Publisher’s Note: Then and Now

In 1996, Bill Clinton won reelection, Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics and Tickle Me Elmo was the hottest holiday gift. It’s also the year FER was launched to give the foodservice community actionable and unbiased information on the products and services shaping our industry.

Over the past 30 years a lot has changed, from the launch of Facebook in 2004, the iPhone in 2007, the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009, the U.K. voting to leave the EU in 2016 and I won’t even mention a global pandemic.

The point is that even though over the past 30 years so much has changed, here at FER, a lot has stayed the same. We continue our goal of helping you better understand the equipment that is available based on an unbiased look at what is shaping the market. But now, rather than doing it just through the printed page, we also have given you more options on how to receive your news. Love the timeliness of newsletters? We have five for you to choose from. Like to read a digital edition? We check that box as well. Enjoy networking and learning from the industry’s best and brightest in person? We have two major can’t-miss annual events (MUFES and How To Spec Live) for you to choose from.

What started as a print magazine now includes a variety of platforms.

A company is only as good as the people that work for it and here at FER, I am blessed to have a tremendous group. Rich Chrampanis has been with FER from the start and has risen to be FER’s associate publisher. Allison Rezendes started as an intern and is now editor-in-chief, and Lauren Coughlin and Todd Swingley each have more than five years of experience telling our story. I want to personally and publicly thank each of them for all their hard work and efforts and for making FER the clear leader in our industry.

And a huge shoutout and thank you to you, our readers. Without you, we would not be relevant or even exist. Thanks for putting your trust in us and know the entire FER team will continue to work hard to earn that trust for the next 30 years as well.

RANDY HANO

President & Publisher

rhano@fermag.com