Lifelong Broomall residents, newlyweds, teachers, first responders, entrepreneurs, coaches, artists and veterans are just some of the many people who have graced our 60 magazine covers in the past five years. Yes, that’s right, Marple Friends & Neighbors is celebrating its five-year anniversary and reflecting on our many neighbors who have helped fulfill our mission of Bringing People Together!
If you’ve been a reader of our hometown magazine for these past five years, you likely look forward to a new issue of our free, feel-good, hometown magazine arriving in your mail every month. All of these issues have served our magazine motto and mission to be a catalyst for “Bringing People Together.”
Perhaps you knew someone in one of the Resident Features but didn’t know how they got started in their career or how they met their spouse. Maybe you had no idea their family history in Broomall dated back generations. Sure, you can check out your friends and neighbors on Facebook to see their latest vacation photos. Or maybe you follow your favorite local restaurant or local business on Instagram. But our Friends & Neighbors magazines combine the best elements of social media and print and allow us to dig deeper. Each family and business Sponsor works with us to craft an article about their history, their passions, and what connects them to Marple.
Marple Friends and Neighbors is just one of Best Version Media (BVM) magazines that connects thousands of businesses and residents through positive, family-friendly content every month. BVM is one of the fastest-growing print and digital media companies in the U.S. Here in Delaware County, besides in our community, BVM publications serve as the hometown magazine for residents of Newtown Square, Edgmont, Willistown, Springfield, Middletown, Garnet Valley and Chadds Ford.
With more than 1,200 monthly hometown publications, our publishing team is bringing businesses together with buyers, while providing local features of interest about people and places in our community magazine in print and online at www.MarpleMag.com And now, with BVM’s recently launched sports web portal, for local sports – Pee-Wee to Pro can be found daily at www.BVMSports.com.
BVM was launched in 2007 by co-founders Dave Durand, Pete Ericksen and Paul Lubinski. The trio developed a handful of magazines in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area before expanding BVM in 2012. In 2018 our magazine publisher, Bob Blaisse, was then managing another publishing company when he and Dave Durand became acquainted. At that time Durand recruited Bob to join BVM to become Division Manager for Eastern PA. But while doing so, Durand offered wise advice that Bob would be better equipped to manage BVM’s Publishers in Eastern PA if Bob himself had the experience of launching a BVM magazine. And that’s how the Marple community came to find the first August 2018 issues of Marple Friends & Neighbors arriving in the mail, and also why a new issue has following in the mail every month since.
When our hometown Publisher was asked to sum up his experience of the past five years, Bob Blaisse responded with the same three words that serve as our magazine’s mission and motto: “Bringing People Together.” And then Bob told his staff what we already believed: “The last 60 issues of our magazines have delivered our brand of social-media-in-print that displays the common interests of our friends and neighbors – hometown pride in our local community.”
Bob and his wife Jean, who is employed by the Marple Newtown School District, came to live in our community after arriving home from their honeymoon in 1994. When asked what led her husband to take on the role of hometown Publisher, Jean Blaisse recalled how she and Bob have lived in the Marple Newtown community their whole married life and raised their four sons here while participating in school and sports teams, Boy Scouts and contributing volunteer service through many local organizations. “Our home is this community, and when Bob and I saw similar BVM magazines serving other communities in the country, we knew we wanted the same for our Marple Newtown and Edgmont friends and neighbors,” Jean said.
Bob and Jean Blaisse want to thank all their friends and neighbors for the many compliments about the magazine over the past five years. And thank their local magazine staff and contributors of all the feature articles and photos that have now been published in the first 60 issues. But as Bob, Jean and our magazine staff always respond to any kind words about our publications, the credit for Bringing People Together in the hearts and homes of over 12,000 homeowners now for five years, must always first go to our hometown Sponsors.
“Being part of the magazine’s mission is a privilege that enables us to actively foster connections, promote a sense of togetherness, and ultimately contribute to a thriving community.” -Jack Del Pizzo, owner of Del Pizzo & Associates
I asked some of our Sponsors what it has been like to be part of the “Bringing People Together” mission of the magazine. Jack Del Pizzo, owner of Del Pizzo & Associates, said, “Being part of the magazine’s mission is a privilege that enables us to actively foster connections, promote a sense of togetherness, and ultimately contribute to a thriving community.” As an Expert Contributor for occasional Accounting & Tax feature articles, Jack Del Pizzo also enjoys reading the articles of the other experts. “Reading the feature articles of fellow Experts is a valuable way to stay connected and learn from their expertise,” he added.
“It has been wonderful being part of the magazine’s mission. The entire staff is great to work with, professional, personable and caring. They coordinate with us in an effort to bring practical and helpful information to the readers and their community. I enjoy reading the other Expert’s articles and patiently await each month’s magazine.” -Family Law Trial Attorney, Deborah M. Truscello
Deborah Truscello, from the Law Office of Deborah Truscello has also had a wonderful experience being part of the maga zine’s mission to bring people together. “The entire staff are great to work with, professional, personable and caring,” said Deborah. “They truly coordinate with their experts in an effort to bring practical and helpful information to the readers and their community. I enjoy reading the other expert’s articles and patiently await each month’s magazine.”
