Comments From Our Readers on the Premier Issue

I just recently learned of your publication and was very impressed with the depth of the articles especially the features on local and state culture and interest stories.
Jo Ellen Schneider, Eufaula

Loved the magazine - especially Daniel Wallace's piece and the one on the governor. Your letter from the editor promised me a magazine passionate about sharing new ideas and explaining old ones. I felt like my brain will be energized, but that my spirit will be served in some way too. The photography, especially in the story about farmers, was so beautiful I could see framing it... or eating it! Congratulations on this new baby!
Mary Ann Smith-Janas, Homewood

Just wanted to mention how much I’m enjoying Thicket. I find myself sharing with others the stuff I’m reading and learning from the pages. “I – Must – tell - others….” My mind keeps saying over and over, over and over. I even had my daughter reading your gray line of Alabama facts this morning on the way to school.
Kimberly Moore, Vestavia

Thank you for the wonderful new magazine, Thicket. The Storytellers article on that “New Face” (literally and figuratively) Trip Pittman was excellent. Please convey my thanks to Lauren Simpson.
Senator Trip Pittman, Daphne

I received my copy today, and am trying to flip through it but folks keep stealing it from me! I haven't even gotten to read this one, and I'm already looking forward to the next!
Tina C., Montgomery

Impressive first issue. Congratulations. I’m glad to see Mark Kelly writing again. He wrote for me when I was editor of the Birmingham Business Journal. Look forward to more issues.
Jim Degraw, Birmingham

I brought one Thicket to show my teachers and they said they liked them. My homeroom teacher (Ms. Jones) said that it was really cool. I love the “Are You Smarter Than A Fourth Grader” quiz in the back.
Kaley Bush, (5th grader), Decatur

A friend gave me a copy of your new magazine. It is great. Very well done and interesting and innovative. The picture of the Governor on the cover grabs attention. Please keep up the good work. I love your magazine and can't wait for the next issue.
Scott E. Carrier, Florence

Just finishing reading the premier issue. It is outstanding! Everything from the content to the actual writing to the book/CD selections -- everything -- just a cut above. And now I have that "thingy" that falls out of magazines, so I can sign up for my subscription. Bask in it for a moment. Only a moment, though, because you have set your own standard, and it is quite high.
Erin Roney, Homewood

I finally got some time yesterday to look at the magazine, and it's fabulous! I know you're proud. I think it's smart and classy, and I can't wait to see more. The only downside is that I realized I am not as smart as a fourth grader. Alas.
Kathy English, Mountain Brook

Thanks for sending your first issue of Thicket to me. I enjoyed reading the magazine and have shared it with co-workers. It’s wonderful--and refreshing--to have a smart magazine full of information about the state we live in, including politics, art, and even entertainment. I’m originally from New Orleans so I learned about Alabama from the facts listed at the bottom of the pages too.
Georgina, Huntsville

A friend of mine read a copy at his office, and here is what he said: “It was far more substantive than a lot of the other magazines that have come out recently. Also, this had more of a statewide feel as opposed to just over the mountain Birmingham. I liked it.”
John Norris, Birmingham

Smart magazine, smartly written and edited too. Good stories with clear writing. Unbiased writing and very good, even quite powerful portraits! Good pictures - a very well "illustrated" magazine. All the photographers have worked very hard and picture editing is quite flawless. Magazine on good paper - very well printed too. Book / music reviews and related write-ups fun and very well written. The Mobile article is very nice too... it adds a touch of "let's travel and visit Alabama"... nice! The new natives: BRAVO ! Excellent, to be continued I hope! summa summarum: keep it up
Guido Maus, Birmingham

I am very impressed with the premiere edition of Thicket. Congratulations on a job well done.
Nannette, Birmingham

What an interesting publication. No other publication focuses on the fun and interesting side of our state. I enjoyed reading about Governor Riley and his approach for getting things accomplished. I’ll be looking for the next issue of Thicket.
Sherry Hartley, Bessemer

Let me say how great the premier issue looks! Fantastic job. You should be proud and very optimistic about the future.
Barry A. Ragsdale, Homewood

Well done on the first issue! A fresh read and a fresh perspective. Thicket's promise for something new appears to have hit the mark. We loved the pure variety of stories.
David MacLeod, Birmingham

Just finished perusing your new magazine and I send you a hearty "Well done!"
Mac Logue, Homewood

Premier Issue is Out!

