2011 brings hope, new opportunities

ith a new year upon us, and the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" still ringing in our heads, January is once again a month to look forward to a promising year. Celebrate 2011 with PRIME magazine, which aims to provide more of the exciting feature stories our readers have come to expect. We literally start things off with a "bang" this month with our January cover story about Holyoke native Hal Blaine. He's arguably the most recorded drummer in history. The rock 'n' roll force reflects fondly on his years here in New England and offers personal insights into the most notable musical icons of our era. If you like his cover image this month, we thank the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company for providing it. Blaine has been a longtime endorser of the Massachussetts-based cymbal company's products. To clarify, we should also thank Springfield Symphony Orchestra / Time Thief for the contribution of PRIME's December cover photo last month. It was a great representation of the holiday season. We additionally have a special advertising-driven section this month that focuses on "Planning for your financial wellness in 2011." It offers homegrown editorial content and related advertisments from six different areas of expertise. It's part of our theme for January of starting over for the New Year. Long after the resolutions have passed, what ideas do our readers need to know about for 2011? We should be able to shed light upon many topics this month, and maybe engender a few water-cooler conversations about what the New Year holds. The special section contains answers to many financial quandaries and queries, including: legal advice; insurance tips; technology tidbits; investment widsom; banking thoughts and tax preparation ideas. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce loyal PRIME readers to a new contest we start this month. In lieu of travel photos in our "Where in the World is PRIME" section, we'll alternately ask readers to become "Story Sleuths." Think you can find the answer to our trivia question? Please see page 18 for this month's trivia question, and then search out the answer in our feature story about Hal Blaine. This new contest will be located in the same place each month, on an alternating basis, as our "Where in the World is PRIME" contest would normally appear. We once again hope our readers continue to keep this magazine relevant and vital into 2011-and beyond. We wish you all the best this year. Sincerely, Mike Briotta PRIME Editor mikeb@thereminder.com