“With so many big business and online retailers available, these magazines remind us about the wonderful things our community has to offer and how we need to work together and support our fellow neighbors and local businesses.” -Ray Magness of Scott’s Fireplace Products
Sponsors Scott Magness and Ray Magness of Scott’s Fireplace Products had this to say: “Keeping and supporting our community has always been important to us. With so many big businesses and online retailers available, these magazines remind us about the wonderful things our community has to offer and how we need to work together and support our fellow neighbors and local businesses.” David Linn Cook, our weatherization expert for nearly four years, has doubled his firm’s expertise by joining with Waterproofing One’s owner, Joe Soster, as our Sponsor and Expert Contributors. Dave is also a Marple Newtown resident who said that he and his family enjoy receiving our Friends & Neighbors magazine each month, to read about people around town.
Our free monthly publication is made possible only by the funding from these and our other advertising Sponsors whose decision to advertise in our hometown magazine reveals to us just how important Marple residents are to the success of that business, and reveals the loyalty of those business owners by making advertising payments that make your hometown magazine possible.
Celebrating this milestone anniversary of our publication has our team at Marple Friends & Neighbors not only thanking our Sponsors, but also looking back at the many families and individuals who shared their stories of positivity and inspiration with us. We checked in with some of our Resident Features to find out what it was like to be on the cover of their hometown magazine.
The Grosso Family (December 2018) was featured in the magazine in its inaugural year. Rita and Anthony have lived in Marple since 2010 and are raising three children Chiara, Monica and Joseph here. When I asked them about their experience about being featured in Marple Friends & Neighbors they recalled how much their kids enjoyed seeing themselves on the cover of the magazine. “When friends and relatives came for holidays, the kids couldn’t wait to show them the issue,” Anthony said. Rita remembered that being in the magazine also really got them into the holiday spirit. “The photo shoot was really fun! The pictures were taken at our home in early November so we quickly took down the Halloween decorations and replaced them with Christmas ones,” she said.
The Speer Family (January 2020) was excited to be able to share their story with their neighbors. Emily is also the owner of Speer Swim School and one of our Sponsors. Emily and her husband Ed said they love being a part of such an amazing tight-knit community. “Our swim school is also reaching more members of the community, and we are always meeting new people with whom we can connect on multiple levels. This magazine has helped us learn more about the people we meet in our everyday lives,” she said. When their story ran in January 2020, the Speers were a family of six. Since then, they welcomed Winnie to their family!
The Cowley Family, Ali, Shawn, Owen and Brooke, kept their February 2020 cover story a surprise. “It was really fun because when the issue arrived in mailboxes, we received so many texts and calls from family and friends who loved the article,” said Ali. The Cowleys have lived in Broomall for 16 years and have always had a tenacious approach to life’s opportunities. Ali and Shawn said they look forward to getting the magazine each month. “I love seeing families I know on the cover,” Ali said, “but it’s also fun to read about others in our community whom I haven’t yet met.”
The Tremonte family said that they were often recognized for being on the cover of the December 2021 issue. “We are very lucky that we live in a great township,” said Kelly. “Marple families are the best and Marple Friends & Neighbors is a great way of looking inside and meeting the Marple families!” Since they were featured, the Tremontes created Danny’s Squad to raise money for Chromosome 18 Registry and Research society in honor of their son Danny. Kelly has also continued to sell her sweet treats through her business, Kelly’s Sweet Treats!
Ever since we launched Marple Friends & Neighbors in 2018, readers have told us how reading the local features in our magazine is like meeting new neighbors in the community they did not know well, including local business leaders. The same feeling goes for me as I had the opportunity to interview families and business owners to write their feature stories. As the Content Coordinator for the past three years, not only has interviewing people here in Marple with such diverse backgrounds been a huge perk, I have found that taking on this role has made me feel more connected to this community and the people around me.
Sheila Turner-Hilliard, my magazine staff colleague and the Content Coordinator for our sister publication Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, shared a similar sentiment. Sheila told me, “I am a lifelong Newtown Square resident and business owner for the past 20 years. What I love most about my role as Content Coordinator is being able to meet so many interesting people and to share their stories with our community.”
It is thanks to Sheila and the other members of our publication team that we are able to build our magazines each month. The Friends & Neighbors team consists of many driven professionals who take pride in creating something special for our local community. Our talented writers, Executive Assistant Lisa Jeffries, our graphic designer Kim Cesati and photographer Crissy Everhart care deeply about creating a beautiful magazine filled with local content and inspiring stories.
As we head into our sixth year in print, I hope seeing these neighbors gives you a sense of hometown pride, as these individuals and families are giving back to our Marple community and bringing us together. Thanks for reading!
Do you know a Marple family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Holly Stupak at HStupak@BestVersionMedia.com.