Despite a remarkably challenging (and at times just-plain-difficult) late-December/early-January here in the Thicket, we’ve managed to get the first issue shipped to the printer, loaded onto big giant trucks, and distributed into homes and bookstores and grocery stores all across Alabama. I still can’t believe it’s actually happening. Like right now. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, someone in some town somewhere could be opening her mailbox or pausing in the checkout line, looking at the premier issue, and thinking, “Now, what is this?” Ooh…it gives me chills.

Just so you know, we mailed between 20,000 and 25,000 copies into homes from the Tennessee Valley to Mobile Bay, working off of a list of ZIP codes of communities we wanted to reach. So if you got a magazine in your mailbox, that’s how we found you.

The remaining issues were sent to bookstores and newsstands and doctors’ waiting rooms—all kinds of places where folks might stop and say, “Now, what is this?”

With luck (and good magazine-making), everyone’s initial curiosity will evolve into a dedicated group of readers that likes what we’re up to and wants to see more of it.

If you got a copy of Thicket, tell us what you think. Good, bad, indifferent—we just want to hear your thoughts. You can email any of us by clicking on the “contact” link.

If you didn’t get a copy and can’t find one in your hometown (see where we're distributed), click on the “subscribe” link, and we’ll get you one in a jiffy.

Happy reading!

Posted by Julie Keith

Regions Bank chief economist Bob Allsbrook says the outlook is good for Alabama’s economy.

In which Thicket writer Beth Wilder expands on her Business column in the premier issue, “The Future’s So Bright” regarding the state’s economic future.

Slowing, but not Stopping
Three strikes and you’re out—at least that’s how it goes in baseball. But when it comes to our economy, three strikes might not necessarily mean the batter heads back to the dugout. Bob Allsbrook, chief economist for Regions Bank, has been following economic trends in Alabama and around the country for over 20 years, and according to him, the game isn’t over. “We are definitely entering into an economic slow-down,” he says, “but probably not a full-blown recession.”

“As a nation, we have three strikes against us right now,” he explains. “First of all, our financial obligations ratio (a consumer’s required monthly payments relative to his take-home pay) is at an all-time high and has been for the last eight quarters, mainly because of the housing market. Add a second strike—rising gas prices—on top of our inability to purchase what we want, and that leads to strike three, a general malaise among consumers. We are anxious about spending and borrowing money. When all of these factors come together, the economy has to slow down.”

Is Alabama Immune?
Yet Allsbrook says, the future is not all that gloomy. “Economists will debate by the hour whether or not we are in a recession. I say no. If you want a technical label of recession put on the slow-down, the answer has to be ‘no’ because employment will hold up. You can’t have a full-blown ‘recession’ if unemployment numbers stay low, and I think they will.” Allsbrook explains that American companies want to hold on to their highly skilled workers because that is how they compete globally against foreign manufacturers. This, he does not foresee huge layoffs for those workers in the near future.

Low unemployment numbers are one reason Allsbrook feels that Alabama will weather any economic storm that blows our way. With the growing auto industry, as well as the announcement of a new ThyssenKrupp steel plant to be built near Mobile, the job market for skilled workers in this state seems better than ever. “I’ve been saying for 10 years that Alabama has the best economic story in the nation. I know that’s quite a statement, but there’s no hedging to it. We have the most impressive economic change of any state in this country.”

Allsbrook actually predicts that Alabama’s economy will grow at a faster rate than the U.S. economy during the next two years, something that has never happened. “There is nothing inherently better about Alabama than other Southern states,” he says. “Our political process finally recognized that and decided we didn’t have anything to offer other than incentives and a trained workforce. So we committed ourselves to providing that, and as a result, the outside investment has arrived. We have exceeded critical mass as far as getting enough jobs here.”

One Big Obstacle
In Allsbrook’s opinion, there is only one hurdle for future economic growth in Alabama: our educational system. “These companies want literate employees, and many of our schools are failing. There is a perception out there that is in many cases a reality. While we certainly have some great school systems around the state, we also have high school graduates who can’t read. When we try to lure outside investors, that negative image we have is always an obstacle. The image is understandable, and we have to work harder to overcome it.” According to Allsbrook, strengthening our public school system will only add to the overall good health of the Alabama economy.

Posted by Beth Wilder