast on Itunes HERE. If you like what you hear, comment and rate us! We appreciate your time.

We will also be introducing a new guest blogger - Jennifer Love of Jenniferlove.com and co-founder of Nibmor this month! Jennifer Love is a seasoned  entrepreneur, business coach and wellness lifestyle expert who inspires people to build sustainability in their businesses and lives. She will have a special piece to share with all of you readers this month and we couldn't be more excited to welcome her!

As Halfstack continues to grow, I have realized that we are creating a community around us which is why this editorial direction for May is so relevant. Each of you out there has continued to come back and read our thoughts and we have gotten to work with and showcase amazing creatives, artists and business owners due to this community we have built. Halfstack continues to push to serve its mission and I am realizing as a founder that it is more than money that showcases our growth - it is also the experiences and opportunities we have been apart of as an organization. We hope to continue to see our little community thrive and grow and we hope to continue to bring awareness through our pages, inspiration from our words and push for activism within our communities.

Welcome to May Halfstackers, hope to see you around Chicago and if I don't, feel free to drop me a line. I want to hear from you! Let us know how we are doing, if the content you are reading is relevant to you, if you are inspired by it or if you want us to dig deeper?! Please feel free to send comments, ideas or suggestions to Jennifer@halfstackmag.com.

- Jennifer Lezan-Veguilla
Editor-in-Chief & Co Founder